Some of the major problems thwarting the development of sub-Saharan Africa are wars and conflicts. Though the region has severed political ties with her former colonial rulers decades ago after bitter independence struggles, peace is still eluding it.
The Chronicle admits that the development can sometimes be attributed to thousands of languages spoken across the continent, thus making it difficult to run proper Federal or Unitary system of government. We nevertheless think some of the problems too are attributable to sheer greed of the leaders.
As we put this piece together, there is no peace in northern Nigeria because of a rebel group, calling itself Boko Haram, which has taken up arms and killing innocent civilians in the name of religion.
The same thing is happening in Somalia, which can best be described as a failed state. As if this is not enough, there is a serious conflict currently going on in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Chad, Mali and Burkina Faso just to mention a few.
And just as Africa Union (AU) is trying to find ways and means to solve these intractable disputes, The DR Congo has also started accusing Rwanda of financing the ethnic conflict going in the country.
The President of DR Congo, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, took advantage of Ghana’s current membership of the United Nations Security Council to lodge a formal complaint to his Ghanaian counterpart about the conduct of Rwanda.
In his meeting with President Akufo-Addo, Mr Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo alleged that Rwanda was financing rebel activities in his country and pleaded with Ghana to report the Central African country to the Security Council.
Though the meeting with Akufo-Addo was not the first time DR Congo was making the accusation, Rwanda is yet to officially deny or confirm it.
But on Sunday October 31, 2022 Aljazeera, which has revolutionised international broadcast in our modern world, reported that thousands have protested in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) city of Goma, denouncing Rwanda’s alleged support of M23 rebels, as Kinshasa recalled its interim acting ambassador from Kigali in a further souring of relations.
The protests on Monday come as M23 have tightened their grip on the surrounding countryside. “We denounce the hypocrisy of the international community in the face of Rwanda’s aggression,” Mambo Kawaya, a civil society representative attending the demonstration, told AFP news agency.
A mostly Congolese Tutsi group, the M23 resumed fighting in late 2021 after lying dormant for years, accusing the Congolese government of failing to honour an agreement to integrate its fighters into the army.
The group’s resurgence has destabilised regional relations in central Africa, with the DRC accusing its smaller neighbor, Rwanda, of backing the rebel group, the media conglomerate reported.
It is instructive to note that Rwanda herself fought an ethnically induced civil war in the early 1990s, which resulted in the slaughter of thousands of innocent civilians. It is, therefore, mind boggling that a country that has come out of such a situation will allegedly be funding similar conflict in a neighbouring country.
The Chronicle is, therefore, calling on the UN Security Council to conduct thorough investigations into the claim being made by DR Condo against Rwanda.
The AU should also summon the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, to defend himself and his country about the allegation being made against them. Africa is the richest continent in the world, but as we stated earlier, because of wars and senseless conflicts, we are lagging behind when it comes to development. Some of the leaders are using powers they have grabbed for their personal aggrandisement.
If USA and Europe, where Africans are aspiring to visit or stay had also adopted the same strategy – financing conflict – they wouldn’t have reached the stage where they are today. In our view, it is time Africa to put an end to such useless conflicts by ensuring good governance and proper integration of all the ethnic groups.
Any president on the continent promoting conflict must be dealt with according to the AU chatter. Time to stop the wars and conflicts is now!
