Nicholas Sengoba
14 May 2007
column
Last week, British Prime Minister Anthony Charles Lynton Blair better known as Tony Blair announced he would throw in the towel after ten years in office. Blair who is said to have "a passion for Africa" will embark on humanitarian work as a roving ambassador for Africa (and the Middle East) through his Blair Foundation.
This will be the second institution set up by Blair carrying the Blair name with Africa and its predicament in mind. In 2005, the Blair Commission for Africa was set up to highlight the need for increased development aid, fair trade and debt relief for Africa, whose state of affairs Mr Blair referred to as "a scar on the conscience of the world."
Earlier, the continent was described by the explorer David Livingstone in his last words before he died decades ago as "this open sore of the world" before he invoked a blessing on those who endeavour to heal it.
Looking at the continent today one would be excused for thinking that Livingstone passed on recently.
According to the World Bank, it is only Africa that has grown poorer over the last 25 years. Nearly 50% of Africans live on less than a $1 a day, 34% are malnourished, and there are 6,000 Aids deaths daily.
The numbers that are unemployed, have no access to clean water, shelter, health facilities and those displaced or killed by wars and famine are as worryingly immense as those who go hungry, die of curable diseases, or during child birth.
Blair and his foundation come to a continent where most attempts towards redemption through goodwill ambassadors, policy framework programmes, action plans, commissions, etc. have miserably remained just mere shop talk without significant change on the continent.
Many of these efforts fail to appreciate the magnitude of the major challenge that lies in the way of the continent's progress -a leadership that espouses the culture of mediocrity, ineptitude, corruption and lack of political will towards the well being of its people.
This reality might drown Blair's optimism and possibly euphoria.
How will Blair, whose government gave Britain 10 years of steady economic growth, increased employment and funding in the education and health sectors, advocate for leaders who instead rob funds for these sectors and get away with it?
Having won elections on three occasions freely and fairly, Blair will encounter a good number of objectionable leaders who shamelessly come to power by theft at the ballot or by the barrel of the gun. He will then get to understand that this is why they do not feel obliged to do much for their citizens.
At the "tender age" of 54, Blair who resigned after serving for "only" 10 years because he thought that it was long enough for him but more especially for Britain, which grumbled as he was beginning to retrogress, will have before him leaders who insist on ruling endlessly even when they have nothing left to offer and have visibly become part of the problem.
The humility in his apology for times when he "fell short" will greatly contrast with the manner of arrogant and impudent African leaders before him who blame their faults on "saboteurs in the opposition," donors and "agents of colonialism."
Despite having substantial disagreements with his Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, Blair worked with him and has not unduly frustrated Brown's efforts to become the next premier.
In Africa he will observe first hand situations where dissent is regarded as criminal and treated with jailing or expulsion from the party as happened with Olusegun Obasanjo and his deputy Atiku Abubakar in Nigeria.
Having been the first serving prime minister to be questioned as part of a criminal inquiry by the police concerning a scandal in which political parties were accused of acquiring loans from donors in return for political appointments, Mr Blair will interface with leaders and their hangers-on who are above the law or are a law unto themselves and accountable to no one.
He will get to understand that unlike his native Britain where leaders may plan their exit knowing full well that they will retire and stay put in the country, in Africa leaders are more often than not pushed out violently into exile where they live off what they accumulated illegally from the public coffers as they await their death or become fugitives because of charges they have to answer for abuse of human rights, including genocide or corruption.
One fine day when Blair comes to the end of his role as roving ambassador for Africa, (and hopefully enters into the realm of Livingstone's blessing,) it will be interesting to know what impact his efforts will have had on the plight of Africa.
Also what lessons he will have learnt or better still how much passion he will have left for the continent.
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