Nairobi — Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is famously idiosyncratic, but during his groundbreaking visit to Italy this month he secured something no African country has managed from a former colonial power -- an apology for colonialism and $5 billion in symbolic reparations.
Arriving with his usual retinue of female bodyguards and a Bedouin tent that he set up next to the Rome hotel where he was staying, Gaddafi managed to irritate nearly all his hosts -- from Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno, whom he lectured on the "uselessness" of political parties, to the leaders of the Senate, whom he held up at a luncheon in his honour.
Gaddafi set the tone from the word go when he flew in adorned wearing a lapel badge depicting Libyan anti-colonial hero Omar Al-Mukhtar, whom the Italians executed in 1931.
He did not help matters in an overwhelmingly Catholic country when he remarked: "For us, that image [of Al-Mukhtar] is like the cross some of you wear," likening it to the Christian crucifix.
To add to the discomfiture of his hosts, Gaddafi came accompanied by the now elderly son of Al-Mukhtar, who had to be helped out of the plane by aides.
All the same, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government went to great lengths to lay down the red carpet for the Libyan leader, who is the current chairman of the African Union.
A state luncheon laid on by Italian ceremonial President Giorgio Napolitano was followed the next day by a rowdy meeting between Gaddafi and students at the University of Rome.
THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT WAS more than ready to put up with Gaddafi's theatrics if only because there are two things it badly wants in return: Oil-rich Libya sits on a massive $70 billion sovereign wealth fund that the Italians, with their economy already depressed, are keen to tap into.
It is this same wealth fund that has turned Libya into a highly sought-after investor in sub-Saharan Africa, not least in the hospitality and energy sectors in Kenya and Uganda.
Gaddafi obliged the Italians by agreeing to invest in Italy's electricity sector, and in the local oil giant Enel. Italy imports a quarter of its oil from Libya.
Berlusconi also wanted to lock down Libyan commitments to co-operate in the repatriation of African immigrants who have been crossing the Mediterranean into Italy through Libya.
An agreement to this effect was signed when Berlusconi visited Tripoli last year, despite the repatriations being opposed by the Vatican, the UN and Human Rights Watch, who complain that the often brutal exercises are carried out en masse without any reference in individual cases to legitimate asylum considerations under Italian law.
The mercurial Gaddafi, who loves to flaunt his Pan-Africanist credentials, oddly read no contradiction in signing onto an agreement that further victimises poor Africans who have been on the receiving end of draconian immigration restrictions imposed by European countries.
THE $5 BILLION REPARATIONS DEAL had actually been agreed during Berlusconi's earlier visit to Libya.
But the Italians are loath to use the term "reparations" and opted instead for the word "compensation."
That was alright with Gaddafi, who gushed: "Italy is the only former colonial state today, the only state, that we cannot reprimand any more.
It has cleaned up, purified its imperialist past."
Berlusconi was equally gracious: "A long, painful chapter with Libya has been closed."
The Italians even went further to allow the broadcasting on Italian TV, for the first time ever, of a documentary on Al-Mukhtar titled Lion of the Desert.
Italy colonised Libya from 1911 to 1943, when the country came under an Anglo-French UN mandate.
It eventually won independence in 1951 under King Idriss, whom Gaddafi overthrew in a coup in 1969.
Following the death of Gabon's Omar Bongo, Gaddafi is now the longest serving ruler on the African continent. This was his first ever trip to his country's former colonial power.
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Mr War-igi,
Gaddafi's short-sighted chaos rule for a long time, especially his unconditional support economically, politically, etc... of the entire opportune crooks of the developing nations, in particular in Africa and in the middle east, caused enormous hardships, embargos, isolations, disruptions, collapse and victimizations to the entire Libyans for more than twenty years.
Libya is a semi-arid developing nation with about 6 million inhabitants. It is a nation dependent only on oil and some minor Agriculture resources a long the cost and deep in the Sahara Oasis.
The average annual precipitation in the north west part of Libya is only about 250 mm/year and it is only about 500 mm/year in the north east of Libya. As you can see, it lacks enough water for both domestic and for Agriculture purposes. The Industry in Libya is almost nil. They export oil and import the rest of their needs from overseas.
As you can see, Libya has been used, distracted and abused for a long time, especially by the crooks of the opportune developing nations due to lack of vision, planning and far-sighted strategies to get the country out of its dormancy and stagnancy.
The limited oil resources revenues should have been allocated wise, instead of being wasted on useless adventures in Africa, in the middle east and elso where. It should have been planned and spent wisely on developing the Libyans infrastructures, such as schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, factories and so on to build up and improve skills, training, education, technology, industry, economics, banking, health and so on within the country to create employment and for the people to learn and to get trained to become indpendent adventurers in making decent livings through the formation of private and public factories, corporations, businesses and so on to compete with the rest of the world in order to survive.
The Libyans should not dwel on the past for ever. On the contrary, they should look forward and be far-sighted in planning and developing their own people, economies and resources wisely, instead of being laughted at emotionally and left in chaos, demagogue and vacum. They should have jointed the well developed nations, such as Italy, France, Multa, UK, USA, Canada and so on, especially their neighbours, such as Italy, France and Multia, because they have lots of things in common and they needed each other. They are complimentary, they needed each other in energy resources, such as oild, gas and so on. They needed each other in technology and transfer of technology to keep the factories of the well developed nations working and expand to have more factories in Libya for both people to learn from each other and to create more employment opportunities and people prosper on 'MERIT'. Further, they can gradually expan this to Africa and to the Middle East to learn from each other and create more employment opportunities and prosperity for the rest of the people in the region.
Also, it is positive for innovation and progress to always keep new things developing to improve people's qualities and standards of livings.
Libya and the Libyans should not be fooled for ever to run after mirage, chaos and demagogue. Libya and the Libyans should have jointed their neighbours, such as Italy and France earlier to have joint industial projects in Libya. They should have cooperated earlier to fight crimes, trafficking and smuggling of people and drugs. They should have joined hands and cooperated earlier to combat illegal migration and piracy. They should have joined hands and cooperated earlier in combating perversion, supversion, corruption and ganging of all forms. They should have joined hands and cooperated in developing people and creating employment avenues in founding industrial complexes in Libya to manufacture and market goods and services for people to prosper and to keep them away from trouble.
They should have joined hands and cooperated earlier in education, research, exploration and minining to come up with new resources, energies and innovations. They should have joined hands and cooperated in developing effective and modern management and leaderships systems and organizations cabable of developing people by utilizing the limited resources more efficiently and effectively.
To sum up, Libya and the Libyans should not be fooled around and distracted any further by the opportune crooks of the world, especially by the opportune crooks of the developing nations. Libya and the Libyans should focus their efforts and utilize their limited resources wisely in developing their own people, industries, economies by joining hands, cooperating and business partnering with the pioneers, the best and the most ethical of every nation, especially with Italy, France and with the rest of the well developed nations.