For the second time this year, Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi has uttered unfavourable remarks that earned him condemnation across the globe. Early this year, Qaddafi has called for the division of the Nigerian nation along religious line as a lasting solution to sectarian crisis in the country. His remark, as expected, attracted criticisms and the recall of the Nigerian ambassador in that country.

Qaddafi has earned himself a reputation for political views that range from the eccentric to the downright unpalatable - and a mercurial behaviour to go with them. At one time he would look at himself as the custodian of Islam, at another he portrays himself as the champion of African heritage.

Recently, the Libyan leader is back again in the news, this time, making unfavourable racist comments against Africa and her citizens. While in Rome, Italy, as a guest of another political leader often accused of holding unacceptable political views, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the Libyan leader came with a racist idea as a solution to the influx of African immigrants to Europe. He proposed to the European Union to pay Libya a whopping $6.3billion to help stop millions of Africans who wanted to migrate to Europe, and prevent a "black Europe". He asked what would be the reaction of white Christian Europeans in the face of "this influx of starving and ignorant Africans"; and whether Europe would "remain an advanced and united continent or if it will be destroyed, as happened with the barbarian invasions."

There is no question that large number of Africans would like to go to Europe; for them it is safer and the quality of life is 'so much better'. Equally, the issue of how Europe reacts in the face of this migration is very current as clearly demonstrated by France in its new law against immigrants. Immigration is definitely an issue in Europe and has fuelled the rise of the far right across the continent.

However, the remark that Africans are ignorant and barbaric as inferred by Qaddafi is offensive, racist and shocking. It is unacceptable. For an African leader and former chairman of the African Union to come with such unpalatable suggestion is a clear signal that all is not well with Qaddafi. Interestingly, the European media maintained silence over the issue. That certainly would not have been the case, had any world leader made such remarks against Europeans.

Perhaps, Qaddafi's utterances provide further proof of the Libyan leader's maverick nature. Certainly, it was fairly bizarre that his other main public pronouncements while in Rome were to an assembly of female models hired for the occasion. There cannot be many politicians who have to resort to that. Nonetheless, however racist, insensitive or just plain weird Qaddafi's Roman sojourn may seem, there may be a case here of deliberate political manoeuvring as he is expected to host the 3rd African-EU summit in November. The summit is intended to build on the decisions taken at the Lisbon Summit held in 2007, particularly to move from a relationship based on aid to one of partnership between the two continents.

Therefore, the Rome speech suggests that Qaddafi is trying to set his own agenda. The idea that the EU should offer Libya a $6.3bn contract to keep Africans out of Europe is nonetheless morally offensive and wholly unacceptable. Qaddafi has no doubt failed to understand that such remark and ungodly proposal would put Libya in the role of a mercenary, paid to act as Europe's baton-wielding, southern policeman. After all, it is not Libyans who want to move to Europe; it is people from sub-Saharan Africa who have been using Libya as an embarkation point. We feel that if EU is really determined to stop such upsurge of emigrants, it should channel the $6.3bn contract proposal by Qaddafi to help address the myriad of socio-political problems confronting most African countries where dire poverty is driving people to leave, not Libya which is rich as it is. Rather than proposing a contract of that nature, we expect Qaddafi to champion the fight against the continued exploitation of both human and material resources in Africa by Europe and her allies.