Forget Pax Nigeriana, Enter Pax Aufricana!

“The Accidental Ecowas & AU Citizen”:

Forget Pax Nigeriana, Enter Pax Aufricana!

By E.K.Bensah Jr

Don't get me wrong at all: I am all for regional economic communities. The REC tag, which they have been made an acronym of, and sound like an unfortunate epitome of African development, does nothing to dispel the idea behind what they are and will become: economic communities of peace with sector-specific imperatives defining what they are. So that ECOWAS becomes the point-REC on peace and security; East African Community shows the way on mobilising resources for infrastructural development and IGAD becomes a paragon of virtue for the way it can juggle peace and security and economic development in a very volatile region that comprises Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia.

When I look right of the continent to Asia, they are struggling with the development of an ASEAN Economic Community by 2015. Policy-makers and observers of the ASEAN region believes this is what will spark the take-off of the 10-member group that was established at the height of the Cold War in 1967. Unique to ASEAN—and possibly a terrible weakness—has been the putative hegemons of Japan , China, and South Korea that have never been members of ASEAN, but flirted with the idea, resulting in clumsy formations like ASEAN+3 (comprising these latter three countries).

According to a Senior Visiting Fellow of LSE IDEAS Southeast Asia International Affairs Programme Dr.Munir Majid, when intra-European trade stood at 60 percent, it is only when ASEAN+3 states listed above are taken into account that the figure of 50percent for ASEAN becomes “more satisfactory”. The academic bemoans that “wider regional integration, even as ASEAN plays catch-up with its own economic integration process, has not been sufficiently thought and worked through by the regional grouping.”

This kind of phenomenon is alien to the African continent, where the mix-up is more of belonging to two or three strong and structured regional groupings or, in rare occasions, one. So you will never see a Nigeria being an observer to a regional grouping—it is either in it or not at all. Same can be said with South Africa, where you will find it only in SADC, or Ethiopia, where it can be found in both COMESA and IGAD.

Barring the recent overtures by Central African and ECCAS member state Chad with ECOWAS (it became an observer of the West African sub-regional grouping in 2011) and South Sudan being encouraged to join the EAC, it is rare to find member states outside the continent wanting to join RECs or the AU. It is therefore interesting to read that no less than earthquake-ravaged Haiti has applied for membership of the AU!

AU Chairmanship elections– so what?

It is no longer news that Gabonese Jean Ping failed to make the vote; neither is it news that Dlamini-Zuma failed. What, probably, is newsworthy is the fact that the former COMESA boss and incumbent AU Commission Chairman Erastus Mwencha retained his position unopposed. Strike that—for you probably knew that already; it's the fact that the deputy-turned-provisional-AU-Chairman has a website, which can be found on http://www.erastusmwencha.org. Though in its early stages, I daresay had Ping had a website, he might have been able to make the grade for AU Chairmanship once more!

On a more serious note, before the 7^th Ordinary Session of the AU conference of Trade Ministers took place in Accra in December, resulting in Africa—through Mwencha—stating emphatically that EPAs are “not a priority for Africa”, I knew very little about the AU Commission deputy. Since then, I have been tracking him and his statements, and in my view, these are those of someone who deserves to be speaking for the continent. I would like to recommend that for the detractors of the AU, a careful reading of an interview conducted by the Geneva-based International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)--entitled “An interview with H.E. Mr Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission” – merits serious reading. Mwencha's responses are of those of someone who appears to know the issues on EPAs, how far the AUC can best support the Regional Economic Communities and the pan-African integration process; and what the AUC has, thus far, been able to achieve.

It's really not about Pax Nigeriana or South Africana, it's More

If 2011 is anything to go by, there's no Pax Nigeriana; the country failed both at the UN Security Council and the AU's Peace and Security Council to deliver for Africa. I wrote it back in August 2011 after the fatal bombing of the UN building in Abuja-and I will write it again.

Nigeria should have read between the lines, reflected also on the 17 June 2011 bombing, considered the many meetings of the INTERPOL-supported West African Police Chiefs Committee Organisation (WAPCCO) between June and August last year, and decided to get serious on encouraging and lobbying fellow West African countries to ratify the 2005 protocol establishing the Criminal Investigative Intelligence Bureau(CIIB). That Guinea-Conakry is the only country thus far to have established an Office du Renseignement et des investigations criminelles (ORIC)/CIIB along the lines proposed by ECOWAS in 2005 is a sad indictment of leadership by a Nigeria that ought to know better.

As for South Africa, the inchoate Pax South Africana that seemed to be emerging from the Libyan crisis was probably just a sleight-of-hand by one of Africa's most prosperous economies to give an impression of super-power status without trying too hard. It thought it had adequately paved the way towards a foregone conclusion of AU Chairmanship. That the country was being backed by no less than the EU's Baroness Ashton can only speak to the mendacity of South Africa's motives.

All is not lost, however, for if one can accept the fact that a building comes alive thanks to the vision of an architect, then one can also probably appreciate that any formulation of a rising Africa can only find expression in a continent that is ready to be bold and take risks about its future. So the African Union should have strategies, which include being ready to explore more innovative ways of financing its integration. The Lusaka Appeal of 2001 is great, but African policy-makers must be more bold and choose to adopt the ECOWAS, ECCAS, UEMOA or CEMAC financing structure—and quickly.

The AU must also begin to get tough on those who fail to buy in to the Appeal, and take emphatic steps to encourage those who do. We already know of the hegemons of Nigeria in West Africa; South Africa in the SADC region; Ethiopia –and possibly Kenya? – in the East? These hegemons, or larger economies, must be encouraged to be more responsible to the extent that they encourage their smaller neighbours, and do away with any kind of beggar-thy-neighbour policies and/or aspirations.

Add political will to the mix and you got yourself an African continent—and by extension an African Union--that has not just been shaken and stirred by structural adjustment and Breton Woods prescriptions of liberalization; privatisation; and deregulation, but one that is fast-rising and more. It is about a continent that can speak of Casablanca and not feel ashamed to ask “Uncle Sam” to “play it again”, and certainly about a continent that is getting its house in order on sector-specific issues of peace and security; food security; governance; and international trade.

The AU’s Africa Peace and Security Architecture (APSA); Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development (CAADP); African Governance Architecture (AGA); and more recently Continental Free Trade Area Architecture (CAFTA) are processes of the aforementioned themes that are not to be sneezed at. All of us—including journalists, civil society and citizens—should rally behind AU policy-makers and compel them to accordingly be accountable to the people of the continent for the programmes they create.

I dream of a day when the re-election of each AU member state’s head of state is tied to the progress they make in their sub-region, such that here in Ghana, for example, we can demand of the incumbent government what concrete contributions they have made to the facilitation of ECOWAS programmes, and how much they generated for the ECOWAS Levy. Going forward, citizens and journalists alike must begin to feel comfortable asking these kinds of questions, so that the shiny, new building built for us by our Chinese compatriots does not become an empty shell.

As for the building blocks I referred to earlier, they are more than chimerical aspirations; they represent the dreams of a continent replete with infinite hope and a tremendous capacity for resilience. Forget the Arab Spring, doff your hat to Fortress Europe; welcome the Chinese Dragon, but make way for Pax Aufricana!

In 2009, in his capacity as a “Do More Talk Less Ambassador” of the 42^nd Generation—an NGO that promotes and discusses Pan-Africanism--Emmanuel gave a series of lectures on the role of ECOWAS and the AU in facilitating a Pan-African identity. Emmanuel owns "Critiquing Regionalism" (http://critiquing-regionalism.org). Established in 2004 as an initiative to respond to the dearth of knowledge on global regional integration initiatives worldwide, this non-profit blog features regional integration initiatives on MERCOSUR/EU/Africa/Asia and many others. You can reach him on ekbensah@ekbensah.net / Mobile: +233-268.687.653.

Towards a Continental AU Government?

Towards a Continental AU Government?

By E.K.Bensah jr

When The 12th Ordinary Session of the Africa Union Assembly of the Heads of State and Government ended on 3rd February 2009 with a call by the heads of State for continental government, the election of the late, controversial Libyan leader Al-Qaddafi as chair of the AU for one year helped deepen skepticism about what some believe to be lofty ideals of a United States of Africa. 

Not a New idea

Let’s face it: the idea of a United Africa is not new. Ghana’s own first, late head of State Dr.Kwame Nkrumah continues to remain the quintessential pioneer of a United Africa. His call is what would stir him to join the countries of Algeria, Guinea, Morocco, Egypt, Mali and Libya in 1961 under what would be called the Casablanca bloc; this group believed in a federation of African states. As a counterweight, the Monrovian bloc, led by Senegal’s Senghor—comprising  Nigeria, Liberia, Ethiopia and most of the former French colonies—believed that unity should be achieved gradually, through economic cooperation.

It is fair to say that the age-old duality of what would represent an united Africa continues to play out in the new terms of rapidists and instantists. However, for whatever one might think or say about al-Qaddafi, it is that he had been consistent in his dream about an Africa with one military, passport, and one foreign policy.

What many observers had been attributing to the Libyan leader of a continental African Union government is in fact a follow-up of the Grand Debate of Accra in 2007.

From AU Commission to AU Authority

The idea is to establish an “African Union Authority” that would replace the existing AU Commission. According to the late Libyan president, it would have been a “government of the union.”  According to out-gone AU Chairman, Tanzanian Kikwete, who held the post from 2008-2009, the new Authority should have been launched and made operational in July 2009. It will have a President and Vice President, while present Commissioners of the AU Commission will serve as secretaries, with portfolios structured along nine areas of shared competence. These include free movement of persons; goods and services; international trade negotiations; peace and security matters and foreign affairs.

In fact, in July 2009, in Sirte, Libya, the AU Assembly did adopt a decision on the modalities of the Transformation of the AUC into an Authority.

The idea remains for the Authority to exercise its functions on the basis of the principle of subsidiary with regards to Member States and Regional Economic Communities (REC’s). It shall have competence in continent-wide poverty reduction, free movement of persons and goods, peace and security, coordination of common defence policy of the continent as well as coordination of foreign policy of the continent among others.

Challenges

While there remain a number of challenges associated with this enterprise, perhaps the two biggest sticking points find expression in the relationship between any putative AU Authority and the regional economic communities (RECS), as well as the legal implications of a continental government. As regards the RECs, many diplomats are unclear what the roles of the RECs should be, and speculate whether they should not first be strengthened with a view to integrating them into a government. Secondly, the AU Authority would not merely be a matter of semantics, but involve the amendment of the AU Constitutive Act. This would certainly represent a boon to the naysayers who believe this would stall the project indefinitely.

If the 2006 “AU study on Union government” is anything to go by, some challenges have been identified which require some attention if the RECs are to succeed in their mission as building blocks towards deep continental integration. Almost all RECs are “inward-looking” and consider their objective (economic union or political federation) at regional level as the ultimate goal. There is no road-map at the level of the RECs for their eventual integration into a continental union; there are duplications of some AU organs at the level of RECs, notably the parliament, development/investment bank, and the ECOSOC. More importantly, there seems to be no vision in the RECs for a continental agenda.

Because of that, there is need for the AU to take the lead in the promotion of the integration agenda at the continental level.

Another challenge is related to the rationalization debate that is currently underway.You may re-call that in my earlier posts, I referred to South Sudan being member of COMESA, and contemplating becoming a member of East African Community. If one had a proper rationalization underway, whereby one AU member state can belong to only one REC, South Sudan would never have even contemplated the decision of being member of another REC.

Currently, for example, Southern and East Africa are covered by SADC, COMESA, EAC, IGAD and CEN-SAD; some countries belong to up to four RECs. The report maintains that “besides the eight RECs recognized by the AU, there are a number of customs and/or monetary unions whose mandate and work somehow duplicate what the eight RECs are expected to do”. For example, five of the SADC members belong to the Southern African Customs Union; while eight of ECOWAS members belong to the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) which has economic union as an objective,and the six members of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) an organization that also has economic union as an objective, are members of ECCAS.

These shortcomings in terms of the objective of rational regional economic integration notwithstanding, the logic of using the RECs “as building blocks for the eventual deep, continental integration remains valid”, the study continues. The challenge is “in aligning, synchronizing and harmonizing the integration efforts of member states, the RECs themselves, and the AU”. As a consequence, “a road-map for the attainment of deep continental integration and the establishment of Union Government should learn, first, from the difficulties experienced in the implementation of the two previous road-maps (i.e. the Lagos Plan of Action and the Abuja Treaty); second, from the experience of the RECs as the building blocks; and, third, from the past four years of the existence of the AU”.

Hence to facilitate the Union Government project, it is important to also address the current problems faced at the regional level. It is fair to say that while there exist a number of protocols facilitating the addressing of these challenges, the stages of development of the RECs vary, and are likely to slow down the attainment of any Union government of AU member states.

you can also find this article on JOY online: http://opinion.myjoyonline.com/pages/feature/201111/76411.php

In 2009, in his capacity as a “Do More Talk Less Ambassador” of the 42^nd Generation—an NGO that promotes and discusses Pan-Africanism--Emmanuel gave a series of lectures on the role of ECOWAS and the AU in facilitating a Pan-African identity. Emmanuel owns "Critiquing Regionalism" (http://www.critiquing-regionalism.org). Established in 2004 as an initiative to respond to the dearth of knowledge on global regional integration initiatives worldwide, this non-profit blog features regional integration initiatives on MERCOSUR/EU/Africa/Asia and many others. He is also Ag.President of the Association of Ghanaian Journalists in ICT (AJICT-Ghana).You can reach him on ekbensah@ekbensah.net / Mobile: +233.268.687.653.

Understanding the Relationship between the AU, Africa's RECs and the African Economic Community(AEC)

from: http://regionswatch.blogspot.com/2010/08/understanding-relationship-between-au.html

If you are new to this blog, you might not know that I like to go on a bit...especially about regional integration;-))

Seriously, in my estimation, it is a fascinating discipline of international relations(IR) that's ever-so-ramifying, and ever-so-complex.

It's ramifying because of the various dimensions to it (c.f. the five different kinds of regional integration that exist, and the implications they have for the development of any kind of integration project), and complex because the more answers you get, the more questions arise!

Take the case of the African Union, the African Economic Community, and the Regional Economic Communities.

So we already know of the African Union.

This year, it celebrates its year of Peace and Security. It has an interesting website on http://www.makepeacehappen.net, where it is counting down to 21 September--the day of Peace. We also know that Uganda suffered a carnage on the last day of the FIFA 2010 World Cup because Al-Shabaab wanted to punish that country for sending troops to Somalia for the AU's Mission in Somalia

Last week I touched on the "rationalisation of the Regional Economic Communities". where I offered a brief historical survey as to how and why Africa, in its discourse on integration, likes to talk about "regional economic communities". The key year to remember is 2006--an important year for discussions and implementations on RECs.

What about the African Economic Community? (AEC)

I'd be happy to hear what you know of it--or don't.

I'm always operating from the assumption that what I offer here is assisting in building up the knowledge of someone, somewhere. So give me my soapbox, please!

Truth be told, the AEC is already in operation, and has been since May 1994. The Treaty establishing the AEC was signed in ABuja, Nigeria in 1991. The AEC offers a framework for continental integration. The RECS are mere building blocs towards the full realisation of the AEC.

As regards the AEC, it has set no less than SIX stages to be fully operational. Starting from 1994, it has allowed 34 years for FULL political and economic integration. That makes 2018/2019 an important year. So, if we're lucky, by 2020, the African Economic Community should be fully operational, with the 8 AU-recognised RECs possibly subsumed under regions of North, Central, East, South and West African Economic Communities.

I believe the reality to be very different by 2020. As RECs gain prestige in their comparative advantages of peace/conflict management; infrastructure, etc, they would be wont to maintain themselves as legal personalities in their own right, and not necessarily want to subsume their staff and competencies under one sub-regional economic community!

If what Ghanaian lawyer and academic Dr.Richard Frimpong Oppong says is anything to go by in his fantastic piece "the african union, the african economic community and africa's regional economic communities", given that the African Economic Community does not have a legal personality--that is to say that it has rights, protections, privileges, responsibilities, and liabilities under law, just as natural persons (humans) do--it already makes the framework upon which the African Union operates rather shaky and tenuous.

This is because while there is a protocol establishing the relationship between the AEC and RECs, "to what extent are the RECs bound by decisions of the AEC? Since the RECs, which have their own legal personality, are not parties to the AEC Treaty, what is the legal basis for assuming that they will merge and form the African Economic Community?"[italics are that of Dr.Oppong in his piece on p.94]

In my opinion, this is the crux of his piece--and a very important one at that too. Even more important is "rationalising", if you will, the relationship between the AEC and RECs as they progress and advance in their development. This other important point ought not to be lost on us mere mortals and students as we cogitate over the future of African integration and where the AU is going.

In my view, Dr.Oppong has opened up a whole new can of worms around African integration--some of which I will for sure be touching on over the next couple of weeks.

Can you blame me when I continue to search for the elusive quest of a critical and progressive look at regional integration, and still claim that it is ever-ramifying?

Facebook Friday: What AU Citizens are Saying about their Continent...

"My people perish for lack of knowledge"--The Bible

Welcome to the first ever Friday segment of Facebook Friday, where I outline to you the latest discussions coming from AU citizens--either in their countries, or from the diaspora. African--like every one else--have a lot to say.

Sometimes, it can be a tad negative to stomach, but I believe that the change won't come overnight. I sincerely believe this will go a long way to creating concentric circles that will trigger major change in our outlook in the conception of any kind of AU government.

I understand fully the apathy out there, but I'm ready to counter it, with YOU! Enjoy!

"It is time that African youth woke up from their slumber and start a strong grass-root movement empowered by internet technology to remove current dinosaurs from power and shake up the status quo in favor of progress towards the establishment of a United States of Africa!" hear, hear!!!!

I do not know which of the African youth you are referring to. I guess you do not mean the lazy, uncreative, malleable, greedy and downright selfish ones around!

Sadly, they abound on our campuses, in our churches and offices.

I used to have so much faith and hope in Africa's youth, but my experience in dealing with a number of young people in the last couple of years, some holding Masters degrees, has made me change my mind.

And please, be mindful of the fact that today's myopic African leaders, were once the youth of the continent!

This would be ideal,however there are so many things to consider. We'd need a constitution that all agreed on &to develop an electoral system that was viable. Who would lead? What political parties would there be? All currently in Africa or two like in the states? How would we ensure that when borders opened that ppl wouldn't flood into more economically viable countries. The admin nightmare of creating govt institutions would take years. What currency would we use? I don't mean to be pessimistic but in reality,we'd need buy in from everyone to pull this off,and as it was pted out both our youth ¤t leaders are not up to this monumentus challenge...

but before African youth will wake up from the slumber you are talking about i think we still have to be reeducate ourself or even the youth because we have be educated wrongly with the western education, its high time we start to educate ourself that being African means having ability to do all things. I strongly believe that that human being who has the tendency to do everything right or wrong that why if you take a look at environmetal and genetic which has more influence of course the environmental which mean we have to cleanse our system our education and the demonic attitude that has been embedded towards money making over the years. I believe we can do it if they come with a good motive.

BTW, guys, kindly spread the word on joining the AU page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Addis-Ababa-Ethiopia/African-Union-AU/54117436963. Cheers!

I read what X said in reaction to your piece. I work with the youth. I know what it means to look in the face of a person who has succumbed to a system that constantly says you are not smart enough to understand this! I know how hard one has to work to get the dialogue going. I also know that the awakening is not impossible. Do you really think the youth have non dreams and no aspirations. They just need to be challenged to believe in their potential. These things take time. It's agonizing and downright boring at times but when the light shines through thats where it is. That's the hope for the youth who have been neglected and beaten down in a society that places excessive emphasis on hierarchy. I know there is hope. It's slow but musicians can speed it up. Movie makers can act as catalysts in this movement.

...well said. I work with the youth too. And I can tell you that I have seen some very bright young people who take no initiative, cannot identify an opportunity even if you thrust it into their hands and simply want things already made.

I have had a young university graduate working under me resign because as he put it "you set high standards and work to achieve it, but I am not like that."

I have given most of these young people tasks in areas they have trained and supposedly have skills in, but they failed to deliver. This has happened so many times.

By the way, do you know the creator of Facebook is only 24 years old? If facebook is five years old, then he started when he was 19 years old.

We have so many IT graduates in town, some are certainly doing great, but where are they?

The others have the skills, but are not creative, just mechanic! And doing routine things does not take people anywhere. That's the problem.

Let's just say that I agree that the African youth--and look, we might be generalising here--is lazy and apathetic. Examples of those with Masters and degrees who cannot think for themselves, or who chase only money can be inimical to the facilitation of a united African government, because the bottom line will be only about,well, the bottom line!

The solution to moving forward is unlearning all the bad things that the youth have learnt--starting with appreciating and understanding their history, and those who sacrificed for us. The story of Kwame Nkrumah and his multi-pronged agenda could be a good start?

When he talked about "the independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa", he was not on a flight of fantasy: I believe he was talking about using Ghana as a springboard--what with it being the Black Star and all--to liberate the minds of Africans, and remember the African personality.

Most of us who patronize Facebook and use the 'Net are mostly middle class Ghanaians who have been the beneficiaries--directly and indirectly--of Western education. I believe it is possible to embrace these benefits alongside the appreciation of the knowledge of Africa.

In so doing, we become once again inspired to feel part of the Pan-African project. Whether that is expressed in a belief that there can be a United Africa or not is moot. What is most important is the belief within that we Africans are the agents of change to make the continent a better place.

Let's face it: we're 53 States; multi-cultured; 900 million people. We are perhaps the only regional organisation that embraces all the member states--good and bad. Latin America. The EU. Asia. How many have so many regional economic communities to grapple with, what with all the imperatives associated with them?

Think of ECOWAS, SADC, COMESA, Arab Maghreb Union; ECCAS; East African Community; IGAD; CEN-SAD; CEMAC. Only some of the regional economic communities (RECs) that offer possible salvation to the sub-regions on the continent. Then we have the AU that is seeking to coordinate these RECs.

This is a unique continent that we must not take for granted and help to build. The conception of a union government does not have to be dissimilar to strengthening the RECs. It can be a twin-track process that sees the sub-regional organisations strengthened and the AU oversight over them.

The person who talked about the constitution was right: the AU has a Constitutive Act that would need amendment to make the AU govt/Authority a reality. Then there is the idea of borders.

Yesterday, I looked briefly at crime prevention. I do not think we can think about loose borders without strengthening our borders with effective monitoring mechanisms like the police.

I would call for a regional FBI in every regional organisation to monitor and coordinate intelligence. If we can do it with Standby forces, surely we can do it with crime prevention? I am encouraged that the AU has an AU COnference on Drug Control & Crime Prevention, but can we not do more?

On films, I agree that the arts can work well. Films like Blood Diamond helped me obtain a profound insight into West Africa--though I must say I am a proud ECOWASian (West African). It is true that the arts (music and film, and drama) can do more to inspire Africans in their citizenship.

To that end, I fully support those ideas--plus the role of technology--!!!--in the development of a citizenship that is quintessentially AU-frican!