African leaders who gather this week in Addis Ababa, Ethipia will make one of their most important decisions since founding the African Union (AU) 23 years ago as the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).
Friday’s election of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission would differ from past elections which had been routine. Africans who are meant to be the beneficiaries of AU and its policies barely know who leads the AU Commission, the hub of the continental body’s working machine.
Africa is on the cusp of integration, so the leadership of the AU Commission needs to be in the steady hands of someone who duly appreciates the circumstances and times and has firm feet that can dig into the shifting sands of African politics. Africa needs a leader who can plant the seeds of policies that will sustain the continent’s integration beyond his tenure.
Three candidates from the East Africa zone to which the AU zoned position are vying. The differences in their personalities, exposure and experience are apparent.
Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga leads the contest with a clear vision of the task and how he intends to navigate Africa’s successful integration. In his campaigns across Africa, Odinga has exhibited a fuller knowledge of the issues and understanding of the sub-regional complications that would require timely attention if Africa were to make quick progress.
Mahamamoud Ali Youssouf (Djibouti) and Richard Randriamandrato (Madagascar) are the contestants against Odinga. They could stand a chance if the competition were for a less demanding office. However, the AU Commission is a high-voltage office that can drain the less experienced.
Limited foreign affairs experience, not being abreast of the workings of the AU Commission and its relationship with AU’s global partners, count against Odinga’s opponents. Odinga is outstanding in AU affairs, and more. He discusses his AU agenda with an imprimatur that cuts to the chase.
As AU High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa for five years, Odinga acquired relevant experience in dealing with Africa’s infrastructure gaps and had high-level involvements with Heads of Governments of different African countries. The high contacts made with top international agencies during the assignment will come handy in managing the AU Commission.
He served as Kenya’s Prime Minister for five years. His government had 42 Ministers and an intricate bureaucracy catering to Kenyan politics’ sensitivities. Resilient and resourceful, Odinga ran for the presidency five times and failed on all five occasions, but he still supports opponents whose policies can develop Kenya.
The winner of the AU election should settle into office quickly and commence a renewed push to turn Africa around and return it to a path of democratic governments, good governance, sustainable development, increased trade, technological education, inclusive growth, and shared peace and prosperity.
When AU marked the 50th anniversary of the OAU, the Heads of State and Government signed the 2063 Agenda, “as an affirmation of their commitment to support Africa’s new path for attaining inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development African heads of state and government signed the 50th Anniversary Solemn Declaration during the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the formation of the OAU /AU in May 2013. The declaration marked the re-dedication of Africa towards attaining the Pan African Vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena. Agenda 2063 is the concrete manifestation of how the continent intends to achieve this vision within 50 years from 2013 to 2063″, according to the AU official website.
Odinga believes that the continent’s integration is the platform to make Africa a better continent that would cater for its people. His campaign centres on continental prosperity by making intra-continental trade and commerce, education, gender equality, technology, democracy, good governance, and climate change priorities.
His eyes are on revving up the pace of implementing Agenda 2063, which has been in the works for 12 years, with certainty about how the AU would see to its successful completion.
The Commission chairmanship election is coming at a time when experiments with inexperience will be forbidden. Odinga is the man for the job as he has extensive experience, zesty zeal, and a pulsating passion to pave the path to Africa’s peace and prosperity.
Nnanta is an international affairs analyst, operating in Lagos and Freetown
