Aasu On Current Bleak African Situation
The year 2015 looks to be no different from past ones as the situations in many countries seem bleak. Currently in many countries on the continent maneuverings are going on in order to tamper with their constitution to enable the incumbent leaders to still hold on to power regardless of the profound desire of their people for change and the lessons from recent experiences of other countries like Burkina Faso. Other countries are showing their ineptitude to protect their citizenry as extremist groups are defeating their arm forces and imposing untold hardship on their people.
In that vein Burundi is gradually toppling over in violence as presidential and parliamentary elections planned for May 2015 approach. President Pierre Nkurunziza, in power since 2005, is expected to run for a third term in office while some opposition leaders have been forced into exile and will not participate in the elections. In fact at the beginning of January 2015 unidentified rebels arrived from the DR Congo in order to organize attacks across Burundi. The Burundian army says the rebels were stopped as they crossed from lawless regions of eastern DR Congo to the thick forests of Kibira.
The insurgency in Nigeria has engulfed the neighboring countries of Cameroun, Niger and Chad. Boko Haram is currently waging brutal war in Nigeria with its cohorts of dead, maimed and displaced people. According to the UNHCR some 7,300 Nigerian refugees have arrived in western Chad in the last 10 days, fleeing attacks on Baga town and surrounding villages in northeast of the country. The same source elucidated that in all, the conflict in north-east Nigeria has led to the exodus of 135,000 people- around 35,000 Nigerians to Cameroun and 10,000 to Chad and the displacement of at least 850,000 people within Nigeria's Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.
It is disturbing to note that Boko Haram is advancing and even taking over military camps in Nigeria with little resistance from the Nigerian army. This situation is a clear demonstration of the lack of concern of African leaders for the protection and the wellbeing of their people. They are indeed more interested in dishonesty for personal gains and unwary of the fact that they are better secured when their people are protected and well to do.
AASU reiterates its submission that African countries as they stand are not viable as all these occurrences on the continent testify. It is, therefore, imperative for African leaders to stop their lip services towards the political, socio-cultural and economic integration of the continent.
AASU calls on all African democrats and patriots to unite and promote the integration of the continent through selfless, committed and foresighted leadership.
We would like to use this occasion to condemn unreservedly the recent attacks and killing of French journalists of Charlie Hebdo by young French religious extremists at the same time we call on the people of the World to be respectful of each others' religious and cultural values. We should not accept and live in a culturally unipolar World. We should all endeavour to accept and be respectful of cultural and religious diversities.
Long live African unity!
Down with religious extremism and intolerance!
Down with corruption, nepotism and cronyism!
AWAAH FRED
(Secretary General) [email protected]/00233(0)243101626