By Umaru Fofana
Guinea is in the throes of a serious political crisis. A coalition of opposition parties and some civil society groups have come together to resist an apparent attempt by President Alpha Conde to run for an unconstitutional third term in office. The country has huge trade relations with its many geographical neighbours especially Ivory Coast, Liberia and Sierra Leone with whom it forms the Mano Rover Union (MRU).
The region itself has gone through so much conflict. There are now concerns that if the situation in Guinea is not put under control soon, it could destabilize the MRU region. The Secretary General of the Mano River Union, Ambassador Madina Wesseh has been talking to Politico in this exclusive interview. First, she gave her reaction to the winning of the Nobel Peace Prize by the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed
Ambassador Wesseh: First of all I am very pleased and particularly gratified that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been selected as the Nobel Peace Laureate for 2019, coming right upon the hills of the Congolese gynecologist and doctor last year, Denis Mukwege. And the fact that the Ethiopian Prime Minister could be recognized for the kind of work and the bold step that he took to reach out to Eritrea and President Isaias Afwerki to make peace, that is commendable. As a sub-regional effort, it’s monumental, given that the war in 1998 was over Badme, a dry land. That was just mind-boggling. But the fact that the two countries were so engaged and over hundreds of thousands of armed men were in the border areas and the fact that they have been able to overcome all those years of hostilities, of tensions, no trading between them, the cost to the economies, and that today Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed could be recognized for that effort, I think that is commendable. And it shows that we are working at efforts for peace on the continent and in the sub-region. And I think that we should all learn from that example.
Umaru Fofana: And as the head of a sub-regional organization - Mano River Union - of Sierra Leone, Liberia Guinea, and Cote d’I vioire, are there any lessons you reckon to be learned from that?
Ambassador Wesseh: Oh Certainly! I believe that the continental body, the African Union, has recognized these various sub-regional organizations and how we manage our economy, how we manage governance, how we manage peace processes. And I think that you know that the MRU sub-region was embroiled in different ways over the last two decades, in conflicts. But we have not only seen peace as inspirational, we have worked, and I believe we are all working, towards managing our various economies and our various governance processes. And so, again, we are all concerned and we are trying to be each other’s keepers.
Politico: How concerned are you about certain disagreements, certain potential for conflicts that maybe lurking in the background in the Mano River Union?
Ambassador Wesseh: Well, I wouldn’t say that we have conflicts lurking in the background, but we are concerned that our two countries - Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire – come 2020 are going into elections. We hope that we can bring from the MRU perspective. We are working with UNOWAS [United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel], the Special Representative of the [UN] Secretary General, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambers, his office, and the UNDP to see how we can bring in lessons from the experiences that we have from Liberia and Sierra Leone that experienced elections in 2017 and 2018. To see how we can share that experience with our various state and non-state actors in Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire as they prepare for elections in 2020.
Umaru Fofana: The signs in Guinea particularly don’t look good because of the apparent bid by the President, Alpha Condeh, to run for a 3rd term, which will be negating the country’s constitution.
Ambassador Wesseh: Well, I wouldn’t say that that will be negating the country’s constitution. Those are internal issues that I am sure the Guineans have a way in which they will address those processes properly.
Umaru Fofana: But there is a two-term limit, according to the constitution in Guinea?
Ambassador Wesseh: Again, Umaru, if you would allow me to refresh my own memory with constitutional issues as pertaining to what obtains in Guinea, I don’t know that the government of Guinea is trying to review its constitution. There may be some issues that of course would be more exciting among one group of people or raise more public interest. So for the time being, I think we would allow those processes to go on and then we observe. And we hope that, like we say from what is happening in the sub region, in Ethiopia and IGAD [Inter-Governmental Authority for Development] where they have seen the need to work peacefully, resolving issues as they come up. And that’s not to say they do not have issues. For example, I am sure you know the issue of the dam that Ethiopia is constructing is of concern to the upstream and downstream between Sudan and Egypt. That’s not to say that’s not a conflict or that’s not a potential for conflict. But I think that just being each other’s keepers and watching and again coming back to our sub region - ECOWAS and UNOWAS are also seized of what’s pertains in the sub region and we are hoping that through quiet diplomacy, we should be able to work things.
Umaru Fofana: Obviously if Guinea explodes, Mano River Union being this organization to bring these countries together, promote trade, and all that, there is a lot of dependency on Guinea commercially in Sierra Leone and I reckon in Liberia as well. If Guinea explodes, surely all of that economic thing backfires. You don’t think it is time for the MRU to get more seized on this matter?
Ambassador Wesseh: Again, I don’t see the potential of an explosive situation in Guinea as yet. But again, like I said, ECOWAS and UNOWAS are seized of these issues and I think that last week may have been a little bit on the quiet side in terms of economic activities. But I think that today, life is returning to normal, commercial activities are resuming and I think the government has been functioning. It’s just for us to be able to monitor. But I don’t think that we are at a point where you are saying “if Guinea explodes”. So let’s not look at the picture so negatively. Let’s look at it where we know that Guinea is indeed a very major bulwark for peace and Guinea managed to contain the peace to the extent that they managed to, whether it was refugee, whether it was in active engagement in Sierra Leone and in Liberia when they were all strip in these civil crises. We are forever grateful that we have potential key player in Guinea and we can see Cote d’Ivoire. For example, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal are the West African countries that are on the top five growing economies in Africa. So we can see that there is a symbiotic relationship between peace and social cohesion on the one hand, and economic development and growth on the other hand. So Cote d’Ivoire is doing well and we hope that from the perspective of the MRU, we hope that we can share these good reports that are happening with our economies and social cohesion in the sub region.
Umaru Fofana: And you don’t think that all of that economic growth, and all of that social cohesion will be under threat if the situation in Guinea, as it is now, is not reversed. In the sense that the opposition and the civil society coalition are really determined that there must be no third term referendum held in Guinea. You don’t think that poses a threat to the sub region?
Ambassador Wesseh: Well, I’m sure Umaru you know that Guinea held legislative elections last year, and there were contestations about the results. And I think that Guinea is indeed a mature political society with the growing tenets for democracy being implanted. I think that they would find a way in which the various political parties will remain engaged with the government, to ensure that the outcome is peaceful as we prepare for elections come 2020 in Guinea and in the sub region, to just be able to see that we are indeed making great efforts to sow the seeds of peace, plant flowers for democracy. And from the Africa Peer Review Mechanism and economic governance is also an immediate outshoot of the political governance that the country would have in place.
Umaru Fofana: Does anything in Guinea concern the Mano River Union or even worry the Mano River Union?
Ambassador Wesseh: As at now, I wouldn’t say that there is any particular need for us to be worried. Like I have said, ECOWAS and UNOWAS are indeed seized of these matters and we pray that there is peace in our sub-region and we learn lessons from the good work of the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia. One of the things that I will say that was of interest to me of the war in Ethiopia, when it started, I happened to have been on a flight out of Abidjan in 1998 when the war broke out. And that flight was delayed for nine hours as Ethiopia tried to switch hubs. But in no time, the governments of Ethiopia and Kenya managed, they moved up, and we’ve seen what that war could do to the economy of Ethiopia. Twenty years after, I think that we can see what it means to plough the sods of peace, because Ethiopia was spending so much to get to a port city and it just takes you to reach out. But there was so much ingrained political hostility. I wouldn’t use the word hatred, but it sometimes bordered on that. But at the end of the day, it took Abiy Ahmed to reach out and you can see that his backyard isn’t so peaceful, but he took the gamble. And if we are looking at what is happening in other sub-regions and we see that peace is good caution that we need. I think we should be able to learn lessons, share experiences and work towards peace and economic development.
Umaru Fofana: You don’t see any hypocrisy in international organizations such as yours, the Mano River Union, being interested when two countries are fighting each other or have disputes, but kind of cavalier when it has to do with internal undermining of freedom and democracy in the case of Eritrea and Ethiopia. It’s not hunky-dory in Eritrea, but nobody seems to be saying anything about that. In the case of the MRU here, you don’t seem that much concerned about what goes on in Guinea. People are being killed on the streets.
Ambassador Wesseh: No I am sure you would see that, for example, from the starting or the formation of the OAU in 1963, to the change into the African Union Authority, you can see that Africa has come of age and African governments are discussing amongst themselves. They are reviewing themselves, that’s where you have the African Peer Review Mechanism…
Umaru Fofana: It doesn’t seem to be working, this peer review thing.
Ambassador Wesseh: It’s working! The African Peer Review Mechanism is working…
Umaru Fofana: You don’t name and shame each other even when some people behave despicably at the leadership level of their countries.
Ambassador Wesseh: Well, I suppose maybe sometimes when you get to a point where people get frustrated, then you go into what you call name and shame. But the Africa Peer Review Mechanism…I hope that you could take time to just find out from them the processes, because it’s a voluntary process that you sign up to, a country accedes to it, and then ratifies and subjects itself to scrutiny and, what does it mean: It’s just about the public space. What do you do in governance, the rule of law, accountability, effectiveness, efficiency in delivering public services to your people, cutting down the infrastructure deficits, how you hold those processes properly accountable. I think that Africa has come a long way. You can see for example from the days of hands-off and totally sovereign countries, to the point where now African countries are their brother’s keepers. And we are going by best practices. Democracy is fluid, democracy is about the rule of law and people being very much participants in the governance process of the country. So I think that, by and large, you know…it takes some time. Various countries, various regions have different ways in which they respond. But by and large, I think that the seeds of democracy are growing in Africa.
Umaru Fofana: Indeed the continent has come a long way, but it’s got a very, very long way to go. Some say there is a democracy deficit in a lot of those countries particularly those that you more or less preside over by way of being head of this region - Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia. There is so much democracy deficit in those areas, but your organization never calls out any of these leaders whatsoever.
Ambassador Wesseh: I wouldn’t say there is a democracy deficit in our sub region, for the simple fact that we have had elections. That’s not to say that we cannot detangle democracy to just the voting process. But I think you can see that citizens in the four countries, by and large, after what was a civil crisis, that nearly tore us apart. Then of course Ebola came with its ugly face. But I think you can see that to a large extent the citizens are holding the government accountable. They are working with the governments and …
Umaru Fofana: Some of them are doing so by the skin of their teeth. Is there any way MRU will call out Guinea? Will there ever come a stage in the current political imbroglio in that country, when the MRU will come out and call out the Guinean president?
Ambassador Wesseh: I would say let us allow ECOWAS and UNOWAS to remain seized of this matter and I hope that this will just be a political storm in a tea cup that we have very little to worry about.
Umaru Fofana: You think President Conde will not pursue his third term agenda?
Ambassador Wesseh: I will not be in a position to go into those issues that are constitutional or that they are handling internally. Let’s just see how the consultative processes go on and allow the people of Guinea to make their own determination.
Transcription was done by Mabinty Kamara
© 2019 Politico Online
