By Kemo Cham
US President Barack Obama Tuesday criticized African leaders for a culture of overstaying in power he said was stifling the prospect of building democratic nations.
While addressing African Union leaders at the AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, he said Africa's progress depended on democracy which guarantees human dignity and the rule of law.
Obama also spoke against "the cancer of corruption", noting that the scourge drained the continent of "billions of dollars", monies he said could be ploughed back to more urgent issues like healthcare and job creations. He said unemployment needed to be urgently addressed and warned that as was demonstrated in the Middle East and North Africa large numbers of young people with no jobs and subdued voices could fuel instability and disorder.
"Only Africans can end corruption in their countries," the US President said.
Obama flew out of Nairobi in Kenya to Addis Ababa on Sunday. His five-day, two-nation trip to Africa began last Friday. It was his first visit to the home land of his late father since becoming President. This was also the first time a sitting American president addressed the 54-member regional AU bloc, whose founding tenets seek the promotion of peace and security throughout Africa.
Obama`s trip also focused on trade and security. While in Nairobi, he co-hosted the sixth annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and held bilateral talks on business development, security, human rights and LGBT equality. He also spoke about the condition of women and the treatment of journalists. This is particularly important coming from him at a major event hosted in a country known for its record of cracking down on freedom, especially its jailing of journalists.
"I am convinced that nations cannot realise the full promise of independence until they fully protect the rights of their people," he said, adding that "Africa's progress will also depend on democracy, because Africans, like people everywhere, deserve the dignity of being in control of their own lives."
"Yet at this very moment, these same freedoms are denied to many Africans. I have to proclaim, democracy is not just formal elections."
Obama said "When journalists are put behind bars for doing their jobs, or activists are threatened as governments crack down on civil society, then you may have democracy in name, but not in substance.”
But the speech on presidential term extension stands out for most of the media. The US President said the continent will not advance if its leaders refuse to step down when their terms end.
"Nobody should be president for life," he said.
Term extension is presently a major issue in east Africa where Burundi`s Pierre Nkurunziza has defied public expectation to contest in controversial elections that saw him re-elected last week. Obama mentioned the issue of Burundi.
In neighboring Rwanda, President Paul Kigame has just been given a go-ahead by his parliament to extend his term in office. That has since been criticized by the US government.
"Sometimes you will hear leaders say 'I'm the only person who can hold this nation together.' If that's true, then that leader has failed to truly build their nation." He said democracy was about more than just holding elections.
Obama is scheduled to arrive back at the White House in Washington, D.C. early Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.
(C) Politico 29/07/15
