Governance

If we are honest with ourselves, for many Africans, the African Union is a noble but somewhat nebulous concept; one that has the highest ideals about cooperation, co-existence and unity among African nations.

My career in international development has been diverse and deeply enriching. Over the last decades, I have worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I have had the privilege of working in more than five countries within the continent.

‘Since time immemorial the apprentice has sat at the foot of the griot
listening to images of a forgotten past and bygone eras lost in the epoch
of human memory. For generations every son has sat at the foot of his

On the 25th May 2013 the African Union (AU), the successor of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), will be 50 years of age. This is a milestone and can be seen as a cause for celebration - the golden jubilee.

The 50th anniversary of the African Union, the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), is upon the African people this 25th May 2013. Both Organisations were formed with the main objective of ultimately bringing about the United States of Africa.

On May 19, African countries kicked off a special summit to celebrate 50 years of the union, first under the Organization of African Unity and, since 2000, under the African Union.

A few days ago, IHS Jane, a well-established company for global security analysis, released an analysis under the title

Swaziland has retained and continues to indefinitely retain its controversial status as an absolute constitutional monarchy. It is the only country in Africa with such a ‘distinctly maverick’ political order.

A few years ago, a former US ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John Campbell, wrote a tiny, brilliant book titled ‘Nigeria: Dancing on the Brink’. I wrote a piece acknowledging the searching intelligence and inspired insight in that book and got so many knocks on the head for doing so.

Northern Nigeria needs help. Decades of bad governance have continued to traumatize the region.