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CONGO D.R. WILL “Get Up and Walk” LK 5:23 By Dr. Roger K. Asani
We are all happy that free democratic and transparent elections in half a century were held on July 30th, 2006 in DRC. Now our sincere hope is that the results of those elections will bring an end to fifty years of turbulent socio-political life in that country. Shaming the doomsday Sayers and other high priests of pessimism, millions of voters all over DRC converged to ballot boxes and casted their bulletins under the watchful gaze of national and international observers freely expressing their wishes on how and by whom they desire to be led.
Heavens did not fall, dead did not rise, the head of the living remained firmly on their shoulders, fire and brimstone did not consume any village or city. All went smoothly as it should. This was a fantastic feat. A feat attributable not to so many corrupt and shallow-minded, incredibly selfish local politicians there. It was a pure blessing from God Almighty, granted that martyred country, a divine mercy that overpowered the disruptive activities displayed by saboteurs neo-mobutuists, their bankrupt and greedy businessmen allies-turned-warlords, and other self-acclaimed leaders of their tribal nationalities. The Congolese people refused to disgrace themselves as the external eyes fixed on them expected them to, that is, true to type. They organized and policed themselves and in many provinces, gladly accepted to keep their mind, heart and eyes riveted to a not too distant goal, to a better future woven with peace, employment, good health, prosperity and knowledge, a promised land that a handful of the progressive young and patriotic leaders swore to lead them to.
Organizing credible elections in a country without confirmed democratic traditions; a land as vast as Western Europe was a daunting task. DRC being hopelessly broke both politically and financially, unexpected help forced itself in from an unexpected source. The International community with a pricked conscience crept in handy with sophisticated stick-and-carrot tactics, determined to dictate the pace of events and persuade the politico-military gladiators that the game was up and the time to behave was at hand. Well-oiled machineries were put into motion. Scores of recalcitrant actors on all sides of the divide were given a lovely thought as expertly trained hands were directed to delicately apply appropriate pressure on restless and deeply assertive throats while too talkative mouths were gagged in a very firm, friendly and profitable way. It was then time to proceed to the second step in this serious business. Almost five hundred million dollars were released from the strong business world safe with headquarters where you know for the successful organization of those elections. This ‘safe’ wanted credible, spotless and acceptable by all and sundry both within and outside the project country. Now there! Hold your Halleluyahs or Allahu Akhbars as the case may be for one minute. You and I heard clearly well that the legendary stinginess of the International Community especially towards the plight of the countries and people of sub-Saharan Africa was even decried publicly by no other than the amiable Ian Egeland ( United Nations Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid). This perfect gentleman may hardly be accused of harboring a shadow of anti-western feelings at any right-wing dinner party in Paris, London, or Washington. What then informed this sudden western change of heart towards the very heart of the Dark Continent? Did they succumb to a powerful preaching by a televangelist of a new type? Or did a Heavenly Being convince them to amend their not so heavenly ways at Bretton Woods and other not so angelic clubs? Niet, friend. The explanation seems to be quite down-to-earth- call it self-preservation; dig-in-buy-time tactics. Struggle for survival shrouded with greed. Surely continuation of the old policy of containment would deny a potential adversary a source of supply and reinforcement. Please let us go back to history. It was this same international community, namely its western rabidly capitalist phalanx and particularly its tenor countries that knowingly or unknowingly started the whole mess in 1960 by scuttling the first democratically elected Government of Patrice Lumumba. They suggested to their local Congolese allies some radical solution: to physically eliminate the valiant Premier and his close companions and went out to heartlessly supervise the criminal act. Afterwards they proceeded to prop up different incompetent and discredited combinations of puppet regimes before finally settling for a naked dictatorship. They followed it up with widening the scope of the assassination campaign targeting anti-‘yes sir’ political leaders, students and other intellectuals. For more than forty years their insensitivity literally put the fire to the political bush in the Congo, all in an attempt to keep at bay and fighting the growing influence of their eastern ideological arch-foes. Sixteen years after the dreaded arch enemies behind the sickle-and-hammer banner threw in the towel, the euphoria of the winners has evaporated completely. The vacuum, a phenomenon abhorred by nature, is already dully and befittingly so filled by yet another global foe that according to western media – is more complex, determined, ubiquitous, dangerous and daring. This foe, bearded and turbaned, is intent on laying his hands on strategic materials necessary for the production of weapons of mass destruction. This brings about a climax in our days of state, group or individual terrorism and burgeoning hot spots. DRC is awash with such materials. Horror and panic! Cold sweat everywhere! It is true that times have changed, but the policy of containment remains the same. It helps explain this strange goodwill of the western stoneheart trying to win the hearts and minds of the natives in the heart of the Dark Continent. For the West everything possible has to be done fast in the street, in the open as well as in the dark closets or under the bed to checkmate and frustrate an eventual unfriendly intruder into their African backyard.
Street side, Democracy, the Rule of law and a strict respect for Human Rights are advocated while in the closets sharp daggers, law and order have a field day. We may expect that in the Congo DR test case stability will be built on the effort and vigilance of a strong government with an efficient administration backed by a credible legislative, a judiciary awake to its task, a security apparatus aware of its responsibility and ready to assume it. DRC groans under the chronic deficit of all those pillars of a modern state. The long and rotten western backed reign of Mobutu snuffed the life out of them all and the protracted war on its heels finally buried any sign of hope on those matters. This is certainly a dangerously crooked situation for the external interests with much more to lose than the Congolese people having for now only their lives at stake. Light is then shed on the paradoxical deployment of the largest United Nations Peace-keeping force (MONUC) in the World (17,000 men and women) in a country neglected and plundered for so long. The arrival in July 2006 of 1500 combat ready men of the European Forces (EUFOR); the first if its kind on the continent by both the number of contributing countries along with the troops and weaponry to cap it all is a clear indication of the urgency of the matter.
In the background rumour has it that NATO is feverishly thinking of the creation of a separate command of that organization for Africa only. In Strasbourg, the European parliament headquarters, in Brussels, the former Colonial Master capital, NATO Headquarters as well as in Washington authoritative voices were heard advocating to “fix the Congo as a prerequisite for fixing the whole of sub-Saharan Africa”. Tall order! Let us spare some seconds of sympathy for the smart planners in the bunkers of NATO. The thought that large swathes of uncontrolled savannah, swamps and forest may be infiltrated, infested and occupied by non-friendly ideas and swarms of their deadly carriers is not a particularly strong stimulus for good appetite or healthy sleep. Beside security concerns other more mercantile factors may have imposed DRC as a table conversation in the industrialized World where new economic superpowers –China and India, and their imperative quest for raw materials needed for fuelling their budding industry are followed with nervousness. In sub-Saharan Africa, DRC as an unparalleled source of raw materials is still being studied by competent specialists/researchers. Suffice for us to point out some details of interest: the last uncompleted geological surveys suggest that while the whole basin of the Congo River may be floating above yet untapped oil, in each province gold and diamond, coltan and almost all the minerals listed in the periodic table of Mendeleev, including radioactive ones abound. Strange, rare and mysterious wood never seen in any other country before has been sighted there. DRC is home to the only intact surviving, still largely unpolluted rain forest with incredible biodiversity, playing now a major role in the slowing down or dousing off the climate change in the whole world. The industrialized countries guilty of having created and precipitated the greenhouse effects on our planet now want the Congo rain forest to be preserved. Other mouth-watering business possibilities hungry for heavy long-term investments are ceaselessly serenading the mind, ears, eyes and heart of the international greed. Worthy of mention also is the mighty Inga Dam erected on the Congo River. On completion, this jewel will provide cheap, environmentally friendly and clean electricity to each hut, mansion and hamlet throughout Africa from Cape to Cairo while Italy and Spain will be supplied through under water cables from the same source. Enough fresh water will be diverted from this same River before its junction with the Atlantic Ocean and redirected to thirsty lake Tchad for its revival and further to other drought prone zones of the Horn of Africa and Middle East. The savannah, the forest and the fertile high lands of western central and eastern parts of that sparsely populated country without desert are watered by an ocean and tens of thousands of rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, and swamps. A “fixed” Congo will undoubtedly answer its call as a potential food basket for the whole continent and beyond. It is impossible to fully enumerate all the potentialities which were unfortunately squandered or diverted from good use by the West and their local allies, thus stopping the development of that country, creating frustration as well as all the regrettable mess and much pain for the Congolese women and men. Now the same international community is moving fast to “fix” it because of the new threat to their very existence. The last we heard is that they will “sponsor” the policymaking and policymakers of DRC. We guess our fatherland may be carefully steered to accept the leadership of a group of wise, cool, knowledgeable and sophisticated new young men free from any connection to the loathed Mobutu regime and – most especially – nor opposed neither impermeable to well meaning advises and suggestions emanating from well intentioned sources and opened to as wide a cooperation with those sources as possible. The long arms of the sponsors may be intent on avoiding past mistakes this time around. They have created high expectations in the mind of the people and any disappointment will be dearly paid for by their interests. They will certainly disburse and supervise as much as needed for the reconstruction of the ravaged country at least back to the level of 1960 for the infrastructure, thus making the place comfortable and attractive for investors and peaceful enough to enable the people to forget the horrors of the recent armed conflicts. So also as in the tale of the chicken and the eggs, the sponsors may condescend to pay themselves unhindered with local raw materials as much as they deem fit till kingdom come. Its as simple as that- only elastic strings attached. They know and we know that as for now, our choice is between a hot rock and a hard place. Its a choice between replunging into chaos, resurrection of armed factional hostilities with a possible final, irreversible partitioning of the fatherland and the disparition of the country as we know and love it today with all its contradictions and aberrations and on the other hand the loss of a certain degree of core and peripheral sovereignty. This is the real meaning of the recent elections and the majority of our people read between the lines and followed with a wise decision. They need peace now, above all things. They long for some breathing space. They want to allow the country to lick and bandage its many deep wounds. Let the young people listen to something else than heinous speeches, shooting, shouting and explosions. Let women and men start experiencing something else in their lives other than hardship and untimely deaths. The children of the people of my generation will not have to be ashamed of us, their parents. We said “No” when it was time to say so for their sake. Today’s world is what it is and the winners will respect only the smart. Let the children grow, go to school, study, observe and be smart. They will face their own challenges and fight their own battles sometime in this life. As for us, we wash and fold the red flag and the white towel. We don’t throw the latter and don’t burn the former. We keep them in the cupboard. Lest I forget, I had a strange double vision last night. In the first, an old man told me that at a meeting of ancestors a decision was taken to DEFINITELY NOT ALLOW KABILA KABANGE JOSEPH to LOSE THE RUN OFF elections in DRC in October, 2006. Shortly after that, an old woman replaced the venerable departed man. The lady, a centenarian with all her white shining teeth intact and piercing eyes peremptorily declared that all deceased Congolese women have decided that BEMBA GOMBO JEAN-PIERRE will DEFINITELY NOT BE ALLOWED TO WIN THE RUN OFF elections in DRC in October, 2006 unless he first remove from his name the stain of human trafficking he is currently being investigated for in Belgium and that furthermore he should explain the unhealthy appetite exhibited by his militiamen for the internal and external organs of our compatriots pygmies in Ituri. Also that he should apologize to the Central African Republic citizens for the barbaric and heinous behaviour that his same militiamen meted out to the innocent inhabitants of the capital city of that neighbouring country that same eventful year!
I don’t remember whether I was crying or singing when I woke up.
Doctor Roger K. Asani Bauchi
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