As the president of Ukraine addresses the African Union Commission, I want to remind African leaders of the necessity of having a nuanced, meticulous and careful strategy on the Russia-Ukraine war. The foreign minister of South Africa in a recent BBC interview was poised, and on the money, on the way forward. We must remember Kwame Nkrumah’s philosophical framework that Africa cannot go east, west, but only forward.
What Russia did was evil* by attacking Ukraine. Make that clear but do not bring harm to your citizens through needless actions. As I write, German companies are still running on Russian gas. That is to explain that leaders do not want to throw their people under the bus.
Welcome Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky but do not make this an African conflict. Every war ends on an “agreement”; Ukraine and Russia will determine when they want to do just that. Africa cannot make enemies with the US, Europe, Russia, China and – Ukraine!
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Comment 1: It is an address. We are not great at taking action after listening to an impassioned speech. We will clap hands, give vote of thanks, commiserate with the bereaved, and go home. I don’t see any issue here, we are not even in a position to sanction any country.
After Zelensky’s address, Putin should also address us, so that we can let both of them know how their scuffles are messing things up down here, so they should calm down. Even in peace times, we are in crisis, let alone when there is turbulence in strategic countries; we understand our history, and our fate is in our hands.
Africa is the Mother of all continents, so all the warring parties can always come here for peace agreement, including the US and China, they are all welcome. We do not take sides, because it is Africa.
God bless Mother Africa.
Comment 2: “What Russia did was evil by attacking Ukraine. Make that clear but do not bring harm to your citizens through needless actions.”
So what do you classify as ‘needful’ action?
What did Abraham Lincoln have to gain by abolishing slavery, resulting in the American civil war? Where would Africa have been today if not for that selfless act by Lincoln and the millions of Americans who perished?
Evil thrives because of only one reason – because good men do nothing, often because of self-preservation. Doing nothing out of self-preservation is never a good strategy. Remember WWII, remember Pearl Harbour.
Whether we stand to gain or not, we should make our stand known and back it up with actions. Only then can we take our place on the world stage.
My Response: “we should make our stand known and back it up with actions. ” – Africa has done that. And this is clear: Russia and Ukraine should talk and end the war. That statement is the action. I understand that some people will want Africa to “sanction” Russian fertilizers, cereals, etc, to show “action”, in my opinion that would be stupidity. Until Germany stops buying Russian gas, I will not recommend for Africa to sanction Russia.
*As a boy who grew up in Southeast Nigeria, I see attacking people via war as evil. While most wars are being justified , they remain evil. Nigeria committed evil when it killed its citizens in Southeast. Russia is doing the same in Ukraine. The US did the same in Iraq. NATO did the same in Libya. Sure, in realpolitik, wars bring immediate practical solutions but they remain evil because they leave evil behind.
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