addafi vows to push Africa unity
Col Gaddafi in Addis Ababa, 1 February
Col Gaddafi attended the summit with an entourage of seven local monarchs

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has vowed to pursue his vision of a United States of Africa, in his inaugural address as the new chairman of the African Union.

Col Gaddafi was elected by the heads of state of the 53-member union behind closed doors at a summit in Ethiopia.

A BBC correspondent at the summit says Col Gaddafi was seen to be the obvious choice, but some delegates are uneasy about his nomination.

Col Gaddafi replaces the Tanzanian President, Jakaya Kikwete.

Wearing a golden brocade robe and cap, Col Gaddafi sat with the traditional African leaders who accompanied him at the front of the room, rather than in the seat for the Libyan delegate.

New rules

"I shall continue to insist that our sovereign countries work to achieve the United States of Africa," he said in his inaugural speech.

But he admitted that African leaders were "not near to a settlement" on the issue.

He told fellow summit leaders that his unity project would be approved at the next meeting in July unless there was a majority against it, reports the BBC's Elizabeth Blunt from Addis Ababa.

The AU normally relies on consensus in reaching decisions, but Col Gaddafi introduced what he described as the Islamic concept that "silence is approval," she said.

Under this principle, at least two-thirds of AU leaders would have to actively oppose Col Gaddafi's proposals, rather than simply ignoring his ideas, she added.

'Fantasy'

But an expert on the African Union called the vision of the United States of Africa a "ludicrous fantasy on the part of [Col] Gaddafi."

Kathryn Sturman at the South African Institute of International Affairs said many African leaders would not be prepared to give up their national sovereignty to join the proposed single-state federation proposed by the Libyan leader.

Ms Sturman said the chair of the group does not have any singular decision-making power, and cannot push through any changes without the consensus of the other leaders.


Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi (1.2.09)

Muammar Gaddafi: Life in pictures
Profile: Muammar Gaddafi

Compromise

During closed-door talks on Sunday, African leaders again postponed Col Gaddafi's dream of closer union.

In a compromise, the summit agreed to transform the African Union Commission - which oversees the AU - into an AU authority with a broader mandate, outgoing chair Mr Kikwete said.

"In principle, we said the ultimate is the United States of Africa. How we proceed to that ultimate - there are building blocks," Mr Kikwete said.

Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika said governments wanting greater unity could go ahead on their own, without worrying about splitting Africa.

Erratic

The chairmanship of the African Union is a rotating position held by heads of state for one year.

It was the turn of a North African leader to chair the bloc, and Col Gaddafi was the only one present.

However, some African leaders believe the Libyan leader is too erratic to be AU chairman.

Before he arrived at the summit, he circulated a letter saying he was coming as the king of the traditional kings of Africa, our correspondent says.

Last August, he had a group of 200 traditional leaders name him the "king of kings" of Africa.

The summit's main agenda - to boost Africa's energy and transport networks - was pushed largely to the fringes, weighed down by the grim realities of the global economic downturn.

lol joke

I don't believe in this dream of his. In fact, considering his leadership history, I believe this could be the beginning of the end for africa's developing economies.

While the concept of a united Africa as proposed by Ghadafi aint a bad idea, its intentions or ingenuity are however curious.
Ghadafi has started by proclaiming himself as Africa's "king of kings", This can only attest to the fact his main intention is to rule Africa.

Africa and the world at large must beware of this man who regardless of his "achievement" has refused to let democracy thrive in Libya.
Africa does not deserve a monarch. but Africa needs to have a united front in its foreign, economic and defence policies.

If the process of attaining this united front is anything other than democratic then Ghadafi must as well forget his ambitions at least in this life time.

We are not stupid in Africa. We know what Arab world has done to all our civilizations and we are not stupid at all. Timbuktu which was a learning place for the world was brought down by Arabs by first introducing Islam and then full blown war. Egypt and North Africa entirely should be an example for all Africans. Ohh wait, Sudan is still plagued. One Africa my ass. Arabs need to start paying rent For North Africa . I haven't forgotten how the then Ghanaian president had to go to Libya himself with a plane to get all the blacks(mostly Ghanaians) detained for no crime but for being black and none muslim in Libya. Wait, a black man was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Morocco for having a Visa that expired just about a week before his arrest. Gaddafi also supported the first civil war in Sudan which killed as many blacks as possible in an attempt for him to cause chaos there and make Sudan a part of Libya. He must be mad for thinking we forgot he was pushing for Pan Arabism and tried all he could to put all of North Africa under Arab's control. Now he wants unity? I'm sorry but it's unity after retribution and recognition. Arabs took the first slaves from Africa. destroyed our emerging civilizations with Islam and war. I'm sorry but Arabs and whiteys can't be trusted when it comes to Africa. Blacks Unite now!! Not a plan from an Arab who sees the unification of Blacks as a threat to the presence of Arabs in North Africa. mess Gaddafi!!!

No thank you . . . hausas are bad enough, to have arabs lording it over us will be disaster.

Somebody tell that imbecilic Jihadist to take his ''African Unity'' and shove it where the sun doesn't shine. What a big joke. . . I am having a big laugh. . . really.

If black Africans wish to become the Islamic republic of Africa then good luck to you.

Gaddafi can take his Lybia and shove it into his Arab ass. That will not happen. The whole Africa can unite. But as for South Africa, no thanks!

i know this and things like this will come up again.
this same mumu that was forced to his silent corners by bush has decided to come arround again now that bush is gone.
well, it is important someone let him know that the world is struggling for democracy at this time.
african leaders shld be guilded to understand that charity begins at home. africa is a case of a house devided against itself. can there be unity at that level when there is absolute disunity at the lower levels called countries.
how unified is nigeria? in what ways are libyians unified? he shld be thinking on how to organise a free and fair elections in his country. he shld learn to understand that he is boring. african leaders are the problem of the continent and as such we are disappointed with them.
such move i tell u may be successful within them because they are all born to rule and die on the seat of powers so if their leader in the name of gaddafi is of this belief that once u are there, u are there forever, then we are in a bigger shit.
please gaddafi die that ur ppl will be free.
remember ur brother, saddam. now that u are the leader, ur brother mugabe will be relieved as you are birds of a feather.

@all, gaddafi is not an arab.he doesnt even get along with arab states.actually he is a berber ethnically,and berbers are authentic arabs,if you know the tuaregs of mali then gaddafi's people are not too far from them ethnically. so he is not an arab.next is when they say united africa,its only coz there is a desire to consolidate african power bloc and influence on the international stage in order to make us more competitve and influential.through this,we can become more prosperous as an entire continent.when they say united states of africa,they are talking about an economic merger so as to strengthen african economy and currency as a whole like the euro. they are not saying that they want to force everybody into islam!!pathetic thought davidlyan.you're such a bigot its disgusting.
gaddafi is not proposing that we become one country with one president,its more of a confederacy where military and currency and such things that are beneficial to the entire continent are common and shared. the larger we are, the better off economically speaking coz we will constitute a big trade negotiating bloc that will be influential to all.if europe can put nationalism aside to form the E.U then we can certainly put religious sentiment aside for our own progress and collective good.see it purely as a tool for economic progress.

@chidichris

there isint a single country that is populated by arabs that has a democracy.nope.only the american export they forced on iraq which may not even last and the one that is in lebanon.have you noticed that lebanon is in perpetual conflict.where did the concept of democracy come from? the greeks rights ok what were the conditions in western europe that allowed those societies to radically change from monarchy to democracy in france and britain. and even germany??again dont you understand that culture plays a big role in whether or not a nation is fertile enough for democracy to take root and flourish. social cultural ideals should never be over looked in the political structures of any society,the culture (way of life and beleif system) either allows democracy or rejects it.arabs have a culture that favours monarchy. that being said gaddafi is a socialist in the real sense of the word and he is extremely educated,the fact that he is blunt makes people beleive that he doesnt know what he's saying but he does.
the idea of a united africa is simple,in a situation where governments are merging so as to be more competitive,you can only do the same,the EU,mexico,the u.s and canada are going to form their own currency called the amero,pacts and coalitions are being made left and right.africa ought to do the same for strategic positioning on the int'l stage.look around you and you'll see whats going on.

berbers are authentic african not arabs

@gadogado, bear with me for a sec please. The United states of Africa has to be most ill conceived and stupidest idea i have ever heard. It is so easy to argue from the whole "economic" angle and using examples like the EU to justify such, but such a view and using such comparison seems to me to be nothing short of being blind to what is actually happening in Africa. The EU doesn't just allow all countries in europe to join the EU, certain criteria have to be met and the economies of countries that want to join have to show stability, etc. Basically there are criterias cutting along various areas that have to be met and such is in place so that there won't be a scenario whereby there is a taint on such a "unity". Now let us take a look at africa and see how silly such an idea is when applied to africa. Zimbabwe each day keeps setting records for highest inflation rates ever seen and last time i checked it was some obscene percent figure i had to check twice to make sure i was reading correctly. Now what do you think the implications of allowing such a country to join such a misguided "union" will be? How can such a union stabilise a competitive single currency vital to trading with such a partner country like Zimbabwe? Then take all the wars going on, the lack of infrastructure, the regimes of dictatorship all around the continent, what do you think would happen to the population of countries with no wars? Imagine Lagos population ballooning to over 50 million when refugees from dafur and every other place that Nigeria by some freak accident happens to be more stable than start flooding in, thereby putting more pressures on the social and economic infrastructure of countries that can't even cater for themselves. When even citizens of Niger are reported to migrate enmasse into Nigeria? In Africa whereby having an election with no violence is seen as a miracle, that is a continent that would all of a sudden get united by declaring it a union?

There was a scenario in South Africa in recent memory whereby some south africans went on a killing and burning spree to protest people taking their jobs, what do you think the effect of such a union would be on more advanced countries in the region? And then arguing from the point of "so that we can have a voice", WOW. Sorry if you feel offended by the bluntness of my response, but honestly? The AU currently couldn't even openly condemn Mugabe and you think such a union of dictators and people who have shown disregards for the pains of their people will be a more morally upright voice? This is like saying Abacha, Babangida, Odilli, Ibori and all other horrors from Nigerian history should form a political party as a means of better representing Nigeria since such consolidation will maximise their "effect" on the world stage, the shame!!!.

Then finally using the arguement from a religous point of view to argue that democracy is not "right" for everyone by making it into a western concept is just shocking. This is like saying the wheel was invented in say France so no one who hates france should use the wheel, we should all use square blocks instead. Instead of seeing democracy as an "american" thing why not see it for what it is in its basic principles? A government which represents the will of the people. If the will of the people is to be slaughtered and trampled upon then let them use their votes to select such, if not you might have to accept that it is not the will of the people; but at least let the people choose their future, is that so inhumane and ridiculous a view? Not every "non-western" part of the world practised monarchy and feudalism prior to colonialism. The (for some reason) celebrated journalist who threw shoes at George Bush should immediately come to mind in this discourse. When Saddam Hussein was alive where was such a fellow? Was he without shoes during Hussein's brutal regime? And all of a sudden he becomes a hero and some sort of a symbol because he threw shoes at the leader of the country that made sure he lives in an environment where he won't be hanged for such audacity?

Nigeria cannot function as a whole without ethnic bias, are you advocating that a union of pariah states with leaders suffering from illusions of grandeur would fare better? Is that not just an ode to poverty and everything wrong with the world? Please let us make Nigeria work, then ECOWAS. ECOWAS has the potential of being a powerful world player if it gets its act together. And if there is any such desire for the ill conceived concept of a true "African Union" then there should at least be a referendum as opposed to people like Yar Adua and past leaders who got Nigeria into the IOC choosing the fate of a whole nation. If the referendum is genuine and not "Nigerianised" i really do not see how on earth it will pass. AFRICA!!!!!

@ Ghaddafi,
how?

The funny thing is that while we are all shouting out against the idea and putting good reasons forth why this silly United States of Africa should not happen, our leaders may just go ahead and do something else. I remember the years of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference or so). Was there not a story that Nigeria joined this group or something, against the wishes of Nigerians?
Secondly, there was an AU summit somewhere where Gaddafi started this silly talk of USAfrica and only one or two people spoke against it. I actually think Yar'Adua was one of them.

its a pipe dream.

That man needs to wake up from his slumber

Gaddafi: Africa should unite or die

Sunday, July 01, 2007
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2007/07/2008525141653922399.html


Libya's president, Muammar Gaddafi, has told Africa it must "unite or die" and should become a federation with a single government, along the lines of the United States.

Speaking on the eve of the African Union Summit in the Ghanaian capital Accra, the Libyan leader said the continent should unite so it could compete in a globalised world.
President Gaddafi outlined his plans in a speech at the University of Ghana, but while it was met with applause and cheers, the views of his fellow African leaders range from enthusiasm to outright rejection.

"My mission is to wake up the African leaders to unify our continent," he said.
Accra is the final stage of President Gaddafi's week-long tour of western Africa, which has also included Mali, Guinea, Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast.

Single government

At each stop he has held rallies calling for the establishment of United States of Africa and a single government.




"How can an African country face a Europe that is united, negotiate with the USA, Japan or China," he asked, saying that with a single government, Africa would be on an equal footing with them.

"If the African masses are enlightened and aware ,  then Africa will come into being," he said. "Those at the summit should hear the voice of the masses."

He also believes the move would staunch the flow of migrants to Europe, by exploiting its own resources and creating jobs in Africa.

Although the African Union was only formed in 2001, the idea was first suggested more than 50 years ago.

African leaders including Kwame Nkrumah, the late Ghanaian president, and Julius Nyerere, the first president of Tanzania, were both advocates of a single government.


African unity


The idea is said to have first been mooted at the fifth pan-African Congress held in England in 1945, and led to the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963.

"How can an African country face a Europe that is united, negotiate with the USA, Japan or China"

Muammar Gaddafi, Libyan president


The Libyan president's enthusiasm for a single federal government fits with the possible future development of the African Union (AU).

The body was formed from the amalgamation of the African Economic Community (AEC) and the OAU.

Its remit is to promote unity and solidarity, democracy, economic development and international co-operation, especially by trying to end conflict within the continent.

Longer term, the AU plans include a single currency and integrated defence force, as well as proposals for a single cabinet and head of state.

But President Gaddafi faces difficulties in promoting his plan.

While some governments, including those of Senegal and Zimbabwe, are said to be in favour of such a move, others such as South Africa and Uganda reject it.

Gradual steps


Others say there must be gradual steps towards unity, starting with the consolidation of existing economic blocs.

Critics of the African Union say it has proved unable to tackle some of its existing aims.

They point to a range of conflicts, ethnic and religious diversity and the unequal distribution of wealth across the continent as evidence that it would be almost impossible to bring together Africa's 900 million inhabitants.

Some question how a federal government would be able to enforce policies when the countries that make up Africa find it difficult to solve them individually.

Even within the cheering audience in Accra there were sceptics. "It is a premature movement," John Awesi Amponsah, a 27-year-old student, said. "We have lots of ethnic, financial and economic hassles which need to be addressed before we think of a united African continent."

I don't think we should think this to be a joke. This man has been going on and on about this idea of his for some years now. And considering the goons we have as leaders in Africa, I will be not be surprised if sooner than we know it, they actually start working with him to make it a reality.

Oh let me take a quick guess, Ghadaffi would also like to selflessly volunteer his services as the leader of such a union, right? WOW, Africa really, really, really has a leadership problem. Self professed lords of the lands with nothing at all in terms of development to show for their leadership.

maybe Ghadaffi is being sponsored by some of those Black Americans who want to become Africans at all costs. With a nation of Africa, they dont need to define what nationality they are

@sky blue
You have done justice to this post. Need i say more?
It's unthinkable, really.