Uganda: Uganda declines united African government

(SomaliNet) Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has rejected an African government in the near future, disagreeing that the people across the continent are too diverse. He, however, said there were several areas where African countries could cooperate.

“In Uganda, we are not in favour of forming a continental government now,” Museveni told the over 40 heads of state, gathered in the Ghanean capital Accra for the 9th African Union Summit. “While economically I support integration with everybody, politically we should only integrate with people who are either similar or compatible with us.”

He said he believed in an East African federation because the people in the region are similar, have dialects that fall into two broad categories, and share a common language, Swahili, which is spoken by 150 million people.

“Insisting on political integration at the continental level will bring together incompatible linkages that may create tension rather than cohesion. This will especially be the case if you bring together groups which want to impose their identity on others.”

However, the President said there were four functions which should be handled at the continental level. He identified them as environment, trade negotiations, a defence pact and, at a later stage, managing and promoting an African common market.

“If the African Commission could concentrate on these four instead of being everywhere and nowhere, we would start moving forward. We are wasting too much time pushing unresearched positions,” Museveni noted.

He said he did not want Africa to “move from one mistake – of balkanization – to another mistake of over-simplification of very complex situations.”

Museveni’s remarks counter calls from Libyan president Muamar Gadaffi and Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade to form an African union government immediately.

Earlier, the President drew cheers when he said for five million years, all human beings were Africans and were living in Africa. “When you see Europeans, Asians, Arabs and such groups, you should know that all those are former Africans.”

He also observed that Africa was the cradle of human civilisation, starting with the Egyptian civilization in 3,500 before Christ. “This African civilisation thrived for about 2,000 years until about 1025 before Christ when Egypt started being invaded by outsiders.”


The continent was conquered by foreigners during the slave trade and colonisation, not because it lagged behind in technology, but because it was organised in small tribal and clan units, he argued.

“China and Japan were backward technologically when they confronted the European colonisers. Nevertheless, they managed to preserve their independence.”

Africans, however, were lucky to survive extermination, unlike the Red Indians and the Incas.

Museveni caused prolonged laughter when he noted that anybody who wants to find natives in America today is being directed to a reserve.

The President saluted African elders like Kenyatta, Nkrumah, Nyerere, Sekou Toure who launched the anti-colonial struggle. Though he noted that half a century after the independence of the first African country, Ghana, the causes of Africa’s tragedy had still not been addressed.

“Fifty years since independence, none of the African countries achieved the transformation from the Third World to the First World like the Asian economies have done. This is regardless of whether these African countries have been peaceful or violent, multi-party or dictatorship, free market or controlled economy.”

He attributed this to the fact that the continent lacks the “strategic stimuli” that caused sustained growth, such as a big market, an attractive investment destination, rationalised and integrated resources and infrastructure. He also blamed the lack of unity and cooperation among African countries.

“Are present generations of African leaders going to repeat the mistakes of the post-independence leaders as well as those of the African chiefs whose myopia, greed and rivalry so enfeebled Africa that it was colonised by outsiders?” he questioned. –New Vision