|
Written by
Richard
Bagudu
, an attorney licensed in
New York
as well as an investigative journalist, this book gives us an interesting study of the difficulties faced by
Annan
as he managed the affairs of the UN during the last decade of the last century and during the first six years of this millennium.
Bagudu
who served as an editor-in-chief of the Lawyer Digest, a law school journal for the
Bendel
State
University
,
Ekpama
,
Nigeria
is someone who has strong interest in the life and times of Kofi Annan. Not only did he paid for a trip to Ghana to investigate the biography of the famous Ghanaian diplomat but he also brought to our attention a number of valuable facts on Kofi Annan’s biographical fragments. This is particularly relevant because of the challenges facing Annan and the bitterness of his political foes in the
United States
and elsewhere in the West.
Richard
Bagudu
’s two hundred and seventy-four page book is written with great determination to tell it like it is for the sake of dispelling the lies against Annan not because of his individual deficiencies but because of his race. Like the widely celebrated African-American scholars known to history as the race men in the pre- Civil Rights Days, he too feels that the record about Annan should be protected and defended because the lies and propaganda of the Negrophobes tarnished it out of bigotry. Apparently, the writings and the talk shows narratives of the Right wing forces in the
U.S.
contributed to his decision to check the facts and write the book for posterity.
In order for us to appreciate this effort of
Bagudu
, let us first of all describe the outline of his book by telling you that the work is divided into seven chapters with appendices and index. With an Introduction chapter of ten pages we learned about the circumstances that provoked him to undertake the study. He identified how the likes of
Rush
Limbaugh
, the talk show host for the extreme right groups of the
U.S.
went overboard in their campaign against Annan. Instead of judging him by his intellect and character, they judged him by his skin color and the inherited prejudices against blacks in their American history.
The first chapter introduces us to the family story of Kofi Annan, revealing the fact that he was born on a
Friday, April 8, 1938
to
Henry
and
Victoria
Annan
. The child of a Fante mother and a father who was part
Asante
and part Fante, Annan received the name Kofi and his sister became Efua according to
Asante
tradition. This elder sister who came first in this life when they were born would leave earlier for the next life in 1991 when Annan was shouldering some awesome UN responsibilities because of the Gulf War. In exploring the biographical fragments he secured during his trip to Ghana and in synthesizing the available materials from elsewhere, Richard Bagudu shed some light on how Kofi Annan went abroad in search of the academic golden fleece and how a set of historical circumstances came together to define his fields of education, his choice of spouses, and his marriage life with Titi Alakija, a Nigerian bride from a wealthy and influential family and the offspring that came out of that original marriage. Bagudu reminds us that Annan’s sons, Ama and Kofi, were more Nigerian than Ghanaian because most of their days were spent in
Nigeria
, especially after their parent’s marriage lasted for only fifteen years. His narrative on the marriage life of Annan speaks of his second marriage to a Scandinavian divorcée by the name of
Nane
Maria
Langergren
. This partner of Annan would become his wife of choice and fame and his rise to the post of Secretary-General corresponded with this segment of his life.
Bagudu also informed us about the historical and cultural underpinnings that affected the course of Annan’s life and history.
Ghana
was a British colony and the train of events which took place put him in a world where the eruptions of the Second World War and the conditions it created changed the destiny of humankind. Not only was Annan affected by British colonial history in Ghana, but his life since the 1930’s has continued to witness the folly and wisdom of international decision-making in his younger days in school and colleges and in his privileged position as UN diplomat and activist.
What is fascinating about this narrative about Kofi Annan is the sense of support showed by the author and the willingness to tell the truth as he saw it in the description of events leading to his appointment as UN Secretary General. In his view, the factors that came together to facilitate his assumption of the position are largely due to American political dissatisfaction with the leadership and decisions of Boutros-Ghali of
Egypt
. Bent on changing the administrative and political operations of the UN secretariat and having lamented for too long the manner in which funds have been utilized over the years, the US Congress under very conservative Republican leadership found it imperative to put the UN feet to the fire. As a result, Boutros-Ghali became the victim of
U.S.
maneuverings and political extermination. It was under these conditions, and according to Bagudu, with Annan’s pliability to American courting, that open the door for him. Hence the threat of
U.S.
veto at the Security Council when the Ghali case was universally supported by Africans and others around the world but condemned and rejected by the
U.S.
In tracing the final stages of Annan’s rise to the top, Bagudu tells us about all the posts he held under Boutros-Ghali and the circumstances that led to the transition from one post to the next.
In connecting the narrative together, Bagudu develops a whole chapter to the history of the
League of Nations
. Drawing heavily on the much established literature on this early attempt at keeping the peace worldwide after the end of the First World War, our Nigerian colleague praises the work of President Woodrow Wilson and his partners who strove to build a new world order for the promotion and protection of democracy and self-determination. As we all know, this Wilsonian dream never materialized. It faltered and failed on the sands of time. America was kept our of the League and the political difficulties of Europe would once again hit the world like a gigantic flood and in the end the whole of humankind was almost drown by this global Tsunami.
In his reconstruction of the forces and factors responsible for the collapse of the League of Nations and the need to create an alternative paradigm and political order, Bagudu brought the name of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as a central figure in the whole exercise. Working with allies of the Second World War, the
U.S.
leadership decided this time around to engage and not to isolate their country from the rest of the world. This dramatic and powerful action would change the course of history. Not only did
America
take the lead but it provided the headquarters for the new organization.
New York City
became the permanent host of this new body and for more than fifty years humankind has deliberated and argued from this land where the Stature of Liberty signals from her majestic height and
Kennedy
Airport
serves as the greatest airport to welcome and cheer politicians and diplomats from around the world.
Bagudu’s chapter 2 not only covers the story of the
League of Nations
and the United Nations, he also discusses quite well the different provisions in these international legal documents as they relate to peace and international security. With his legal training and background one gets the impression that in his deliberate attempt to defend and protect Kofi Annan from the malicious charges of his political foes within the U.S. and beyond, Bagudu finds it helpful to inject in his narratives circumstances, statements, and precedent-setting actions of former UN secretaries including Kofi Annan in the pursuit of their role as leaders in diplomacy and governance of international affairs. A case in point, are the steps Annan took to convince the late
Saddam
Hussein
to allow UN experts to inspect all places including his palaces.
In his attempt to explain the circumstances that led Kofi Annan to the heart of the Rwandan Crisis, Bagudu devotes the whole of chapter three to this task. Here he gives us a long but detailed account of the history of the Batwa, the Tutsi and the Hutu. He reminds us about the colonial and post colonial mistreatment of the Batwa and the Hutus by the colonizing Belgians who systematically introduced the ethnic division in the country by creating the myth that the Tutsi are superior to the others because of their alleged Caucasian descent. Real or imagined, this Belgian propaganda was eaten up by the Tutsi intellectuals and their rural clients. As a result deep hatred developed between the groups. Bagudu traces the root cause of the interethnic conflict between Hutus and Tutsis in 1911 when a Hutu uprising erupted because of the sense of vilification and humiliation perpetrated by the colonial Belgians.
Not only does Bagudu shed ample light on the historical relationship between these three groups in Rwandese history, but he makes the point that the Holocaust in
Rwanda
was not necessarily caused by the UN Secretary-General’s failure to respond forcefully and effectively to the cable of
General
Dallaire
. In his view, the place given to this cable was based on distortion. Contrary to the widely circulated notion that the UN (Boutros- Ghali and his associates including Kofi Annan failed to meet the challenges of the day, Bagudu contends that the cause of failure rested elsewhere. He blames the external powers who have vested interest in
Africa
and use the divide and rule strategy to woo and win their support.
In his narrative
Richard
Bagudu
has shown that neither Kofi Annan or his former boss Butros-Ghali, were directly responsible for the Holocause against the Tutsis, the Batwa and some of the Hutus. Writing as lawyer, one sees in his line of thinking and arguments the feeling that Bagudu has developed strong feeling of resentment towards the accumulated media statements about this particular event in
Africa
. Convinced that those who opposed Kofi Annan have done so because of anti-black hostility or outright Negrophobia, Bagudu ends his discussion of the Rwandese crisis by blaming the invisible parties whose presence in preventing catastrophe would have made a big difference.
In defending Kofi Annan from the charges against him with respect to
Iraq
, Bagudu devotes thirty-eight pages to the full discussion of the issues in this particular case. In his assessment of the report, he believes that much of what we have learned through the media were not facts beyond reasonable doubt. There were a lot of posturing and some of the allegations made against the UN Secretary-General had no legs to stand on. In many cases, the fact that certain individuals trusted with UN funds proved to be otherwise and their actions made the life of the Secretary-General and his immediate associates difficult. Bagudu uses his familiarity with the law and his deep enquiry into the conditions and circumstances that complicated the
Iraq
situation for the UN to arrive at certain conclusions about Kofi Annan and the oil-for-food program. The two points that would continue to be argued and debated is the role and place of the United States, France and Britain in the uncovering and exposing of the Saddam oil for food trickery and the manner in which their knowledge of things going wrong and their desire to get things done property within the framework of the UN. The second point would be the manner in which students of the Un would eventually be able to document fully and convincingly the activities of the 661 committee of the UN and the degree of influence of Kofi Annan in these debates.
In his second to last chapters of his book, Bagudu talks about “Balancing the Scale.” He contends that since he focuses only on two issues, the oil for food program and the Rwandese situation, it would be unfair to make conclusions about Kofi Annan. He mentions the UN Reform agenda, the war against poverty and diseases, the Global Compact, the Millennium Development Goals Initiative, creative diplomacy, and promotion of fundamental human rights.
With respect to Annan’s reform proposals, Bagudu claims that the Ghanain UN diplomat shared many things in common with the
U.S.
but he also has ideas for reforms that were clearly different from the
U.S.
This attitude of his would be a boon or a bane depending on the types of people listening to his views of the world and the commitment of Africans sympatric to his dreams. Not only did his acceptance speak reaffirmed his belief in a better United Nations, but he also wishes better times for the organization with respect to a host of things that frustrate the leader and his young people.
In studying and understanding the different areas identified, One should say that Bagudu has helped us understand the challenges facing the Secretary-General and the staff. He has also brought to our attentions some of the psychological problems that stand in the way of UN leaders and the common people in the world. As a part of his Reform Policy, Annan is reported as saying that life with dignity is suspect.
Finally, Bagudu names the second to the last chapter, “Judging Annan.” Here the author identifies a number of things said or written about Kofi Annan. Applying his legal skills in engaging a stream of data and then try to pick up the most relevant factors for good use at court, he reaffirmed the opinions of many people who saw Kofi as a valuable symbol for
Ghana
,
Africa
and the world. Not only has his legal training and careful assessment help us appreciate Kofi Annan, but he takes us back to the issue of race and jealousies among humanity’s groups. Setting up a set of four categories of opinion about Kofi Annan, he let some white people to evaluate the man. Responding to all of these sets of opinions on and attitudes towards Kofi Annan, he demolishes their contention and reaffirms the power and strength of his personality and the nature of his character.
The final chapter offers a set of conclusions about Kofi Annan. Bagudu sees a parallel between Kofi and
Dag
Hammarskjold
. Both men worked hard to promote peace and in their role as mediator they operated as general of an army for peace.
Hammarskjold
’s activism in the
Congo
and his resistance to the
Soviet Union
over there could have destroyed him. But he persisted. Kofi Annan was believed by some to be an American boy, but such fantasies melted away as the storm of African realities and
Middle East
desert winds assaulted Kofi on his road to
Damascus
. Like
Paul
he woke up and dealt with the realities of his day. He became the winner of a Noble Peace Prize and earned the title of a secular power. In the eyes of Bagudu, Kofi Annan is an African who has made history and neither race nor any other factor could alter his image and stature. As he puts it, “If Annan gets the benefits of all these, despite the manifestations of his human weaknesses, Annan will be revered as one who moved the UN at least one step closer to its desired mark….”
Eucharia
Mbachu
Voiceofwomenandchildren.org
|
RSS Feeds | Podcasts
Posted by Robot| 28.08.2007 16:55