Blair in Africa

Every time I hear white friends who are quick to site their one black friend as evidence of their being cool with Black people, I get suspicious. When asked the question, if the speed of your count starts off at a fast pace and then really slows down as you search your mind for that token friend, well it may be that you do not have many in the first place. I am not suggesting that one has to be cool with everyone, but it would be nice sometimes to get a fresh honest answer. And by the way, not having black friends does not make one racist. There is no law that says you have to have a black friend, which is why it is a wasted emotion to feel bad about not having a friend of the melanin abundant ancestry.

Still on my suspicions, I also tend to be wary of Western leaders going to Africa. But, my mother would be appalled at my later suspicion because she taught us that it is African- and a good thing- to visit and be respectful to people. Visiting others is humble. And humility is good. So by virtue of my mother's instruction, well, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's visit to Sierra Leone, Libya, and I can't remember what other country- is a good African gesture of respect. Blair is out in Sweet Salone making final touches before he leaves office. Rumor mongering has it that the man is to be knighted. Oops, no, he is to made an honorary Paramount Chief. And I do not doubt that the event will be blessed with the holy water that flows from palm trees. I wish I was in Salone, but of course not for Blair.

So as Blair puts his final touches in Africa, I have been wondering what he will tell his children about Africa. I wonder how history will judge him on Africa. Before history is told, I am beginning to hear some cynicism about Blair's accomplishments. While I applaud the man for trying to redirect global attention to Africa, I wonder whether celebrating over the progress in Sierra Leone is immature. I know the man sent in 800 soldiers in there.

The last time I was in Sierra Leone, evidence of war covered the length and breath of the country. In Kailahun District on the eastern boarder to Guinea and Liberia, destroyed houses were all over the forests and fields. In Freetown, the population growth and destitution of people who ran away from their homes during war were a remarkable characteristic. And so when Blair talks about the progress in Sweet Salone, my mind is quick to run to my database of these memories to contrast his view of the country. But I do not want to sound like I am blaming the man for intervening in the war, it is only that I want to shed light on the other Sierra Leone that my man Blair may not see as their make him Paramount Chief. He is chief donor and so they will treat him very well.

Then there is his whole love affair with Mugabe and Zimbabwe. The British have really failed to deal with the Zimbabwean situation in a way that is worth of drinking palm wine over. They opposed Mugabe's land reform, and his involvement in the Congo where he was involved at the request of the elected government there. This is what Blair did in Sierra Leone, but of course we should not compare these two countries. One is African and one is where her majesty resides.

Did I mention the Every time I hear white friends who are quick to site their one black friend as evidence of their being cool with Black people, I get suspicious. When asked the question, if the speed of your count starts off at a fast pace and then really slows down as you search your mind for that token friend, well it may be that you do not have many in the first place. I am not suggesting that one has to be cool with everyone, but it would be nice sometimes to get a fresh honest answer. And by the way, not having black friends does not make one racist. There is no law that says you have to have a black friend, which is why it is a wasted emotion to feel bad about not having a friend of the melanin abundant ancestry.

Still on my suspicions, I also tend to be wary of Western leaders going to Africa. But, my mother would be appalled at my later suspicion because she taught us that it is African- and a good thing- to visit and be respectful to people. Visiting others is humble. And humility is good. So by virtue of my mother's instruction, well, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's visit to Sierra Leone, Libya, and I can't remember what other country- is a good African gesture of respect. Blair is out in Sweet Salone making final touches before he leaves office. Rumor mongering has it that the man is to be knighted. Oops, no, he is to made an honorary Paramount Chief. And I do not doubt that the event will be blessed with the holy water that flows from palm trees. I wish I was in Salone, but of course not for Blair.

Did I mention the African Commission that Blair and his buddies drank wine over to celebrate the new beginning in Africa? Well, whatever happened to that baby? Some people say, and I will not say who, that the commission was a big PR machine to shore up Mr Blair's image in the face of the Iraq war. But, I mean, since when do panels solve problems? May be the conception of the whole thing was off base. How are you going to put a panel of just a few guys to solve Africa's problems at coffee tables in London? The panel had the likes of Meles Zenawi who are killing the Oromo people- their own people. I do not care whatever reason they give.

Personally, I am fed up about these commissions after commission seeking to solve Africa's problems. They always spend large sums of money doing studies and seating around tables telling each other how smart they are. The outcome? Well you guessed it, nothing except announcements that the solutions to the problems are in the pipeline. Speaking of pipelines, I just found out that part of the reason why oil has been going up is because the disturbances in Nigeria are affecting supply. Militants are blowing up pipelines and kidnapping oil workers. You know why? Rumor mongering has it that they have been told that development plans to share oil wealth are in the pipeline. So they are blowing up pipelines to retrieve the plans. Is that not amazing?