E. Ablorh-Odjidja (pubhisher, ghana.com)
There was a presidential election in Cote d’Ivoire in December 2010, as required by the peace agreement after the civil war of 2002/2003. The arrangement allowed the then incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo to stretch his hold on power.
He has been in power for ten years and just lost the 2010 presidential election to his rival, Mr. Alassane Ouattara.
Mr. Laurent Gbagbo, however, refuses to leave office, citing a supposed vote rigging by his rival in the northern half of the country as his reason.
The UN has declared Gbagbo the loser after the vote count. Major European countries have backed the UN’s decision.
ECOWAS, the West African regional economic group, has given the nod to Gbagbo’s rival Ouattara as the winner and president elect.
At a meeting held in Abuja on December 7, ECOWAS members went a step further to suspend Cote d’Ivoire from the group because of Gbagbo’s refusal to step down.
The United States and the European Union are considering other sanctions should Gbagbo continue his grip on the presidency.
So far, the situation looks ominous with Mr. Gbagbo’s refusal to back down. Not surprising, he is being encouraged by none other than Russia, the old nemesis of the West in the cold war days.
The BBC quotes diplomats who say “Russia is blocking a Security Council statement endorsing Ivory Coast opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara as president” because Russia claims the UN has no mandate on the issue, notwithstanding the fact that the Russians are aware of the peace agreement that gave the UN the right to supervise affairs in the Ivory Coast election.
Gbagbo knows that Russia’s stance at the UN can easily re-ignite the Ivorian conflict. With America supporting President-elect Ouattara, chances are that the West African region may erupt into a super-power rivalry that will be costly. But because of personal ambition, Gbagbo is blind to this possible outcome.
Why Russia doesn’t understand the UN position on the matter should not be a mystery. Rather, it should be understood as a classy case of mischief making at the expense of the Cote d’Ivoire and West Africa.
This same Russia that hamstrung the US in the UN on matters leading to the Iraq war is at it again; this time, in another part of the world; all in the name of ideological and super-power struggle.
So the Civil War, as part of Cote d’Ivoire’s history, may rear its ugly head again. But not to blame the Russians, there is no reason why they should love Africa, much less Cote d’Ivoire.
The blame must go to Gbagbo who should know better to help the Cote d’Ivoire come out of this chaotic situation.
For the Russians this much can be said: the messier the situations in Cote d’Ivoire, the better the chances are to turn her into a client state.
But the same cannot be said for ex- President Laurent Gbagbo, a citizen of Cote d’Ivoire and the man with the insatiable ambition.
Ten years in office as president is a lot for most, except leaders in the Third World. And given the odds, the remainder of Gbagbo’s Ivorian generation, within that same time frame, can never constitutionally arise to the presidency because he is in power.
How does one account for the loss of potential leaders if one were to allow an incompetent like Gbagbo to straddle his rule to two or more generations?
Amazing and cruel as it is, the above is lost on Gbagbo. For his personal ambition, the whole of Cote d’Ivoire and generations of citizens after him may likely come to ruin.
Instead of looking at the looming danger ahead, Gbagbo has insolently named himself the president of Cote d’Ivoire even though he lost the 2010 election.
Greed and selfishness is what is killing Africa. We also lack the ability to for give,especially the politicians. After ten years in power Gbagbo is not satisfy. He wants to break the records of the Mugabis, the Mubaracks, the Nyademas and so on. but there is the saying that it is the good things of others that is worthy copying. Why wont he follow the shining examples of leaders like Mandela, Nyerere, Rawlings, Kufour and so on.
Mr. Gbagbo also think it is time for revenge for the encounters he had with Allassane when he was a prime minister. Also tribal discrimination plays a role where Gbagbo and his south think they are the ones that help God in creating the land of La Cote D’Ivoire. Sometimes I feel the curse of God is on us as Africans. We endowed with abundant natural resources yet we do not enjoy because of bad leadership. In country where their fore bearers are able to build small some people of no ambition came from no where to destroy it. An example is Ivory Coast. God save Ivory Coast, God save Africa.
I am disappointed when Africans deceive fellow Africans in support of these western powers. I am surprised that you wrote this much and you did not make mention of reports of massive irregularities stated in the reports of non UN, non french and non Anglo-saxon election observers.
When they support a fraudulent Quattara’s election, they would turn blind eye at irregularities in Northen regions of Ivory coast; they would even hire helicopters to take dead bodies of Gbagbo’s supporters killed by Allasan’s Rebels to be buried far in the gungle.
Laurent Gbagbo is actually the one preventing genocide from happening in Ivory Coast…just let him step aside and see whether one of these military Generals will not take over and declare war on Quattara.
Obama came to Africa sometime ago and didnt deem it fit to visit Nigeria, but this same Obama is now calling inexperienced Jonathan to talk to him on Ivory coast issue, such a shame. Why couldnt he call Mills, whom he visited when he came to Africa? bcos Mills knows his Onions, cannot easily be deceived like Jonathan…Mills is a Proffessor of Law from the US, had been Vice of Rawlings(who put Ghana back on the part to prosperity and good governance), for years and knows the real story behind the crisis.
Jonathan on the other hand is a PHD holder in Zoology, was the deputy Governor of Alams in Bayelsa State in Nigeria…Alams was convicted for looting and high level corruption…
What is the fear of US, UN,France etc that is making them unwilling to accept a simple recount of the vote? Why cant they allow all the evidences presented by Gbagbo to be tabled and analysed? Why was the general strike called by Quattara not heeded by workers? Why did Mills state that ‘It is not for Ghana to choose a leader for Ivory coast, despite the pressure from left right and centre?
FRANCE YOU DESTROYED HAITI BY MAKING THEM PAY UNJUSTIFIABLE DEBT BACK FOR OVER A CENTURY, LEAVE AFRICA ALONE….
You cant actually blame Hitler afterall; for me the injustice being meted out to Ivorians, Laurent Gbagbo and Africans by US and France seems to be far more than what Adolf Hitler meted out on the Entire world. Sarkozy,Obama, Campaore, Cameron etc if you do not want to be judged, leave Ivory Coast alone…God bless you
you said so much about the international community backing up their protege Allassane.
But what about the Ivorian people view on it.?
If the majority of the people are for alassane why then nobody follows his call for civil disobedience?
Why the whole Army is still backing Gbagbo without any defects?
The whole country is back at work under the threat of the president of the golf republic numerous speeches.
Is that the behavioural pattern of a people that chose a leader, surely riot would have broke out in cote d’ ivoire.
The truth is alassane is the candidate of the international community under spell by the french and Gbagbo has the people of cote d’ ivoire behind him.
what matters is the people and the people have spoken. try and remove him and you shall be surprise to see a pool of people behind him to fight back.
surely, another ugly part of our people. Mugabes escapes with it, Kibali espaces with it, and this man is repeating it. When will our leaders learn that enough is enough. The African union and ecowas should speak out forcefully. We don’t need the west to solve this problem for us