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Poetic Justice in Gaddafi’s Libya: When The Hunter Becomes The Hunted

Gaddafi the hunter is hunted

The Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi is perhaps facing the strongest opposition to his 42-year rule in the oil-rich North African country. It may be further apt to include the fact that Col. Muammar Gaddafi is at the moment engaged in the “battle of his life”. For him it looks like a “make or mar” war, that is, he either earns victory or vanquishes.

Listening to Gaddafi’s rhetoric and theatrics since the unrest started in his country has been both funny and grim at the same time. His actions and statements have continued to define him as someone who is not only mercurial but maverick. That Ghaddafi would make a good actor whenever he finally decides to leave his present job may not be completely out of order. Since the crises started he has been reported to have said amongst several other things that he could not understand what Libyans were protesting for, because as he claims, he is one of them. He also said that protesting Libyans were suffering from drug-induced hallucinations. He even went a step further by threatening to blow up oil facilities and installations in his country. Some reports have also credited him with calling his supporters to deal with the “cockroaches” [those opposed to him] in a move that is akin to inciting genocide.

This is the quintessential Ghaddafi and his outbursts seem to represent the last stage[s] of the theatrics he has treated the world to since he stepped into the world stage in 1969. However, the Ghaddafi mystique continues to represent different things to different people across the globe that has resulted into those who are passionately “for” or “against” him.

His 42-year rule in Libya presents different scenarios to different people. Historians may need to wait for some time before an objective assessment of his place in history can be decided. It is noteworthy that it was Muammar Ghaddafi that prescribed the balkanization of Nigeria along ethnic and religious lines as the only panacea to her myriad of problems, but alas, what do we make of it as today, though Nigeria is still “wobbling” and “fumbling” it still has a functional government that exercises suzerainty over her territorial space. While Gaddafi struggles to assert his slipping authority in an already balkanized and polarized Libya, protesters and the opposition have completely over ran the eastern part of Libya and are just within miles of Tripoli the Libyan capital.

Is this a case of the hunter becoming the hunted or simply poetic justice?

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Between Muammar El-Gaddafi and the African Union

MUAMMAR EL-GADDAFI AND

Tales coming out of Libya, a country that has been under the leadership of one-man rule for the 42 years are those of anger, frustration, popular uprising and death. The world has been lured to believe that all is well with the Libya’s economy, but recent occurrences have shown the opposite. Gaddafi has been anti West since he came into power and established his Jamariya government in 1969. He has waged wars on several fronts with the West. He is an ardent advocate for one Africa, where all autonomous nations would lose their sovereignty for a united African state.

The early years of the last decade was spent by Muammar Gaddafi in touring many African countries canvassing for support of African Heads of state and Presidents for a United States of Africa. Reports had it that he single-handedly contributed US$1million to fund the formation of the African Union (AU) to replace the Organization of African Unity (OAU) founded in 1963. He wanted to be the leader of a body that would be the equal of the United States of America (USA), where he will wield unlimited powers above other countries.

Nonetheless, Gaddafi’s dream for a Pan-African body, just like Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, came to fruition. However, his personal ambition for a stronger union and weaker nation-states was dashed as Nigeria and South Africa opted for what some writers have referred to as ‘gradual incrementalism’( a situation whereby sovereign nations were allowed on their own to be integrated into the regional body but still retain their nationhood). This singular move clipped his ‘wings’ and tamed his fulsome ambition. They did this because he was never to be trusted.

Meanwhile, considering the manner he has conducted himself recently, does it show any sign of a leader who has his people at heart? He referred to the citizens as cockroaches, people under the influence of drugs and that he would fight streets to streets to live and die in Libya. What kind of leader is he; killing the same people he is now violently fighting to defend and protect? Ghaddafi should be told that patriotism is not by force.

Sordid enough, the leadership of the African Union has not yet led a high-power delegation to Libya to neither stop Ghaddafi nor condemn his scorch-to earth massacre using paid snipers. It is still unclear if he has some of these African leaders supporting him underground, because many of them are like him. Even the manner in which they are responding to the evacuation of their citizenry has left much to be desired. African leaders who are Ghaddafi-copies, who have made life miserable for their people over the years, should expect the Tunisia, Egypt and Libya-type of change soon.

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