The Sunday Mail
Danny Musukuma
As the news of Muammar Gaddafi’s capture filtered through, there was much excitement in Europe and in the Americas. Barack Obama of United States, David Cameron of Britain and other Western leaders jostled to be the first to pronounce that “justice has been done and the Libyans were now a free people”.
They patted themselves on the back and gloated at how successful the Nato operation had been.
Pictures were continuously flighted of a dead Gaddafi, mouth hanging open, face swollen and bloodied.
It was graphic, but who could challenge the mighty CNN, BBC, or France 24 as they gloried in the death of yet another stubborn, rebellious African leader.
The subtle message that was being sent out was “It’s ok to hunt down and kill if we are involved. If it’s got Nato’s backing and our signature, it’s legit.”
There was a movie made in America a couple of years ago titled “While You Were Sleeping.”
The title of that movie can aptly be applied to Africa today — a lot has happened while Africa has been sleeping.
As Africa was busy sorting out the mess left by the coloniser and working its way through poverty, disease and a skewed world economic system, the Westerners had given themselves the right to kill.
Africa slept on matters of importance.
Is it ever right to kill? Is it right to back rebels in a sovereign nation and assist them in toppling a leader?
Is it democratic? And what about the seemingly endless song of human rights sung by Western governments and NGOs?
Where were the brother leaders, human rights, on the day of 20 October 2011, when the French relentlessly attacked him and his loyalists?
Is it time that we concede to the stupidity of us Africans as a people?
When are we going to be able to separate our own discontent from the ulterior motives of Western governments?
Could Libya have successfully funded and assisted a group of rebels to topple David Cameron?
There is almost this sense of the West playing God and deciding who fits into their plans and who does not.
Those that do not, have to go — it’s that simple. The argument here is not really about whether the “Guide of the Revolution” was a good man.
No-one can be naive enough to expect a leader to be perfect. Granted, Gaddafi did some atrocious things, but he also delivered and has some outstanding statistics to his credit.
For example, under Gaddafi’s Jamahiriya “direct democracy state”, Libya’s literacy rose from 10 percent to 90 percent, life expectancy rose from 57 to 77 years and equal rights were established for women and black people, and employment opportunities were established for migrant workers.
Also, welfare systems that allowed access to free education, free healthcare and financial assistance for housing were introduced.
In addition, financial support was provided for university scholarships and employment programmes.
Gaddafi also initiated development of the Great Man-made River (GMR) in order to allow free access to fresh water across large parts of the country.
The country was developed without taking any foreign loans, and, as a result, Libya was debt-free. Did a man with these superb accomplishments deserve to die in the manner in which he did?
With such a record and a heart for developing his country, what exactly was his crime against Nato (we cannot even say against humanity as that would be a complete mistruth)?
There are other leaders that have ruled over very resource-rich countries and yet done nothing to develop these nations, only enriching themselves and their kith and kin.
Zaire (now DRC)’s Mobuto Sese Seko comes to mind. However, Gaddafi was different. He did amass a great deal of wealth for himself, which cannot be condoned, but it cannot take away from the visionary manner in which he ruled Libya.
Libya’s economy was centrally planned and followed Gaddafi’s socialist ideals.
It benefited greatly from revenues from the petroleum sector, which contributed most export earnings and 30 percent of its GDP.
These oil revenues, combined with a small population and by far Africa’s highest education index, gave Libya the highest nominal GDP per capita on the continent.
Between 2000 and 2011, Libya recorded favourable growth rates, with an estimated 10,6 percent growth of GDP in 2010, the highest of any state in Africa.
Gaddafi had promised “a home for all Libyans” and during his rule, new residential areas rose in empty Saharan regions.
Entire populations living in mud-brick caravan towns were moved into modern homes with running water, electricity, and satellite TV.
These are Gaddafi’s accomplishments just at a national level. Again the question: did he deserve to die at the hands of the Western-funded and assisted rebels?
Did he deserve to be spat on and brutalised?
Should the Western media have taken such an undisguised joyful stance in flighting those horrific pictures?
The human conscience screams no, the spirit of Ubuntu that binds all Africans is enraged. What should further cause outrage are the findings of Amnesty International in June 2011, where the organisation reported that many of the accusations against Gaddafi were either false or impossible to prove, stating openly that the rebels had seemingly lied or manufactured their so-called evidence.
For example, the number of civilians killed was greatly exaggerated and there was no proof of the so-called mass killings. The bodies could not be produced.
The report went further to state that “there is no evidence that aircraft or heavy anti-aircraft machine guns were used against crowds, and there is no evidence of African mercenaries being used”.
Amnesty International described most of the stories abounding as “myths” that led to lynchings and executions of black people by rebel forces.
The organisation went further to criticise the Western media coverage, saying that it had “from the outset presented a very one-sided view of the logic of events, portraying the protest movement as entirely peaceful and repeatedly suggesting that the regime’s security forces were unaccountably massacring unarmed demonstrators who presented no security challenge”.
If fellow Africans fail to see the wickedness in this, then may God help the continent. A whole nation was attacked on baseless and blatantly false grounds.
It should be further noted that as the West is known to do, there was a time when it had formed very close ties with Libya, as they did with Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein before they became inconvenient.
Libya-US relations flourished during the Bush administration and intelligence links from Gaddafi’s regime to the United States and the United Kingdom deepened.
The CIA began bringing alleged terrorists to Libya for torture under the “extraordinary rendition” programme.
Some of those renditioned were Gaddafi’s political enemies, including one current rebel leader in the 2011 Nato-backed war in Libya. The double-mindedness and unfairness of the West is clearly illustrated.
A rebel leader once extradited is then fully supported?
The relationship was so close that the CIA provided “talking points for Gaddafi, logistical details for [rendition] flights, and what seems to have been the bartering of Gaddafi’s opponents, some of whom had ties to Islamist groups, for his cooperation”.
In plain English, we could say that Gaddafi was used to further the imperialist regime. He was the ideal point man until he was no longer useful.
So what can Africa make of this whole mess, this tragedy that unfolded in the North while the rest of the continent said nothing.
The more the Libyan case is analysed, the more understandable is the reaction of Zimbabwe.
Harare objected to the heavy-handed and murderous response of the West by expelling Libyan diplomats who had turned against Gaddafi.
If only other African governments had taken such a stance, a united front as Gaddafi had always propagated.
Incredibly, Gaddafi financed the ANC and supported Mandela during South Africa’s apartheid era, only for that government to then turn around and back Nato.
How is it that the Europeans and Americans can stand united on foreign policy but Africa cannot?
This is nothing other than leadership failure. It is no longer even about economics. The previously held notion that Africa needs the West desperately is no longer so easily believable.
The relationship is actually one of mutual-dependence; that is why there is a scramble for Africa today, between the Asian giants and the West, all battling to have the greatest influence and investment in Africa.
Therefore, if Africa has this rich resource base, why then does it still play the underdog, being kicked around and being told to jump by the West?
Libya re-engaged the West in response to the oil sanctions that had severely impacted the country’s GDP.
Gaddafi was bullied into dismantling his weapons of mass destruction after witnessing the inglorious end to Saddam Hussein.
It is disturbing that the West always gets its way using sabotage, sanctions or force.
Will this evil cycle be broken? Is this not the right time for our social kind – the African human specie – to stand up and unite against an increasingly cruel world?
Is it not the time when the Pan-African movement must be resuscitated and strengthened and the spirit of Ubuntu resurrected.
The death of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was a blow for all progressive Africans.
To have a sovereign nation bombed by foreign powers under false pretences is an abomination and an affront to all who are working towards the complete emancipation of Africa.
That Gaddafi was hunted like an animal and brutalised before being murdered should send serious alarm bells ringing in the minds of all right-thinking Africans.
Rest in peace, Brother Leader. Your outlandish outfits, eccentricity, passion for Africa and your generous support of the revolutions on the continent will not be soon forgotten.
All Africans should work hard toward your vision of a United Africa; those that you wronged should remember the good.
We choose to focus on the good as we witness the Western agenda once again taking root on the continent.
When will they leave us alone? When will they see us as our own people with the same “human rights” as their own people?
Now that you are in the grave, we will have to seek these answers from elsewhere. And as we await the answers, we look to God and seek His help and know that He has never given other human beings the right to kill us.
Danny Musukuma is Zanu-PF’s Director of Information and Publicity. He wrote this article for The Sunday Mail.
