KAIPTC Hosts Presidents Obasanjo and Koroma | Features

On Monday, 6 February 2023, the Kofi Annan Worldwide Peacekeeping Coaching Centre (KAIPTC) hosted two former Heads of State; President Obasanjo of Nigeria and President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone. They have been the Visitor Audio system at a roundtable convention on safety in West Africa, collectively hosted by the KAIPTC and the Brenthurst Basis of South Africa.

In his Welcome Handle, the Commandant of KAIPTC Maj Gen Addo Gyane, amongst others, outlined the expectations of the Centre on the finish of the roundtable convention. Additionally talking was Prof Kwesi Aning, Director, School of Tutorial Affairs and Analysis (FAAR) at KAIPTC.

Brenthurst Basis

The Brenthurst Basis is a South African think-tank established by the Oppeheimer household in 2004 to assist the Brenthurst Initiative in searching for methods to fund African growth, and organise conferences on African competitiveness. Brenthurst is a city in South Africa. Nicholas Oppenheimer is a South African billionaire, touted because the third richest man in Africa.

The West African Safety Dialogue Roundtable titled, “Assembly the African Safety Problem within the 2020s” was chaired by Dr Greg Mills, Director of the Brenthurst Basis. Members included the Nationwide Safety Adviser, CDD and different CSOs, Academia, Legon Centre for Worldwide Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD), and the Africa Centre for Strategic Research (ACSS) of the Nationwide Defence College (NDU), Washington DC, USA.

President Obasanjo

Beginning with the financial system of African international locations, Chairman of the Brenthurst Basis President Obasanjo stated “most of our leaders don’t perceive financial system/economics!” Referring to a Ghanaian politician the earlier night time focus on how Ghana bought into the present dire financial straits, President Obasanjo expressed amazement on the profligate spending by governments within the midst of poverty after acquiring debt reduction from HIPIC standing solely twenty years in the past! He shortly added that his personal nation Nigeria was in no higher state of affairs.

He lamented Ghana’s present debt of $37 billion and that of Nigeria of over $50 billion which he described as unsustainable. His conclusion on Africa’s economies was “if our chief’s don’t perceive this, then we’re doomed.”

He then spoke of African demographics and the way inhabitants development impacts the financial system. He stated about sixty years after independence, except Niger, most African counties have had their inhabitants multiply by 5 occasions. In Niger’s case nevertheless, her inhabitants had multiplied ten occasions. By 2050, Africa could have the third highest inhabitants on the earth after China and India. President Obasanjo stated such inhabitants surge might be both constructive or adverse.

Schooling, Well being and Employment

President Obasanjo continued that, if each baby in a rustic can have training, well being and employment, then inhabitants enhance might be an asset. Nevertheless, the place the talked about are rudimentary or non-existent, inhabitants enhance can be a legal responsibility. He added that no person is born a felony. It’s the surroundings or society that spawns criminality when poverty drives individuals who really feel marginalized and uncared for to the fringes.

President Obasanjo attributed the sensation of insecurity felt by nearly all of Africans to poor management and dangerous governance. Whereas an informed youth with the requisite expertise and information might be an asset, the teeming unemployed youth represent a ticking time bomb, thus an enormous legal responsibility.

He additionally talked about range. President Obasanjo stated, governments haven’t dealt with range as a truth of life properly. He acknowledged that “sameness is human, range is divine!” We should due to this fact combine and collaborate, and never stay compartmentalized in silos.

President Koroma

In his contribution, President Koroma began by asking why we have been at KAIPTC once more to debate African financial and safety points, one thing that had been carried out time with out quantity previously, at related conferences. He decried management failure in most African international locations as the primary explanation for instability. He acknowledged that, till lately,

“West Africa was the darling of democracy. Coups have been a factor of the previous however out of the blue they’re again with us. That is attributed to management failure and the absence of the democratic dividend,” he stated.

President Koroma acknowledged that, residents should due to this fact be taught to talk fact to energy to examine the excesses of governments!

Dialogue

In a submission made by a participant that, his analysis findings indicated that, African youth have been optimistic in regards to the future, the generality of opinion was on the contrary. His analysis was described as utterly educational and totally different from the fact on the bottom. What’s seen amongst the teeming unemployed youth is quite despondency and insecurity in management on the African continent.

A degree was made that, Meritocracy is a sine qua non to management, notably within the navy. This assertion, along with a submission that the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) was embarking on severe coaching and orientation and was offering providers within the north elicited fascinating responses. Whereas it was accepted that coaching and orientation have been good, a extra vital and higher requirement was the enlistment and recruitment course of. Choice primarily based on “protocol” slots for politicians, and never on advantage is doomed to failure.

It was opined that the present recruitment/enlistment course of in Ghana’s safety providers which is skewed closely within the path of household and mates of politicians, didn’t augur properly for the way forward for the GAF specifically when it comes to professionalism. The recruitment course of which isn’t primarily based on advantage however on political patronage and household and mates, if not reversed, might be a ticking time-bomb for the long run.

Abstract

In gentle of the failure of political management within the present observe of democracy because the “winner-takes-all” with all of the accompanying acrimony in a “two-horse race” between two political events, reference was made to Nana Dr SKB Asante’s doc to Ghana’s revolutionary authorities earlier than the Consultative Meeting in 1991 commenced its work. The choice to the present system was Proportional Illustration. Because the identify suggests, it eliminates/reduces bi-partisanship and promotes coalitions and subsequent inclusiveness of all events, regardless of how little proportion they might have in authorities. The CDD/political scientists have been requested why there was no training on Proportional Illustration as an possibility.

After a abstract by the School of Tutorial Affairs and Analysis, the keynote audio system Presidents Obansanjo and Koroma and the chairman for the occasion Dr Greg Mills made their remaining observations of their closing remarks.

The present state of affairs in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso the place the navy has taken over in latest time needs to be a wake-up name to African leaders, who whereas making claims to democratic governance in flamboyant speeches, preside over the impoverishment of their residents, whereas they lead corrupt and lavish life with bloated goverments!

Management, lead!

Fellow Ghanaians, WAKE UP!

Brig Gen Dan Frimpong (Rtd)

Former CEO, African Peace Help Trainers Affiliation

Nairobi, Kenya

Council Chairman

Household Well being College Faculty

 Accra

[email protected]