Gamal Nkrumah dispatches from the faultlines of contemporary pan-Africanism congregating in Sirte, Libya, against the background of global economic meltdown and high food prices "The stark contrast between the money disbursed to the world's desperately poor after 489 years of painstaking summits and negotiations and the staggering sums found virtually overnight to bail out the creators of the global economic crisis makes it impossible for governments to claim any longer that the world cannot find money to help the 50,000 people who are dying of hunger and extreme poverty every day," Salil Shetty, director of the United Nations Millennium Campaign explained on the eve of the Sirte Summit. Most of the hungry and poor reside in Africa and the UN-affiliated Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Jacques Diouf stressed that the hungry and needy "must be given tools required to boost their productivity." Similar sentiments are being asked across the African continent. The prevailing orthodoxy of the free market economy and the received wisdom of working within the confines of the colonial boundaries drawn up in 19th century Europe are fast receding. The crucial relevance of pan-Africanism has become the stimulating animus of continental African politics. The main leverage of larger nations such as India and China is their sheer scale, and Africans are now prepared as never before to catch up. This was the crucial topic of discussion at Sirte and is going to be raised again next week at the G8 summit of the wealthiest nations at L'Aquila, Italy (8-10 July) and yet again at the summit meeting between United States President Barack Obama and his African counterparts in Ghana (10-12 July). The US is obviously fed up with dealing with tiny problematic and economically non-viable statelets in Africa. Pan-Africanism, at long last, is acknowledged as the only way forward to resolve continental problems by both a majority of African leaders and by the US and other Western powers. Political concerns took precedence over economic matters at the 13th Ordinary Session of the African Union summit that was convened in the Libyan seaside city of Sirte, where the so-called "Sirte Declaration" formally launched the creation of the AU in 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity established in 1963. The leader of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Republic Muammar Gaddafi, who currently is chairman of the AU, resplendent in golden traditional African attire, delivered the keynote address at the Ouagadougou Conference Centre, Sirte which kicked off the two- day summit. Ali Abdel-Salam Treki, Libya's secretary for African affairs, and chairman of the AU Executive Council presided over the procedures. The theme of this year's summit was "Investment in Agriculture for Economic Growth and Food Security". There is a determination to break free of the shackles of yesteryear. The market economy alone is now nearly universally acknowledged as no panacea to African or global ills. Changing the colonial perceptions will mean nothing less than challenging the culture of micro-nationalism. "Let us make agriculture a viable investment option that will open more opportunities for enhanced investment and growth in African agriculture," declared Rhoda Peace Tumusime, AU commissioner for rural economy and agriculture. As with industry so with agriculture. Developing the continent's full agricultural potential can only be achieved on a continental, pan-African basis. That is just what to do. A question compounding the complexities of pan-Africanism has been to what extent the exclusion or inclusion of Arabs in the pan-Africanist agenda is acceptable. Libya's Gaddafi has emerged as a key figure in the pan- Africanist project. Beyond easy caricatures, Gaddafi has attempted to make a valid point. He might well be highly emotional and even sentimental as far as pan-Africanism is concerned; however, he is serious about the vision of a United States of Africa. Gaddafi's personal investment in the pan-African project runs deep. Whether or not the charismatic Libyan leader would have the charm to deal with an often troublesome bunch of African leaders is open to debate. It is no secret that the three most politically influential heavyweights in Africa -- South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt -- are, to put it mildly, reluctant to rush into the United States of Africa as propounded by Gaddafi. Furthermore, they see the project as essentially one of loosely federated states rather than the tighter pan-African project envisaged by Gaddafi. At Sirte 2009, Gaddafi invited delegates from the Caribbean, North America and South America, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who delivered a poignant speech in which he reminded his African listeners that Brazil contains the largest population of people of African descent outside the African continent -- some 80 million people -- more than the population of most African countries. Gaddafi also invited representatives of the traditional African rulers to Sirte to represent the African peoples by cultural identity and ethnicity rather than by nation-state or by country. This, again, was an unprecedented development that buoyed up many groups that feel marginalised and disfranchised in the context of the nation-state. Africans who have been engaged in conversations and debates with Arabs are familiar with the arguments their Arab interlocutors marshal in defence of looser economic and political integration. Moreover, many non-Arab Africans themselves believe that a softly-softly approach to African unity is ideal, given the challenges that the continent faces. The opening session of the Sirte summit was inauspicious. The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani unquestionably delivered the most concise address at the Sirte summit. He was articulate and made it crystal clear that the economic and political futures of the African and Arab worlds are inextricably intertwined. He urged closer collaboration between Arab and African leaders and he made it absolutely clear that Qatari largesse was at the disposal of African countries concerned. The Egyptian delegation to Sirte was formidable, even if it did not include President Hosni Mubarak, one of the few leaders to stay away from the Sirte summit. The high-powered Egyptian delegation to Sirte included Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit, Agriculture Minister Amin Abaza, and Irrigation Minister Mohamed Nasreddin Allam. The theme of the Sirte Summit was, after all, "Investing in Agriculture for Economic Growth and Food Security". Sheikh Hamad of Qatar spoke convincingly about common interests and concerns. The Libyan leader responded in kind, hoping that one day there would be an African-Arab Union. The Secretary-General of the Arab League Amr Moussa was somewhat more sceptical. He didn't deny the importance of African- Arab collaboration; however, he played down the practical import and application of African-Arab union. He did acknowledge that much must be done to remove the obstacles that hinder African-Arab collaboration at international forums and at a more practical level in terms of economic, cultural and political cooperation. So how can Arabs help? What is all too apparent for Africans is that Qatar is awash with petrodollars and that it is interested in African affairs. Moreover, its method of prying into African concerns is far more subtle than that of Libya under Gaddafi's leadership. The Qataris are subtle and sophisticated and the Africans highly appreciate the Qatari discretion. Muslim prayers were recited to commemorate the life of hitherto Africa's longest serving leader Al-Haj Omar Bongo who passed away last month after monopolising power in his country for 41 years. There is plenty to object to about the AU under the auspices of the maverick Libyan leader. However, the fact remains that he has a large following in Africa and among the African Diaspora abroad. This is why Gaddafi is so great, or is he? Lumbering, vulnerable, bullying, helpless is how his continental foes perceived him. However, he does have considerable political clout. He has petrodollars and he is prepared to use the cash to fulfil his own ends. It is especially fitting that the traditional rulers of Africa acknowledged Gaddafi as "King of Kings" of Africa. Yet these excesses are incidental.
