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The travails of Kofi Annan
The Secretary-General has been rightly described as the
“symbol of the ideals of the United Nations and spokesman for the
interest of the world’s peoples, in particular the poor and vulnerable
among them”. Because of the immense significance of the office to the
efforts of the UN in the maintenance of world peace and
the balancing of global interest, the position of the Secretary-General is
rotated among the geographical regions of the world. Europe has had three of them: Trygve Lie of Norway
(1946-1952); Dag Hammarskjold of Sweden (1953-1951) and Kurt Waldheim of
Austria (1972-1991). South America has had Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru who
served from 1982 to 1991. It is anticipated that North America would soon
insist on its turn. When it was
Africa’s turn, there was a near consensus on the candidacy of Salim Ahmed
Salim of Tanzania but America did not fancy him, as she perceived him to be too
independent-minded and too outspoken. The Egyptian, Boutrous Boutrous-Ghali, who
eventually got the job fell out of favour with America and was barred from
serving his second term. Because it has been the tradition for the
Secretary-General to spend two terms in office, another African, Kofi Annan was
in January 1997 appointed in his place.
Mr. Kofi Annan was to serve for only one term since
he was just a replacement for Mr. Boutous Boutrous-Ghali. But due to his
impressive and sterling performance, which he capped with the winning of the
Nobel Prize for Peace in 2001, he broke the tradition and was reappointed for
another term of five years in January 1, 2002. Mr. Annan has been described as
one of the best that the UN has had since its inception in 1945. Although many
critical members first regarded him as America’s man, none doubted his
capability, proficiency and integrity. Indeed, he did well on a job that he
himself identified as that of a cheerleader, promoter, salesman, debt collector
and father confessor.
Whereas Mr. Annan’s standing among the 191
member States is still unimpeachable, some Americans, with the clandestine
connivance of the Bush Administration, are pilling
pressure on him to resign on the grounds that they have discovered fraud in the
management of the Iraqi Oil-for-food programme under his watch. To ruin his character
and to hold him up to hatred, contempt and ridicule among other member nations,
they have aligned the allegation of fraud with the accusation that Mr. Kojo
Annan, the 31-year-old son of Mr. Kofi Annan was receiving salary from a
Swiss-based company called Cotecna that handled the certification of food
entering into Iraq under the programme. Although Mr. Kojo Annan has not been
associated with any personal wrong in dealing with the Oil-for-food programme,
the insinuation is that Cotecna got the contract to supervise and certify food
entering into Iraq under the programme because of its association with Kojo
Annan.
All the members of staff of the UN are unanimous in
their defence of Mr. Kofi Annan. They all know that he transcends such nepotistic instincts.
Just recently, they gave him a standing ovation in overt show of support for
him. As would be expected, the entire membership of the UN is solidly behind
him and avails him the necessary
encouragement to continue with his good deeds.
We consider Mr. Kofi Annan’s travails most
unfortunate and we condemn without reservation those behind his plight. We
consider it not just a disservice but also a rude affront to the entire UN
system that Mr. Kofi Annan could be so needlessly distracted at a time he is
grappling with the onerous but essential reformation of the UN. Mr. Annan has
rightly acknowledged the need to revitalise the UN in order to enable it adapt
to the ever growing needs of its members. The North-South divide, especially in
the area of development is one of
the areas that Mr. Annan
hopes his reforms will impact on favourably. Africa’s continuous
conflicts and slow development pace as well as the spread of HIV/AIDS on the
continent have also caught the attention of Mr. Annan. He has equally made a
mark in the area of peace as he has been able to use his good offices to garner
support for the many peace keeping and peace making activities under his watch.
Mr. Annan today superintends
more peacekeeping missions than any of his predecessors.
We feel more disheartened by the fact that Mr.
Annan’s woes are rooted in his principled stand over the American
invasion of Iraq. At the risk of
his office, Mr. Annan had courageously spoken the hearts of billions of people
around the globe who disapproved
of America’s
sexing up prewar reports on
the capabilities of Iraq to inflict the world with imaginary weapons of mass
destruction. As a true
internationalist, Mr. Annan sided with the world and stood up to America. From
that moment, America considered him
the next man to fall after Saddam Hussein.
We are happy that the world and the truth are on his side.
We also commend the courage of the 54 African members who are rallying round
him. America should know and be reminded that the UN is made up of equal
members and that the Secretary-General is not accountable to it. America should
look inward and fish out those that have milked the Iraqis in whatever guise.
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