Commentariat Index - 050508

FROM THE AFRICAN PRESS:

Justice Malala (The Times, Jo'burg): Wake them up before you go-go

"This is a great country. It is great that journalists like me practise without fear. We raise our voices high and loud. We are ignored by power, but we are free.
What do we now need to make this country better? We need a leadership that peels off sentiment and begins to lead with purpose and resolve. We need a leadership that must pick a course and stay with it."

Mahmud Jega (Daily Trust, Abuja): Too many Cooks...

"Although there have been many spectacular probes at Federal, state and even local levels in Nigeria in the last 50 years, most of the reports ended up gathering dust on shelves in bureaucratic offices. In Nigeria here, thousands of people who were indicted by probe panels over the years are still walking the streets as free men and women; more than that, many of them ended up in even higher positions of authority, often through the instrumentality of "ill-gotten wealth," to use General Murtala Mohamed’s favourite phrase."

Edward Mulindwa (Daily Monitor, Kampala): Opposition Politics in Africa

"If Africa as a continent has to become “democratic” as per the West’s dictates, this policy must be across the board! Looking at the recent Zimbabwe’s elections, the West is not concerned about democracy in Zimbabwe at all.
All they want is to show Mugabe that what he did in 2000 about the land reforms did not please them and so, they want to have a Morgan Tsvangirai to right the wrongs. Democracy in the image of the West is good for Zimbabweans, but not for Ugandans, Gabonese, Egyptians or Libyans!"

Ebrahim Harvey (Mail & Guardian): What is the 'black struggle' really about?

"Mngxitama says 70 000 black children die before they reach the age of five. He implies that is purely because of continuing white racism. But it is, rather, the result of a much more complex story of deracialised neo-liberalism since 1994, which has produced Motsepes alongside gruelling black mass poverty"

Sam Omatseye (The Nation, Lagos): Comedy of Fear

"Laughter is closer to the darkness of our civilization than we may imagine.
"The difference between tragedy and comedy," remarks Aaron Allstoy, "tragedy is something awful happening to somebody else, while comedy is something awful happening to somebody else." Spot the difference."