| Publication |
2009.
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| Summary/Abstract |
In February, when Libya's Muammar el-
Qaddafi was elected chairman of the African
Union (AU) and praised as "king of kings," it
was evident that former South African President
Thabo Mbeki's dream of an African Renaissance
was in trouble.
Indeed, with the exit from the scene of Nigerian
President Olusegun Obasanjo and of Mbeki
himself, the continent has taken a step backward
from establishing a new generation of leaders
committed to fostering development and democracy;
tackling conflict, corruption, and dictatorship;
and building a new Africa.
In the two countries that have long held the
most potential for pan-African leadership, internal
issues have prevented such leadership from
truly developing. In Nigeria, President Umaru
Yar'Adua has been largely incapacitated by ill
health. This has stopped Africa's most populous
country-the eighth most populous in the
world-from being the active force in the continent's
affairs that it once was (though its peacekeepers
continue to hold the line in the Darfur
region of Sudan).
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