Photo | AFP Police loyal to Laurent Gbagbo face off with supporters of Alassane Ouattara during a street protest in Abidjan last month. Mr Odinga has said a power-sharing deal is out of the question in Cote d’Ivoire.
By WALTER MENYA wmenya@ke.nationmedia.com and XinhuaPosted Saturday, January 1 2011 at 21:00
In Summary
- It is hoped the PM’s bare-knuckles approach in dealing with African leaders will help resolve crisis
Prime Minister Raila Odinga is grappling with the lion’s share of the crisis in Cote d’Ivoire. He has been appointed a special envoy by the African Union to help resolve the political stalemate that has caught the world’s attention.
But, as late as Friday, Mr Laurent Gbagbo, who world leaders have said did not win the presidential vote, vowed to stay in office. In a New Year’s message to the nation, Mr Gbagbo said he would not give up power, describing calls for him to quit as “an attempted coup d’etat”.
Mr Gbagbo said no one has the right to call on foreign armies to invade his country.
“Our greatest duty to our country is to defend it from foreign attack.”
Political impasse
Cote d’Ivoire has been thrust into a political impasse since a presidential run-off on November 28, 2010. Both Mr Gbagbo and opposition leader Alassane Ouattara claimed victory, swore themselves in as president and formed their respective governments.
Mr Gbagbo was backed by the country’s Constitutional Council while Mr Ouattara has the support of the electoral commission.
A mission from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) was in Abidjan on Tuesday to ask Mr Gbagbo to cede power to Mr Ouattara. The mission, comprising the presidents of Benin, Sierra Leone and Cape Verde, has however made little headway in mediation.
Ecowas had earlier urged Mr Gbagbo to step down and vowed to use legitimate military force if he does not. Mr Odinga has said that he will give leeway to the Ecowas efforts before making any move.
Before the AU handed him the mandate, Mr Odinga had said that Mr Gbagbo must step down.
Mr Odinga’s mandate in Cote d’Ivoire is to “lead the monitoring of the situation in Cote d’Ivoire and bolster the efforts being undertaken” to end the turmoil, according to AU Commission chief Jean Ping.
His appointment will strengthen his efforts to carve out a more distinct international image as an African statesman. In his past efforts, he has often stepped on the toes of many African leaders and organisations, including the AU.
Lately, Mr Odinga has been at the forefront pushing for industrialised nations to reduce their carbon emissions as well as compensate developing countries for the damage already done through climate change.
Messages of goodwill
And during the 2006 Fifa World Cup held in Germany, Mr Odinga sent out messages of goodwill to all African teams in the tournament through advertisements before kick-off, at half-time and at the end of the matches on South Africa-based pay television Supersport.
At the time, President Kibaki had sacked him from the Cabinet about seven months earlier for opposing the 2005 draft constitution.
“By appointing Raila, the AU is sending a message that from now on they will be more proactive,” political scientist and university lecturer Adams Oloo told the Sunday Nation.
Mr Odinga, the don said, was the best messenger to deliver this message.
“After experiences in Kenya and Zimbabwe, the AU has realised that unless this trend is curtailed, it could create a situation where incumbents cling to power with the hope of forming a coalition government.”
Following the disputed 2007 presidential election results in Kenya, Mr Odinga became Prime Minister as part of a power-sharing deal with President Kibaki.
But following the disputed presidential election results, Mr Odinga adopted a bare-knuckles approach in his dealings with African leaders who want to cling to power by all means.
First on his radar was Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe. He urged world leaders to pressure Mr Mugabe to step down following the 2008 elections, labelling the regime of the Zimbabwean leader “an eyesore on the African continent”.
“Zimbabwe is … an example of how not to do it. I’m sad that so many heads of state in Africa have remained quiet when disaster is looming in Zimbabwe,” Mr Odinga said then.
The veteran Zimbabwe leader termed Mr Odinga a puppet of the West.
Eventually, Mr Mugabe and his long-term political rival Morgan Tsvangirai agreed to form a coalition, which has been shaky and dogged by unending power wrangles and intrigues.
And while the AU has been busy shielding Sudan President Omar al-Bashir from The Hague to answer charges of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, Mr Odinga has held a dissimilar opinion.
He publicly expressed disapproval of President Kibaki’s invitation of President al-Bashir for the promulgation of the new Constitution on August 27 last year in Nairobi.
Forced out
He was also the first African leader to call for Mr Gbagbo’s ouster. “Gbagbo must be forced out, even if it means by military force to get rid of him,” Mr Odinga told a press conference in Nairobi on December 17.
At this press conference, Mr Odinga also tore into the AU for the organisation’s laxity. “The AU should not be sitting and lamenting all the time,” he said.
But after he was informed of his new role on Monday, Mr Odinga took a more diplomatic stand, saying he would be neutral in the matter.
At a press conference at his rural Bondo home, he also promised to protect the embattled Cote d’Ivoire leader if he agreed to step down. He was, however, adamant that a power-sharing deal was out of the question.
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