Tonight, many Kenyans and many more Africans will be glued to their national public broadcaster to listen to three distinguished sons of the soil battle it out in an unprecedented debate from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
Exactly at 7.00 pm the three Rt. Hon Raila Odinga Kenya’s former Prime Minister with Madagascar’s Foreign Affairs Minister James Randriamandrato as a well as Djibouti’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mahamoud Ali Yousouf will took to the podium to field questions for African Presidents to determine who among them is best fitted to succeed Chad’s Moussa Faki Mahamat as the new Chairperson of the Africa Union Commission.
Among them, Hon Raila stands tall having been a Chief Executive of a country in a 50-50 power sharing with former President Mwai Kibaki between 2008 and 2012.
During this time, he not only brought peace at the time the country was at a precipice almost sinking in a bloody civil war brought about by a stolen election that was openly in his favour. He settled for less for the sake of peace for his country. He has repeated the fete in a handshake arrangement with former President Uhuru Kenyatta and currently accepted his party Orange Democratic Party to from a broad-based government with President Dr. William Samoei Ruto. One of the qualities being tested tonight is a peace maker and a peace builder.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s service at the AUC as a High Commissioner for Infrastructure provided him a crucial opportunity to work and know the workings of the AUC and at the same time accorded him an opportunity to help develop the AU infrastructure policy and help in figuring out better transport and energy development for Africa important for Africa Free Continental Trade Area (Aftca).
Importantly it helped Hon. Raila get to engage with the current continental leadership, making him a household name among the voters who will decide his fate in February next year.
His Pan Africanist agenda is well known in the entire Globe and fits him well with the objective of making the Continent respected and listened to among World leaders. Rt. Honorable Raila’s role in bringing peace in Ivory Coast and in Democratic Republic of Congo and other countries endeared him to the people of the continent and its leadership across the board.
Reflecting, six years ago, why Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Minister Amina Mohammed failed to make it for Africa’s top position, it is imperative that Morocco played a crucial role in de-campaigning Amina on the floor of voting then.
Last week Hon. Raila made a last minute but calculated engagement with Moroccan leadership when he met the Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, completing the meetings with a Press Conference in Rabat.
Morocco’s Shahrawi question is a delicate balancing act but one that Raila has addressed recognizing Morocco’s right to the region, joining leaders such as America who have established a Consulate at Dakhla city.
Whilst the two opponents are fluent in French, one of the crucial official languages of the AU, Hon Raila has Kiswahili to boast of as an official language that two are fatally deficient of. It is a quad pro quo, under this circumstance.
No doubt, Raila’s ten-point agenda will endear him to the people of the content and her leaders especially when he espouses them in the two-hour debate at the AU headquarters.
· Champion sustainable and equitable economic growth
· Encourage intra-African trade
· Advocate for open skies, Visa policy harmonization and infrastructure development
· Rally member states and engage the private sector to finance AUs priorities in efforts to steer Africa towards economic independence
· Promote Gender equality and equity
· Push for agricultural transformation, climate action,
· Promote continental integration and peace and security.
· He says that the path to sustainable peace is to address the root cause of instability and promote functional institutions.
George Onyango is a veteran journalist and an Economist
