Speech of United Nations Under-Secretary-General Olara A. Otunnu

Delivered at the 4th African Development Forum in Addis Ababa,
12^th October 2004.

Never before have I seen a UN session come to life in such a joyful and dramatic way as today!

Let me first make clear what we are not discussing:

We are discussing the role of traditional leadership, but more than that: the structures and normative orders from centuries of African history.

We are therefore not discussing the chiefs that were crafted onto the African societies by the colonial order.

And let me make clear: we are talking about both centralized state structures, kingdoms and empires, but also more horizontally organized structures. We recognize that there are particularities that vary from one part of Africa to another.

Nevertheless, there are enough principles that make it possible for us to generalize and discuss about the challenges ahead. And we are not here to either romanticize that which was centuries old and still exists today or to discuss the caricature of those structures.

Whether we are talking about the ancient or the modern roots we have to be vigilant and critical, distinguishing between that which is good and useful today and that which is retrogressive and needs to be discarded.

And that is the process in which we are involved today. And we are not being asked to choose between the modern postcolonial state and the centuries-old structures that the royal majesties preside over.

The fact is that most of Africa rests on the two pillars at the same time. And the challenge is how to integrate, harmonize and make compatible the two pillars.

Whether legitimacy comes from elections or other sources of power, we can learn the lessons of accountability, checks and balances.

It is interesting to know that traditional kings were really absolute leaders. They were leaders who were accountable and could be deposed when they did not keep faith with the legitimacy their people gave them.

And then there is the issue of consultation with the people, of working to build consensus instead of riding rough shot over the people. Again, I think all of us and certainly the modern state leaders can learn from that example of traditional structures.

Africa is hit today by conflicts of various kinds, low-intensity as well as full-scale all-destructive wars. And therefore the preoccupation of traditional Africa with conflict resolution and how to keep the peace is an important lesson from which we can learn.

And their royal majesties posed the question: to whom is the leader true, whom does the leader face, which is the first loyalty of the African leader?

Is it the views of the people and their own sense of performance that matter or is it other sources of pressure and power?

And I am struck by the question of the proximity of the leaders to their people. I mean physical proximity, but also emotional and cultural proximity, because part of our tragedy is the alienation between the leaders and the led.

And I was struck by the stress that was put on the issue of equity and fairness - as between communities. If we are talking about development, let no African be left behind. Let no community in our countries be left behind. Let no individual feel completely outside. So equity and fairness are a lesson we can learn from traditional African structures.

And may I say also that part of the reason why we are having this discussion is not just that the structures are there - that is a reality - but the fact that the modern state is not evenly spread within our communities. In some areas it is thin, in some even absent.

And of course we have to be honest in saying that the experience of failure and betrayal in the postcolonial state is part of the reason why people are beginning to look increasingly to the traditional legitimacy and traditional sources of governance.

So we have a work to do to bridge this gap.

I would like to address myself to their royal majesties:

Africa is facing many challenges but I believe that two are existential challenges at this particular era of African history:

One is the dramatic, incredible incidence of self-destructive wars in Africa.

And the other is the incidence of HIV/AIDS.

These two phenomena, among others, are simply consuming the African societies. And we need the role of traditional leadership and structures because they offer a lot and the modern can learn from that.

I remember that the declaration of wars in traditional African societies was not a light affair. We can learn from that.

You have to have a deep-rooted, good reason to go to war. We can learn from that.

Once war broke out and the combat was going on, you did not kill children, women and the elderly, and smash stores and crops, because these were taboos which put a curse on your society. We can learn from that.

And, there were warriors and there were those who were protected. But today you see that little kids, children who are eight, nine or ten years old, who have not yet become warriors, who have not been initiated, who have not been trained, are pressed into war and destroyed.

We can learn from the African distinction between warriors and those who are not warriors, from the initiation of warriors, and from the process of burying the hatchet and from a rich tradition of how neighboring societies after war knew they would have to live with each other.

We have to learn from the past tradition of making peace and ensuring that the past is buried.

And on HIV/AIDS, your royal majesties:

If there is one area, in which your moral authority, your voice, can add so much and save so many people, it must be in the struggle against HIV/AIDS.

And so I am very proud to hear from the example of Otumfuo in Ghana.

Finally, there are challenges that go both ways:

The anciently rooted structures and leaders have to learn to modernize, to be flexible, to respond to today's challenges of development, of fighting poverty, HIV/AIDS, corruption and so on.

And the modern state must draw from the deep well and must learn from some of the examples we heard.

Africa cannot move forward without its history, its memory and its culture, which is the richness of our continent.

Japan and Korea, for example are modern states. And yet they are so deeply rooted in their culture. They realize their strength and draw their discipline and will to move forward from their tradition.

We should do the same and merge the modern and traditional structures of society.

Africa cannot walk on one leg.

Africa needs both legs to move forward.