Armistice Day

Armistice Day: time to say yes to peace and cooperation in Europe. Including with Russia, of course. Partnerships between nations, starting with the economic partnership, are the foundation for a sustainable and prosperous future for all. Confrontation and prejudice can only bring us back to the old demons of the past. 

Nigeria is being destroyed as a result of many years of corrupted practices

A large number of school children were killed today in North-east Nigeria by a suicide bomber. It was another tragedy in a country that is a key target for extremists.

I feel very sorry for the people of Nigeria. But not just because of the mass killings. Also because the widespread insecurity is the tip of a huge iceberg, made of large-scale corruption. Plenty of money has been spent on the armed forces and the police and these institutions are as weak as the rest of the public services. A good chunk of the resources was wasted and misappropriated.

 Institutions have just become facades, nothing else. That´s why Nigeria, which has a very big military establishment, cannot deal with Boko Haram. If one takes into account that Boko Haram and the extremists are just a bunch of unsophisticated terrorists one realises better the measure of the inefficiency that has resulted from many years of corrupted practices at very high levels of authority. 

From the Berlin Wall to the APEC Summit

As our part of Europe celebrates the fall of the Berlin Wall against a background of deepening tension between East and West, 21 leaders on the other side of the globe, in Beijing, meet in the framework of APEC, the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum. Their background is also marred by a very high level of tension in that part of the world. In both cases, prudence and wisdom are the key requirements leaders should meet. Here and there, it would be a mistake to ignore the risks resulting from old misrepresentations and new rivalries.

These are the two regions of the world where any conflict could easily become a cataclysm. Things would get out of hand and the consequences would be unimaginable. It is therefore important to appeal for cooperation as the way forward. Blind competition and shows of strength are no way to resolve the issues of today. The leaders need to be so reminded. 

The leader provides the answers

When everyone has access to all types of sources of information and when opinions are shaped in seconds, through headlines, sound bites and quick-passing images, it becomes very difficult to be an accepted political leader. One has to be very clear about the kind of persona one wants to project, taking into account the support basis one aims to build. It is a never ending effort. The political leader is always in the public eye and cannot let his or her attention relax. It is also exhausting. That´s probably the reason why leaders come and go so fast. They are out of gasp before too long.

I thought about all this today again as I saw the latest figures about President François Hollande´s popularity. He is at a very low point. I think his case will be, sooner or later, the subject of a major academic thesis that will seek to understand how it was possible for a French head of State to sink so fast in the public opinion.

I also thought about leadership when I saw the reports about Ed Miliband, the boss of the Labour Party in the UK. He is confronted with serious criticism about his lack of leadership charisma. His detractors say basically that he cannot connect with the common person on the street. Connecting with people is essential. But what does it mean exactly? It is certainly about creating a relationship of trust. But confidence is not enough. One has to be perceived as the one that can provide the answers to the many interrogations people have today. And that´s particularly important at a time of uncertainties. And at present there are plenty of them in our part of the world. 

European should mean tolerance

I have been asked what could be the positive angle from which to look at today´s EU. Good question. And like all good questions, it is better to leave it open. To find the answer to such a question should be a collective endeavour for all of us. Each could bring a part of the answer and then we can construct the puzzle. Because part of European positive narrative is about giving a voice to everyone, from each corner of the Continent, and accepting each nationality as equal. In a Continent that has spent centuries at war with itself, that´s a big change for the better. And a good example for other regions of the world that are still engulfed in conflict and hatred. 

Let´s be positive about the EU´s future

It is time to fight the negative views of Europe´s future. This should be a key policy line for the new Juncker Commission as they start their work in Brussels. Europe needs a positive spin and a narrative that is clear about the common future of the Europeans. 

Africa´s development priorities

I wrote an opinion piece today to emphasize how important is for the international community to focus on the development challenges of Africa. This should be one of the top priorities in the global agenda for the next two or three decades. And the key areas of intervention have to be, as I see them, the following: governance, energy development and agricultural change. Resources, both from Africa and from elsewhere, should go first to these three sectors. That will be the only way to address the compound problems of extreme poverty, population growth and chaotic urbanisation. 

Africa´s liberation

We should celebrate every time a dictator falls because of popular demonstrations. In the end, dictatorship, abuse of power, human rights violations and absence of freedom are among the worst things that can happen to a population. And when they are associated with widespread poverty and lack of economic opportunities, we have a catastrophic scenario. A nightmare, as they say.

That´s the case in several African countries. Therefore, today´s fall of the Big Man in Burkina Faso is good news for all the oppressed in many other places of the Continent. It shows that there is hope. It also shows that people on the streets in large numbers make history. 

Burkina Faso is a land of noble people

Burkina Faso is a fascinating country in the Sahel. Its people are very dynamic. Many citizens, particularly the urban youth, are very well educated. But like many countries in its part of the world, unemployment and lack of economic opportunities is a major feature. Young people go to school and from there go the streets, trying to scrap a living out of very little things.

The President and the elite have become very disconnected from the men and women on the streets. They live in relatively opulence and like to show it. Power has corrupted the leaders, starting with the President and his closer supporters. The President himself, a man who came to power after the assassination of his close friend Thomas Sankara, 27 years ago, - and some have always claimed that he is the one who killed Sankara, an idealist that was trying to change the country into a better place – is a very rich man. He believes he cannot leave the seat of power. He is afraid of investigations on his past actions, including the events of 27 years ago.

He tried to change the Constitution to remain President for the foreseeable future. His friends and also his adversaries told him that was a very serious mistake. People would not accept it.

Tonight, hiding somewhere, he might be thinking that the advice given to him was in the end the right one. But it is now too late for him, I believe.  

Living in Beijing

Beijing is a fascinating place, a friend of mine who lives there told me today. I am sure it is. But if you do not speak Mandarin, as it is his case, you lose most of it. You live just in the margins of life as it happens in that big city. And you feel very small, just an ethnically minuscule dot in a society that has very little respect for Westerners. And you also live in an illusory world, far disconnected from a society that is profoundly different and extremely materialistic.