The Futility of Name Change

May 25, 2001
Posted to the web May 25, 2001

Levi Obijiofor

You have heard of cosmetic changes, facial make-ups, window-dressing, plastic surgery, antiseptic dressing and property renovations. They all have one thing in common: the impermanence of human nature. They are all about human approaches to change nature. That's exactly what African leaders decided to do when they resolved last week to gradually move toward a name change, effective tomorrow. The Organisation of African Unity, founded in 1963, has decided that after nearly four decades of failures and disappointments, a name change might pave a new path for the dawn of a new economic and political era for the embattled continent. So, from tomorrow, it's no longer going to be known as the OAU. It's now to be known as African Union. It's going to be a tough call, one which the present leaders in Africa are unsure of its likely outcomes.

If there is any lesson that African countries have refused to learn, it is the lesson that name changes do not result in miraculous social and political transformations. Nigeria moved its federal capital to Abuja in order to escape the problems that crippled administrative and economic life in Lagos. But see how those problems have also relocated their headquarters to Abuja, along with the ministries and parastatals, to effectively stifle the dreams the original designers held for Abuja. If you think that's not enough evidence to suggest that artificial make-ups do not work, take a look at the universities in Nigeria that have undergone some cosmetic re-designs. Those antiseptic changes have not entrenched peace in Nigeria's tertiary institutions nor have they raised the quality of higher education in the country. Beyond Nigeria, the former Upper Volta changed its name to Burkina Faso as if that would guarantee an end to political instability and abject poverty. Rather than the positive outcome the leaders anticipated, the name change in fact produced more vicious political and military leaders. The former French colony of Ivory Coast switched its name to Cote d'Ivoire, perhaps to reflect its French colonial heritage and historical ties. Years after that cosmetic name change, the country was launched into a period of political instability never before experienced by that citizens, something that was an anathema throughout the decades that former strongman Felix Houphouet-Boigny held the country together.

The problems that have confronted the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) over the last four decades cannot be resolved through a name change. Those who pushed for this name change and succeeded would need to do more than change the name of this continental sleeping giant. They will need to impose some kind of amnesia on us all so we can forget the many blunders, the powerlessness of the OAU, the organisational inefficiency, the factional feuds within the OAU and the inability of the leaders to achieve any form of unity or union within the continent. Today the African continent is more divided than it has ever been. The Arab north prefers to distance itself from any reference to Africa. In the United Nations' agencies and other international inter-governmental forums, they prefer to be identified as the Arab group. Africa, to them, is a political, social and economic liability. In their view, identifying with the rest of Africa, or "Black" Africa, as some of their leaders call it, is like siding with a losing side. They are right. Africa is be-devilled by so many problems. There are pockets of wars in the North and Northwest, insurgency in the East and Central parts of the continent, as well as guerilla warfare and cross-border disputes in the West. Some of these wars, such as the western Sahara dispute between Morocco and the Saharawi people, the Hutu-Tutsi ethnic battle in Rwanda and Burundi, the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Angolan insurgency and the Ethiopia-Eritrea seasonal clashes date back to the 1960s, the early years of political independence in the continent. The OAU failed to install a culture of peace in Africa and increasingly in modern times, the international community has taken over the search for peace in the continent. The United Nations has become the vanguard of peace in Africa. Ironically, the OAU has taken a back seat, playing instead the role of a continental weakling.

One of the biggest problems that have bedevilled Africa is the absence of leaders with foresight and commitment to continental progress. Africa lacks benevolent despots such as Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore and Mahathir Mohammed of Malaysia. These men have their dictatorial tendencies but they also achieved tremendous successes in their countries. Despite international criticisms, Mahathir Mohammed remains focused in his determination to extricate Malaysia from the legendary Asian economic crisis of 1997. So far, he has achieved socioeconomic and political transformation for his people. But we cannot close our eyes to the high-handedness with which he has stifled political opposition, including the incarceration of his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim, now languishing in jail. Singapore and Malaysia present good case studies in the ability of developing countries to overcome social and political problems.

In much of Africa, we have had the misfortune of producing corrupt and greedy dictators whose sole concern in office remains how to transform the state treasury into their personal property. Without selfless and informed leadership Africa has drifted from one end to another like a rudder-less ship. The inability of the OAU to usher in peace, to amicably resolve continental disputes has often been blamed on the charter of the organisation, which upholds the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of member-countries. That may be true but it is also the case that the biggest obstacle to the inability of the OAU to call erring members to order is largely due to regional and often ethnic affiliations and alliances.

As President Jacques Chirac of France said during his visit to Africa in 1996, the future of Africa lies ultimately in Africa's ability to utilise its wisdom, experiences, history and traditional values to transform its peoples and societies. Our historical experiences may seem uninspiring and terrible, but there is still hope in the horizon. After all, according to a Somali proverb: "What you lose in the fire you must seek in the ashes." This is the lesson Africa must take from its historical experiences. Name changes won't do the trick.

Comment by Mukazo Mukazo Vunda

Levi Obijiofor hits the nail on the head. For more over what I think about name changes on our continent, click here!