Why Raila Odinga Best Suits The AU Commission Chair Position

It is now apparent that the race for the Chairmanship of the Africa Union Commission has whittled down to a two horse race pitting Kenya's former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga against Djibouti's Foreign Affairs Minister, Mohamoud Ali Youssouf. The latter comes into the contest a known polyglot as attested by his mastery of Arabic, English and French, all widely spoken in Africa. Added to this is a solid 20 years of experience as foreign affairs minister. We shall revisit this fact later.

Raila Odinga, a resolute and astute politician of over 30 years standing, is a fluent English speaker and has a proven command of Kiswahili, German and his native Dholuo—down to quoting powerful proverbs from all of them. Both English and Kiswahili are also widely spoken in Africa, and in fact, the AU has for a long time promoted the use of Kiswahili as a unifying language. And reportedly, South Africa has added it to its school syllabus. Dholuo is spoken albeit with dialectal variations in parts of South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. So, both men speak just as many languages as can be argued are critical for the next job holder. Raila's headstart is in speaking Kiswahili, a language that is strategically purposed to increasingly have a brighter future in Africa. Its unifying potential across cultures is far much more apparent than those of all the other languages spoken by both candidates. Baba has a clear advantage in an area many had hitherto undermined him. Yes, he too, is a polyglot.

Africa's main problems in the OAU era of yesterdecades were largely around wars, famine and coup d' états. These needed diplomacy-leaning leaders to seek aid and negotiate solutions for the countries in turmoil. Today, Africa is not at war with itself as was the case when there were over 20 wars at any given time from Angola to Mozambique and from old Apartheid South Africa to Nigeria. Africa is now rising to be counted in the global arena. It has fought its way into the G20 and has demonstrated an increased assertiveness in more recent negotiations in the political, social and economic fronts. In its own right, the AfCFTA is taking shape so that Africa can trade with itself more than it unnecessarily trades with other continents. Intra-European trade is upwards of 70% while Intra-Africa trade is below 20%. A 50% situation is possible but requires more than routine diplomatic solutions to hit target and unlock African prosperity for Africans.

Mr. Youssouf has been foreign minister for 20 years and has served Djibouti quite well. But his candidature exposes Africa to a serious concentration risk—on account of being very experienced in one area. Raila's candidature affords Africa the much needed diversity of solid experiences that will better serve larger populations by dint of his proven multifaceted experiences, first as AU High Representative on Infrastructure Development where he handled continental assignments that required him to be in constant touch with African governments and international partners. Second, Raila has partaken in many continental peace initiatives. He has a working experience around the planning and execution of continental priorities.

Raila, at home has been Prime Minister and at the helm of government operations, an experience that is undoubtedly useful to Africa and the world at large. There is a reassuring radiance emanating from his aura that reveals very high levels of empathy whenever he handles any crisis. When Kenya was at the brink of collapse after the 2007 elections, Mr. Odinga's statesmanship manifested as he helped return the country jointly with President Kibaki to a peaceful coexistence. They also got the country firmly back on its prosperity path. That period in Kenya's history made global news and is widely known. Today, Kenya is Africa's 7th largest economy and 3rd largest in Sub Saharan Africa, partly because of the efforts emanating from Mr. Odinga's and Mwai Kibaki's political will to get Kenya back to operational normalcy. Many of our countries need that experience of saving the situation and can only come from a safe pair of tried and tested hands—to make shared economic prosperity an African reality.

Raila has served as Roads, Public Works and housing Minister, and as Energy Minister too, and therefore has sound knowledge in the workings of government. This is besides other earlier roles held in government and the private sector that gave him the solid foundation upon which his vast experiences rest.

But Africa remains a continent known for its tough life. It still isn't a place for the faint hearted but must still accommodate the aspirations and dreams of many. And where diplomacy yields little, political goodwill is required. Any candidate for the AU Commission Chairmanship must be a political animal in order to easily win the respect and camaraderie of Heads of State and Government, who ascended to the helm of their respective countries politically. Monarchies too, acknowledge politicos. Many of Africa's challenges need speedy solutions lent by the dexterity of quick acting players who can morph any agenda item's dependencies from diplomatically-inclined ones to politically or socially leaning ones in tandem with situational dictates. Many times, circumstances dictate the applicable logic. On that front, Raila is most suitable. He held an elective position in Kenya's parliament for 20 years and came up against very challenging political circumstances that he navigated with conviction and admirable finality. Africa still has many of those situations that require demonstrable political wit and grit to surmount the heat of its challenges. Raila has that quality.

Mr. Odinga is a businessman with a number of successful businesses operating at home and Africa with dealings across the globe. Like any astute businessman, he has in place systems that maintain the entities' integrity in his absence, thus allowing him the capacity to focus elsewhere including attending to matters meant for the greater good of society—such as the AU Commission Chairmanship. This reality brings balance and comfort to the continental economic agenda and allows a mind that can navigate challenges, be they, political, diplomatic, economic or linguistic, to steer Africa's ship into a prosperity-abundant harbour and beyond the Africa rising narrative.

Africa is indeed blessed and lucky to have two capable men squaring it out for the continental job that 1.4 billion inhabitants expect to positively impact their lives and aspirations.

If you thought Baba had little or no chance, think again, ruminate on it. He has the credentials and the wherewithal to clinch the job.