The West’s vital role in Africa
An alarming outbreak of cholera didn’t stop the parliamentarians from South Sudan getting into Ghana. But it certainly concentrated our minds as we began our closed door talks.
I’m in Accra, one of the cities of Africa most connected to the evils of the slave trade of which Britain was such a significant beneficiary over two centuries ago. And I’m with representatives of the newest nation on earth, another place with strong links to our colonial past.
We’re here for ABLI, the African Biblical Leadership Initiative Forum, sponsored by Bible Society and chaired by Lord Paul Boateng, which has drawn people from across Africa to discuss how the Bible plays out in public life. Eighteen countries are represented and the quality of presentations is very high.
The Chief Justice of Ghana, with some of her own Justices in the audience, speaks passionately about the importance of not seeking to further their own careers in any way. Even asking friends and associates to influence the selection of superior positions should not be tolerated. ‘I’ve never done it and my colleagues should never, never, do it either,’ she says with feeling.
This is the fine detail of how nations are built; teasing through the values that hold a country together and allow it to flourish. The Chief Justice is a hugely respected Christian. The four MPs from South Sudan are discussing how to build institutions that will reduce conflict and create harmony.
In another session a former cabinet minister in Nigeria talks movingly about the struggles of being a Christian in an often corrupt system. And a professional drama group unfolds the many and various temptations that young hopefuls, both men and women, face in climbing the greasy pole of politics.
Our most fervent session is where Paul Boateng, himself originally from Ghana, calls on the assembly to stop and pray for the 200 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria, not too far away from where we are meeting. A statement from the Forum calls on Boko Haram to repent of their wickedness.
The culture in Africa is changing. On my visits to north and south, east and west, I see a new confidence emerging. Most impressive is the way that Africans are no longer blaming the West for their problems but owning their challenges for themselves. None of the main speakers taking part are from outside the continent and gone are the days when the old power brokers come and tell their former colonies how to behave.
Yet the West in general and Britain in particular still has a valuable role to play in Africa. The South Sudan MPs are keen to meet with repre- sentatives of the outside world. Why? Because they need to know that they are not alone as they face the twin threats of widespread famine and bloody civil war.
It matters that we care. Two recent examples of this are the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in Nigeria and the story of Meriam Ibrahim who faces the death penalty in Sudan (rather than South Sudan) for not converting to Islam. What we do in the West can have more impact than we often think possible.
Another reason why South Sudan needs our support is to put pressure on the leaders of the nation to broker peace and stop supplying arms to both sides. President Salva Kiir and Vice-president Riek Machar have lit the blue touch paper and violence has broken out between their rival supporters. Tens of thousands have been left dead or wounded as a result.
This Sunday we can pray specifically for the Primate of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, the Most Revd Daniel Deng Bul and his Catholic and Presbyterian colleagues. They need to be in no doubt that we and the Western world want them to speak out forcefully on our behalf. We want the fighting to stop today and we want to see crops planted tomorrow.
I’m hugely struck by the intensity that the politicians I meet across Africa care about their countries. Many have returned to their homelands from lucrative jobs aboard. They want to see reconstruction and they recognise that this is as much about spiritual renewal as it is about overseas aid.
Two years ago I was myself in South Sudan. Little did we know then that this fledgling nation could find itself teetering on the brink of selfdestruction. In praying for Africa we would do well to remember how easy it is to break a nation and how hard it is to build it. South Sudan, Libya and the Democratic Republic of Congo are all examples of this. Let us pray for Africa. James Catford is Group Chief Executive of Bible Society. Email him at James.catford@biblesociety.org.uk