SA 'too white' for Africa seat

2005-01-27 23:01

Media 24 Africa Bureau

Abuja - South Africa and Egypt "are not black enough" to represent Africa in the United Nations security council, says Nigeria, the other contender for the sought-after position.

"We have true blacks, unlike Egypt and South Africa," said Davo Oluyemi-Kusa, a top Nigerian civil servant, on Thursday.

She argued that Egypt was more part of the Arabian sector and South Africa owed its high level of development to the influence of whites.

Oluyemi-Kusa is a director of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Settlement, which falls under the Nigerian presidency.

President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria serves as chairman of the Africa Union this year.

The question of who should represent Africa on the security council is a hotly debated point at the first half-yearly AU conference.

SA a driving power

Although the UN has not yet decided to change the composition of its security council, it is a possibility that is being discussed ardently worldwide.

South Africa has been the driving power for years behind the campaign to reform the UN and make it more representative.

Last year, South Africa gave diplomatic signs that it was "available to serve" and has been involved in discreet consultations since then, instead of lobbying aggressively for support.

Oluyemi-Kusa said that Nigeria deserved the seat on the security council "more than others" in view of its leadership in settling conflicts in Africa for many years.

"Should there be serious disunity, Egypt may be a compromise, but the fact is that Nigeria is the only true African candidate."

- Beeld