Why The Loss of Kofi Annan Has Been Endearingly Tragic, Even Before He Left Us
By: Ezinne Ukoha
Tags: Human Rights, United Nations, Politcs, World, Terrorism

Nelson Mandela and Kofi Annan, two heavyweights who were touched by the spirit of humanity

Why The Loss of Kofi Annan Has Been Endearingly Tragic, Even Before He Left Us

The United Nations remains leaderless

A school bus in Yemen, carrying a bunch of ecstatically primed young boys, aged from 6 to 11, started off with the grand promise of an exciting school excursion that was supposed to end on a high note, but unfortunately those dreams were blasted into the sky merely minutes after their journey commenced.

A Saudi-led airstrike hit the bus, and the bloody massacre left 40 boys and 11 adults dead, while 79 were in critical condition; 56 of them — kids.

Not long after, it was initially reported that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had an in depth conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman via telephone. Both men discussed the problem areas; Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen, but weirdly avoided the horrific incident that destroyed the precious lives of young children, caught in the crossfire of gross negligence by global agencies — and criminal pursuit of prosperity.

As it turns out, Pompeo and the Prince did make time to include the bomb blast in Yemen, as confirmed by State Department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, who explained that the “omission” from the call’s transcript is just evidence of how “not every detail is included in the readouts.”

And so, there will be a Saudi-led investigation, which is supremely ironic when you consider how inappropriate it is for perpetrators to investigate their own crimes.

How is it remotely possible for the U.S. to assume that a Saudi-led inquiry on why the Saudis used American-supplied bombs, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, to launch a deadly attack that struck a school bus in Yemen — would yield satisfactory results?

The United Nations apparently isn’t convinced that this plan is tangible enough to fulfill basic requirements, and so a separate investigation has been initiated. But under the woefully incompetent supervision of the current Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, there’s very little hope that this latest catastrophe will be saved from the fate of a growing pile of crimes against humanity that are still waiting to be avenged.

This dude has blood on his hands

When I first heard about Kofi Annan, it happened naturally and without the fanfare of social media shoutouts because his station as Secretary General of the UN didn’t encompass this current status of mandatory adulation. His stellar reputation proceeded him and granted popularity based on the energetic bid to mobilize and maintain international order.

His years of as Secretary General activity were from 1997–2006, and during that time, the Ghanaian-born world citizen and crusader, managed to embody the attributes of his duties with the relentless spirit of a stoic warrior, on the mission to make the world a much better place.

His quest was a noble one, even if it challenged his ability to reach the fiery heights of defiance, instead of gently navigating the excess folds of violence by the rise of Al Qaeda, as he weathered the brutal consequences of their militant damnation on target nations like the United States, which led to the ill-fated retaliatory measures on Iraq in 2003— which Annan vehemently opposed.

The first ever Black African to oversee the diplomatic schedule of the United Nations was awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 2001, and that was gesture of goodwill and appreciation for the long and hard fought battle to deliver the promise of peaceful compromise, which could only be attained by breaking bread with enemies.

Annan with a docile Vladimir Putin

Proposed negotiations with dictators like Sadaam Hussein and Vladimir Putin among others made him vulnerable to heavy criticism, and it only escalated with the legacy that is entrenched in the mass genocide of the nineties, in Somalia, Rwanda and Bosnia, that haunted his tenure from 1993–1997, as “head of the United Nations peacekeeping operations.”

Like the first-ever Black president of the United States, whose arrival on the global stage anointed him with the burden of over-excelling, as the Messiah-like visionary, who had been pre-ordained for greatness, Annan had already set the precedent for those who would follow those footsteps up the ladder of victory that is — always laced with volatile disruption.

He was never able to escape the entrapment of designated evils that have only become more energetically formidable with the passing years, but the key component in Annan’s achievements is how his love affair with the world he sought to master was never-ending.

And now with his recent passing from a short illness at the age of 80, there is nostalgic mourning that evokes an era when the UN was able to prove adherence to the protection of human rights — on the grounds that this should be the only method of validating its existence.

That practice has faded away to the point that while the name “Kofi Annan” was hard to miss when it meant something to those who were aware of well-positioned soldiers in our midst, the current Secretary General Antonio Guterres has failed to exert leadership in an exemplar manner — that certifies his concrete contribution to world affairs.

The United Nations is failing to live up to the fundamental rulebook that encompasses everything that used to be mandatory, back when the rights of the oppressed were aggressively protected under the code of conduct that dictates the dignity of humanity.

All we’re gifted with is the fruitless exploration into matters of grave concern, like the migrant crisis in Libya that saw West Africans being subjected to deplorably inhumane treatment, the ongoing bombings in Syria, that has left hundred of thousands dead or maimed, including babies, and the atrocity in Yemen — that will undoubtedly go unchecked.

Kofi Annan may have passed on, but his loss was felt way before the tragic news, and this is due to the UN’s leaderless status, and how world powers have commandeered the vessel of disorganization to secure a systemized operation — that permits mutilation and death as the byproduct for reciprocal rewards.

It’s not a stunning revelation that a world power like the U.S. can function under the devastation of being directly responsible for the deaths of innocent children, who are paying the high price of being located in countries that exist as eviscerated wastelands — serving as the battleground of extreme violence.

Global politics isn’t that complicated when you’re from the cradle of colonialism, and grasp the tyranny of betrayal that arrived at the shores of our civilization, under the pretense of saving souls through the introduction of a religion we didn’t need — and under the guise of forced enlightenment.

All the while the British empire was and still is stealing our notable resources, to serve their purposes under the banner of White supremacy. And the resultant of the programmed invasion, ruthlessly tampered with tribal relations, and drafted the blueprint of infinite madness with systemic turbulence — that has rendered former colonies permanently disabled.

The United Nations is supposed to provide governed intervention, that is aimed at restoring original settings on behalf of law and order. The structured language should translate to risking it all for lifesaving measures, that command the attention of westernized renegades — who purposely distort principles that are supposed to give peace the chance it deserves.

Kofi Annan wasn’t perfect in his pursuits, but he was human, and he applied that realization and ownership to the passport that took him to the disintegration of human relations. He carried it through the fragmentized valleys of competition, amongst super nations — that are still sorting through the expanded wreckage of global capitalism.

The stakes are now higher with the ascension of an American president, who used his disastrous European tour as the evidence of how a country that was once labeled “the world police,” has suddenly rejected its status as the “unifier” by readily embracing the reputation of profound alienation.

The world as we know it is sinking into a quicksand of emergencies with the “weapons of mass destruction” that was once touted by a unreliable administration — finally taking flight with sheer fury against the population that is positioned for more destruction and death.

The UN has become complicit in its blindness and unwillingness to rise up against the forces that are bloated with greed and power in the midst of a one-sided war, that is currently bagging casualties — that have outnumbered what can be deemed as humane by any stretch of the imagination.

The role of Secretary General was once described as the “world moderator” by Franklin D. Roosevelt, but the man who is dipped in the stain of nonchalance, is managing a deadly agenda that doesn’t include stepping in on behalf of the voiceless.

This explains why Guterres remains disgracefully overshadowed and overwhelmed, while the imprinted spirit of the man who once lived for the people, has transcended into the realm of fabled martyrdom — with the blessings of a life — well-lived and well-documented. Annan is furnished with the full support of indestructible testimonies — attesting to a time when entrusted organizations made persistent attempts to complete pending items for the betterment of a world — that is now suffering from diseased chaos.

It has to be said that the former Secretary General remained committed to the commandments of his character as he took on various assignments in an advisory capacity. His appointment to heal the battered and bruised region of Syria in 2012, ended in less than a year. And the defeat featured the hunched shoulders of a valiant statesman, who was forced to reconcile the disappointment of his failure, that admittedly stemmed from “the lack of international unity,” — and “ineffective diplomacy among world leaders.”

It’s only fitting that the final word should go to Kofi Atta Annan, who was born in 1938, in what used to be the Gold Coast, and is now known as Ghana; the first African nation to be emancipated from British colonialism. Perhaps, his noble calling was encapsulated in the symbolic cradle of early formation — that granted maturity into an imperfect/perfect being that will never be again.

Until his words come back to life:

“A United Nations that will not stand up for human rights is a United Nations that cannot stand up for itself.”