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INSIDE AFRICA
African Leaders Gather in New York for Annual U.N. General Assembly Session
Aired September 29, 2007 - 12:30:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FEMI OKE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Femi Oke. Welcome to a special New York edition of INSIDE AFRICA. Leaders from around the world are gathered here for the annual United Nations General Assembly. So we took the opportunity the sit down with Nigeria's new president.
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UMARU YAR`ADUA, PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA: What I feel I have achieved really is sending a message of hope and confidence. You know, to the international community about Nigeria.
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OKE: We'll also hear from the first ladies of Zambia and Ghana. Two close friends who are trying to improve the lives of their citizens and all Africans.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Africa has really suffered. I don't want any more of these problems, coup d'etats and things like that. Things that set us backwards.
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OKE: African leaders have been making their voices heard at this year's United Nations General Assembly, so many African issues are high on the agenda. Richard Roth has details.
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RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It may have seemed like the 62nd session of the United Nations General Assembly was all about Iran's president, but African issues dominated many meetings. The U.N. Security Council held an Africa summit, and unanimously approved a joint European Union and U.N. peacekeeping force for Chad and the Central African Republic. Hundreds of thousands of refugees from neighboring Sudan's Darfur region have flooded into both countries, creating an unstable security situation. The U.S. president spoke candidly about Darfur, where at least 200,000 people have been killed since 2003.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you're mercilessly killed by roaming band, you know it's genocide. And the fundamental question is, are we, the free world, willing to do more?
ROTH: Still, Ghana's president was upbeat about Africa's future:
JOHN AGYEKUM KUFUOR, GHANAIAN PRESIDENT: That a new order of peace, unity, democracy and prosperity will soon prevail throughout the continent.
ROTH: And South African President Thabo Mbeki spoke optimistically about the continent meeting the U.N.'s millennium development goals by 2015.
Other African leaders chose to focus on more global issues.
JOSE EDURDO DOS SANTOS, ANGOLIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The world is also confronted with extremists who resort to terrorism, and the use of religion for political ends.
ROTH: There were few moments as passionate as the 20-minute speech by Zimbabwe's 83-year old President Robert Mugabe. His country has been accused of human rights violations, including torture and starvation, and some are calling for international intervention.
ROBERT MUGABE, ZIMBABWEAN PRESIDENT: Let these sinister governments be told here now that Zimbabwe will not allow a regime change authored by outsiders.
ROTH: But the dire conditions faced by so many Africans dominated many of the discussions. And all participants agreed, much more needs to be accomplished.
Richard Roth, CNN, United Nations.
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OKE: Umaru Yar'Adua is attending his first United Nations General Assembly as president of Nigeria. He's been in office for just four months now, but he's already making changes. We sat down to discuss his plans and hopes for Nigeria's future.
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YAR'ADUA: I stand before this assembly for the first time as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
OKE: How did that feel, to stand in front of the United Nations as president of Nigeria?
YAR'ADUA: I felt a burden of responsibility representing my country before the assemblage of world body, where issues of global concern, indeed concerning and impacting at times on the lives of all Nigerians are decided.
OKE: If you review the week, what are the achievements you feel you achieved this week?
YAR'ADUA: What do we have achieved? What I feel I have achieved, really, is sending a message of hope and confidence, you know, to the international community about Nigeria. And through my bilaterals and meetings with investors and various nations that are interested in investment, you know, I have managed to convince and win the hearts of investors. And in fact, I have managed a few agreements (inaudible).
OKE: And then another interesting meeting, the president of the Republic of Iran. That's a very controversial figure. How did that meeting go?
YAR'ADUA: It went very well. Now we have an Iranian company that has won a contract to construct a gas pipeline for one of our new power plants, and I think we can learn and benefit from the experience of Iran.
OKE: How do you raise your profile so people know you as president of Nigeria and know your style? How do you raise that profile?
YAR'ADUA: OK, by interacting with people, you know, meet with them. Reaching out, explaining, you know, my vision for my country and my vision for the role Nigeria is to play. I think this I have been doing since I came to New York.
OKE: Tell me five things about you, Mr. President, that the world does not know.
YAR'ADUA: I am (inaudible). I am simple. A servant leader. I am committed to the development of humanity, and I love my country.
OKE: How do you go forward with Nigeria? What is your vision for Nigeria?
YAR'ADUA: A national economy that has transformed from under- developed state now to a developing state, and that will be capable of addressing the needs of Nigerians.
During my time, I'll set the foundation for the accomplishment of this and set the nation on this road map, or I'll bust (ph).
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OKE: Coming up, kindred spirits. The first ladies of Ghana and Zambia talk about their devotion to duty, as well as their efforts to promote education.
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MAUREEN MWANAWASA, ZAMBIA`S FIRST LADY: Once you're educated, you're able to think beyond certain standards. You'll be able to appreciate what is good and what is not.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Making business news in Africa this week: The World Bank rates Ghana and Kenya among the world's top 10 business reformers. Its new report assesses tax incentives for investors, access to credit, and how easy it is to start a business. The World Bank says business reforms in sub-Saharan Africa as a whole have slowed, dropping that part of the world below South Asia and the Middle East and North Africa.
Madagascar's President Marc Ravalomanana is calling for ecological partnership between African states and rich countries abroad. He told the United Nations General Assembly that Africa is ready to supply clean energy to industrialized states.
And China has furthered its economic influence in Africa, loaning $5 billion to rehabilitate Congo's mines. The money will be used for infrastructure projects, with $2 million going towards a new joint venture mining company between the two countries. The DRC says it will repay the loan with money made from toll rides and railways that the Chinese would build.
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OKE: First ladies are often in a position to directly touch the lives of many of their people. Two African first ladies have become very close friends doing just that. Here's my chat with the first lady of Ghana, Theresa Kufuor, and the first lady of Zambia, Maureen Mwanawasa.
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MWANAWASA: Generally in Africa, women have lagged behind. The major reason is the challenge of getting into the education system. So you can see that once a girl child is empowered, she can move on to do quite a lot of things. Many doors do open. When she's grown, she'll be able to understand issues of health, issues pertaining to her welfare. She'll be able to defend herself and be able to look after herself, so there is that freedom which comes with education. And I don't think it should be denied from the girl child, just like it should be given to the boy child. But if we focus on changing that situation, I think we can make a difference.
THERESA KUFUOR, GHANA'S FIRST LADY: We have this cultural thing: Oh, the boy's first, oh the boy is this, oh, the boy is that. I was a working mother, and I know just how preschool helped me. And I always thought, if a lot of them could have -- go to preschool before primary, they will do better.
I also thought, if the women could put the children into preschool, then if they have it shared or some way near the school, they could be doing their own things. Skills training. I've done a lot of things skills training. They could go there, do their own thing, pick up the child in the evening, and it's not so tiring for them. Because I know we really get tired. The woman has the child at her back, and she's doing all sorts of things. So drop the child here, you go about your business, come back in the evening. That's how it all started.
OKE: You're challenging, both of you, Madam Kufuor, Madam Mwanawasa, you're challenging traditional African roles. How much resistance are you getting?
KUFUOR: When I go into a community, for instance, I don't go fighting anyone about any norms. I just go there, I talk to the women, I ask them, "so what do you do here?" They tell me. I go back, we confer to see how much money we've got in the kitty, and we go back and we tell them, would you like us to build a nursery or a shade for you or something like that? It is when you start going all over the place and trying to explain, this is good for us and we've suffered too much and that sort of thing, then they stop -- the antagonism stops.
MWANAWASA: But it comes back to education, because once you're educated, you're able to think beyond certain standards. You'll be able to appreciate what is good and what is not. You'll be able to be in charge of yourself and make precise decisions that effect your life, than depending on what everybody thinks in the village or in the community. But you'll be able to say no to what is supposed to be no, say yes to what is supposed to be yes.
So you can see, whatever we say at the end of the day, we come back to education. And from what Madam Kufuor said, if education can be started at that low level, in a nursery school, you can imagine what kind of children we're going to produce for the future.
OKE: Madam Kufuor, if you could just sum up, what is it that you're trying to achieve as first lady of Ghana?
KUFUOR: I'm just trying to serve Ghana, the people of Ghana. Anything I can do to support anyone, if even I helped just one person, I've done my duty. It is my duty as the wife of the president to serve, and I just want to serve Ghana until my time is up.
MWANAWASA: All over the continent, the first ladies have got charities which they're running, different programs are going on. Most of them, they're intended for the community, the community which is viable but vulnerable. And we want to use this privileged positions as first ladies to do the best we can for these communities. If it is education, let it be, we want to do it better than ever before. If it is health, we can whisper to our husbands -- they may not be aware of one or two things in a certain area, and they'll make a move.
So overall, we would like to see our countries better, and (inaudible).
OKE: I feel like I've just spoken to two presidents in waiting. Move over the men!
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OKE: Coming up, some very young African singers make their voices heard on the world stage.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here is a look at some of the headlines on the continent this week.
A new figure from the World Food Program on Somalia's food crisis shows that as many as 1.2 million Somalians are suffering from malnutrition. Government instability and fighting have both contributed to the food crisis there. The World Food Program says it has distributed food and aid to some areas of the country.
Crowds lined the road outside Goma when Democratic Republic of Congo president, Joseph Kabila, visited this week. His presence in the region is viewed as critical for peace in neighboring towns, which have recently been secured by MUNUK (ph) and Congolese forces. Renewed fighting has left ghost towns across the area with many finding refuge in Goma. UNICEF estimates it has helped at least 120,000 displaced people fleeing the conflict.
And some communities in Uganda remain cut off by heavy flooding. Torrential rain and floods, which started last month, have effected at least 300,000 people. These images were sent to us from Katakua (ph), Uganda, by our reporter Anthony Muangi (ph), who is a relief worker in the region.
If you see news happening, send us your images. Just go to cnn.com/insideAfrica and click on the "I Report" section.
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OKE: Practice! Practice! Practice! That's the old punch line to the gag, "how do you get to Carnegie Hall?" For the African children's choir, that really is the way. We caught up with them as they were rehearsing for special performance for the Clinton Global Initiative.
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OKE: Singing, drumming, and laughing. The African Children's Choir gets ready for another prestigious booking. (inaudible) talent. They look like a seasoned bunch of stage kids. But these children are special -- they're adopting their way to a secure future.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: That (inaudible) best for us, and we get our education, and (inaudible) that supports us and our country.
OKE: The choir was set up 23 years ago to give orphans in Uganda a chance to escape the traumas of their country's civil war. Now it's an institution with schools, education programs, and multiple choirs performing around the world.
RAY BARNETT, CHOIR FOUNDER: What we're trying to show is every African child, given a chance, can be like this.
OKE (on camera): Is it good?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Yes.
OKE: If I was 30 years younger!
OKE (voice over): The children in the choir are between 7 and 12 years old, and when they take it on, they go to school, they learn how to become cultural ambassadors, and learn all that singing and dancing as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I'm on stage and I remember how the audience claps for us, I feel good.
OKE: Auntie Prossy is the choir's conductor. When the children are selected, it's not just talent that gets them in.
AUNTIE PROSSY, CHOIR CONDUCTOR: The kids who are in the choir are chosen from Africa due to poverty, or they're orphans.
OKE: Auntie Prossy knows firsthand what difference that makes. Here she is when she was in the choir back in 1995. Check her out on tour, front left of this picture.
Now she is a university graduate and has come back to help other children achieve their potential.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd like to be a head surgeon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd like to be a president.
OKE: A possibility. The choir already has a former president as its fan. When I met them, they were rehearsing to perform at Carnegie Hall by special invitation of President Bill Clinton. The audience was enchanted.
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OKE: There's more to come on INSIDE AFRICA. We'll be right back.
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BINGU WA MUTHARIKA, MALAWIAN PRESIDENT: I'm pleased to state that Malawi is one of the few African countries that are successful in meeting the challenges from HIV/AIDS pandemic. Malawi has also been successful in its public awareness campaign about the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its consequences.
NAVINCHANDRA RAMGOOLAM, MAURITIAN PRIME MINISTER: It is our duty to let the people of Myanmar know that the free nations of the world stay by them. But we need to do more than just stand by them, Mr. President. The time has come for the most stringent sanctions to be taken against the military junta that has proved again and again that it is totally impervious to the good sense and common humanity.
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OKE: And that's INSIDE AFRICA from New York for this week. We leave you with the beautiful voices of the African Children's Choir.
I'm Femi Oke. Take care.
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