During the African Union summit held recently in Libya, the African head of states at one point locked horns with Moammar Gadhafi due to various reasons, a similar case that took place in Addis Ababa during such a sitting.

He is one man who does not shy away from pushing and forcing people to suit his club however discomforting it could be. At one point the Libyan leader pushed for the transformation of the AU bureaucracy into a continental authority with broad powers. Of course many of the union’s heavy weights opposed the move.

The summit in Addis Ababa featured sessions that carried on into the wee hours of the morning, as Mr. Gadhafi tried unsuccessfully to persuade the majority to accept his long-held dream of a United States of Africa.

The disagreement resumed even before the other leaders arrived in Sirte, as the Libyan leader dominated pre-summit meetings of foreign ministers, reportedly insisting that his proposals be accepted.

I do not stand brief for Gadhafi but don’t African leaders think that maybe such an idea would be for the benefit of the whole continent? Despite the troubled history of African unity, this could be a reality.

Some of the counties in Africa are too small and too weak whereas Africa is a big continent full of potential. But this big continent is divided by 165 borders into 53 countries. Even the voice of a larger country like Nigeria or South Africa by itself is inaudible in international negotiations on world trade or climate change. I believe collectively it’s impossible to ignore 53 countries with almost one billion inhabitants.

On the other hand the unending fighting for instance in Somalia would be tackled well than it is at the moment since all would be fighting for a common goal which is peace.