Fist of fury

The Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa is slowly evolving to become one of the sought after security summits in Africa. Launched in 2012, the summit is an independent initiative of ex-presidents and prominent personalities in Africa including Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa. The two-day event is scheduled for April every year on the shores of Lake Tana where a handful of African leaders are present to discuss security issues pertinent to the continent. This year, natural resource and the extractive industry was the focal point of the security discussions where both Obasanjo and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda underscored the dangers that the unfettered role of western multinational companies pose for the continent’s extractive industries. The two were on the same wave length when arguing that it is time for Africans to take back their natural resources and exploit it to the benefit of their populous.