‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions.’Almost a year ago, presidential jets assembled in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The city’s five-star hotels were filled to capacity and the per diem dollars filled the pockets of Africans on a 'mission to save Somalia'.

AMISOM was the grand acronym that wrapped up the noble intentions. It was agreed that the force should be 8,000 soldiers, but only 4,000 were pledged at the summit. The rhetoric of unification, as always, was delivered with unquestionable conviction and the summit was flavoured with the re-invigorated spirit of pan-Africanism.

Almost one year down the road, only Uganda has honoured its promise. The good intentions of the others are wrapped up in a thousand excuses, one of such, of course, in keeping with the character of contemporary Africa 'we are awaiting the pledges from the international community'.

How can 53 countries, many of which have relatively large armies and exorbitant defence budgets, fail to put together and facilitate a contingent of 8,000 peace keepers? To those that are beginning to express reservations about the security of their troops, we must ask: Haven’t the dangers and dynamics in this war-torn country been more or less the same for what seems like eternity? Upon what then did their excellencies base their pledges in Addis-Abba?

Some argue that President Museveni is pursuing American interests in Somalia. The US has interests all over the world; the African Union cannot be expected to alter its agenda just because it will be perceived to be serving American interests. Whatever became of African interests!

One also wonders why the donor funds towards a unifying exercise that will strengthen the continent are not as forthcoming as the dollars they systematically pump into our economies. They know the strength that lies in unity and God forbid, Africa should discover this!

In 1985, the British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, in her address to the American Congress said, 'Winston Churchill’s vision of a union of mind and purpose between the English speaking people was to form the mainspring of the West. No one of my generation can forget that America has been the principal architect of peace in Europe, which has lasted 40 years. Given the shield of the United States, we have been granted the opportunity to build a concept of Europe beyond the dreams of our fathers'.

Julius Nyerere rolled the tanks and Saba-Saba’s over the Ugandan border and blasted 'the last King of Scotland' out of office; to him we are eternally grateful.

For years, President Museveni, despite public perceptions of the day, stood with the African National Congress and the Southern Sudan People’s Liberation Army when all others regarded them futile efforts. Today, South Africans, southern Sudanese, Burundians and many others are reaping the benefits of those that chose to work the infallible principle of ‘strength in unity’. Most of these initiatives in the past have been 'informal' and it is time to make the ‘formal’ organs of African unity work because too many in the past have failed for lack of political will.

Charles Njonjo, a retired Kenyan politician of the seventies, personified this African vice, when he once proudly said, he drank champagne at the collapse of the East African Community!

Uganda is preparing to host Her Majesty, the Queen of England, and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2007. Why can’t we be as passionate about the African Union? With all due respect, isn’t CHOGM, to a large extent, a glorification of our colonial past? I suggest that when we pray ‘God save the Queen’ we pray God save Africa too!