It seems as if European countries and their American allies dictate what leader they want to deal with, particularly in Africa and the Middle East. The so-called Arab Spring, a revolution that started in Tunisia and spread across North Africa into the Middle East, appears to have caused more harm than good.
The power vacuum created out of this sweeping revolutionary uprising has still to be contained.
Looking at the state in which Libya finds itself today, there is definite nostalgia of Muammar Gaddafi’s days although for different reasons.
The power vacuum created by Saddam Hussein’s demise and the weakening of the intolerant dictator in Syria is today causing untold harm not only to Iraq itself but to the world community.
The power vacuum from these two countries strengthened Al Qaeda which was subsequently challenged by another group that believes Al Qaeda was weak and compromising.
The new organisation, ISIS, needs no introduction.
Tunisia, although unsteady, seems to be the only country that has tried to contain the fall out of changing dictators mid-stream.
Poor decision making, political and religious intolerance and oppressive decrees that limit the ability of people to work for the welfare of their families caused the uprisings and actually fuelled the drive towards demanding more freedoms.
Underneath the drive to rid themselves of dictators was religious fervor which ceased its chance when power vacuums were created by the Arab Spring.
As a result of the Libyan crisis, the European Union is always in endless meetings in attempts to address the migration crisis ÔÇô direct result of discontent not only in Arab countries but in other African countries.
Although this crisis is not directly related to what the SADC bloc is experiencing, it is in many ways connected to the change in attitudes of the people, both politically and religiously.
The bottom line is the same as in Southern Africa: thousands of people fleeing their countries for better economic conditions.
What is SADC learning from the North African experience?
What is happening in Libya is very disheartening because of two reasons.
First: because of its proximity to Europe, Libya is an attractive destination for Africans who want to slip into the European Union by whatever means necessary.
Unfortunately, the religious sectarianism born out of the power vacuum created during the Arab Spring has brought with it different sects within Libya. As a result, it is no longer a war to remove shackles of Europe but is now a war against Christians as we have witnessed when many Christians were rounded up and executed on the beaches of Libya.
Obviously, the revolution is now misdirected as it now seeks soft targets to reach not their nationalistic ambitions but religious hopes.
The migrants fleeing Libya did not sign up for this. It was as a result of a war to remove a dictator. So Other Africans were happy to try to go to Europe via Libya.
Sadly, the European Union leaders recently met in Brussels to address the migrants issue without inviting Libyan representatives.
It was naive for European Union leaders to meet and make decisions on behalf of Africa without attempting to consult the Libyan officials who are facing the daily influx of Africans trying to just pass through Libya into Europe.
As usual, the European Union agreed to avail more ships, planes and helicopters to patrol the Mediterranean Sea in hopes of stopping migrants from Africa. Britain pledged three ships, while Germany and France said they would provide two each. Belgium, Ireland, Latvia and Lithuania were also to supply ships, patrol boats and helicopters.
As we speak, there is no central government in Libya and militias are running amok, launching attacks on civilians. The result is what we are seeing on the news everyday – hundreds of migrants making that deadly crossing to Italy for what they believe is a better life.
Is it not unfortunate that the demise of both Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein is causing so much suffering not only in their respective countries but the world? I do not think either the Europeans or the Americans expected this.
Americans and their European counterparts clearly underestimated the fallout as their main goal was to enforce a regime change that the Libyans were pushing for.  
Today, our African brothers and sisters in Libya are not free because the conflict the Americans started has turned North Africa into an ungovernable area where armed extremist militias now thrive. Now all we can do is to watch as the bodies of our African kin are fished out of the choppy Mediterranean Sea while our Christian brothers are lined up by the beach and decapitated or shot in cold-blood. Meanwhile in Southern Africa, a similar situation is already playing out and we are now seeing the highlights.
South Africa and Botswana carry the heaviest burden of “foreigners” in their country and most of them are Zimbabweans seeking better economic opportunities.
In the case of Zimbabwe, this could have been avoided long ago had the SADC and AU intervened several years ago in the Zimbabwe situation. But like most African leaders, pretentious camaraderie took precedence over being honest with each other.
They applauded Mugabe but are now killing his people a few weeks after Mugabe thanked them for giving Zimbabweans jobs.
Instead of addressing the Zimbabwe situation, Zuma and Mbeki chose to marinade the crisis instead of coming up with solutions.
I applaud Botswana for having been honest with SADC about the situation in Zimbabwe.
Europe cannot be blamed for the humanitarian crisis happening in the Mediterranean Sea.
Africa is to blame and, as we can see, Africa is not doing or saying anything about it but sits waiting to see what other countries are willing to do.
Removing Gaddafi was not a solution just as much as removing Mugabe is no solution. We must change our mindset. A viable alternative has to be in place first. Africa needs change and it needs it fast.
