Cameron Duodu

A most significant news item – significant for developing countries, especially those in corruption-ridden African countries – emerged from Washington, DC, on 5 March 2014.

In less than two months’ time, the world will be marking the 20th anniversary of the worst genocide seen in Africa since the end of colonialism -- the Rwanda pogrom that began on 6 April 1994.

As soon as the leader of the Sudan People's Revolutionary Army, (SPLA) John Garang, was killed on 30 July 2005, in a mysterious helicopter crash, while he was returning to his base in Juba, from a trip to Uganda, I smelt a rat.

To us in Ghana, the conference that was held in Addis Ababa in May 1963 to give birth to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was as exciting as an international football match.

Before Chinua Achebe came on the world literary scene in the late 1950s, African literature was treated by the rest of the world, and more sadly by many educated Africans themselves, as a quixotic exercise in which dark forests and evil spirits held sway.

STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS: I am still waiting to hear about General Sani Abacha of Nigeria....

ME: Listen man, Abacha was, without doubt, the most notorious character in West African history – if not African history – and you can't make me get rid of him just like that.

STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS: In our last conversation, I stopped you from telling us about a great number of historical characters. I know you fear to be labelled as a 'name-dropper,' but why is that so? The world is full of interesting people, some of whom are more interesting than others.

STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS: You promised, during our last conversation, to talk about Mr Alex Ibru, publisher of the The Guardian newspaper of Nigeria, who passed away on 20 November 2011.

When I heard that General Odumegwu Ojukwu, who led Biafra into secession from Nigeria in 1967, had been buried on 2 March 2012 (he died on 26 November 2011 at the age of 78) my stream of consciousness went into overdrive.

I was absolutely convinced that Zambia would win the African Cup of Nations football competition, which took place in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea from 21 January to 12 February 2012.