The irony of Africa being a very rich continent but Africans being some of the poorest peoples in the world is no longer lost on anyone. While we can argue about the historical, structural, attitudinal, personal and institutional causes of this state of affairs the fact remains that majority of our peoples remain in need amidst plenty. Decades of Aid, humanitarian intervention, prayers, activism, development plans, action plans, government declarations and so many other initiatives have not produced fundamental change for the poorest and weakest sections of our societies, writes the late Tajudeen in his last Pan African Postcard.

Highlighting the relative strength of Kenyans' voting power despite the country's difficulties, Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem contends that Nigerians have no illusions around their own votes. With Ekiti State witnessing the re-run of its local election following the Court of Appeal's 17 February 2009 ruling, the State Governor and People's Democratic Party's (PDP) Olusegun Oni faced Dr Kayode Fayemi of Action Congress (AC) on 25 April. Of national significance in potentially denting the PDP's near-monopoly of political power, the determination of electoral monitors to oversee a clean count led to their suffering a brutal attack by PDP thugs while en route back to the state capital Ado Ekiti, an attack observed with amusement by local police. While the intervention of a senior officer stopped the attack, the victims were then ludicrously arrested and detained over a 48-hour period in Abuja. This situation, Abdul-Raheem contends, is tantamount to a June 12 1992 – when Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida oversaw the forceful detention of a candidate he found unpalatable – at state level, the overall responsibility for which must lay at President Umaru Yar' Adua's door.

cc As Kenya and Uganda face off over the sovereignty of the tiny Migingo Island in Lake Victoria, Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem suggests explanations for why two previously highly cordial nations have allowed the dispute to escalate to such a degree. While Uganda echoes the view of the Kenyan government that the dispute should be solved diplomatically, Abdul-Raheem suspects Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's talk of peace belies military preparations behind the scenes. Kenya, for its part, has seen the opposite situation, with President Mwai Kibaki employing a typically 'hands off' approach while his country's media becomes increasingly frustrated and militant in its demands over how to deal with Uganda. If these 'patriotic' frustrations reflect deep dissatisfaction with the deficiencies of the Grand Coalition government, Abdul-Raheem states, they should not be permitted to spill over into calls for definitive military action or jeopardise wider East African integration.

Reflecting on some of the troublesome statistics around maternal mortality for sub-Saharan Africa, Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem urges greater support for the continent’s women. Arguing that these statistics need to be humanised to fully illuminate their severity, Abdul-Raheem laments the lottery of geographical proximity in determining people’s access to effective healthcare, along with the tendency of the politically powerful to wholly ignore the needs of their citizens. Stressing that a bleak statistical picture is far more reflective of deficiencies in policy than an absence of resources, the author invites readers to join the UN’s Millennium Campaign.

With Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez having successfully won voters’ backing through a referendum on the removal of official term limits, Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem considers the dangers of allowing leaders of revolutionary clout to remain in power indefinitely. As a marked contrast from the country’s former imperially-backed political leaders, Abdul-Raheem points to the Chávez administration’s great achievements in health and education and continuing popularity with the poor. But if democracy is truly to function and sustain itself, the author argues, presidents must not be permitted to simply entrench themselves in power.

Following Muammar al-Gaddafi’s election as the African Union’s new chairperson, Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem calls upon the long-time Libyan leader to promote genuine strides towards greater pan-African unity. Noting Gaddafi’s traditional support for minority groups and left-wing political causes across Africa and around the world at large, Abdul-Raheem argues that substantive achievement will rest on the ability of the new leader and the AU to effectively engage with pan-Africanists at all levels outside of the corridors of governmental power.