In a book entitled “From Bedouin to President”, probably written by other hands and bearing the name of the Transitional President of Chad, two passages were devoted to the President of the African Union Commission, Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat . The first concerns the attitude he attributed to him during the funeral of the late Marshal Idriss Deby Itno on April 22, 2021 during which Moussa Faki would have spoken to the Heads of State present about an alleged ambition that he would have to lead the transition .
The President of the Commission himself will return to this point at the time he chooses, in particular on what is considered in the work as his “stated ambitions”.
The second passage relates to the speech that the President of the African Union Commission delivered at the opening of the National Dialogue on August 20, 2022 in N’Djamena and which will be the subject of this reaction.
Thus, President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno estimated, according to his understanding, that Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat's speech at the Dialogue described 30 years of repeated failures in Chad, and that he had forgotten to recall all the functions (director of Cabinet , Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, President of the Commission) which he had held under and thanks to President Idriss Deby Itno. He specifies that this speech shocked him considerably and that he did not understand “this betrayal and these lies”.
By these words, he said, Moussa Faki Mahamat thought he was clearing himself, even denying his past; and added that if anyone had anything to be ashamed of for their actions during this period, it was him.
The transitional president further claims that the latter spat on a dead man (Idriss Deby) while he was a friend, a relative and a confidant of the deceased, which was a shame according to him. He concludes, sententiously, that Moussa Faki Mahamat will answer for his actions before God.
There is no doubt, the signatory of “From Bedouin to President” had an ambivalent attitude towards Moussa Faki Mahamat’s speech. During the speech, he did not give the impression of being offended. Better still, he applauded him as much as everyone in attendance. Shortly after, he had to change his mind, undoubtedly under the influence of some close friends who saw in Moussa Faki a potential competitor to their champion for the presidential chair that the latter was determined to keep at all costs.
The visit made to the home of the President of the Commission the day after the opening of the Forum by two close collaborators of the President of Transition and the threats they made in relation to the speech, clearly reflects this change of heart.
By objectively revisiting the main articulations of Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat's intervention, we wonder where the betrayal and the lies are?
Is it a betrayal and lies to say that "after three decades, we find ourselves in the same, even the worst conditions of tension and recourse to force and violence to chart our political trajectories and to write the history of our country? » The death of the Marshal on the battlefield in April 2021 and the organization of a new national dialogue after the CNS of January 1993, are they not a striking manifestation of the “return to square one” as it was said in the speech?
Is it not obvious that all “Chadians, from the interior as well as those in the diaspora, have had enough of the war (…….) that they aspire to be governed differently, (…….) that they finally want to live and flourish in a State where justice, abundance, tranquility, tolerance and joy will henceforth be their daily life”?
Is it a lie to recall the proliferation of rebellions, movements and armed groups created in our country, to question “the death of our children in vanity, by vanity, for vanity, by the absurd and the “absurdity……..to wonder how many mothers have become widows and children have become orphans since the first rebellion, until that which took away President Idriss Deby Itno”?
Isn’t “the resurrection of communitarianism which has become a real cancer for this country…” real? Three years after these remarks made by Moussa Faki Mahamat, communitarianism, amplified by social networks, has caused hundreds of deaths on the ground and continues to undermine Chadian society.
Is it a betrayal to say that “no community, no group, no party (……) no entity whatever its strength, its ambitions, its current or potential assets can claim to govern alone this complex, diverse and diverse country? » ?
Or to affirm that “for 60 years, we have directly or indirectly experienced the paths of error, of moral failure and that it is time to explore new paths for the future”?
Is it always treason to suggest a “change in our governance, our methods of government and the structure of the political and social forces called to bring about such changes”?
Is it perhaps a crime to call on the Transition to “decide in the direction of history, in the best interest of the nation and to avoid going in circles”?
Finally, in what way does Moussa Faki Mahamat clear himself or does he deny his past for having only recalled in his speech all this evidence and this logic which Marshal Idriss Deby Itno also shared.
To claim that through this speech, Moussa Faki Mahamat is seeking to exonerate himself, to conceal his responsibilities in what happened in Chad when he held high office there is a shocking untruth. This speech, delivered in front of hundreds of witnesses, followed by thousands of anonymous Chadians, still exists. On this occasion, Moussa Faki clearly said, and in a particularly audible voice, that he fully assumed his share of responsibility. He asked for it and continues to ask for it. It is true that he said it especially in the part in Arabic which is not, as everyone knows, the language of scholarship of the signatory of this untruth.
Should being indebted to President Idriss Deby Itno for having entrusted him with the greatest responsibilities exempt Moussa Faki Mahamat from the duty of truth? This is not his conception of loyalty and fidelity in politics, even less of life in a Republic.
And what about the comments according to which Moussa Faki Mahamat has “something to reproach himself for his action during this period”? An assertion that is not based on any tangible element. Readers of the work and the person concerned would like to know a little more about this action than simple allusions bordering on defamation.
“From bedoin to president” shines neither for the quality of the writing nor for the truth of the facts concerning Moussa Faki Mahamat. The work only reflects an erroneous reading of the intervention of the President of the African Union Commission, omitting the relevant advice it contains and the taking into account of which could have avoided so many tragedies and even more shortcomings. severe conditions observed to date in Chad.
The extremely enthusiastic reception given by the room and among the public, during and after Mr. Faki's speech, should have edified and inspired the President of the Transition on the true expectations of his fellow citizens. The judgment he makes of it in the book closely resembles the attitude of the ostrich. Too bad for Chad and Chadians.
Moussa M. Dago,
Special Advisor to the Chairperson of the African Union Commission
*This article has been translated from French into English by Marcus Boni Teiga
