Gift of the Nile

16 December, 2011 | By Mohamed Khalil  (Daily News Egypt)
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    As Egyptians, we are
    effectively living in one big
    oasis. A vast and barren
    desert, the world’s largest,
    cut through straight down the
    middle of our borders by the
    world’s longest river. This is a
fact that we seem to miss. Collectively and as individuals we do not
see the imperative need for us to be extremely prudent with our most
important and divine endowment — water. As individuals we are very
irresponsible with the use of water. We take long showers, we bathe
our cars with ridiculous amounts of water and we are so imprudent
that we use water by bathing the streets to relieve the heat. And our
state has failed us. It has failed us in having a long term, clear-cut
vision for the security of our water resources. It is only now, as a
reaction to the Nile basin countries’ decision that they see the current
treaty governing the use of the Nile waters as unfair, and further
threatening to go-it-alone, that the magnitude of the potential trouble
spot has come to our attention. It might be too late.

For a while now we have heard analysts predicting that in the future,
the coming wars will be over water. We have turned a collective blind
eye to such analyses. We have hidden behind the magnificence and
splendour of the Nile, thinking that we are safe in its vastness, that it is
an infinite supply of water and that we are the only, or most important,
country using it. In our constant search to keep pace with the West,
or the more advanced countries, we have ignored those to our south;
we have ignored the countries that are potentially more important to
us than our more sophisticated and distant peers. In doing so what we
have failed to realise is that the future is now.

A ‘water war’ is now well in the realm of possibility. The tone
between Egypt and the Sudan vis-à-vis Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda,
Tanzania as well as Kenya is not very cordial. Ethiopia, a major
benefactor of Israeli munificence is proceeding with plans to dam the
Nile. Analysts refuse to rule out the possibility of an Egyptian strike
against Ethiopia, or worse, a regional war. And although it might seem
that such a war would take place beyond our borders, out of sight
and therefore of little consequence to us as citizens, we only need to
remember the utter failure of the Egyptian army’s venture in the
Yemen — and how it foreshadowed the rout of 1967 — to
comprehend the effect of such a war on our land.

Unlike Israel, Egypt has not been proactive in strengthening its ties to
African countries. We have rested on our laurels for so long that it has
come back to haunt us. We hid behind the perception that we are the
leading force on the continent and unfortunately it is no longer true. It
was true before, when Egypt was at the forefront of the liberation
struggle, but we are no longer that beacon of hope for the African
continent. Countries like South Africa, who take an active part in
regional trade and investment, are the true leaders and true leading
lights. Iran, Israel and China have also made inroads into the continent
when we should have long before; and while it may be argued that
Egypt does not have the capacity that China has, or Iran’s oil wealth,
it is a fact that investment in Africa is not very demanding. While it is
true that some Egyptian outfits are active on the continent, it is by no
means enough.

What the leaders of this country have failed to foresee is that the Nile
Basin Treaty, which gives Egypt veto power on the use and
consumption of Nile waters is undermined. And with an independent
South Sudan the said treaty might well be rendered obsolete under
international law. It is symptomatic of this country’s leadership, to be
forced into a reaction and not preempt its solution. No one in a
position of power was able to foresee the problem that this treaty
might cause in the future, no one kept our arrogance in check and
now they are all scurrying to make amends to this lack of foresight.

Mohamed Ali, who we are told is the father of the modern Egyptian
state, must be rolling in his grave. When he came to power in 1805,
one of his top priorities was to secure the Nile tributaries under
Egyptian control. Two hundred years have passed and we are doing
his legacy a world of harm.

Mohamed Khalil is a Cairo-based commentator

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