Much Pomp, Some Progress - There was so much pomp and vanity, even hypocrisy, at the summit conference of the Organization of African Unity last week that it was sometimes hard for an outsider to see the tiny but very real, significant and exciting steps forward. Young and weak, ashamed of its weakness, the OAU often likes to hide its lack of power under the trappings of power, wasting precious time and energy. This hurts the OAU, making it seem comic and pathetic, even when it is progressing. An example came in midweek when the 18 chiefs of state and government stopped work in the afternoon to help the Congolese government dedicate a memorial to Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of The Congo, the first martyr of independent Africa. The tone and meaning of the ceremonies reflected many of the ills that afflict leadership in Africa...

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