The abiding misfortune of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is that providence blessed it with such unimaginable mineral wealth. That wealth, has acted as a magnet, to attract an assortment of adventurers, throughout its modern history, over the last four centuries.

And there is a long list, of such individuals, and corporate entities: starting with King Leopold of the Belgians: who, incredibly, was able to enslave the Congolese people, and make their country his personal fiefdom, in 1885, by posing as someone who was on a civilizing mission in Africa, in his quest, to control the Congo, at the Berlin Conference - at which European powers carved up Africa, by parceling it out, amongst themselves.

Today, the rulers of its neighbours, Uganda and Rwanda, who, acting through Congolese proxies, are following in King Leopold's footsteps, too: secretly fueling conflicts, in the Eastern DR Congo: and enriching themselves enormously, in the process. And they have also backed key political figures, in the country - instead of prevailing on them, to put aside their selfish personal ambitions, in the interest, of the long-suffering Congolese people.

And in between those three heads of state, from Belgium and Eastern Africa, over the centuries, there has been a steady flow, of an assortment of ruthless individuals, many driven simply, by unfathomable greed, on the troubled Congolese landscape - and in whose interest, it also is, that the DR Congo, remains unstable, and a very dangerous place: so that they can continue buying precious minerals cheaply and smuggle them out of the country, successfully.

In the meantime, tragically, over 5 million Congolese citizens have been killed, as a result of the conflicts of the last two decades: fueled by the greed for money, of all those actors, in this African equivalent, of a Greek tragedy, who, over the yeas, have sought to purloin the vast untold wealth, of that huge country - the third largest, in Africa.

The DR Congo's tragedy, is also all of Africa's tragedy - for, apart from the potential economic importance, which its mineral wealth bestows on it, it also possesses, the potential, to produce enough renewable energy, to easily power the whole of the continent.

And, that the AU and Africa's leaders, have not understood the urgency, of acting collectively, and rapidly, to ensure the peace and stability of that nation, sadly, shows their lack of imagination.

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