African
countries may boast about improving democracy; but the survival of the
continent’s ancient tyrants had continued to taint its governments.
Leaders
versus Dinosaurs?
Except in the Indian
Ocean island of Mauritius, no single African ruler was peacefully ousted at the
ballot box between the continent’s independence from colonial rule in the early
1960s[i]
and the end of cold war in 1991. However, when
Zambia’s Kenneth Kaunda and Mathieu Kerekou of Benin resigned from
office in 1991, African voters appeared to have suddenly become politically
active, kicking out as much as 30 of their leaders and ruling parties at the
ballot box. One of the unique features
of African politics is the popularity of multi-party systems, which by far
outnumber single-party ones. On the
positive side, when compared to the Arab world,
where so far almost no incumbent-ejected elections have taken place
anywhere, Africa is doing better in terms of democratic governance[ii].
In spite of this, many countries of Africa are still
ruled by too many dinosaurs whose time
ought to have passed. As a matter of fact, it is only in Africa that you can
find half of the world’s longest-serving rulers. What is certain is that some of
these African leaders, particularly Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe(who assumed
leadership of the country 34 years ago), began with what may be considered a
genuine popular consent. Another African
leader who was very popular when he
became president about 26 years ago but who has no plan of relinquishing power
is Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni. The aforementioned leaders, Robert Mugabe and Yoweri Museveni, shares similar political agenda
with several other old timers who, unfortunately, have been in charge of their
country even longer: To hold onto power as long as they can. Notable among them
are Tedoro Nguema of Equatorial Guinea (who pushed out his uncle in 1979); Jose
Eduardo Dos Santos of Angola(whose Marxist philosophy enabled him to assume
leadership of his country in 1979); and
Sudan’s Omar al-Barshir , who has presided over his country since 1989 and is
wanted by the International Criminal Court
for alleged crimes against humanity. It is an acknowledged truth that if
the citizens of the countries presided over by these dictators had more
freedom, they will not allow them to calcify their positions as presidents. [iii]
Independent studies suggests that South Africa and
Nigeria are the continent’s biggest democracies. [iv]
Nevertheless, their citizens cannot boast of having a representative
government. For instance, since 1994, South Africa has been under the
leadership of the African National Congress – a party which, through its
activities, has put the country in danger of becoming a de facto one-party
state. In Nigeria, the politicians are so corrupt that the masses are so
disgusted with that political philosophy called democracy. Of course, both
countries had continued to witness the rise of billionaires at the top even
though the masses, which constitute as much as 80 percent of their population,
still live in penury[v].
When we look at
economic indicators of the last five years, it will be tempting to suggest here
that, at least in the short term, only
in Africa does autocracy seem to favor
economic growth. For instance, a country like Ethiopia, has seen its economy
grow faster than those of its more democratic neighbors, even though it was
ruled by the anti-democrat Meles Zenawi. In addition, the life of the Rwandans have
improved a lot under the leadership of Paul Kagame – a ruthless and autocratic
president. Furthermore, among the fastest growing countries in the world are
Equatorial Guinea and Angola – growth rates that is fuelled by oil windfall.
Playing to Win –
The Price of Democracy
In spite of the above
near-good news, some African leaders like Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe has
continued to be an epitome of bad leadership, pauperizing a once-rich country,
thereby becoming a real life evidence
that the least-free countries are also the most economically backward. For instance, according to the Mo Ibrahim
Index of African governance, a foundation that helps to define, assess and
enhance governance and leadership in Africa, most of the 300 desperate refugees
who drowned off the Italian island of Lampedusa on October 3 were from Africa’s
worst performers in political participation and human rights, particularly from
Somalia and Eritrea. [vi]One
of the key findings of this index is that, when viewed in the light of
governance and leadership, it would be observed that countries can generally do
well in economic development if, and only if, they are good performers in such
areas as political participation and human right protection. The basic insight
from this finding is that, given that democracy is the best guarantor of
political participation, human right protection and peace, it makes sense to
infer that it(that is, democracy) can serve as the best foundation for growth
and development, especially in Africa.
The presence of Western
influence as well as the activities of the nongovernmental organizations(NGOs)
in Africa is obviously a good thing. They give succor and lessons in
institution-building to the African people. On the negative side, they are
losing their leverage in that regard, for one simple reason: While aid from the
West to Africa are conditional on more
democracy and respect for human right, grants, loans and trade deals from China
comes with no tiresome strings attached. As a result, the West has become less
alluring to African leaders. So, given that African kleptocrats are neither willing to give up power nor
implement reforms that would improve their citizen’s standard of living, the
onus is on African people to demand more of a say in the way their countries are
run, including how its abundant natural resources are managed. On the positive side, the advent of the
internet and mobile phones is helping more Africans to argue and complain about
politics and their life conditions, so Africans are actually changing, albeit
slowly. One thing the African dinosaurs should understand is that it will not
be a long time before their people will become more serious about demanding
better government and due process.
NOTES
[i]
About(2013): A Chronological List of Independence Dates in Africa. Retrieved December
19, 2013 from http://africanhistory.about.com/library/timelines/blIndependenceTime.htm
[ii]
The Economist(2013): African Governance – Too Many Dinosaurs. Retrieved December
19, 2013 from http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21587787-too-many-dinosaurs
[iii]
Ibid
[iv]
Alence R.(2009): Democracy and Development in Africa. The Journal of International Institute, 16(2), 4-5.
[v] The
Economist(2013): African Governance – Too Many Dinosaurs. Retrieved December
19, 2013 from http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21587787-too-many-dinosaurs
[vi]
UNHCR (2013): Refugees Daily. Retrieved December 19, 2013 from http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refdaily?pass=463ef21123&date=2013-10-11&cat=Africa
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