BlackPerspective.net
Discussing the Diaspora as seen through an internal Black lens
Why Africa Needs A Leader
February 5th, 2008
As violence rages in Kenya, and now stepped up violence in Chad the last few days; I pounder african leadership.
Africa needs a leader! Not just a political leader, but a spiritual guide; and I don’t mean this in religious terms.
The continent is plagued by ethnic strife, most of it made up by colonialist who carved up Africa at the Conference of Berlin in 1884 Colonial rulers either pit tribes or ethnic groups against one another, either competing for meager resources, or as in the case of Rwanda’s Hutu and Tutsi, using indirect rule favoring one class of the population over the other which fermented strife. All of this designed to keep the Africans fighting each other instead of fighting his colonial slave lord.
Well, though the European colonists have technically moved on; more than 100 years later the Africans are still fighting each other.
Most recently there have been the mentally beguiled African “Arabs” (as they identify more with their imported Arab culture than being racially Black) in Sudan engaging in genocide first in South Sudan and now in the Eastern province of Darfur, against fellow Black Africans. There is the crisis in Kenya pitted along ethnic lines ; Samoli is always internally smoldering, and now Ethiopa is being used as western proxies to ferment that, and we could go on.
The Congo’s conflict has now erupt to the front of the stage in the last few days. I don’t have the knowledge to get into the specifics of the roots of the Chadian conflict, and easily findable writings on the web about Chad are imprecise or lack depth about the underline cause of the current conflict. This one though details what’s immediately lead to this specific flash point. onetheless, I’m willing to bet the background story follows a familiar pattern.
I think Africa’s problems starts with a lack of unity. There is not much of a binding sense of commonality within most of Africa’s individual countries, much less a sense of African Brotherhood across the continent. Of course most of this ethnic alienation is fueled by political leaders and warlords using ethnic strife to prop themselves up into power; and quiet often they are supported by western financial interest who can make more money with a corrupt leader in power or a destabilized nation. You don’t have to put up with pesky things like paying the locals a fair wage, not polluting their water source, or any regulations when you have a corrupt puppet ruler in power. You know, the type of business republicans are always advocating for here in the U.S.
And of course in both Sudan and Chad there is lots of oil, so destabilized nations with atrocities means the west can come invade…I mean peace keep. And you know when the western military goes in that means money money money for western business; both through the military industrial complex and foreign investors in various areas of business.
Africa previously had the Organization of African Unity. It didn’t work quite so well over time, and in 2001 was merged with African Economic Community to form a new organization with a renewed mission – The African Union (AU). The AU in part is the realization of pan africanism, in that it endeavors to unite the continent under a single currency, common defense force and to hedge it’s place in the world. Fifty-three African countries (which I think is all of them) are member states.
There are problems though, a couple that I want to highlight. While the African Union is seen by some as the realization of pan-africanism; the AU includes majority Arab nations such as Morocco, Egypt and Libya. That’s fine and even good in some respects; but this multi-racial mix does not allow such an institution to address Black specific problems, which include mental colonialism of some Africans who disregard their Blackness and hold enmity towards other Black Africans who are not of the Arab culture. This is an equal problem to where Blacks identify with white culture and heritage more than their own, and was mostly caused the same way; as Islam (not in every instance) often time gained rule in Africa the same way the white European did, by the gun. Such rule has proceeded to degrade the culture and history of Black Africa in much the same way as the European, and discriminated against the native African, causing this mentality.
The other problem is, the AU doesn’t have spiritual credibility with the people; it’s a political organization. And what I mean by spiritual in this piece is that internal, interpersonal motivational factor. Africa needs somebody, or somebody’s who articulate and appeal to African’s inner-person the need to see beyond narrow ethnicity and embrace greater African commonality. Africa needs leaders who can unite Africans in spirit, not just in monetary policy.
Where is today’s Kwame Nkrumah?
Not Kofi Annan of Ghana, former Secretary General of the United Nations. He’s a politician (in almost every bad sense of the word), mostly controlled by western business interest.
Nelson Mandela or Desmond Tutu of South Africa might have the universal appeal and credentials to get folks to hear such a message, but they’re both very old and tired. Nelson Mandela especially seems that he has ended his political work.
Could have possibly been South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki, presidential successor to Mandela; but he threw that possibility away by opposing AIDS treatment for his own countrymen.
On the other hand their’s Yoweri Museveni, who valiantly help lead Uganda out of dictatorial rule and institute a pretty ethnically broad based government; and then took on AIDS earlier than most countries in the world. Yet now he’s facing his own ethnic strife in northern Uganda.
I have no ideal who the person or persons could be; I just know that such people’s need to emerge.
Popularity: 6% [?]
posted in Social Commentary, Foreign News | | | View blog reactions | Print This Post
Related Posts:
11 Responses to “Why Africa Needs A Leader”
Leave a Reply
About The Blog
Yobachi Boswell is creator and publisher of BlackPerspecitve.net. I’m a writer, activist and political watcher based in Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve also been know to do some spoken word and MCing in my day.
I created this site to give new voice to socio-political issues that are in need of thoughtful consideration and redress.
Click the "More About The Blog" link for rest of this statement.
Also, if you like what you see, subscribe for a once a day email to be sent on days when we post; by entering your email address in the feed burner subscription box below.
- More About The Blog...
Subscribe via email
Buy Obama
Blogroll
Site Meter
Meta
Subscribe Via RSS
Recent Posts
- Thabo Mbeki Accused of Responsibility for 330,000 AIDS Deaths
- Preliminary Thoughts on Jeremiah Wright’s ‘Africans Who Shaped Our Faith’
- Who Is Eric Holder, Obama’s Attorney General Pick
- World AIDS Day Is Coming
- Political Satire On Obama Victory
- Watch Outfoxed Video
- Video of 60 Minutes Interview With Barack and Michelle Obama
- Hillary Clinton For Secretary of State, Why
- William Ayers Speaks Out On Good Morning America (video)
- To The Black Woman
Podcast
Podcast Commenting
Taser Abuse Awareness
It needs more than a lader. I mean i have lived in 5 countries from 3 months to 2 years. And I know if u ever lived there u will know what i mean. After SA and colonialism, leaders are the least of their problems
Sure, there are other great issues, and this piece does not mean to have the scope of a broad based analysis of all that Africa needs.
But narrowing down to the specific issue being addressed here do you disagree that ethnic based conflict and a general lack of unity under cuts the ability to tackle many of the problems? I think there’s a house divide issue there that at least is part of what prevents getting to a point of working on solutions.
The main manifested problem in Africa is the lack of a material base, the financial games the World Bank plays, and other manipulations by foreign investors; a lot of this is the cause of destabilization which leads to many other specific problems.
Would not unity provide a resistance mechanism to such folly, and provide for some stability to allow for problems t be solved?
I think it goes back to what was stated at the beginning;thereis no
unity! United we stand, divided …
- garry b
Africa, being a huge continent, I think there is little hope of a leader to unify the continent as a whole. The spoils of colonialism sadly have allowed for those who will take advantage to take advantage in their own countries.
My feeling is the world could help many countries in Africa and other places as well greatly by helping to eradicate the poverty, health and potable water problems which would then allow for the people of the countries to be empowered, allowing for each country to develop their own leaders from the people.
Until the world understands, as Jeffry Sachs states in “The End of Poverty” - “$70 per person can go far in changing a life - not as a handout but as an investment in sustained economic growth.”
Until the world understand that safe environments allow for economic growth which then allows for emergence of leaders, people willing to work and ready to govern themselves. amd invests in this cause completely many of these nations will continue to struggle. That coupled with so much of the world willing to strip what they find useful in Africa nd leave the rest of course.
I suggest, if you have the time, the book “The End of Poverty”. It is only the end of poverty, or a sustained committed effort on the part of the world to call up investments that will end poverty, putting in place a system of governance which empowers all of a a nations people while still holding them accountable.
Cooper, thanks for the Book suggestion, sounds like good stuff. You always have good refernces.
I agree about the poverty thing. Hell, simple stuff like
clean water wells, cheap vitamin dropplets, and other such things would go along way.
Anyway, that’s why I joined the one campaign from it’s inception.
People just don’t realize that Africa is not a country (as one of our intrepid congressman recently said) - it’s a conglomeration of countries which are made up of various tribes - kinda like what North America was before the invasion/discovery of Europeans and the subsequent genocide perpetrated by the ‘pilgrims/settles’.
People also don’t realize just how huge a continent Africa is - you could place the entire United States, China, Europe, India, Argentina and New Zealand in the same space as Africa and still have room to spare. In fact, if you took the square kilometers of those countries listed - you would have 30,244,721 sq. km. and Africa has 30,343,551 sq km. Populations of those countries listed is 3,221,400,400 (2000 census)and yet Africa has 748,100,100 peoples (2000 census).
Cooper said it all - and thanks for the book title - I’ll get it ASAP. Here’s a few books for you all - “Africa - A Biography of the Continent” by John Reader, “Africana - The Encyclopedia of The African and African-American Experience” by Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Editors as well as “Frontiers” by Noel Mostert - just for starters.
For years we (my wife and I) have been sending money to Africa for projects such building wells, shelters, clothing, food, medicines, school supplies,etc. and though I know that 100% of that actually gets to those for whom it is intended. If even half gets through, it’s a start.
I have no answer as to how we can unite the countries of Africa so that they can become a 1st world of nations. But I pray that someday it will rise to that level and won’t that just make this world a better and richer place in which to live.
Peace.
I like the idea of one leader in theory, but as others have mentioned it simply is not feasible. I’m Nigerian. Nigeria by itself has a population of over 100 million people. Africa is a HUGE continent - I think it’s hard for people to get a grasp of how massive it is. Different countries are different in so many, infinite ways. From East to West, North to South. Different languages, foods, tribes, religions, people, interests, needs.
Colonel Gadaffi wanted to be the leader of a ‘United States of Africa’ - God forbid… The concept of a United States of Africa with one leader is idealistic. Every country has its own individual challenges to face - some worse than others. In practice, right now, at least it would not work - nor should it really be anyone’s concern - it’s not really a priority. I don’t believe that Africa needs one leader. What individual African countries need is to sort out their own business first, and once that has been done then we can think about that.
As I said in a blog post of mine on this topic (see below): YOU CANNOT HAVE UNITY AS A CONTINENT IF YOU DON’T HAVE UNITY IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD. Let African leaders focus on unifying the hundreds of millions who live in their OWN countries first. That’s what is going to stop Kenyans and Somalians killing each other over tribal politics, not a ‘leader’ - elected by who may I ask?? - who the average African person doesn’t even know or care about.
I actually wrote a blog post about this some time ago: something2say.wordpress.com/2007/07/02/united-states-of-africa/
MorganLighter, that’s kind of my point. Because there are so many countries and then tribes and ethnic groups within countries; the continent needs some greater commonality, such as pan-africanism, to unite around.
While they’re always fighting each other, outsiders are coming in and plundering them, with the help of their internal politicians. It needs to move beyond politics to some greater ideal that they can take collective stake in.
Well Lola, I didn’t even mean just one leader. I think the people need a unifying force and someone needs to step forward to point them to it; but it doesn’t have to be one someone. If it’s more the better, but right now there’s not even one, and really much hasn’t been for decades.
I’m think about an inspirer who can help people get pass their viewing themselves in a narrow prism, and help point them towards a broader worldview; at lease a somewhat collective worldview.
And this doesn’t call for anyone to give up, or disregard the direct religion, language or culture or anything.
And your right about unity country by country; but I think every country has the same underlying malady, so if all were to take hold of the same ideal of pan-africanism within each country – let’s take Nigeria for instance – then maybe you would there folks thinking “we’re both African we’re both Nigerian” rather than “I’m Hausa and you’re Igbo; we’re different”, or “I’m Muslim, your Christian; I have to kill you”.
I’m really not trying to be all “pie in the sky” about it, I’m not that corny or foolish; I just don’t see how Black folks (in Africa and out of Africa) are going to start behaving better towards one another without some higher minded ideals and shifts in paradigm.
African leaders resort to politics of ethnicism and tribalism is a sign of failure in leadership.
In the final analysis education remains the only panacea to the liberation of Afica from the doldrum of bad leadership.
Having said that, we as a people will need to be determined to rid Africa of bad leadership.
We must desire freedom from the inside in other to be free, bad leadership in a sense is another form of colonialism in Africa. We must be resolute in the fight against bad leadership as we fought colonialism.
We do not lack leaders in Africa, what we lack are good leaders.
Exactly, Which Way Nigeria, and I see a bad leader as no leader.