Im praying a lot for Africa right now because I believe it will be the final bastion of opportunity once the middle east and Asia Have had their best days . In 1960, Ghana was richer than Singapore & Nigeria was richer than Malaysia but 50 years on, power has completely changed hands. Today, Malaysia exports cooking oil to Nigeria. In the 60s, Malaysia did not have palm oil plantations. It is believed they got the seedlings from Nigeria. Up until 1980, most of the poorest countries in Africa like Burundi & Malawi were richer than China. China is set to supersede the U S economy by the year 2040 as the largest economy in the world. The question continues to be asked where did we go wrong? Corruption, no integrity, no vision,Impunity, Injustice, Insecurity and slaves finding themselves sitting in the positions of Kings. Everything rises and falls on leadership and most African countries have been leadership deficient for so long. You can’t lead people if you don’t love people and you can’t save people if you don’t serve people. So the question has to be and the question has to always remain, what is the depth of your love and what is the quality of your service to the people you say you want to lead and serve. As I travel speaking,training and doing my business, whenever African leaders and politician’s are mentioned, the atmosphere in the room always changes very quickly. Faces change and voice tones drop. Anger and frustration takes center stage. On many occasions, I have seen grown men begin to weep for their nation. The pronouncement of curses and plagues begin to rain down on the person being discussed and their family, friends, colleagues and supporters. Declarations of the leader’s downfall are confessed with passion and energy. It is clear that Africans home and abroad are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Other continents and nations use Africa for mockery, comedy and pub talk because of what happens within our corridors of power. It’s not a secret that the African continent is not at ease and things are continuing to fall apart. There are 54 African countries and some will say that since 1957 when Ghana got its independence that the vehicle has not moved very far and all we have continued to do is simply park the vehicle, change the drivers once in a while and keep moving at 3 miles per hour. Africans around the globe feel like they have been weakened, raped and abused by individuals who have been given the opportunity to lead and serve its people. Africans feel they have had one cycle of betrayal after another. All the collapsed states in Africa have been ruled by those that treated the country as their personal property and that should not be acceptable in 2012. Africans are sick and tired of having leaders imposed on them. If the voice of your leader is only respected or should I say feared in your country because of consequences, then really that is not a leader with a voice or true authority. Africans simply want an opportunity to choose their leaders. There is a consensus that the new definition of a dictator is not just somebody that uses fear and intimidation to rule but somebody who got into power because genuine votes were not counted but votes were stolen or nullified. If the electoral commission and electoral process can be manipulated or intimidated, then you may not be living in a democratic state but in a manipulated state. And if you have to manipulate and intimidate to get into power, then naturally, you will have to keep manipulating and intimidating to stay in power. It’s simply a downward spiral from there moving forward even though we may see glimpses of manicured and pedicured progress and success. Libya’s Colonel Gaddafi finally went after 42 years in power, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarrack had to ultimately leave after a popular uprising after 30 years of rule and it all began with the removal of Tunisia’s President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. Mr Ben Ali, had ruled the country virtually unchallenged since 1987. But there are others still there. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo who has been President of Equatorial Guinea since 1979. He ousted his uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema, in an August 1979 military coup and still rules. President José Eduardo dos Santos of Angola has also been sitting in the seat of power since 1979. And of course there is 90 year old President Robert Mugabe who has led Zimbabwe first as a Prime Minister and then as President for more than 32 years lol. I have been told that these people maintain power by controlling 6 keys institutions and do with them almost as they please. First of all, they control the media because who ever dominates the media dominates the message. Then the next step is to gain control of the security forces and from there, the goal is to have influence over policy, law, constitution and the legal system so they take over parliament which leads them to take over the electoral commission, the civil service and then finally the banking system. Job done and mission accomplished. At least 13 sitting African leaders have dominated and continued to rule and govern these struggling nations for over 2 decades. That is 20 years or more. Lieutenant General Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir is the President of Sudan and the head of the National Congress Party has been in power since 1989 and is wanted by the International Crimes Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. Cameroons President Paul Biya is a Cameroonian politician who has been the President of Cameroon since 6 November 1982 and Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is a Ugandan politician who has been President of Uganda since 26 January 1986. My personal opinion is that nobody has the monopoly on wisdom, vision and leadership. An 88 year old man has no business still ruling and governing a nation in this day and age. I guess the plan is to die on the seat which is totally selfish and some may go further to say wicked and evil. Zambia recently got on the right side of history when President Rupiah Banda conceded defeat in a free and fair election that brought President Michael Sata to power. The victory by President Sata and his party ended 2 decades of rule of the governing Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) which came to power in 1991. A great and beautiful example of getting on the right side of history was the swearing in of President John Dramani Mahama after the unfortunate and untimely passing of President John Atta Mills. The transition was smooth, peaceful and straight forward that Ghana once again demonstrated democracy in its purest form as they simply followed their constitution. In recent times, in other parts of Africa were leaders have died in office, the changing of the baton has left a sour taste in all of our mouths. I remember in 2009 when President Barack Obama was in Ghana and he said that Africa does not need strong men but strong institutions. Maintaining tribal and religious divisions allows these slaves to continue dominate and suppress nation building as they sit in positions of power and authority they are not qualified for or are not mature enough to handle. Tanzania is as diverse as Nigeria but somehow they are a unified country. The people speak with one voice and almost all speak one language which is Swahili. Most African countries have a toxic political culture and we make elections a do or die affair. We also operate a politics of private interest. We are all completely guilty. Whats in it for me. We are happy with our brother or sister being in power even if they are incompetent, dishonest, vision less, criminal, evil, wicked, violent and a dictator as long as there is some kind of private/personal benefit. How bad things are that if politicians dont get what they want, they would prefer for the country to collapse. The Feb elections are approaching in Nigeria and hearing all sides, it sounds like we are set for a blood bath. At the moment, there is a system that serves the elite few to the detriment of the many. Another major challenge is that in many African countries once resources like oil & diamonds are found, all other commodities are ignored and everyone becomes lazy and greedy. Most states in Nigeria are not viable without the monthly federal government allocation, apart from Lagos & maybe 2 others. The Federal government is too powerful and the states are too weak & the local governments are as good as dead economically. Some make the excuse that Nigeria can not work because Lord Lugard put us together and we have too many ethnic groups speaking too many different languages.The truth is not just African countries were artificially created. Even this United Kingdom was joined together but it functions. Even America is an artificial creation. But the people must want it to work first and demand for it to work. The truth is most Africans are waiting for their own turn or their own person to enter and take their share of the National cake. That you speak the same language does not guarantee anything. Most Somalis are Muslims and speak the same language and they have not really had much of a quality government for 3 decades, so one language, one religion does not guarantee peace and progress. What Africa needs more than anything is fairness, justice and equity from the ground up. The time has come for us to start getting it right. Evil prevails when good men and women sit on the sidelines. The politics of public interest is what Africa needs. Our economics must now be driven by equal concern for all. The truth is if your rich surrounded by hungry uneducated and poor people, then being robbed should not be a surprise to you. People get desperate and desperate people do desperate things. . Most African politicians believe they can get away with anything so they do anything, thats the bottom line and the truth is we let them either because we are scared or because we will do the same if opportunity presents itself. My prayer for Africa is that the mindset of the people and especially those in positions of authority changes. Every looter and thief sleeps with one eye open, has a gun near their bed, security around them and still has no peace. I pray my generation will be the beacon of new standards and norms. I pray my generation will blaze a new trail for others to follow. I pray my generation can not be bribed with small wins and quick gains. I pray my generation answers the call to get on the right side of history. CE
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 11:15:30 +0000
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