Described as the ‘Dark Continent’ by the media, Africa has always been in the news as a continent of poverty, corruption, political instability and a safe haven for every parasite, virus, bacteria and all kinds of health hazards. It has been said by critics that, some of these pieces of information on Africa are hyped and most often blown out of proportion. They have even questioned why the ‘good side’ of Africa has not been given much media attention. Is there a conspiracy to paint the Dark Continent even darker than it already is?
According to a very recent UN report, life in Zimbabwe, a country in the southern part of Africa is the shortest! This report states that, neither men nor women in Zimbabwe are expected to live up to forty years! In addition, this same country has the highest inflation rate in the world according to the Guinness Book of records. That’s not all. The top ten countries with the lowest life expectancy rates in the world are all found on the continent of Africa. It seems correct to say that, Africa is the continent with the most problems dating back to the colonial era to the present. This continent has been oppressed, looted of resources, looked down upon and marginalised for centuries. The odds from all indications are against her. Is there a future for Africa in view of recent events coupled with the attitudes exhibited by her leaders?
The political life of Africa is synonymous with the word, ‘instability’. Military interventions have characterised the political scene in Africa for so many years and sad to say, they still do. A greater number of the countries on the continent have either experienced coup d’états or have had civilian rulers who have amended the constitution over and over again to enable them remain in power a little bit longer. Some of these leaders also managed to declare themselves presidents for life and did away with democracy. Interestingly, some military rulers gradually metamorphosed into civilian rulers because the thought of relinquishing power to the civilians haunted their imaginations and terrified them; they could not think of forfeiting the ‘pleasures’ of being in power to life as ordinary citizens. So on the ‘throne’ they remained until they died or were toppled. Such has been the political situation on continent.
In the mid 60s down to the early 90s, it was a common thing to hear about the seizure of power by the military any moment on your radio set. It would begin with a sudden interruption of radio programming, a medley of patriotic songs would follow and then a sudden harsh announcement that would signify the official take-over by the military. The leaders were mostly junior ranking officers who would cite corruption and mismanagement as the reason for their intervention. They would in turn stay in power for a long time leaving the worst corruption records.
A classic example is President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. Over twenty years ago when he came into power through a military junta, he cited leaders who stayed too long in power as one of Africa’s major problems. Nineteen years later, he thanked members of the Ugandan parliament for voting to scrap term limits that would have ended his presidency. He is even on record as saying: “…that (presidential term limits) provision was not wise at all, because the problems Africa face are not time-bound…”In the 1970s and 80s, many African countries were being run either as one-party dictatorships, or by military governments. Countries such as Nigeria, Mali, Uganda, Ghana, Ethiopia, Togo, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Niger and Chad are examples. Some of these military heads have either stepped aside or melted into civilians and contested elections.
Blaise Campaore of Burkina Faso, Mathieu Kerekou of Benin, Yahaya Jammeh of the Gambia, Lansana Conteh of Guinea and Jerry John Rawlings of Ghana can be cited. I dare say that many an African leader has not come to terms with free speech, equal rights and the rule of law. To them, these are ideals that cannot work in these parts of the world. It is surprising to note that, Africa’s great leaders who fought tirelessly to wrest power from the colonialists saw the need for freedom. They argued that, the African must be given the right to rule and make decisions for himself. In a way, they saw the need to give equality a chance; they wanted democracy. But sadly, the ‘pleasures’ that accompanied life at the top got into them. So they woke up one day and decided that no one was as wise as they were; they concluded that, they had to rule until their dying day. Thus they stifled all opposing voices and placed an embargo on the formation of political groupings. But in those days, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania showed a deeper commitment to the rule of law when he stepped down from power after completing his term of office.
The likes of Nyerere have been very few in contrast to the likes of Nkrumah (who declared himself President for life) but the trend is changing! Indeed the old order is gradually giving way to the emergence of a new crop of leaders. John Kufuor of Ghana, Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, Festus Mogae of Botswana and a host of other African leaders can be said to be championing the cause of democracy and the rule of law and this has made military uniforms and long strings of military accolades, very rare at Presidential summits. Also, with the West African Regional body, ECOWAS, stating emphatically that it would no longer tolerate military coups, the AU showing signs of disapproval regarding military juntas, such interventions are becoming very rare on the continent. Even the Comoros are now quiet. At one point in 2001, three coups were recorded in two months! In one instance, one coup-maker was in power for just a single day! There are still hot spots in parts of West Africa and the Great Lakes region and very recently, Chad and Mauritania. But there is every reason to believe that sustained and delicate attempts at peace on the part of the ECOWAS and the AU combined with pressure from the UN and other western aid agencies will be able to keep the army out of the political arena for a very long time.
The issue of women in African politics is a refreshing trend worth noting. At least three women have held Vice Presidential positions in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Burundi; one has been Prime Minister in Mozambique and another, Prime Minister in Sao Tome and Principe. In Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has broken through what used to be a man’s wall to become the first female elected President of an African country. These emerging trends are a sure sign that there is a current wave of change blowing across the continent. With a gradual shift to multi-party democracy, respect for the rule of law and Ellen Johnson-a mother who has already started incubating the yet-to-be hatched prowess of a new Liberia, I strongly believe we will wake up one day to the dawn of a new Africa.
