A CONSCIOUS
AFRICA PEOPLE OF CHANGE LONG DESIRED: CRITICAL LOOK AT AFRICAN TODAY’S POLITICS
IN THE YEAR 2011
Chijioke Akusoronwa
Africa, the ‘‘Land of Origins’’ is no
doubt a great continent. Africa’s history, geography, languages, endowments and
people are indeed a blessing. Africa, as the
second largest of Earth’s seven continents, covering 23 percent
of the world’s total land area and containing 13 percent of the world’s
population makes her according to my research a ‘‘Home of Unity and Harmony’’.
But, Africa antecedents especially in some countries like Nigeria, Tunisia,
Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire, Sudan, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Libya etcetera over the past few years
is really begging some questions to be answered, which I will try to attempt in
this short piece of work.
I would like to make succinctly clear the understanding of class
consciousness as an important discuss from this work given the nature of our
African leaders’ classism. Classism explains the discrimination or prejudice
based on social or economic class, which had made our democracy a mirage in the
presence of the yearning, resolution and submissiveness of the people of
Nigeria and Africa at large to their governments. Class consciousness is rising
in Africa as a result of the wide spread literacy
level of African people; especially the youths whom I think must have read
the works of many scholars like, Aristotle, St Thomas Aquinas, Jean Calvin,
Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Adam Smith, Jeremy Bentham and especially the works
of Karl Marx (Communist Manifesto).
Marx works becomes resoundingly inevitable especially the part where Marx works
was trying to build class consciousness through class struggle thus uniting
these people (the deprived in today’s
world) in the pursuance of one united goal.
Marx outlines his theory of history and prophesies ‘‘an end to
exploitation’’ now bad leadership.
Identifying class struggle as the primary dynamic in history, he characterizes
the modern world as the stage for a dramatic confrontation between the ruling
bourgeoisie (the capitalists’ now the African
leaders) and the downtrodden proletariat (the working class now the African Citizens). Driven by
the logic of capitalism (now power)
to seek ever greater profit, the bourgeoisie constantly revolutionizes the
means of economic production (now
political might), the fulcrum of history.
In so doing, it unwittingly sets in motion socio-historical forces
that it can no longer control, thus ironically calling into existence the class
destined to end its rule—the proletariat (now
African People). As the proletariat (now
the African Citizens) increases in number and political awareness,
heightened class antagonism will, according to the Manifesto, generate a
revolution and the inevitable defeat of the bourgeoisie (now African leaders).
Arising from the above view, you will see for yourself why there is
a need for a clarion call in which Karl Marx wanted it to be for unity:
“Workers of All Countries, Unite!” now I
think it should be for progress: ‘‘Africans
Citizens of All Countries, Move Forward!’’
Abraham Lincoln once said, “As I would not be a slave, so I
would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs
from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy.”
This above statement is important to
African leaders as consciousness begin to rise in the faces of oppression,
mal-administration, monopoly of power, dictatorship, tyranny and abuse of
public trust, that the people whom power of a state resides in their hands can
no longer be taken for a foul.
The New Year 2011 is important for the trends of changes it has witnessed
since its start. The year opened up in Nigeria
with so many political issues that were done on Nigerians that change was indeed inevitable. Amid, the
causes of these conscious changes arises from failed dividend of democracy, lack
of leadership for over five months, failed Nigerian constitution to address
salient political and economic issues, zoning system of the People’s Democratic
Party (PDP), failed early arrival of voters registration machines known as INEC
Data Capture Machines, shift in voters registration exercise, alarming
insecurity in some parts of Nigeria such as: Jos, Abia, Abuja, Ogun, Oyo,
Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Kaduna etc, 25% of National Assembly spending, removal of
PDP National Chairman, and the emergence of the Presidential candidate in the
Presidential primaries of the PDP in the person of Dr. Ebele Jonathan Azikiwe
Goodluck; who also was the incumbent President of Nigeria. Again, agitation for
extension of voters’ registration period; in order to allow more Nigerian to
register, political killings, incessant doctors strikes, kerosene palava, 200
percent hike in the prices of commodities; even though they claimed inflation
was between 7 to 10 percent, massive
youth unemployment, corrupt government practises, brain drain etcetera were
also pointers to Nigerians consciousness.
‘‘If a free society cannot help the many
who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.’’ – John F. Kennedy
Many of our African leaders and politicians are of
the view that they can always have their ways provided they have the money to
manoeuvre the people. They forget the popular African saying, ‘‘A child who
does not allow the mother to sleep will not have his/her own sleep as well.’’
It goes to say that our African leader must bear in mind that, in as much as
the poor are made to suffer while they themselves enjoy what belongs to the
people they would also have no rest. This is because, crime will continue to
increase, robbery, killings and all manner of vices until the people are
engaged in enjoying what is meant for them.
‘‘Everything
flows and nothing stays.’’ – Heraclitus
For Tunisians,
a country with a population of 10,378,140 (2008 estimate) with Gross domestic
product (GDP) of over $30 billion (2006) and GDP per capital income of
$2,991.50 (2006) is still faced with unemployment, economic problems and slow pace of democratic reforms.
As if that is not enough, a country
where its president, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali took power as a prime minister in
1987 from its president, Bourguiba, still want to remain in power after 24years
of his leadership. Isn’t that surprising in this 21st Century? That, our
leaders in African countries to begin to realise that one person can’t
continually rule a country all the time especially, when the people think they
have had enough of his leadership in order to take in another leader with new
ideas of doing things
In Egypt,
after Sadat was
assassinated by a group of Islamist officers on October 6, 1981, while
reviewing a military parade in Cairo commemorating Egypt’s victory in the 1973
war, lead to the handover of power to Mubarak.
But, it is still surprising that Mubarak would
still wait until chased out of office after a long appeal and death of his own
people until the international community’s involves themselves before he could
vacate the seat which he sat for over 29years.
In Cote
d’Ivoire, the story is unchanged with a population of 18,373,060 (2008
estimate), 15 percent Life expectancy of 49.2 years (2008 estimate), Infant Mortality
rate of 86 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate) all shows the level of
poor health policies, infrastructures, social amenities, economic decadence
coupled with pockets of tribal and political crisis.
Again, the bane of
underdevelopment and conflict is also centred on the problem of leadership in
Cote d’Ivoire. Let take for example, Félix Houphouët-Boigny
who became the first President of Côte D’ivoire in 1960. He was subsequently re-elected
every five years until he died in office in 1993. Then Laurent Gbagbo, who became
President since 1993 to 2011 and still desire to continue in office even after
losing in a general election won by Alassane Ouattara. The question that comes
to mind is: When would such seat tight on power in
Africa be over?
For Sudan,
oil; which would had been a blessing have far more become not just a burden of
curses but also an engine room for incessant killings, wars and enmity among a
country of two divided ideology, region, religion and leadership. A country
with a population
of 40,218,455 people (2008 estimate), 12 percent Life expectancy of 50.3 years
(2008 estimate), Infant Mortality rate of 87 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008
estimate). The statistics tells me that Sudan would have been a great, rich and
blessed country had it been that they were able to see beyond the oil, by
looking at other potential natural endowments and resource, putting in mind
unity in diversity and forming a kind of leadership that would use some
attributes of Federal and Parliamentary structure of government.
For Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who became president of
Sudan, during a military coup in 1989, has not shown much success for 22year of
leadership. Even his new referendum idea and result has not been marched with the
desired process of making the country better.
However, Sudan seems to be led by a leader who’s
managerial, personality trait and leadership vision is narrowed to belated
aspiration without taken a leadership paradigm shift in the unification,
development and re-orientation of his people (North and South Sudan).
Mwai Kibaki, the President of Kenya
is also among the African leaders that have not lived up to their
constitutional vows. He was elected president of Kenya in 2002, having
previously served as a political minister under Kenya’s first two presidents,
Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel Arap Moi.
But with all his vast experiences, the zeal of
building a one united stronger East African hegemon, Kenya, is still far from
him. His winner-takes-all politics, electoral frauds, underdevelopment of many
sectors in Kenya, and loss of lives of many Kenyans show how sensitive his commitment
sends to his people and the outside world.
Zimbabwe, is
not left out in the discussion of South African politics. For those who
understood her political history in attaining independence in 1980 and her help
in modifying the regions politics does not also mean that changes after a long
concluded understanding cannot be achieved if truly our leaders are really
patriotic.
For Robert Gabriel Mugabe, who has also been among
the longest holders of political power for thirty-two years and is not allowing
any other person is not a true character of leadership, patriotism and service
to his dear country. He became Zimbabwe’s first prime minister in 1980 after
independence and later president of the country in 1987 after constitutional
reform abolished the office of prime minister. Although, Mugabe had helped lead
the Black Nationalist Movement in the 1970s that ended white minority rule and
secured the country’s formal independence from the United Kingdom in 1980. But,
how does that translate him to a sit tight in power for over 30yrs without
learning for his counterparts Nelson Mandela.
Libya was
colonized by Italy in the early 20th century. The country became an independent
monarchy in 1951, and in 1969 young army officer Muammar al-Qaddafi seized
power. Qaddafi proceeded to create a new Libya based on his theories of
socialism and Arab nationalism. Though, Libya was a poor country
until the discovery of oil in the 1950s. Since then its large reserves of
petroleum have made Libya one of the wealthiest countries in Africa.
But, under Qaddafi’s leadership Libya took a much more active
role not only in Arab affairs but also in international politics. Though, Libya
was governed by the principle of Jamahiriya “state of the masses”
under a constitution adopted in 1977 by the General People’s Congress (GPC), which
was established by the National Legislature in 1976. The tenet behind this
political arrangement is the Third Universal Theory, expounded by Muammar
al-Qaddafi in his three-volume tract, The Green Book. But the question
still remains: When will Qaddafi leave the seat of
government for other Libyans to rule in his over 42years of tyrannical rule of
the Libyan people?
I would like to end this short work by
saying that all these consciousness are made possible with Nigerian literacy
rate of 70.7 percent
(2005 estimate), Tunisian literacy rate of
76.2 percent (2005 estimate), Egypt literacy rate of 59.3 percent (2005
estimate), Cote
d’Ivoire literacy
rate of 53.6 percent (2005 estimate), Sudan literacy rate of 63.2 percent
(2005 estimate), Kenya literacy rate of 86.9 percent (2005 estimate),
Zimbabwe literacy rate of 91.9 percent (2005 estimate),
Libya literacy rate of 84.2 percent (2005 estimate), thus putting to question why one person
(leader) cannot think of turning himself into a tyrannical government in the
presence of a people’s sovereign state even with their
slow pace of democratic reforms which most African leaders tends to pursue.
CHIJIOKE, holds a professional
certification in Management and a first degree in Political Science and one of
the best graduating student in the said discipline from Obafemi Awolowo
University, Nigeria. He is passionate about providing the leading platform for bearing the burden for
his clients’ zenith successes which is hinged at providing exceptional Consulting
Services in the areas of paper writing, biographies, training, political advisory, public speaking,
business development, product marketing and advert production all in a
practical solution driven and goal oriented perspectives. As the Principal/Head
Consultant, HeroesPlus Consultant
based in Lagos, his interest in research
and development made him a social blogger and a prolific biographer. Among his
works includes: Celebrating Our Country In Doubt: A Question Begging Patriotic
Answer; Challenging Your Dreams; Nigeria Sixth Republic: 50 Years Of Unfinished
Leadership; 2011, April Ballot: Winners, Losers And The Nigerians Lesson, among
others. He is a member of Civil Liberty Organization, Rotaract Club to mention a
few.
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Thank you for reading.
