AFRICA: ADVOCACY FOR RESPONSIBLE FOLLOWERSHIP

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

MY INSPIRATION

CHAPTER ONE: THE CONTRACTCHAPTER TWO: LEADERSHIP OR MISRULE?CHAPTER THREE: FOLLOWERSHIP OR DOGMATISM?CHAPTER FOUR: THE BETRAYALCHAPTER FIVE: TRADITIONAL APPROACHCHAPTER SIX: NATURAL REACTIONCHAPTER SEVEN: CONFRONTING SIT-TIGHT RULERSHIPCHAPTER EIGHT: EXPECTED RESULTSCHAPTER NINE: THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

1. “A whole people are more powerful than a disciplined army”. - Napoleon Bonaparte.2. “Do no ask what your country will do for you but, ask what you can do for your country”. - President John .F. Kennedy.3. “The man died in him who keeps quiet in the face of oppression”. - professor Wole Soyinka (The man died).4. “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time”. – Abraham Lincoln.5. “We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run over”. – Aneurin Bevan.6. “Don’t be afraid to take a big step. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps’’ - David Lioyd George.7. “It is necessary only for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph”. -Edmund Burke.8. “Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder” - George Washington.9. “Tradition does not mean that the living are dead, it means that the dead are living”. - Harold Mcmillan.10. “Many African leaders refuse to send their troops on peace keeping missions abroad because they probably need their armies to intimidate their own populations” . - Koffi Annan.11. “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. - Lord Acton.12. “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win”. - Margaret Thatcher.

13. “There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires”. - Nelson Mandela14. “I am a fighter and not a quitter”. - Peter Mandelson.15. “A man that is deprived of books, especially the right books for development, suffers from intellectual malnutrition”. - Obafemi Awolowo.16. “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. - Winston Churchill.17. “Where I come from, deeds mean a lot more than words”. - Zell Miller.18. “Responsible followership is the only remedy for bad leadership in Africa”. - William Adetona.19. “Let the great world spin for ever down the ringing grooves of change”. - Alfred Lord Tennyson.20. “Anywhere I see suffering, that is where I want to be, doing what I can”. – Diana, Princess of Wales.21. “Deeds not words”. - Emmeline Pankhurst.22. “How very little can be done under the spirit of fear”. - Florence Nightingale.23. “I think one’s feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into actions which brings results”. - Florence Nightingale.24. “All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them”. - Galileo Galilei. 25. “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal”. - Henry Ford.26. “The philosophers have already perceived the world in various ways; the point is to change it”. - Karl Marx27. “Iron rust from disuse, stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigours of the mind”. - Leonardo Da Vinci28. “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed”. - Martin Luther King29. “Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent”. - Napoleon Bonaparte30. “Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together”. - Vista M. Kelly

POLITICAL POETRY

THE LIVING DEAD

They feed on the living dead,Birds of prey!In thoughts and actionsScavengers!The vultures! The eagles!! The hawks!!!In human flesh.

Leadership! Rulership!!

They rule indeed,A people in comatose,

The living dead! Beaten, exploited, bastardized,Physically, psychologically.

The scavengers!Civilians and military,Descending powerfully,Ravaging and ruminating,Reminiscent of a plagueDevouring everything on sight,Schools, hospitals, roads, water, food,Ensuring no infrastructure,For the living dead.

African birds of prey!The most daring in the world,Scavenging in broad day light,Shameless and wicked,Displaying their loot,Like a wartime booty,A mockery!Of the living dead.

Promise! Promise!!Political campaigns,Elections! Elections!!They invest,They profit,Lean vultures fatten up,On the carcass of the living dead.

The living dead?Forget them,Still in comatose,Vultures, eagles, hawks descending!Ravaging once again,Not only the flesh!Sucking even the blood and water,Leaving skeletal remains,Of the living dead.

MY INSPIRATION

In writing this book, I received a lot of inspiration from the lives and activities of certain distinguished individuals on the African continent and elsewhere. Men and women who have played very important roles in liberating Africans from the bondage of colonialism, misrule, Human Rights abuse and perpetual economic subjugation.Dr. Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Mariam Makeba, Koffi Annan, professor Wole soyinka, Obafemi Awolowo, Samora Machel, Amical Cabra, Pa Michael Imoudu, Late Julius Nyerere, Abdul Nasser, Muhammar Ghaddafi, Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia, and a host of faceless ordinary Africans who have been killed, injured or rendered permanently incapacitated in the course of the struggle for justice and human dignity. I salute their courage.

PREFACE:

One principal reason for the partition of Africa at the Berlin conference of 1884−85 was because European powers wanted to have areas of influence on the continent. This came on the heels of the various wars taking place in Europe and it was necessary to divert the attention of the warring parties elsewhere.

The partition took place without a single African representative, hence, neither the continent’s history nor geography was taken into consideration when each country’s areas of influence was being identified. Today, we have some African countries that are richly endowed with all resources while others are poor. Ethnic groups found themselves divided into two countries as they watched helplessly. Under the colonial marketing system, produce boards were established by the colonial powers which dictated prices to the farmers and determined how the cash crops like cocoa, coffee, rubber etc. would be purchased. This was a master−servant relationship where Africans had no say in their own affairs.

Then came the vocal educated elites. Their activities made the colonial lords to realize the age old adage that ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’. They engaged the colonial government in a struggle that led to constitutional reforms and eventually independence. Even in areas governed by the Portuguese with their oppressive ‘assimilado’ policy, African elites had to engage them in an armed struggle and eventually

liberated their various countries. It was a class struggle between the then ‘leadership’ and the ‘followership’.

Independence was won, though in some cases, the price was higher. This had to do with the bloody struggle in countries like Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Angola, Guinea Bissau, Algeria, Namibia and South Africa, etc. Then the African elites attained positions of authority in their various countries with a promise of a better future for Africans. It was a great celebration and in many part of the world, everyone agreed that Africa had come of age. A typical example of an African state that intimidated the world at independence is Nigeria. With her great potentials, both human and material, she was described as the first ‘black power’.

More than forty years since independence, most African countries are still grappling with the problems of poverty, illiteracy and disease. The leadership, with all the promise at independence, had betrayed the followership and the result is Africa’s present position as the poorest and most backward continent in the world. This book looks at the present African situation and concludes that ‘a people get the government they deserve’. The passive followership after independence have not been playing their role from the misrule of the African− born rulers the way the pre−independence ‘followership’ made up of educated elites struggled to liberate African countries from colonial rule. African leaders are being trapped by power and in the words of Lord Acton, ‘power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely’. The encouragement for African followership comes from the words of the great Nelson Mandela who said ‘there is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires’.

INTRODUCTION:

Political discussions by Africans on the African continent and in the diaspora about Africa’s underdevelopment naturally ends with an expression of disappointment and the conclusion is normally predictable: LEADERSHIP PROBLEM. Even in a debate about the African project, you can always expect to have the speakers for and against the motion dramatically reaching an understanding to agree on this point. This has been the trend since independence and the situation remains the same today. Africa is still the poorest continent and the citizens are also the poorest in the world in terms of income per capita. This is an irony if we consider the fact that the continent is rich in human and material resources: Mismanagement of the economy is contributing to the depleting of the rich human resource base as Africa’s best brains migrate to the developed parts of the world for better opportunities. How can we account or justify the fact that there is so much poverty in the midst of abundant wealth?

The colonial masters came here primarily to exploit our resources. Then came the agitation for independence and resource control by the founding fathers of the various African countries. Independence was granted and there were high hopes all over the African continent. Can we say that it was only a cosmetic arrangement for us to be liberated politically and not economically? This is especially important if we consider the fact that the colonial economic system persists. African natural resources still feed the industries of the West. No matter the justification we might want to give for our backwardness, one thing we cannot explain is what our so-called leaders have done with the trillions of dollars we earned through the sale of products like crude oil, diamonds, gold, cash crops etc. In fact, can we call them leaders or mere adventurers in power? With only a few exceptions like Mandela, Masire, Nwalimu Julius Nyerere, Muhammar Ghaddafi and Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia, all the others have been very callous and gluttonous in power. While more than ninety percent of Africans live below poverty line, these so-called leaders we have been burdened with have been busy depositing billions of dollars in their Swiss accounts, building mansions and buying properties around the world. In fact, their mode of operation is like that of an army of occupation, a plague or a locust invasion at best. They engage in a deliberate attempt to keep the people permanently in poverty and ignorance. The economy, educational and health sectors are left in a state of neglect. It is even scandalous that they send their children to schools in the United States and Europe, and also travel abroad for medical treatment. This shows a total lack of confidence in the infrastructural facilities they have provided at home. Home? Hell for sure.

For them to attain this level of callousness and impunity, they must have something sustaining them in power to continue to perpetrate this evil act. The military! They have been using this instrument of oppression to suppress any resistance to their inglorious reign. Any opposition to their rule is viewed as a personal challenge to their ego and a means of depriving them the opportunity of continuing to loot the national coffers. They therefore use all resources at their disposal to suppress it. It was in view of this that Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General, on reasons why many African countries do not participate in peace keeping missions, said; “Many African leaders refuse to send their troops on peace keeping missions abroad because they probably need their armies to intimidate their own populations”. This is exactly the situation we have found ourselves in today.

A Danish friend, seeing so many Africans in Denmark and other parts of world, asked me three questions. He wanted to know if we have participatory democracy in Africa and also if there are welfare schemes in the various African countries to cushion the harsh effects of poverty. He also wanted to know how the various African countries evolved. I told him that there is a resemblance of participatory democracy. People come out to vote even though at the end of the day it is largely a stage – managed

affair by the ‘gods’ in power. This means people are selected and not elected. On the second question, I put it forward to him in a rhetorical manner and asked how he expected African leaders to provide money and other welfare benefits when they have the belief that their expected loot will reduce drastically. On the last question, I had to take my friend on a history lesson. Most African countries, especially Africa south of the Sahara, was created with a military fiat one time or the other by the colonial masters and also for their convenience. Infact, they gave these countries their names. However, on a deep reflection, I realized that my friend could not understand why the followership cannot check the leadership in African countries. I then went further to explain the traditional nature of Africans never to question their rulers. I described the various pre-independence kingdoms in Africa where the king reigned supreme due to the belief in divine rights of kings. Again, I also dwelt on the various discussions with the colonial masters that led to independence which was largely elitist and alienated the population. Even in the countries that engaged the colonial power in armed struggle, this elitist syndrome still sufficed. In both cases, these elites, moderates and radicals, assumed power and did not actually know what to do with it. Then they turned on themselves in an epoch fratricidal inter- tribal or inter – religious battle. The resultant effect of all these was the feeling of insecurity and the struggle to perpetuate themselves in power. Due to the feeling that they may leave power at any time to be replaced by another glutton, they always concentrate on looting the treasury and amass as much wealth as possible within the shortest possible time before being forced to leave. In most cases, they use the money stolen to recycle themselves back to power or occupy some very influential positions. Nigeria is a typical example in this regard. Here, due to stolen wealth, former rulers continue to be relevant and even aspire to come back if the opportunity presents itself.

The question that may now come to anyone’s mind is why the population of the various African countries have largely adopted a passive approach in relating with government. The answer to this has to do with a combination of factors like poverty, illiteracy and ignorance. To start with, due to the dislocation of the economy, many Africans are busy struggling to survive on a daily basis and will not bother doing anything to challenge the government. A typical example is when people are asked to embark on strike actions by labour bodies, many people are reluctant to yield because they know they will be hungry the very next day and they are afraid of losing their jobs. Also with majority of the population not in school, the level of illiteracy is overwhelming, and this, most of the time translates to ignorance. People do not know their rights and do not even seem to realize that elected leaders are there to serve them. They see them as masters and do not know that the money stolen by these “rogues−in−power” belong to all the citizens. That is why some citizens are always prepared to accept token amounts of money or gifts from politicians canvassing for votes during elections. Due to poverty, they are not bothered to ask if this

money was originally stolen by the politician when he was in power, and for a new politician, if he has the intention of just investing now for ‘profits’ later. All these factors are interwoven, but what we have seen today amounts to a betrayal. Betrayal?

Government is a contract between the rulers and the ruled. My motivation for engaging in this project is the feeling of frustration I’ve always had anytime the situation on the continent is being discussed anywhere in the world by Africans. I have a belief that once we make up our mind that the continent, with its great potentials, have the right to develop like the advanced countries of the world, then we shall move towards progress and prosperity. But something just have to give. We have to begin to participate actively by making the leadership to become accountable. We have to move beyond rhetorics and idle talks and become more revolutionary in our approach, and of course, we know that “revolution” is not a tea party’. It is possible for one to be very radical and still be responsible. We have seen many examples of liberation struggles around the world. Some of them violent, But all aim for one purpose, a change for better living conditions for the people. The followership is not getting a fair deal, and in fact, with billions of dollars in debts owed the creditor nations by various African countries, this should serve as an eye opener that our collective future have been mortgaged. We have to wake up from our slumber now before it is permanently sold.

CHAPTER ONETHE CONTRACT

Government and governance are based on social contract between the rulers and the ruled. In a democracy, the citizens usually surrender their natural right to determine their own affairs to an institution made up of fellow citizens through the ballot box. Those elected secure the mandate, to represent the people in parliament. They are expected to make good laws for the prosperity of the citizens and work hand in gloves with the executive, the organ responsible for implementing the law.

We have seen that even military dictatorships and absolute monarchies or any other forms of totalitarian rulers cannot claim to be immuned from this principle. They may claim that they have not been elected by the citizens of their respective countries, but they also know that they have imposed their authority on the state and a state is made up of people. In fact, government is just one of the attributes of a state. In view of this, even in this context, the social contract still holds. This is the norm in most civilized countries of the world. It starts with party politics and the level of political participation of the citizens is always high. Politicians campaign and canvass for votes using their party manifesto. They know that the ultimate power resides in the electorate.

On election day, voters take pains to queue up and cast their votes. They know they are about signing a contract. Politicians also contest in the spirit of service. They have that patriotic and humane spirit to serve their people honestly. Their main aim is to improve electorate’s standard of living. They know of course that if they perform below the expected standard, it will be very difficult for them to win the next time. While this is the rule in most civilized parts of the world, it is still an exception in Africa. Western Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and even many Asian countries like India, Japan etc. believe so much in the contract. Everything is written out in black and white in the constitution of the country. The custodian of this document is the judiciary which is normally referred to as the last hope of the masses.

In Africa, our traditional mentality has made the concept of social contract unworkable. It is our tradition in Africa to always see the rulers as privileged people. This dates back to the pre-colonial era when traditional rulers were regarded as representatives of God on earth. They had the right to determine what happens to their subjects. They had the power over life and death. But even then, the people still managed to devise a means of checking rulers when he commits an abominable act. In the old Oyo Empire in the present day Nigeria, the King (Alaafin) was very powerful. He was referred to as “Alase ekeji orisa” which literally means the next in rank to God (or gods). But there was also the “Oyo Mesi” which was like the modern parliament headed by the Basorun. The council (Oyo Mesi) had the right to present a covered calabash with a parrot’s egg in it to the king when they could not cope with his high handedness. He had to open it and this automatically meant he was going to die. It was a suicide mission. Again, we also know that due to his autocratic and eccentric nature in power, Chaka Zulu was eventually killed by members of his own family.

Western education has a lot of things about government to become more sophisticated. We now have institutions and have moved far beyond the old Greek city-state system, where democracy originated, by Western standards (I do not want to believe that democracy is alien to us in Africa). However, the modern form of democracy or rulership of any kind has made it to be more glaring where power resides. We have seen examples of people’s power in countries around the world. Ferdinand Marcos, twenty years in power as president of Philippines, was pushed out by the people through protests when he tried to manipulate election results to deprive Corazon Aquino the chance of ruling; again, the Spanish people rose up against Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon’s younger brother. Even when Napoleon marched into Spain with his army to stop the revolt, he realized that the people were determined to remove “their foreigner king”. His army killed many people yet it had no effect on the struggle, then, Napoleon, who once said, “give me a place to stand, and I will rule the world”, made a famous statement, he said “a whole people are more powerful than a disciplined army”. There are examples in Indonesia, Iran

and even Nigeria when Ibrahim Babangida had to make a hasty exit after eight years of misrule. This was a man who said earlier that “we are experts in crisis management”. The essence of all these explanations is to emphasize the fact that, ultimately, power resides in the people and they surrender it at will and can recover it if forced to do so when faced with dictatorial rule or any other forms of misrule.

There is a breach of contract in almost all African countries, with the exception of Mauritius, Botswana, Libya and The Gambia which, by African standards, have managed to secure a reasonably relative good standard of living for their people. Most countries’ leadership have only succeeded in making their citizens to be listed among the poorest in the world. In addition to the issue of poverty, the government continually disregards the right of the people and they are regularly subjected to human rights abuse, lack of health care, ill-equipped schools, lack of basic infrastructure e.t.c. Politicians “invest” a lot of money to occupy official positions. They do not have the spirit of service as their aim is to exploit the position for their personal interests. They see themselves as masters and not servants. But why is the situation so different in Africa? Can this be due to ignorance on the part of the people about their power and responsibilities?

We have to look at the people’s understanding of their relationship with the government. Apart from very few Africans who have received western education, most Africans are not aware of their basic human rights. They have the notion that government means the people in power and it doesn’t include the rest of the population. They do not know that the people in government are there by virtue of the people’s mandate given to them through the ballot box. Even many people have to be persuaded to go out and cast their votes during elections. Though the passive attitude may be attributed to frustrations of lack of progress or change for the better over the years. They have voted for many politicians who promised ‘paradise on earth’, only to come to power and impoverish the people the more while siphoning all the funds in the treasury into their accounts in Europe and America. But my research have also proved that this spirit of frustration is a stage-managed affair. It has been deliberately imposed as a psychological weapon so that the citizens will become so much lacking in confidence and feel permanently intimidated to the extent that they start having the feeling that the elected people in power are doing them a favour by ruling. The traditional mentality for a government official to be seen as a “king” persists.

Military authorities are the main culprits when it comes to breach of contract. By the very nature of their operational structure, the military as an Institution is not designed to participate in politics. They operate a command structure and rule by decrees. In fact, the first thing they do when the seize power is to suspend the constitution. When the document that outlines and interprets the various laws about the art of governing is suspended, then how will the citizen’s rights be protected? Military rule is

an aberration simply because the social contract, which naturally establishes its roots in the constitution, does not have a base. As a result of this, we have a popular saying that “the worst elected civilian administration is better then the best military government. It is a dictatorship no matter how benevolent.

However, it is only in Africa that we find it difficult to differentiate between an elected civilian government and a military regime. The fact that former President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, an elected civilian leader, could send soldiers to massacre the people of Odi village in cross River State on the excuse of trying to fish out killers of police men; kibaki in Kenya invading the premises of standard Newspapers just because the newspaper exposed some corrupt shady deals of government officials, including ministers; Robert Mugabe’s policy of using starvation as a weapon against Zimbabwean citizens e.t.c. With the awesome power at their disposal, African leaders have torn the social contract into shreds and the result of this is the pitiable situation of Africans today. We have been reduced to”hewers of wood and gatherers of stones” around the world. In spite of all these, we Africans still take consolation in the words of Abraham Lincoln who said, “you can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time”.

The social contract remains forever. Governments come and go, personalities change positions but the state remains, still made up of people, who continues to insist on the social contract, to which they are all joint signatories, and jealously protected by the constitution , both written and unwritten.

CHAPTER TWOLEADERSHIP OR MISRULE ?

LEADERSHIP: What does it mean to you? This is one of the most abused words in political science. Does it mean steering the affairs of a state, leading it towards prosperity while respecting the rights of the citizens? On the other hand, can we consider an act of misrule by a dictator leadership? What is the difference between a leader and a ruler? This chapter will look into defining these terms and then, it will be convenient to know where to place the ruling elite in Africa.

By Western standards, a leader is naturally expected to be someone at the helm of affairs. This individual has some special qualities and is trusted with the mandate to lead others successfully. He or she may occupy influential positions in a state, an organization, in the military or any other organized body. Becoming a leader may be through elections or attaining the position through promotions after many years of dedicated service. People of high integrity are normally considered because the lives and wellbeing of other people are at stake. We have seen many leaders that serve as glaring examples in the world, such as Theodore Roosevelt, John

F. Kennedy, Martin Luther king, Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah (pre-Independence activities) Obafemi Awolowo (mass-oriented welfare programmes in the old Western Region of Nigeria), Charles de Gaulle of France. Late Mallam Aminu Kano (natural leader of the “talakawas” in the then Northern Nigeria) ,Late Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and many others who sacrificed a lot for the dignity and prosperity of their people and the world at large.

It was very easy to define the word in pre-colonial and colonial Africa. The difference came in the post-colonial era. Immediately after most African nations gained independence in the early 1960s, the true nature of the African educated elite came out. All over the continent, in an event reminiscent of a conspiracy, African ruling elite turned against one another and this led to civil wars in countries like Nigeria, Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia and of late, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivoire. These wars succeeded in pitching the citizens against each other and many people were killed and are still losing their lives in wars that are primarily fought by the elite to control state power. As a result of this, African post-independence ruling class spend a lot of money on acquiring weapons. As defense budget grows, so also is the military machine which has become an instrument of oppression and suppression in the hand of these ruling elite.

Africa is a continent blessed with human and material resources. With more than five hundred million people and resources such as diamond, crude oil, gold, timber, coffee, cocoa etc. and with billions of dollars made through trade with the outside world, it is an irony that Africans still rank among the poorest people in the world with more than eighty percent living below poverty line. Can we still call this leadership? The extent of misrule has even attained a dangerous proportion when we consider the fact that the ruling class are fast depositing billions of dollars in foreign accounts. Typical examples are the late Nigerian military dictator, Sani Abacha, late Mobutu Sese Seko of former Zaire (now DRC), Omar Bongo of Gabon, the late Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo and many others. In Nigeria for example, even governors and other government officials are fast catching up in this game. Governors Joshua Dariye of Plateau state and Alamayiesegha of Bayelsa have been shamelessly exposed. Tafa Balogun, a former inspector General of police would rather teach us the good lesson of how not to be a policeman. He siphoned millions of dollars of police budgetary allocation into his personal accounts. Again, we had a ‘super library’ construction carried out by former president Obasanjo of Nigeria in Abeokuta, the capital of his home state, Ogun. The money was donated by all those who enjoyed official patronage and it was reported that a single individual donated millions of dollars. State governors collectively donated three hundred and sixty million naira in a desperate act of trying to be in the good books of the president. The anti-corruption body led by Nuhu Ribadu could not dare ask all those people the source of their donations. How best to fight corruption, and the President was a ‘Field Marshall’ in the

“War Against Corruption”. Government officials, both serving and retired, build mansions around the world while the standard of living of the average citizen deteriorates. The basic infrastructural facilities are lacking and Nigerians in major cities resort to purchasing borehole water for survival. Hospitals are mere consulting centres where drugs are perpetually unavailable. Universities and other institutions of higher learning are in a permanent state of decay. The ruling elite enjoy the benefit of traveling abroad for medical treatment and also send their children to the best schools in the world; as a result of this, they are immuned against the situation at home. They do not know anything about inflation as most of the commodities they use are imported. The list of their callous acts is inexhaustible. . In the small West African state of The Gambia, Dawda Jawara was in power for thirty years and the nation had no single University, Airport, T.V. station and many other facilities. Provincial students had no access to senior secondary school as only one was available. The glaring contrast was that government officials were very corrupt and they flagrantly displayed their wealth amidst the people’s abject poverty. This is the situation in Africa, especially Africa South of the Sahara. Can we call this leadership? It took the visionary leadership of President Yahya Jammeh to start reversing this trend as the country, since this young, patriotic and pan-africanist leader took over in 1994, have witnessed tremendous transformation in all sectors and can best be described, at least by African and Third World standards, as an emerging nation with a good living standard for the citizens. Let us delve into the concept of misrule. Elements of this can easily be seen in totalitarian regimes. The leadership are not elected. They are suddenly saddled with a lot of power and they do not know what to do with it. Some of them come through a successful coup d’etat. They run their countries like military barracks. We can trace our examples to the regimes of Samuel Doe in Liberia, Sani Abacha in Nigeria, Jerry Rawlings in Ghana (military regime), Siad Barre in Somalia, Mengistu Haile Mariam in Ethiopia and Idi Amin of Uganda to mention just a few. Also, we’ve had civilian dictatorships like Sekou Toure of Guinea, Million Obote of Uganda and Kamuzu Banda of Malawi. All these rulers, both military and civilians, have one thing in common; they all oppress their citizens and still continue to suppress their aspirations for freedom from misrule. The most sophisticated institution in all the states mentioned above is the military. Billions of dollars is being invested into the procurement of the best arsenal from around the world. This arms buildup is not in readiness for an attack by a neighbouring state or a superpower somewhere. It is in preparation for any reaction to their misrule by their own people. They have little patience for freedom of expression or public demonstrations, either peaceful or violent. They do not tolerate any opposition or constructive criticisms. Mass media are systematically gagged and journalists arrested in an epic battle to totally deprive their citizens access to independent opinion. In the former Zaire, while the people could not afford the most basic things like food, shelter and clothing, Mobutu Sese Seko was flying his barber in from the United States. Houphet Boigny spent billions building a

‘basilica’ in Yamoussoukro amidst glaring poverty. Ibrahim Babangida, not able to account for the oil windfall during the Gulf War, built a fifty bedroom mansion in Minna, the capital of his home state of Niger; Emperor Bokasa, during his inauguration in Central African Republic, brought in horses from France and spent millions of dollars on this, this is wickedness if we consider the fact that the nation’s capital (not to talk of other parts of the country), had no running water. For example, between January 1984 and August 1985, the regime of Muhammadu Buhari enacted Decree 4 which prevented journalists or any news media from criticizing government officials. Again, in Swaziland, king Msweti 111 has the power over life and death. Swazis live in abject poverty while the king was busy purchasing a private presidential jet worth millions of dollars and continues to build palaces for his many wives. The parliament and judiciary do not have the power to check any of his actions as the king embodies the Swazi state as in the words of Louis X1V of France, “L’etat ce moi” which may be interpreted as “I am the state”. Opposition members are arrested at the king’s order. With only a few exceptions, this picture can be duplicated elsewhere on the African continent and the scenario remains the same. After meditating over these issues, one begins to wonder if there is anything in our gene as Africans that make us to be so wicked and callous. Are we so egocentric as not to be able to reason that service is sacrifice? Do we have to be so corrupt as to even make other people starve or die of diseases? Do we even have any course to rely on grants and aids from the international community inspite of all the resources we are endowed with?

Let us consider the fact that the ruling elite may want to give the excuse that the nature of economy they met at independence in their various countries was largely designed by the colonialists to serve their interests. This system remains the same today because it has also been serving the interest of the elite. Instead of adding value to the raw materials here, they still find it convenient to ship them abroad where these materials have been feeding European, American and lately Asian industries as it was in pre-independence times. It is easier to get billions of dollars through this process and the ruling elite are not bothered about developing their nation’s manufacturing base or the capacity to add value to their products. They are also not interested in investing in the necessary manpower to take their nation to the service stage like many advanced countries. They simply divert the money into their own personal accounts. This is happening at a time when they are also busy asking for aids and borrowing money from IMF, world Bank, Paris Club of creditors etc. As if the continent is cursed with these “locusts” called leaders, they still divert these aids and borrowed money for their private use. In a lighter mood, in a country like Nigeria where corruption is entrenched in the system and even promoted to the level of statecraft, the ruling elite normally regard the act of siphoning public funds as getting their own share of the “national cake”. But they have not been fair enough with the portion of the cake they take and that is why over ninety percent of Nigerians still remain in abject poverty. This level of callousness is more glaring in the Niger Delta where

the bulk of the nation’s crude oil is located. Shell, Chevron and other major international oil companies explore and prospect oil in an environment of abject poverty and engage in environmental degradation. The only thing they are interested in is the billions of dollars that come from crude oil. They do not want to know if the inhabitants of the area will have an alternative source of drinking water or fishing. They are not interested in their health situation or if their children will ever go to school. Ken Saro Wiwa, a vocal mouth-piece for these people, a leader of the Ogoni, who dared to be confrontational about the issue of environmental rights, was hanged with seven others on a trumped – up charge of murder by the Sani Abacha military dictatorship in an epic trial which received international condemnation because the accused were not given the opportunity to defend themselves. Since then, the struggle for dignity and a safe environment in the Niger Delta has become more violent. Can we call the acts of these rulers leadership or misrule? It is proper, after a deep reflection, for the appropriate definitions to be given to the term “leadership”. It is very rare for a true leader of the people to engage in misrule. However, within the African context, being a ruler stems from the “king” and “kingdom” mentality where the people are mere subjects and not citizens. In this context, the rights of citizenship are not enjoyed and no one dare challenge the ruling class. For those who believe in human dignity however, we take solace in the words of Edmund Burke who said, “It is necessary only for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph”. We shall surely overcome someday.

CHAPTER THREE:FOLLOWERSHIP OR DOGMATISM ?

The term followership connotes a situation of having a shared destiny with leadership. This means there is a bond between the two terms and they have a symbiotic relationship. One cannot do without the other and in a state, organization or even at the family level, both have responsibilities. Followership therefore is the concept that describes a situation of being law abiding and supporting the leadership in their bid to govern responsibly and spreading prosperity through judicious use of the nation’s resources. The followership has the responsibility of imbibing the political culture of the country and also being active participants in the political process. They have the right to offer constructive criticism when the government is going astray and many even change a government through the ballot box if it is not meeting their expectations. Followership is a service to the nation and that is why it is often said that, “to be a good leader, you must be a good follower”. Responsible followership is the antidote to bad leadership. It sums up the civil responsibilities of a law abiding citizen. In fact, it is the highest stage of patriotism. In the words of John F. Kennedy, “do not ask what your country will do for you but ask what you can do for your country. African nationalists that fought for the liberation of the continent from the shackles of colonialism could be described as good examples of how to be

good followers. They engaged in nationalist activities and even worked with the colonial masters towards their final disengagement from governing the various African countries. In view of this, those in the British colonies engaged in series of constitutional conferences in Africa and London which gradually led to the review of the constitutions and increase in the number of African seats in the legislative councils which later became full-fledged parliaments, and finally, the attainment of independence. Through this process, all former British colonies in Africa also attained Republican status. In the French colonies, the African elite were not as forceful or pushful as their counterparts in the British system because they were part of the colonial establishment especially under the policy of assimilation. Africans elected their representatives who were Frenchified Africans to represent them in the French National Assembly. The policy was changed to that of Association and finally, the elites attained independence for their countries. These are good examples of responsible followership. Even in some African countries like Algeria, Mozambique, Angola, Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde where the African elite resorted to armed struggle, it was merely a reaction to the oppressive situations under the colonial administrations. The Portuguese, for example, under their policy of “Assimilado”, took over the fertile farmlands from Africans and gave them to Portuguese settler communities. Africans were deprived of good quality education and could only go to school for six years. They always ended up as clerks or messengers in the colonial offices. Portugal had an intention to retain their colonies permanently and large numbers of farming communities were brought from Portugal to produce the necessary raw materials needed at home. African elite who studied abroad actually tolerated them until it became glaring that they had the intention of subjugating their colonial subjects permanently. Recently, countries like Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa had to engage the twin evils of apartheid and colonialism in a bitter struggle. This finally led to independence for Zimbabwe and Namibia in 1980 and 1990 respectively. For South Africa, the struggle for black majority rule meant that Dr. Nelson Mandela had to go to prison for 27 years and many liberation fighters who were members of the African National Congress lost their lives. Eventually, in 1994, South Africa attained black majority rule with Dr. Nelson Mandela as president. Imagine what could have happened if the then followership in the guise of African elite had not taken up the struggle. Engaging the oppressors is an act of taking responsibility for the nation’s destiny as stakeholders? In 1910, Theodore Roosevelt, that great American leader said “it is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out where the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better, the struggle belongs to the man who is in the arena, whose face is marred by sweat and blood, so that if he succeeds, he knows the joy of high achievements, and if he fails while daring greatly, his place shall not be with those cold and timid souls, who knows neither victory nor defeat”.

Post-independence Africa have seen more of a passive approach to issues concerning government by the people. Due to the fact that the ruling elite have used the military to intimidate the people, we have an unenviable track record of bad leadership. All over Africa, the military have largely played a role of supporting the status quo. The citizens are then forced to follow dogmatically. In the words of the music legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, “if you de follow-follow, make you open eye--------“. This literally translates from Nigerian “Pidgin English” to mean, when you follow, you have to open your eyes so that you will not fall into a pit. In Africa today, the followership have been dogmatic and this has led us to where we are now. We are presently in a ‘pit’ and may eventually end up in a ditch if we do not take action right away. We need to marshal our actions and combine our energies together to confront the oppressors and their military machine for Martin Luther king said, “freedom is not voluntarily given by the oppressed”. We know that we should live up to our own expectations and aspirations of living with dignity. Rescuing power from those committing this act of misrule requires our combined efforts and a sustained struggle. To be afraid of death is no excuse as our inaction will rather take us to the grave too soon than our action can do. Also, the traditional gradual approach to issues will not help either as in the words of Harold Mc Millan, “tradition does not mean that the livings are dead, it means that the dead are living”. If we continue in our lazy and idle talks, only criticizing government without taking action, then we can only have that “hope of the living dead”, courtesy of Professor Wole Soyinka, a Nobel Prize winner in Literature and great son of Africa who had good reason to describe this present generation of youths as a wasted one. Come to think of it, many of them played their part as responsible followers while it was necessary for them to do so. They used their pen to fight against oppression and military dictatorship. They were imprisoned several times for daring to speak out, and even today, at a very advanced age, they are still in the forefront of the struggle. The oppressors, at the slightest opportunity, describe us as the future. With this present state of affairs, the future does not seem to exist and the remark is merely consolatory. How do you attain or hope for a future that has been mortgaged to the creditor nations and Paris Club? Dogmatism does not help as we can achieve a lot once we are determined and organized. In the words of Vista M. Kelly, “snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together”.

Let us look at some of the evil effects of dogmatism. The first thing is a psychological victory for the oppressors. The notion that has already been established by dictators and autocratic regimes is that no matter the level of poverty or deprivations the masses may be facing, no one wants to die. They also do not believe that power resides in the people as in the words of Chairman Mao Tse Tsung of China, “power emanates from the barrel of a gun”. This is the mentality of all oppressive regimes and dogmatism on the part of the people can only help in further entrenching this way of thinking in their psyche. Election results are always fixed even before

elections take place, and this is clearly stated by Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe when we said “we are the ones who cause regime change; let this be clear to Mr. Tony Blair and George Bush”. This cannot be further from the truth since the ruling elite appoints the electoral commissioners and determines where observers should come from. “He who pays the piper dictates the tune”.

Dogmatism entrenches class rule which is an euphemism for apartheid. In fact, it is even worse than the apartheid regime that governed South Africa until 1994. The reason is that under the South African Apartheid system, it was clear that there was an official racial policy where the blacks were branded as second class citizens without the right to vote or determine their future through any official channel. In other African states however, we do not have a law dividing people along racial, religious or ethnic lines. What we have is an unwritten understanding or convention among the ruling elites that the African population should be reduced to that level that predates civilization. Hence, it is not by mere coincidence or accident that all African states are underdeveloped and the people suffer amidst plenty. This is a special design or an organized programme by the powers that be. Come to think of it, how else can you explain the fact that the same set of people have been recycling themselves in power since independence. In Togo, immediately Gnassingle Eyadema died, his son was quickly appointed to replace him by the ruling class. Also in Cote d’ Ivoire, when Houphet Boigny died, Konan Bedie, his foster son who was the speaker of parliament replaced him. In Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta died and his friend and political son, Arap Moi took over. Arap Moi also found it convenient to appoint Kenyatta’s son as the ruling party’s flag bearer when he was leaving. We also have examples in Benin Republic and Congo. Matthiew Kerekou, after ruling for many years as Marxist military leader, decided to come back again through an election. Sassou Nguesso of Congo had also ruled the country before and forced himself back to power through a rebellion, truncating the people’s hard – earned democracy in the process. Gabon is another very interesting case and here also, it is now a matter of public knowledge that President Omar Bongo’s son, Ali Bongo, groomed to succeed his father, eventually “won” the “election” when the life president passed on. But “it takes two to tango”. The ruling elite in Africa, knowing that there is no serious challenge from the followership that could really threaten their interest, had always believed that they will continue to oppress and suppress the people forever. How else can one explain the fact that the ruling cabal in Nigeria thought, in their wisdom, that Olusegun Obasanjo, a retired military General and former Head of State, whose regime presided over the siphoning of public funds out of the country, was the best material we could have as a president. They believed he once served their interest and the situation was bound to repeat itself again. Now, the only thing he could cite as an achievement after ruling for two terms of eight years was securing debt rescheduling for the nation. With the benefit of hindsight, we know the debt came about as a result of money borrowed which originally went into the accounts of the rulers and

every Nigerian have to carry the burden. Even children yet unborn are already owing. Achievement indeed! African followership must remember that to remain silent over this present state of affairs only means we are satisfied with the status quo. We have to receive inspiration from the words of Edmund Burke who said among other things that “it is necessary only for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph”. Again, if we continue to engage ourselves in idle talks about how bad and irresponsible the government is without taking action, we have an advice from Florence Nightingale who said, “I think one’s feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into actions which bring results”.

We have seen that our journey so far since independence can only be compared to Russian revolution, “one step forward, two steps backward”. Of course we know we are not making progress and time is not our friend. It is time to take action! Things can only get better!

CHATER FOURTHE BETRAYAL

An act of betrayal may occur in any form of human relationship. The only thing is that when it happens, it is always a moral injustice, for often, it is trust that is betrayed. In an environment of trust, there is natural love, understanding, common interests and sometimes, common destinies. Betrayal, within the context of a state and democratic norms, stems from a relationship between qualified voters and their representatives. Both see each other as pursuing a common interest. There is only one seat in parliament to be filled by a constituency, for example. Every single constituent cannot occupy that seat, then, in an indirect electoral system, they vote for a trusted member of the constituency to represent their interest. They know they have a lot of competing needs and it is their impression that the elected representative will deliver. You can imagine the feeling of the constituents if the individual they repose their trust in gets to the National Assembly and becomes selfish, focusing only on collecting kickbacks for the passage of bill and winning contracts. Another scenario is the pre-independence era in Africa. Due to the advent of Western education and the realization by many African communities and parents in particular that it was a gateway to success, some few privileged Africans were sent to school by their parents. In fact, in poor agrarian communities, some brilliant students were chosen by the community leaders to travel abroad and acquire the proverbial “golden fleece”. Irrespective of whose child it was, the whole community contributed money from time to time for the training in Europe or USA. It was their belief that after receiving the necessary learning and coming back home, the sponsored “child of the community” will secure a good position in the colonial government and also after independence. They patiently looked forward to the day when their educated elite will develop their community. As a result of this expectation, anytime an African returned from studying abroad, the whole community celebrated. It used to be a festive

environment with drums, singing and flutes. All African leaders immediately after independence belong to this category. We had kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Tafawa Balewa and Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria, Kamuzu Banda of Malawi, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, Milton Obote of Uganda, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Sir Dawda Jawara of Gambia, Leopold Sedar Senghore of Senegal, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya to mention just a few. These leaders were the nationalists motivated by patriotic sentiments to liberate the African continent from colonialism. To this extent, they were very successful and they had the full support of all Africans. They gave us a lot of hope and courage to face the future especially when Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana asked Africans to “ask for the political kingdom first, and every other thing will follow”. African love for the then educated elite turned leaders became an obsession. When independence came, we all believed colonialism was our major problem and had the confidence that with our African –born leaders around, steering the affairs of the state, we could start asking for the heavenly kingdom or paradise on earth. In short, we were simply ecstatic in jubilation. After all the euphoria, Africans settled down to savour their new found status of citizenship and statehood with the accompanying privileges of economic emancipation and improved standard of living. Years rolled into decades and Africans could not really see the dividends of independence. With hopes and expectations fast turning into a mirage, it was almost becoming apparent that the expected good times was not coming after all. Rather than offering a good explanation to the people on the reason for their hopes being dampened, the first thing that these first generation leaders were busy doing was to begin to haunt their political “enemies”, both real and imagined. This developed into chaos and naturally divided African states into ethnic and religious lines. That was the advent of “divide and rule” tactics in our polity. Every colonial institution that would sustain them in power was retained and those that were against their interest of perpetuating themselves in power was scrapped.

Not long after, being very close to power and tasting how very juicy it can be, the military booted some of the ruling elites out of power in an epic political struggle that saw the likes of educated elites turned dictators like Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Milton Obote of Uganda being booted out of power. Kwawe Nkrumah was particularly a disappointment. That was a leader that campaigned for independence with so much grace, zeal, charisma and composure that he won the admiration of Africans. He was the leader that made a statement when Ghana gained independence in 1957 that “the independence of Ghana means nothing unless the rest of Africa is free”. No wonder he asked Sekou Toure of Guinea-Conakry to call the bluff of the French and request for independence. This was granted reluctantly by France in 1958 while severing all relationship with Guinea. Nkrumah personally used Ghana’s revenue from the sale of gold to support Guinea and this had a devastating effect on the Ghanaian economy. That was how great Nkrumah was. But at home he was a dictator. He oppressed his own people and had no respect for human rights. He tolerated no

opposition while trying to establish an African socialist state. With the deterioration of the average Ghanaian’s living standards, the military kicked him out of power and he eventually died in exile. Also in Uganda, the scenario was the same and Idi Amin had to remove Milton Obote, also a dictator from power.

With the military coming out of the barracks to take over the helm of affairs in many African states, then every single hope or aspiration of Africans was dashed. Military men are used to enjoying booties in the war front. Anytime they seize power, they consider it their right to enjoy the booty after a victorious battle for they consider coup d’ etat as a war and anyone who dares to challenge them is viewed as a real enemy combatant and they treat such an individual accordingly. That was the climax.

Now, Africans face a dilemma. The behavior of our leadership is considered as a betrayal. It is a case of biting the finger that fed them. “How do you fight or reprimand your own brother or sister when he or she betrays you?” “Who can be trusted again?” “How did we get to this stage?” “Let’s invite the colonial masters again as we were better off under them”. “These people are rogues”. Here are some expressions of frustration by Africans anywhere you find them. More importantly, they are reactions to a betrayal of trust by the ruling clan. The situation is even worse today and the worst scenario is fast approaching. Must we continue to trust this crop of leaders with our destiny knowing fully well that we are only guaranteed another betrayal? The fact is that they have acquired enough resources that will make them to continue being relevant. It is very painful that it is only Africa where impunity reigns supreme. Patronage is the order of the day and contracts are regularly awarded to imaginary companies or individuals and the money finds its way into the personal accounts of officials. The citizens watch helplessly as what they struggle to get had suddenly become a nuisance in their hands. To some Africans, it is no longer fashionable to say that Africa has attained independence these days.

Can we partially blame neo-colonialism for the ills or misrule of these leaders? This may not be responsible, for we can agree that at the beginning, the immediate years after independence, colonial African leaders needed some time to remove the legacies of colonial rule like the colonial economic system which rendered Africans subservient to the colonial masters. But, according to President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia, what about decades after independence? Do we still continue to blame colonialism for our woes? What about countries outside Africa like India and Malaysia that also experienced colonization and are now rapidly moving towards guaranteeing sustained prosperity for their people? With the situation of Africa today, we have to agree that we have been betrayed by our own people, our own blood, our own kith and kin who would rather turn to strangers and killers in power. It is not yet “uhuru” indeed. We cannot pretend that things are moving in the right direction since the

situation is already known to the outside world. United Nations Development Programme index is not pleasing to the ears where Africa is concerned. Look at this contrast: while Norway, an oil producing nation has been ranked for three consecutive years as the best place in the world to live in, Nigeria, also an oil producer, OPEC member-state and in fact , the eighth largest producer in the world, ranked among the worst. The African nation is also considered to be the fourth largest exporter of natural gas in the world. In spite of this, the Nigerian Minister of solid Mineral still had the audacity to come on CNN and BBC TV to defend the misrule of Olusegun Obasanjo’s government. When she was asked by the BBC and CNN journalists why Nigerians are still poor in spite of the billions of dollars of oil money and especial the glaring impoverished and pathetic condition of the oil producing areas’ inhabitants, she responded by blaming the long years of military dictatorship. She did not realize that General Obasanjo, her boss, was also a military ruler between Feb 1976 and October 1979. She also failed to explain why the government has done nothing to stop the environmental degradation and human tragedy being masterminded by the oil companies and their cohorts- in- power in the Niger delta. I consider this an act of criminal conspiracy and betrayal because it only required sending a delegation of environmental, petroleum and financial experts to Norway to study how that country have been running her oil industry over the years and spreading the wealth among her citizens while recognizing the rights of inhabitants of oil producing communities to have a say in the exploration and production of oil. Who is fooling who? We are only consoled by the fact that it is only a matter of time, and this act of official gangsterism, lack of accountability and wickedness can only be tolerated for a white, not for long. Decades of misrule is already a very long time.

CHAPTER FIVETRADITIONAL APPROACH

The followership approach to activities of government in the various African countries, traditionally, have always been to engage in idle talks. Majority of the citizens in countries whose leadership had failed them are always quick to put the blames on the doorstep of the leadership as said during the introduction to this book, but no one is willing to proffer solutions. This noise making has let us nowhere but rather, it has only continued to worsen our situation economically, politically and socially.

Passivity is also another form of traditional response. This may be due largely to ignorance and illiteracy but we also have a situation whereby the enlightened and highly educated class have been intimidate due to the fact that mere criticism of the government may result in harassment. The illiterates especially believe that government only means the people in power and they are not part of it. They will rather mind their own business of subsistence farming and trading than involve themselves in activities that only concern Western educated elite.

Many among the youth have also taken to the option of emigrating from their various countries in search of greener pastures or opportunities in the advanced countries of Europe and America. Some even go to the extent of renouncing their citizenship all together and acquiring that of their new countries of residence. This has to a large extent, led to brain drain in Africa as more and more countries are willing to accept the best brains from any part of the world. It has to do with the frustration of these youths with the system at home.

A lot of people have also tried to consider participating in government or has been tricked by those in power only to be trapped once they are in. The reason these people always give to justify their actions is to try and correct the situation from within. This is one reason why many social critics and former opposition leaders find themselves to be more corrupt in government than those they criticized when they were not in power. Frederick Chiluba was a trade union leader who later became Zambian President. We now know that he misappropriated millions of dollars while in power. Jerry Gana, a former Social critic who advocated efficiency on the job for Nigerians in his then popular “if you teach, teach well…….” became a minister and had to waste millions of Naira to “show Nigerians the dividends of democracy” in the various states of the federation. Bakili Muluzi, former Malawian President, was an opposition leader before assuming office. Now out of office, we know he also could not account for millions of dollars which went missing while he was in office. These are only few cases of former critics being trapped by the spoils of office.

It has also been a traditional approach by the followership to embark on peaceful protests. In doing this, they go about with placards protesting against the government. Mainly, it is always due to high cost of living and corruption by government officials. However, we also know that decades of protests have solved none of these pressing problems.

Traditionally, the followership organize seminars. These are expected to be avenues to educate fellow citizens about government activities and the way forward. Thousands of seminars have taken place since independence in African countries but the status quo remains and majority of the people still live below poverty line. It has suddenly dawned on us that the seminars have been mere talk-shops without any plans to execute what has been discussed. This is such a lazy approach.

Religion have also played a role in the impoverishment of the African population. No wonder Karl Mark said “religion is the opium of the masses”. A few years back, I wrote a script on “Independent Churches in West Africa” which was read on BBC “My Last Word” programme. I won a year’s free subscription of BBC Focus on Africa magazine and a T-shirt as a prize. The main issue discussed was the impoverishment of the African population as a result of religious indoctrination. Many people, due to their

religious beliefs, are satisfied with being poor here and rich in the hereafter. They believe that palatial mansions are waiting for them in heaven and wrongly interpret the Biblical verse which says “it is difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to pass through the hole of a needle”. The Muslims also believe Allah has created some people rich while some are created poor. Again, a BBC survey found out that the most religious people are in Africa and the largest percentage in Nigeria (obviously due to the large population). This is because, with all the socio-economic problems and governments not responding to any of them, Africans are turning to divine supernatural forces for solutions and psychological support. This has always proved to be a way of hiding away from reality or sleeping over it only to find out later that it still exists. All the problems created by the bad policies of government can only be solved through a deliberate practical approach by the followership.

Africans are natural introverts and this has long been part of our culture. The ruling elite, being Africans themselves, understands this fact and some time, after being corrupted by power, mistake this for weakness or an act of timidity. This is one reason why, for a very long time, things have gone so bad and Africans only patiently wait for that political “messiah” who will come from nowhere and start putting things right. This never happened in all the countries that have made progress and Africa will not be an exception. If anyone decides to speak out, it is difficult to get adequate support from the rest of the followership. Oppressors are naturally weak and they only operate in an environment devoid of resistance to their reign of terror. A culture of silence can only help in perpetuating the climate further.

The press, normally regarded as the fourth estate of the realm, have long served as an avenue for the expression of public opinion. In Africa, it is part of the conventional methods to offer constructive criticisms through the press. Sometimes, this leads to an acrimonious relationship with the leadership in the country and different laws are introduced to gag the press. In some countries, it has led to the assassination or imprisonment of journalists. Presently, we have examples of states that doesn’t tolerate press freedom in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Kenya. The struggle by the press started in the pre-independence era and it is still very strong today. The only problem is that the counter forces today are the oppressive regimes in Africa that are proving even stronger than the press. It is in view of this that the press have to change their approach to be able to wage the new battle. In doing this, they need to be more radical and tactical. All the points raised above are the traditional or conventional approach that have been used to address all the issues of oppression, inequality, corruption and the abuse of Human Rights by the African followership. This has been the approach since independence and has led us to our present state of economic deprivation and irresponsible leadership. If we continue on this path for a few more decades, it is natural that the oppressors will

have a field day dehumanizing and abusing us. We need a very radical and unconventional approach. This is what the next chapter shall discuss with us and it clearly signifies an end to the days of rhetorics and inaction by the followership. It identifies and defines the way forward towards liberty and economic emancipation for Africans.

CHAPTERSIXNATURAL REACTION

It is a fundamental law in physics that action and reaction are two forces that are equal and opposite. For a reaction to take place there must have been a preceding action. In the African context, there have been reactions from the people as a direct response to the policies of governments in the various African countries. There are a few countries that have good track records when it comes to improving the people’s standard of living. We can cite examples in Botswana, Mauritius, Libya and The Gambia.Botswana, a southern African country with an economy propelled by diamond exports and good management by the leadership, has been, for many years, a reference point as an African success story. Former President Masire was an African leader with extraordinary vision. His economic programmes made Botswana to become a medium income country with the average per capita income of the citizens above African standard. The natural reaction of the people to his party during elections and even when he stepped down for his deputy to contest, was to keep faith in this party’s programme and voted overwhelmingly for his successor. The opposition parties themselves immediately conceded defeat and confessed that they lost principally because the party in power had been keeping to their manifesto and delivering the goods.

Another African success story is Mauritius, a country relying principally on tourism but presently considered the richest country in Africa. This must have taken a lot of sacrifice and good leadership to achieve. The average per capita income of the citizens is also above African standard and the citizens’ natural reaction have always been positive. They see themselves as partners in progress with the government and are always prepared to support government policies. This is primarily because they have a sense of belonging.

Another country that is qualified to be included on the “positive” list is the North African state of Libya. Though this may be controversial especially in Western circles due to the fact that the Libyan leader, Colonel Muhamman Ghaddafi has long been accused of sponsoring terrorism, his domestic policies have made him a darling of most Libyans. This is one African country where poverty is almost practically non-existent. Through his Jamahiriya Islamic Socialist Revolution, Ghaddafi has used the oil wealth to transform the lives of all Libyans. No Libyan lives below the poverty line

and he symbolically demonstrated the destruction of the last slum in Libya many years back. His radical policies of sending the western oil companies packing and promoting Islamic revolutionary ideas made him to be branded the “mad dog of Tripoli” by Ronald Regan, former US President. One thing though that has made Libyans ready to lay down their lives for him is that they believe he has been responsible for transforming Libya from a feudal to a modern state and also, they believe that the West and the rest of the world are envious of his achievements at home. This has also proved that it is not all bad news when it comes to Africa and that African leaders can also be good managers of the economy when they choose to. Recent events have proved that African countries can even become strong economic partners to Western advanced countries. Muammar Ghaddaffi has visited Italy at least two times in a couple of years to discuss investing billions of dollars into the Italian economy. His intervention is in a bid to rescue some sectors of the Italian economy from the devastating effect of the global recession. Considering his achievements, it is only natural for the people to react accordingly.

A West African country worthy of mention is The Gambia. This is a very good example of the long established fact in political science that ‘a people get the government the deserve’. Three hundred years of British colonial rule and thirty years of the government of Dawda Jawara could not deliver the laudable socio-economic programmes executed by President Yahya Jammeh in just two years in power. Before Jammeh came to power in 1994, the country had no Airport, television station, University, good road networks, rural electricity e.t.c. provincial students had only one senior secondary school to attend after their Junior secondary education and not all of them could afford the privilege of attending schools in the city. The patience of Gambians paid off as the government of Yahya Jammeh has since changed all the situation in spite of a meagre resource base from an economy that relies mainly on groundnuts and tourism. The reaction from the ordinary Gambians especially the youth is to continually vote the ruling party, APRC into power. This is because of the track record of the Jammeh administration that is seriously tackling the problem of corruption and providing a lot of opportunities for the citizens at home and abroad. Gambian students are provided with scholarships en masse to study at the University of The Gambia and also abroad. Most of those given foreign scholarships, after their studies, are back home contributing their quota to the development of their country. It is therefore not by mere coincidence or chance that the African Development Bank recently singled out the country as the only one on the African continent that has fulfilled six out of the seven criteria of the Millennium Development Goals. In spite of the small size of the country and a population of about one million, seven hundred thousand, the Jammeh administration takes its international obligations seriously. During the civil wars in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau and Cote D’ivoire, The Gambia was home to many refugees from these various war-torn countries. They received the best of Gambian

hospitality and even now, long after the wars have ended, many still find it convenient to make the country their home. Also during the Tsunami disaster in far away Indonesia, the Gambian government dispatched aids in form of materials and foodstuffs to the country. This is because the administration of this young, dynamic African leader has made large-scale agricultural production a priority and many young Gambians are either directly or indirectly engaged in this sector.

Apart from these countries and probably a few others whose leadership are still struggling to improve the living standards of their people, most African countries have always attracted a negative reaction from the followership. Some of the countries on this list include Guinea-Conakry, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Algeria, Somalia, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Africa, Swaziland e.t.c. Guinea, for example, is one country whose leadership cannot feed the citizens. The poverty level is so high that ordinary Guineans cannot afford to buy rice, the staple food, and many of them have to emigrate to neighboring Senegal and The Gambia for better living conditions. Nigeria is already a byword for corruption, inflation, bad government, insecurity and anything that has to do with callousness on the part of the leadership. For Cameroon, it has an unholy partnership with Nigeria on all the areas mentioned and has even surpassed Nigeria on Transparency International’s index of the “World’s Most Corrupt Nations”. The President, Paul Biya, has turned himself into a life president for fear of persecution when he leaves office due to years of Human Rights abuse. Equatorial Guinea was hailed as Kuwait of Africa. This was due to the discovery of oil and the fact that the country now exports 500.000 barrels of crude oil a day is enough to realize that dream immediately. However, we have seen that the ruling class are the only beneficiaries while social amenities remain in pre-oil boom condition. Even the president’s son will not mind driving his Rolce Royce on a road filled with potholes while the citizens still live in abject poverty and there is no welfare scheme made available to the 500,000 Equitorial Guineans. Chad is also another country that has recently discovered oil but the government would rather use the money from oil sales to prosecute war in neighboring Sudan, fight rebellions at home and also divert the rest into foreign personal accounts. Chadians are in neighboring countries living as destitutes. Algeria also has vast oil wealth but rather than promote the well being of its citizens like neighboring Libya, the government is executing a prolonged warfare with the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) and other Islamic fundamentalists. This has had a devastating effect on the people’s living standards and security. Somalia is a country blessed with abundant natural resources and resourceful citizenry. The problem is that, rather than harnessing these for the development of the country, the leadership have turned on themselves in a fratricidal warfare that has left the country with no recognized central Authority since the overthrow of Siad Barre in 1990. The resultant effect is the fact that many Somali citizens have lost loved ones in the bloody encounters where warlords reign supreme. Presently, Somali refugees are all over the world and many

of them are trying to start a new life. This is how power-hungry and wicked some countries’ leadership can be. Ethiopia and Eritrea have a lot in common. Since 1994, Eritreans have known no peace. Ethiopians are also finding it difficult to exercise their rights to freedom of speech. When Mengistu Haile Mariam fled to exile in Zimbabwe due to many years of rebellion in Ethiopia, Melles Zenawi and Isayas Afawerki of EPLF who had been long time friends and rebel leaders agreed to divide the country. Afawerki become Eritrean president at independence in 1994 but not long after, both countries started a civil war following a border dispute. They forcefully conscripted their citizens into the army and presently, many journalists who dared to speak out are either languishing in jail or killed. Protests are outlawed and student bodies are constantly harassed. The economic situation of the citizens of both countries is so bad that they occupy an unenviable spot among Africa’s poorest nations which naturally means they are the poorest of the poor. South Africa achieved success, due to the support of most concerned countries in the international community, when apartheid ended and a black majority government came into office in 1994 Led by Dr. Nelson Mandela. A lot of promises were made to the people who were anxious to see a turn around in their lives following years of apartheid rule and the attendant dehumanization of the racist regime. Today, the Soweto slum still remains intact and it is ironical that the living condition in that settlement that served as a symbolic reason for the struggle still exists in a black majority government. Already, there is a feeling of frustration as the people are fact experiencing a situation where by “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”. Can it be another apartheid regime existing? God forbid!. But already, official corruption and the widening gap between the rich and the poor are enough reasons for South Africans to begin to imagine if the struggle had not been in vain after all. The tiny southern African kingdom of Swaziland is the only absolute monarchy on the African continent. Here, king Mswati 111 reigns supreme. The king engage in an old unpopular traditional rite of choosing a new wife every year from a group of virgin school girls who are made to dance at the king’s palace. He marries one of them and she alone occupies her own palatial residence with luxury cars and maid servants. He spends millions of dollars on acquiring private jets and building palaces for his many wives. He rules with decrees and tolerates no opposition. Human rights abuse is the order of the day as the citizens are reduced to mere subjects. The Swazi per capita income ranks among the lowest in the world and one begin to wonder if the king’s lavish and dictatorial lifestyle is sustainable in this nation whose economy relies mainly on sugar cane and big neighbour South Africa. Though the Judiciary, mass media and all other institutions of government are controlled by the king, the citizens are beginning to speak out loudly through public protests organized by anti-monarchy crusaders and human rights activists. This is a natural reaction and it is just the beginning of a sustained struggle for liberation from a parasitic absolute monarch.

From all indications, it is clear that the governments in all these countries, with unenviable and parasitic track records, will naturally attract a negative reaction from the followership especially when their hopes for a better living condition are being dashed. The consolation is that, in all human history, no matter how long it takes, the will of the people always prevail and to the leadership, they should reflect on the words of Winston Churchill who said, “Those that failed to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”.

CHAPTER SEVENCONFRONTING SIT TIGHT RULERSHIP

Conspiracy theorists are promoting a new idea regarding the present thoughts and activities of African leadership. The belief is that African rulership class are devising means of perpetuating themselves in power due to the fact that after years of corruption, economic mismanagement and misrule, they cannot live to face the repercussions of their years in office. As a result of this, strategies are being put in place through economic and social subjugation of the citizenry as well as breeding a cannibalistic military machine reminiscent of George Orwell’s Animal Farm to achieve this purpose. The African followership is beginning to realize that the rulers’ intentions for coming to power was not altruistic after all, though we have exceptions in a few African leaders who have been in power for some time now due to their patriotic zeal to develop their countries. Such leaders are Muhammar Ghaddafi of Libya and Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia. Other examples are former leaders like Masire of Botswana and Late Julius Nyerere of Tanzania. Outside this list, all others are not qualified to be called leaders but rulers engaged in perpetuating misrule on the African continent. The new scenario is that African states are fast becoming monarchies due to the introduction of hereditary rule in the various countries. For example, Gnassingbe Eyadema oppressed the people of Togo for almost forty years and when he died in office as a life president, his elite military machine, already dominated by his ethnic group, ensured his son, Paul Gnassingbe, became the new ruler. We were also living witnesses to the long years of Ahmadou Ahidjo in Cameroon, and when he was tactically pushed out of office by the French, Paul Biya has since become the new life President. Hosni Mubarak is already over eighty years old and is Egyptian life President (as at the time of writing). Political theorists believe he’s grooming his son to take over from him after his demise. The same thing goes for Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Blaise compaore of Burkina Faso, Theodore Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. In fact, the death of the longest-serving African ruler, Omar Bongo of Gabon, immediately led to the feeling among the Gabonese people that his son, Ali Bongo, who happened to be the defense minister, would be the new President, and it eventually came to pass. Gabon is an oil-rich state but official corruption and mismanagement under Omar Bongo made sure that over ninety per cent of the population

of less than two million live below poverty line of less than one US dollar a day. In Nigeria for example, an attempt was made by former president Olusegun Obasanjo to perpetuate himself in power. This was thwarted by the National Assembly who failed to vote for this project which would have required a change of some clauses in the country’s constitution to accommodate the then President’s third term bid. However, events later helped Obasanjo as he was eventually able to impose his will on his party and the entire nation by single-handedly nominating and making Umaru Musa Yar’adua president in a “do-or-die” electoral battle, hence, he was assured of not looking forward to a probe of his activities in government. It is on record that among the acts of corruption and mismanagement of public fund during his regime, about five billion dollars of public fund meant for the privatization and revitalization of the nation’s electricity could not be accounted for. Again, we witnessed the power-play in Niger Republic which led to the eventual overthrow of President Omar Tanger. Before being pushed out of power by the military, he had dismissed the parliament who would not allow him to push through a bill for a third term bid. He literally hijacked the entire political system in the country and organized a referendum to push his agenda through, and he “won” overwhelmingly due largely to the fact that the opposition parties boycotted. These examples and many more are some of the evils now conspiring to ensure that Africans do not attain their full potentials. Reflecting deeply, one will have to arrive at the conclusion that the followership, especially the youth, the so-called “leaders of tomorrow” should wake up and begin to rescue power from there rulers today as our future is at stake. African youths are the future of the continent. This assertion is made in spite of the fact that there is an apparent conspiracy among the leadership to make our collective aspirations unrealizable. They would rather groom their own children to take over from them in order for the status quo to be maintained. The earlier we realized this present scenario playing itself out, the better for the future of the continent. “Get up, stand up; stand up for your right”, so said Bob Marley of blessed memory in his popular track, “AFRICANS UNITE”. It is pathetic and ironical that the music, released by the reggae legend to encourage Africans to liberate themselves from colonial rule and oppression, is still relevant today even after many years of independence. The new oppressors are our fellow Africans who have displayed the worst form of despotic ‘rulership’ the world has ever seen. It is now incumbent on the youth to stand up, and, in an epoch battle, rescue both the present and their future from this wicked and inhumane cabal called leaders. Can we do it? Borrowing the campaign slogan of President Barrack Obama on his way to winning the US Presidency, “Yes, we can.” This can only be achieved if we have unity of purpose.

CHAPTER EIGHTEXPECTED RESULTS

The UN classifies countries as “least developed” based on three criteria. (1) Annual gross domestic product (GDP) below $900 per capita; (2) quality of life, based on life expectancy at birth, per capital calorie intake, primary and secondary school enrolment rates and adult illiteracy, and (3) economic vulnerability, based on instability of agricultural productions and exports, inadequate diversification and economic smallness. The standard of living in African countries is so poor especially when we consider the fact that thirty-three out of the fifty poorest countries in the world are in Africa. In the second half of the 1990s, the average per capita income in these countries, when measured in terms of current prices and official exchange rates, was $0.72 a day and the average per capita consumption was $0.57 a day. This implies that on average, there was only $0.15 a day per person to spend on private capital formation, public investment in infrastructure, and the running of vital public services, including health, education, administration, and law and order. Looking at the gloomy picture painted here, we believe that the African followership have to begin to take responsibility for improving their own standard of living. If all the measures discussed in the previous chapters are adopted, depending on the circumstances in each country, then the leadership will become sensitive to the wellbeing and aspirations of the citizens. Presently, the leaders do not consider we the followers as living human beings, hence, they believe then can just do anything and get away with it. In fact, the kind of leadership we’ve had since independence are mainly adventurers in power who do not have even the basic knowledge of governance. Many of these categories of leaders should be blacklisted and barred from participation in political activities with the intention of occupying any political position. (In African countries, we have a situation whereby these leaders steal billions of dollars from the state coffers since they consider political offices as an opportunity to loot). It will result in good leadership as honest and responsible citizens with the patriotic spirit to serve are bound to be attracted to the political scene. Another result we can expect in the countries of Africa is stability through the consolidation of democracy. This naturally leads to prosperity for the citizens of our continent as foreign investment will flow in, employment opportunities will be created and free speech will flourish. In this environment, African youths will have endless opportunities and will naturally begin to rehabilitate themselves and stand shoulder to shoulder with youths in the most advanced countries of the world. Presently, in Nigeria for example, on a rather sarcastic and pathetic note, the leadership have to contend with a situation where political assassinations, air crash, e.t.c takes place quite often. This is a case of “the evil that men do not only living after them, but rather lives with them “ politicians, both civilian and military, over the years, had left the country’s infrastructure in a state of disrepair. Their original intention was to deprive Nigerians the right to good health care, airport facilities that meet international standards, motorable roads, quality drinking water e.t.c. However, we have seen lately that due to their stolen wealth, they are the ones that go for treatment in foreign hospitals and die there because they

do not have access to the kind of official privileges and protection they have here in those foreign lands; also, they die in air crashes because they are rich enough to fly within the country in those “coffins” called aircrafts they have given permission to fly due to official corruption; political killings have increased because they have turned against each other since their real intention is not to serve but to loot the public treasury; or how else will one explain the killing of a political rival who also aspires to serve if not to equate it with the proverbial case of two thieves fighting over a stolen property. If it is just for the patriotic will to serve, we all know this should not be a “do-or-die” affair (quoting former president Olusegun Obasanjo) like we are experiencing presently. It is expected that once the suggested proposals have been applied, Nigerians will be able to enjoy the best facilities at home and be willing to serve just for the love of the country. Finally, we all know that United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) index in all areas of human development regularly paints a grim picture of African countries. Majority of the world’s most corrupt countries are in Africa. The same goes for countries with low human development where we have Nigeria, Mali, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Niger e.t.c. among the list. Talking about the top fifty countries below poverty line, African countries also form a majority. This gloomy cannot be considered a mere coincidence but a failure on the part of the African leadership to address these challenges as it affects the people. We expect that with a new sense of duty and commitment, the African followership can take up the challenges, and begin to use the resources of the continent for its development. It is an irony today that Africa, the richest continent in terms of mineral resources, is also the poorest.

CHARTER NINETHE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS

In all African countries, as in other parts of the world, civil society organizations exist. Their role is to compliment government efforts in the areas of capacity building and also enhancing a quality living standard for the citizens. Hence, they contribute in the areas of supporting, in practical terms, education, through the building and equipping of schools, providing scholarships for students e.t.c. In the area of health, these non-governmental organization (NGOS) have over the years, built and equipped hospitals, trained doctors and para-medical staff who operate even in the remote parts of the countries. Again, in the areas of sensitization of the citizenry and economic empowerment, we have seen civil society organizations contributing in many ways, for example, they embark on Human Rights education, promote democracy, enlighten the citizens on the deadly effects of indulging in unsafe sex through campaigns as well as engaging in capacity building for youths and adults through trainings and skills development programme. Some have even intervened in the area of agriculture (the mainstay of the economy of African countries) by providing inputs such as tractors, fertilizers and also offering the necessary training opportunities for farmers to acquire the latest skills for cultivation, so that

ultimately, African countries will become self-reliant and eradicate hunger on the continent as these newly acquired skills will move our agriculture away from the traditional subsistence farming to mechanized one. Looking at the brief description of the roles of civil society organizations, it is necessary to commend their efforts especially as they operate in an environment sometimes ( but ironically though) hostile to their activities as they tend to expose the negligence of government and ineptitude of corrupt government officials. In addition to this is the increasing reluctance of donor organizations mostly based in developed countries to support Africa-based organizations due to what is termed “donor fatigue”, probably as a result of the “very limited progress” made, which is in contrast with the huge sums of money already provided. In other words, many these non-governmental organizations have been caught up in the web of corruption, callousness, greed and ineptitude, the same elements that has been the problems of post- independence Africa. This leads us to the next phase of the discussion, what civil society organizations are not expected to do. It is important to dwell on this, since the first part was devoted to their complimentary activities. To start with, it is important to state that civil society organizations or NGOs serve as watch dogs, the same role played by the independent news media. Citizens look up to them as role models and partners in the struggle to liberate our continent from backwardness. The officers of these organizations are held in high esteem by the followership in various African countries. In recent times, however, we are being served with unsavory news from many countries about the negative and uncomplimentary roles played by these organizations. Their officers have been accused, on many occasions with concrete evidence, of siphoning aids money, engaging in child trafficking, rape of refugees, conniving with rebel groups, diverting food rations for personal use, preparing bogus project proposals e.t.c. Gradually, all these has led to the waning of public support and confidence in the activities of NGOs. It is very necessary for these organizations to know that their roles are very important as they serve the underprivileged in the society. However, it is immoral to capitalize on the vulnerability of Africans and exploit them.

Again, we should understand that by their very nature and the role they perform, Non- governmental organizations remain non- governmental, especially going by the statute or law establishing them. This however, does not mean that they are in opposition to government and its activities. As said earlier on, they are in existence and recognized by the state to serve as compliments. This mean they have to play constructive roles, and even in areas where criticisms has to be offered, it must be solution-centred. This is in the light of recent reports about some organizations that are not palatable. They try to fulfil the agenda of their sponsor by engaging in acts detrimental to the well- being of the African followership just to satisfy the political and economic interests of their patrons. In the recent past, we have experienced take-over of governments, civil wars, negative propaganda especially in the western media, the experimental use of Africans as guinea- pigs for medical research and also for new political and

economic ideologies e.t.c. The roles mentioned here are uncomplimentary, destructive and capable of causing dislocations and dehumanization in the countries concerned. It is even paradoxical that civil society organizations that are supposed to be part of the solution are now symbolizing the problem. This should not be the case.

Another area that civil society organizations are not supposed to engage in is using the privileges or facilities provided for them by their home African countries for their smooth operations, for purposes other than charitable. Normally, in many African countries, non- governmental, civil society or religious organizations engaged in charitable or humanitarian activities are exempted from paying taxes and also imports duties are not charged when bringing items into country for free distribution to institutions and individuals. They enjoy these privileges because they are not commercial enterprises. However, in Africa, we realize that many of these organizations ”eat their cake and have it”. They engage in commercial activities in the name of fund raising and at the same time, items brought in to the country through duty waivers suddenly finds their way to shops around the country and sold at reduced prizes by officers of NGOs. Some even go to the extent of delivering these items to institutions like schools and hospitals, for example, and afterwards, go back and connive with corrupt officials of these institutions with the intention of ultimately diverting them for personal gains.

In addition to the issues discussed, civil society organizations should be reminded that they are not political parties. A political party contests an election to take over political power in a competitive democratic environment where all qualified, registered adult electorate cast their votes. A pressure group is made up of civil societies for the purpose of influencing government policies in the interest of its members. This may comprise of professional groups like farmers union, teachers union, medical associations etc. However, a civil society organization as stated in previous paragraphs, exists not to involve itself in politicking or sponsoring of political parties for election, but to meet the social and economic needs of the people as partners in progress to the government. This is more so because there is no country in the world where the government is rich enough to be able to meet the needs of the followership, hence, even the United States of America, the richest and largest creditor nation in the world, has the largest number of civil society organizations in the world. In view of this, civil society organizations are expected to compliment government efforts and offer constructive criticisms where necessary.

Concerning the ordinary citizens that constitute the bulk of the followership, we should take the words of John F. Kennedy as our cardinal principle when relating with our country and government as he said, “do not ask what your country will do for you but ask what you will do for your country”. I believe this is the highest stage of patriotism. There are many things we can do here in our various countries and as we travel around the world to change our continent for the better. We may embark on voluntary activities as done in advanced countries and we may find ourselves

gathering valuable experience and increasing our social contacts as we serve in the areas of health, education, environment etc. When we find ourselves in a position to influence others in an official capacity as Director, Manager or an officer somewhere, we should shun corrupt acts and should always remind ourselves of these twin virtues: “what is worth doing is worth doing well” and “act well your part”. It is my fervent belief that if every single member of the African followership should make up his or her mind to do this, then we can say it is just a matter of time for the system to change for the better. We can also be good advocates for our various countries by discussing their potentials with the outside world anytime we travel out of the continent. Every citizen is an ambassador of his or her country and it is our obligation to stay away from acts that are detrimental to our country’s international image. The activities of a single individual may lead to the conclusion that every citizen of that country also has the same attribute. We all know that some countries today are categorized as “Rogue States”, “Pariah Nations” or “State Sponsors of Terrorism” while others are described as “Major Transit Points for Hard Drugs” all because of the activities of few individuals from those countries. It does not matter if the country in question has some of the best medical doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, diplomats or even if ninety-nine per cent of the country’s citizens are law abiding and engaged in legitimate activities. The United States and some other powerful countries, especially those with permanent seats at the Security Council of the United Nations, are presumed, due to their economic and military might, to have the right and authority to label countries as they wish as it is said that “America has two qualities, the good and the bad. The good one is due process while the bad is the lynch mob”. Any country the United States gives one of these appellations to will be categorized as such by the “international community”. This is so, not withstanding the fact that the United States and China refuses to sign many international treaties including those on the environment as it has to do with the reduction of Global Warming and both countries are among the major pollutants on planet earth. The us does not assent to the trial of American service men in foreign land if they commit atrocities especially Human Rights abuses. The recent case of the rape of Japanese girls by officers serving at the US military base in Japan is a case in point. All the bombings that killed civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan were done in the name of trying to liberate the two countries from brutal dictators on behalf of the “international community”. It will be convenient to describe this American policy as ‘might is right’. More so, no country in the world has the “moral right” to call America names, in fact, it just won’t stick. I have decided to dwell more on this issue so that the African followership will know the double standards that prevails in the world and as African citizens, we have no immunity or protection anywhere. If a serving African President can be forcefully pressured out of office and eventually taken to Hague for trials on charge of genocide that took place in another country and another is also being issued with an arrest warrant for committing genocide in Darfur, Sudan, this should serve

as enough lesson for us to know the way the world order is structured. No matter the number of women and children they kill in other countries, no institution in the world can hold the leaders of powerful nations responsible as they would have done it on behalf of the faceless “international community”. This is the more reason why we should only emphasize more on the positive roles we can play to liberate our countries collectively and individually from the bondage of corruption, nepotism, lack of accountability, poverty, illiteracy, Human Rights abuse, lack of infrastructure and ultimately, neo-colonialism. Ultimately, the followership may decide to contest elections in a democratic set-up. This should only happen as a last resort. In a situation where the politicians fail to deliver the “dividends of democracy”, then the ordinary masses have to organize themselves either through their professional associations like Lech Walesa did in Poland or student bodies that have played important roles in changing the status quo in countries like Nicaragua, Indenesia, Nigeria (during Babangida and Abacha dictatorships) and even the coming to power of President Obama in the United States. We should not leave politics for the politicians as we are all political animals. We are all affected by the activities of any political party that forms the government in our various countries. If we are active participants in the system, we will always have a government worth our efforts and will stop consoling ourselves with the parlance “those who make peaceful change impossible, makes violent change inevitable”. Violent revolution is not encouraged even though it has yielded some positive results in some countries, but with good governance by the leadership and a responsible followership, there will naturally be development in the country. In the course of the various headings discussed earlier on, I have repeatedly mentioned countries such as The Gambia, Libya and Botswana as role models in good governance on the African continent as the leadership in these countries have been able to prove that good leadership is a recipe for bad government, underdevelopment and neo-colonialism in any developing country. The followership in these countries mentioned thus become naturally responsible as they can practically experience an improvement in living standards. In summary, this chapter dwells on the practical roles the followership can play to support the government in their various countries. The fact that one establishes and run a civil society organization means one is most likely not to be in government. This is a realistic step towards eradicating poverty, illiteracy, ignorance, poor health and other obstacles to the improvement of living standards in Africa. The followership should begin to take these responsibilities as development partners with the government. This will help our various countries to meet the millennium development goals as declared by the United Nations Organization.

THE AUTHOR

William Adejuyigbe Adetona is the Executive Director of Foundation for Rural Education, Wildlife and Environment, a charitable, civil society organization based in The Gambia, west Africa. Since his graduation from the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, he has acquired experience over the years working as a Senior Secondary School teacher and Head of department in Nigeria and The Gambia as well as promoting Human Rights education, campaigning against environmental degradation and supporting wildlife conservation.

The author is widely traveled within Nigeria (having had a detribalized parental background), West Africa as well as Western Europe. In the course of his travels around the world, he has participated in seminars and courses on education, Human Rights, Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science.

This book is the outcome of a Comparative Analysis Research in governance conducted by Mr. Adetona from 2005 to 2009 in West Africa and Europe on reasons for African backwardness. This was meant to actually counter the long – held notion of blaming the African leadership alone for our retarded growth. By comparing the continent with advanced countries of Europe and other developed parts of the world, especially through the earlier stage of imbibing cultural orientation (both traditional and political), to economic advancement, social emancipation and human dignity, the result shows that since independence, the followership in Africa have not been playing its roles. The book is therefore a wake up call for a RESPONSIBLE FOLLOWERSHIP in Africa.