A PURVIEW ON CHALLENGES FACING AFRICAN LEADERSHIP ON THE OCCASION OF AFRICA WEEK
Africa’s Decolonisation, Independence and New Forms of Dependence

Abstract: The struggle for a humane, just, equitable, democratic and free Africa is intertwined with the freedoms experience by the rest of the world.  Much has change following the end of the Second World War and the Cold War.  The international relations has been characterised by additional and sometimes burdensome features, such as unipolar tendencies, dominance of multilateral instutions by a few, the ongoing spread of globalisation and the challenge pose to the West because of the emergence of a new geopolitical possibility.

The Construct African State

Africa as a continent was of particular interest to the colonisers because of its strategic geographic location and for advancement of religious hegemony. Pre-colonial era had as its anchor trading routes only sea-trading, and Africa was a calculative factor to improve trade with the Mediterranean, India and the Far East (Osaghae and McGowan, 2002, p.180). Two streams of religion were competing ideologies during pre-colonial times, which was Christianity (Roman-inspired) and Islam (Ottoman Empire).   The evolution of African statehood has its origins within a particular context, of which pre-colonial times and the Berlin conference (1884) imposed substantive limitations on its formations.  Little regard was held for historical, social, economic and political conditions which were present in African states. The Berlin product had the state not as a voluntary social construct, which should have arisen as consensus between the various tribal kings, but as an imposition of those foreign to the African people (Francis Fukuyama, 2012). Africa’s underdevelopment has as a result rampant poverty, human deprivation and low levels of human capital development (Maxi Schoeman, 2002, p. 209).

Osaghae et al. (2002, p.179) argues that the majority of the forty eight independent African countries were granted freedom ‘under duress’, in the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries as European imperialism reached its apogee. It is therefore prudent to celebrate African independence as a set-back for her colonisers, as her emancipation was not as a result of the magnanimity of the imperialist states , but was occasioned by the liberation movement themselves and the shifting of the global balance of forces. An immediate inclination would be to compare how these 48 African states compare with the fifty American states, which became one country, having little regard for the fact that it took the United States of America (USA) more than 200 years, since 1776, to have an agenda of national cohesion. Africa can be no different; it must be given the opportunity to dispense with more than 350 years of enslavement.

The organisation and demarcation of Africa into manageable, smaller regions has enabled Africa to better organise herself (Van Nieuwkerk and Hofmann, 2013, p.56). The formation of Regional African Organisations were specific premise on enhanced  economic integration and security cooperation. It further served as an instrument for African states to “overcome their inherent weaknesses”, thus leveraging their interface within Africa and World Affairs (Khadiagala and Lyons, 2001, p. 4).

In Pursuit of Power

During the colonial epoch, regional conflicts took the express form of the colonial masters managing and or protecting its historical footprints, whilst advancing future economic potential, and therefore the colonisers were the principal agitators and aggressors. The post-colonial dispensation has produce a new African body-politic, wherein inter-state conflict arose, which quickly expand to a full domestic-state dispute, and gets extended into regional conflicts the moment the conflict involves neighbouring African countries. The pursuit of power has as singular objective the guarantee of national security. However its unintended and antagonistic outcome is the accumulation of security measures and more insecurity for its immediate neighbouring states (Philip Nel, 2002, p.28)

Before the ‘wave of democratisation in Africa’ overarching reliability for security were assumed by former colonial powers, in particular France. The American-driven African Crisis Response Initiative was a policy instrument founded on the precepts of African ownership for African crises (Khadiagala et al., 2001, p. 11), and sought to change the responsibility-paradigm between and amongst African leadershp firstl, and secondly betwenn African and European leaders in particular.  The initial existence of ‘good faith’ from the colonisers has dissapated with the cessation of hostilities through the conclusion of the Cold War , and has severe the embilical cord which held Africa as deer and of strategic importance within the global geo-politic (Southall and Conway, 2002, p. 195).  The Cold War served in many ways as an antithesis to colonialism in Africa, and spurred many liberation movements to solidify linkages with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (ANCYL, 2008, p.55).

Colonialism of a Special Type

Colonialism of a Special tTpe (CST) has been imposed on Africa, through the allocattion of  financial rescues packages such as the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs), manufactured and design by global financing institutions, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Post-neo-colonialism and the balkanisation of a post Cold War era were bound to be the characterisation of a liberated Africa, under a new leadership stewardship.  This, coupled with ongoing indoctrinated subserviency to the European way of life, has as an effect lasting colonial dependency (Ruth First, 1970, p. 70). A vestige of Western post-neo colonialism has been the instructive note of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to African countries that initial trade privileged allotted under the Lome agreement will be done away with (Southall et al., 2002, p.199). This insistence by the WTO  pre-supposes that the African economy are capable to compete on equal footing with other, more developed economies, having little regard for the history of political economy within the African states, or the elementary nature of state-hood in Africa.  In as much as we must continue to advocate for Africa’s independence, our continent will forever be intertwined with the West out of necessity, as it constitute the primary export markets (economic interests) and the political realm imbues a spirit of international collaboration. McGowan and Nel (2002, p.5) correctly argues that “interdependence does not exclude asymmetrical relations of dependence.”  It does mean that a subservient relationship do exist, wherein the marginalised and underdeveloped has been accorded a pedigree of power, equal to its standing in the broader body politic.  We, as Africans must ‘contest’ for a development trajectory which is intertwined with the world economy, but one which will be immune from failures of the capitalist market orientations (ANCYL, 2008, p.60).  An instructive economic challenge which must be overcome is trade liberalisation, and in particular the Doha-debate in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on agricultural subsidies.  The central topology of trade stagnation is the requirement of Africa to remove produce’ subsidies, whereas the developed economies continue with the alloccation of huge subsidies to their own agricultural farmers.  The challenges experience within African economies is the singular obstacle of capitalism, which leads to increased exports of productive capital, growing monopolisation and increase scarcity of resources (Vladimir Lenin, 1916). A complete new mindset must be encapsulated by our leaders, to ensure a dramatic shift from being the receipient of foreign currencies, generated through commodity exports, and being importers of ‘high value’ conssumable goods, nothwistanding the accompany trade surpluses.

African Solidarity : Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance

The de-colonial process in Africa had a heterogeneity cause and effect on what transpired within African states on the occasion of freedom.  The de-construction of the neo-patrimonial postcolonial state altered the political topography (balance of forces), within which conceptual considerations by     African leadership were made (Khadiagala et al., 2001, p. 6).  An elementary consideration is the self-assertions and individual belief which was brought about due to freedom.  However, the subsequent marginalisation of Africa as a strategic centre of interests has compounded the possibility of construction a new Africa, firmly premise on increase economic integration with the world and an accumulative acknowledgement that as an under-developed continent, forward movement can be the only true possibility.  Africa presents significant markets of raw commodities, and the decaying infrastructure abundance for foreign investment.

Optimistic and unrealistic suggestions to constitute one Africa, as a catalyst for its sister states, in the form of a united African Federation (pan-Africanism) produce an appropriate alternative structure of African solidarity, entitled the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963. The forebears of African statehood, leaders such as Zambia’s Kaunda, Tanzania’s Nyerere, Ghana’s Nkrumah and Sengela’s Senghor propagated African unity and pan-Africanism. The OAU was formed to realise African unity, and the inaugural summit of the took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopa, in May 1963, whereupon the matter of an African Union Government has been pondered.  However, the 1964 Summit laid bare stark African contradictions, when it subscribe to the colonial boundaries, and by implication underline sovereignty of individual African states.

The idealism and euphoria of post-independence, from the 1950s quickly subdue in the 1980s, due to increasing repressive one-party states, failure of the African-socialism model, military rule and patrimonial states, aptly earning Africa the title as the ‘lost continent’. The OAU was primarily considered as a pre-colonial body, and Africa had to reflect on the need to relook at the character of the organisation having hindsight for the ‘wave of democracy’ which engulfed the continent, as well as the end of the Cold War, with the collapse of the Union of Socialist Republics in 1991(Maloka, 2013). The African Union (AU) was established to defend sovereignty of its Member States; to promote peace and stability; and to advance democracy (Constitutive Act of the African Union, 2000).  Africa’s resolve in enshrining good governance is firmly embedded in initiatives such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), and its embryonic governance apparatus, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) (Nicky Oppenheimer, 2007). Because of the voluntarily nature of its membership, its an opportune moment for Africans to respond with African solutions (to essentially African problems).

In his book “Africa since Independence”, Collin Legum categorises some periods in the history of our continent as the Romantic Period, from 1939 to 1970; the Period of Disillusionment, from 1970 to 1985, and the Period of Realism, from 1988 onwards, and the Period of Renaissance, which is the period towards the end of the last Century, and the Beginning of the 21st Century.” (Thabo Mbeki, 2003). Our current epoch should be characterised by unfettered belief in building an African Developmental State, with a solid foundation and virtues of selfless, people centred and people driven development.

The Path to Power: a New World Order

The emergence of China as a potential superpower has reconfigured the global body politic, which presents itself as a remarkable shift from uni-polarity to multi-polarity.  World capitalism has been firmly engrained in the global community and has as an expression dominance of the USA, the peculiarity of the ‘hyper-power’. Uni-polarity has as a secondary consequence, multi-polarity characteristics which has been emboldened by the formation of new geopolitical interests and blocks (ANC, 2007, p. 33). The emergence of BRIC- Brazil, Russia, India and China has presented a reconsideration of the international economic landscape.  Although uni-polarity had decaying features such as unilateralism and injustice, no guaranteed exists that multi-polarity will usher in a better developmental paradigm for Africa ((ANCYL, 2008, p.60).  Central to any economic interest of a country, a friend or an enemy, is the betternment of their domestic peoples interest.  It remains an unanswered question if BRIC’s approach to the development of Africa will be different to that of the rest of the developed world.

The growing danger which confronts Africa is the ‘war on terror’, which has been depicted as a humane-campaign against terrorism and by implication evil. The so-called ‘collateral damage’, i.e. the intended targeting of civilians in conflicted areas is inhumane and repugnant. It has as an end result the existence of terrorism, alongside an equally dangerous phenomenon of militarism (ANC, 2007, p.34).  The singular objective of these ‘big-brother’ postures is to serve as an expostulator  to African leaders never to undermine West superiority, a lesson the oil-rich Libiya assimilated too late.

The African Dependency Syndrome

African’s over-reliance on its former colonisers is a direct result of the neo-liberal policies which it embraced in the past, under stewardship of the Bretton-Woods institutions. Africa is face with the imminent dangers of tackling the scourge of Poverty, Unemployment and Inequality. That should be the central topology which underpins the African Century.  One of the less challenge route for inculcating continued reliance on the West is to display elementary recognition of the challenges of underdevelopment, and the channelling of ‘development aid’ to Africa.  Bauer (1981) highlighted the misendeavours of such artificial efforts by stating that “the argument that aid is indispensable for development runs into an inescapable dilemma.  If the conditions for development other than capital are present, the capital required will be either be generated locally or be available commercially from abroad to governments or to businesses. If the required conditions are not present, then aid will be ineffective and wasted.” In summation, increase development aid has a decaying effect on the African Renaissance, wherein the African should free herself from economic bondage, through producing a competing economic and encouraging ‘respect for an honest day’s of work’.    Moyo (2009) argues that the receipt of concessional (non-emergency) loans and grants, has an identical effect of holding a precious stone: it has minimal incentives for integrity and productivity.  He further highlights that at the epitome of the development aid paradigm in Africa, between 1970 and 1998, the poverty rate rose from 11 percent to a staggering 66 percent. Maxi Schoeman (2002, p. 227) augment this argument by stating  that “only strong, cohesive states can withstand the threat of internal decay and collapse”. 

Conclusion

A key challenge for African leaders would be how to covert the potential which the continent offers into realisable political dividends. Anything to the contrary will mean only a philosophical appreciation of the world, whereas the role of leadership, including African leadership, is to change the world (Karl Marx, 1935, p.231).Colonial boundaries, use in modern day Africa, should become links of cooperation and trade, instead of boundaries of exclusivity (Kwame Nkrumah,1965).
It is correct that “nothing is more precious than independence and freedom” (Ho Chi Minh,1966) as long as the dialectical and accompany thesis is that “nothing is more precious than the defeat of poverty and underdevelopment” (Thabo Mbeki,2007). 
The regeneration and development of Africa is entirely depended on the consciousness of its leaders.
Writer is ANC Northern Cape Provincial Deputy Secretary & MEC Coghsta


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