Slavery And Colonialism: The Ultimate Excuse For African Leaders’ Ineptitude

It is said the subject leadership is so significant that it has about 366 definitions. In other words, the proponents of this subject reminds us of its exigency and sensitivity, therefore its definition demands refurbishing and reconstruction every day to meet the challenges of the ever rapid global changes and demands.

To all intents and purposes, students of this subject leadership would agree with me without hesitation or equivocation that in all the school of thoughts for this topic leadership, one common denominator that conspicuously stands out in its definitions is the word "influence".

Controversies about the definition of leadership involves not only the one who exercise "influence" but what type of influence is exercised and the outcome. So what type of influence do the African leaders exert and exude?.

I remember about few months before the world cup 2010, which was historically the first world cup in Africa. I read something from the BBC website and the writer who was obviously a British put it bluntly that about 80years of this world cup fiesta, now that this competition was coming to Africa, the most poorest and under-develped continent.

Any proud African would have sense a chill in his spine to read such demeaning, derogatory and opprobrium remarks attributed to this great continent. But critically studying what God has equitably distributed and endowed Africa with, is the continent literally and really poor or its rather the kleptomaniac and ineptitude leaders who are so destitute and dehydrated of any leadership savvy and competence that has raped the continent into abysmal nakedness?

It was the former British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown who said "leadership is tested not by what happens in the best of times but by what happens when things are difficult".

It appears to be a waste of energy to ponder over if there is anything exemplary and worthwhile about the sort of "leadership by mistake" that the continent of Africa is experiencing.

Taking a cursory look of the African leaders, one cannot proudly say there is any Africn leader who can outstandingly be distinquished as one who has delivered and salvaged his people from woes, pains and economic, social and political decadence.

Maybe Dr. Kwame Nkrumah would have done it if he had not been booted out by the khaki- wearing epigones. Its regrettable and worrying that even the crankiest ignorant has no problem to realize that all the countries in Africa and particularly south of the sahara are being swallowed and enmeshed in a deep poverty, diseases, sickness and the very basic human needs like food, water, clothing and shelter.

The most disturbing and unfathomable scenrio are those well-placed with rich resources countries like Nigeria, Equitorial Guinea, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, South Africa, Republic of Congo, Guinea etc are all wallowing in abject poverty and strangulating squalors.

Whenever, and wherever the name of Africa is mentioned nothing healthy, refreshing and comforting is spoken about than a degrading and demeaming words like the poorest, underdeveloped, the most diseased, impoverished, hungry, beggers etc. Why not? because there is the saying that "as you have dressed so you are addressed or treated". Its extremely and drastically dificult for an ordinary African citizen to live a comfortable or even afford two square-meals a day as compared to their counterparts in the so called advanced world where eating four meals a day is nothing worrying.

The only group of people enjoying in Africa are the corruptible, fraudulent, double-standard political leaders and dictators and their cabals. Professors of geography would tell us, looking at the resources in all the continents of the world, no continent has abundant resouces than Africa.

If none, then the mindboggling and searching question is why do the leaders of those less endowed continents are able to put their resources to a better, enviable and resounding use for the supreme interest and comfort of the citizenry but the African leaders have nothing under their sleeves than stealing, raping and diverting them into foreign banks to enrich themselves? Demonstrable of nothing better than insatiable greedy bastards and self aggrandizement.

One cannot fathom or decipher as to why African continent look so emaciated and emasculated like an aids patient about to die even in the midst of plenty? Because the very people secretly sucking and siphoning the blood of the continent are the leaders.

And here they go, you listen to an African leader giving those their empty and Machiavellian speeches anywhere and he is blaming the present conditions on slavery and colonialism or the previous government.

Listen to NDC, and they are blaming NPP for leaving mammoth debts and vis-versa. What a shameless and senseless excuse of ostrich mentality and facile blame game.

They should stop this ostrich pathetic jokes and bear in mind that the era where every leadership decadence and mishap are hidden under the cloak of colonialism, slavery and past government are the excuses of the past and effort in futility that does not hoodwink anyone.

Most of the Asian countries like Malaysia, India, Hong-Kong, South Korea etc were all colonised, yet today their ebullient, insightful and astute leaders have been able to quicken them from the doldrums and degradation into a pinnacle of economic giants to reckon with other economic stalwarts of the world.

A cursory as well s serious look at most parts of African countries particularly the hinterlands, demonstrate a painful neglect; they have never experienced any economic and social changes after over six decades of independence.

It's very sad and regrettable that in this 21st century most African country farmers, with no exception to that of Ghana and oil soaked country like Nigeria are still using primitive instruments, children are still studying under trees, drinking guinea-worm infested water, mountains of filthy garbbages are an eye-sore in the very heart of cities etc.

Why wont they label us as filthy and diseased continent? The monies to buy tractors and other modern implements to enhance and advance farming technologies are found in the pockets and foriegn banks of political leaders.

You hardly hear any development plans that affect the man on the street, but always using whopping sum of money for parliamentarians' cars, new presidential jet, renovating houses for the ministers which cost more than building new ones etc.

Everything is selfishly about how the leaders would live comfortably and not the masses who voted for them and profess they came to serve. African politics is nothing more than deception to amass wealth. Recently, the salaries of the president and that of the parliamentarians were stratospherically increased for their own selfishness.

And I hear president Mahama came out to talk against the increment. What kind of infantile and jejunely politricks Mahama was playing? It's a shame and a sham for Mahama to treat ghanaians like robots who don't think. Waiting for it to be brought to the public domain and coming out to pretend as if he did not sanction it.

As a matter of fact, the blistering poverty and impoverishment in most of the African countries like Angola, DR Congo, Ethiopia is mindboggling and baffling to economic analysts and developmental observers because of the abundant riches in resouces like oil, diamond and others that vomits a gigantic amount into that part of Africa.

But you and I know that the reason is not far-fetched. It boils down to the empty -headed leaders who are surprisingly sucking and stabbing their own countries to the detriment and suffering of the people.

Why the rest of the world would not tag and brand such a rich continent as underdeveloped and third world for their own superiority complex tendencies? Its sad that because of the third-class mentality leadership in Africa, everything is done in Africa is substandard.

Any African who has stayed in any of the other continents, particularly the western world, would never hesitate to admit the naked fact that our roads, bridges railways, stadia, factories, the architectural and other edifices can never be compared to the rest of the world.

Projects are done shoddilly and shambolically, so that they could pocket the difference to showcase their pride and unbridle arrogance. Nevertheless, frantic and fervid observation shows that those well-planned and beautiful countries have no resources anywhere near than even less endowed African countries.

But why, why, why is Mother africa wallowing in squalor and poverty like this? Leadership with education but without commonsense. Few days ago, there was an empty altercation of Nana Addo's oxford education saga and Amissah Arthur's Legon cornudrum.

How will this put food on the man on the street's table, let alone pay his ward's fees? Its worthy of note that education alone, however good it is, does not make one an outstanding leader.

Painstaking studies reveals the deplorable situation in Africa stem from the fact that African Leaders crave for power but destitute of leadership ideas and vision, that is why they would go every length to kill, maim, create panic and even rig election in order to rule and entrench themselves.

We saw example in Ghana in 1979 by JJ Rawlings, when he surfaced from nowhere and wasted almost two precious decades of Ghanaians expectations.

Go to Niger and Mamoud Tandja, the president when he finished his two terms, he had wanted to twist the constitution to enable him keep ruling as if the country was his personal property, but was forced out by the military.

In Zimbabwe the least is said about Robert Mugabe that octogenarian, the better; the country is almost like his personal handkerchief.

Yuweri Moseveni of Uganda has followed the same power drunk African disease to entrench himself for decades.

In Senegal, the former president Abdullaye Wade, after serving his term had wanted to manipulate the constitution to entrench himself but was also siphoned out.

Paul Bia of Cameroon has been there for about three decades, not forgetting the modern day Iddi Amin of Gambia, President, Dr. Professor, Alhaji Sheikh Yahaya Jemmeh, as well as other African leaders who have fabricated unconstitutional subterfuges to enjoy powers for decades.

If they have forgotten, they should let Colonel Gaddaffi of Libya be their watch word.

African leaders, politicians, traditional bigwigs, chiefs, all love titles and huge monies that go with it but not transforming dreams and ideas that picks the ordinary people from economic strangulation and quagmire into the pinnacle of social and financial liberty.

One thing that is unravelling and amazes most of us is that, most of these leaders schooled abroad, enjoy holidays and sick treatment as well as official visitations abroad and therefore the begging question is don't they have eyes to see what their contemporaries even with less education are graciously and gloriously doing for the enrichment and betterment of their people?

The good roads, wonderful bridges, immaculate buildings, amazing railways, unbelievable sports stadia, recreational grounds, enviable factories and industries to absorb the escalating graduates and other outstanding policies etc.

And believe you me, no continent is endowed with so much resources to do these to the overflow than the African continent. But the ignoramuses, greedy, shortsighted, self—aggrandized, pompous, arrogant, title-loving and worship-craving leaders of Africa have turned the continent into squalors, squatters and inferiority third class people, that an African has no confident anywhere, hence earning the tag, third world.

It was Eleanor Roosevelt,( the wife of 32nd President of America) who once said "nobody can make you inferior without your consent". And the people who by their misdeeds and ineptitude have given such consent to the rest of the world to have the impudence, temerity and supriority complex-mentality to call Africa third world are the misfits leaders of Africa.

God save Africa and bless Our Home Land Ghana!!!!!

EKUN WALLIS
THE TRUMPET OF CONSIECNCE