SLAVERY AND COLONIALISM THE EXCUSE FOR AFRICAN LEADERS' INEPTITUDE

It is said the subject leadership is so significant that it has about 366 definitions.In other words,the exigency of leadership is so sensitive that its definition demands refurbishing and reconstruction every day to meet the challenges and demands of the period. To all intents and purposes, students of this subject will agree with me without hesitation that in all the school of thoughts for this topic leadership, one common denominator that conspiciously stands out in its definitions is the word "influence". Controversy about the definition of leadership involves not only who exercise influence but what type of influence is exercised and the outcome. So what type of influence do the African leaders exude?. I remember about a month ago I was reading about the world cup 2010 at the BBC website and the writer who was obviously a British put it bluntly that about 80years of this fiesta now that this competition is coming to Africa, the most poorest and undevelped continent. Any proud African would have sense a chill in his spine to read such demeaning, derogatory and opprobrium attributed to this great continent. But critically studying what God has equitably distributed and endowed Africa with, is the continent literally poor or its rather an incurable bubonic and endemic disease of poor and ineptitude leaders who are destitute of any good leadership?. It was the 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 critical study amongst 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 decadence of economic, social and political situation. 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 is that, 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.

Whenever, and wherever the name of Africa is mentioned nothing healthy or refreshing is spoken about than a degrading and demeaming words like the poorest, underdeveloped, the most diseased, impoverished, hungry, beggers etc. 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 leaders and dictators and their cabals. Professors of geography should tell us, looking at the resources in all the continents, which continent has abundant resouces than Africa? If none, then why the leaders of those other cntinents can put their resouces to a better use and 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?

On cannot fathom 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 are the leaders But you listen to an African leader giving those their empty speeches anywhere and he is blaming the present condition on slavery and colonialism or his predecessor. What a shameless and senseless excuse!. They should stop that ostrich mentality and bear in mind that the era where every leadership decadence and mishap are hidden under the cloak of colonialism and slavery are the excuses of the past and effort in futility. Most of the Asian countries like Malaysia, India, Honkong, South korea etc were all colonised yet today their ebullient,insightful and astute leaders have been able quicken them from the doldrums and degradation into the pinncle of economic giants to reckon with

A cursory as well s serious look at most parts of African countries paricularly the hinterlands, demonstrate painful neglect; they have never experienced any economic and social changes after about six decades of independence. Its very sad and disparaging 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 etc. Why? The monies to buy tractors and to enhance advanced 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, renovationg houses for the ministers etc. Everything is selfishly about how the leaders will live comfortably and not the masses who voted for them. African politics is nothing more than deceiption to amass wealth. A couple of weeks ago JJ Rawlings was in Morrocco and lambasting the African leaders for their double standard and not doing much to salvage the continent from its present bleedings. But the question is what did that JJ do during his longitudinal and marathon years of almost 20years? His only legacy which is conspicuously staring frightenly at us and hanging on us like the sword of democle is the ethnic divisiveness, hatred and overwhelming glee of insulting his fellow leaders. He should better shut up.

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 deteriment 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? This is 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 would never hesitate to admit the fact that our roads, bridges railways, stadia, factories, the architectural and other edifices can never be compared to the rest of the world. But critical observation shows that those well-planned and beautiful countries have no resources anywhere near than even less endowed African countries. But why? Leadership with education but without commonsense.

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 will go every length to kill, maim, create panic and even rigg election in order to rule and entrench themselves. We saw example in Ghana in 1979 by JJ Rawlings, when such a persona non grata surfaced from nowhere and wasted almost two precious decades of Ghanaians expectations. Go to Niger and Mamoud Tandja, the president has finished his two terms but he has twisted the constitution to enable him keep ruling as if the country is his personal property. In Zimbabwe the least said about Mugaby that octagenarian, the better; the country is almost like his personal handkerchief. As Iam talking Yuweri Moseveni of Uganda is on the threshold of following the same power drunk African disease to entrench himself. Almost a year a go a military dunderhead and underling Diara Camara, surfaced in Guinea with the usual deceiptive and hidden agenda that he came to correct the wrongs, but now go to Guinea and there is nothing good to write home about than arrogance and ugly displace of massacre of innocent civilians. Diara Camara came to the seen ostensibly to shortly do house cleaning and handover for political election, but as all are the same, he is gradually metamorphosing from "kakistocracy" to "suitocracy". God have mercy upon Africa

African leaders, politicians, tradiontional bigwigs, chiefs, all love titles and huge monies that go with it but not the transforming dreams and ideas that picks the ordinary people from economic strangulation and quagmire into the pinnacle 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 there and therefore the begging question is dont they have eyes as to what their contemporaries as well as their counterparts, some of them 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, unbelivable sports stadia, recreational grounds, enviable factories to absorb the escalating graduates, outstanding policies etc. And believe you me, no continent is endowed with so much resouces to do these to the overflow than the African continent. But the ignoramuses,greedy, shortsighted, self -aggrandized, pompous, arrogant, title 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 the tagged, third world. It was Eleanor Roosevelt,( the wife of 32nd President of America) who said " nobody can make you inferior without your consent". And the people who by their misdeeds have given such consent to the rest of the world to have the impudence, temerity and supriority complex-mentality to call us thiird world are the misfits leaders of Africa. The Bible says In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth; Period!

God save Africa and bless my readers.

EKOW WILSON-BAIDOO
( Crusader without violence)


Development / Accra / Ghana / Africa / Modernghana.com