Recently, leaders from Western nations gathered in France to commemorate D-day. They gathered to highlight the sacrifices that had been made by so many young men from Western countries when they landed on the beaches of Normandy to push back Nazi forces occupying France.
These were men, often teenagers or in their early 20s, who were willing to risk their lives in favour of fighting for their liberty, and the liberty of their people. They understood that the values of freedom and democracy are worth fighting for. Many landed on the beach and knew that they would never return, they knew it was more likely that they would die in that fight. Yet they still stormed the beach, knowing that they were fighting for something greater than themselves. That sort of sacrifice will always be something to commemorate.
One’s country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for because it’s the most deeply honourable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.
Ronald Reagen at the 40th D-Day commemoration
Similarly, here on the African continent, many made major sacrifices for our independence and in the fight against Apartheid in Southern Africa. In the struggles against colonial rule around the continent, many lost their lives in the fight. They were willing to make that sacrifice because they had a vision for an African for a liberated and prosperous African continent free from colonial oppression.
We cannot take these sacrifices made by our previous generations for granted today. It is our duty to honour that sacrifice through our efforts today. However, the reality is that around much of the continent, the ideals that had been envisioned by our freedom fighters are still out of reach to many.
Africa today is not a prosperous continent. While many of our countries have been liberated from colonial oppression, corruption has managed to reign in many of our countries. This corruption present in so many of our governments has stripped away economic growth from Africa leaving many across the continent destitute, with little hope for the future.
The only hope held by our destitute peoples is often the hope of reaching a more prosperous nation abroad. So much so, every year thousands take the risk at sea, attempting to reach Europe, in search of greater economic opportunities. However, even then, they face a European continent that has become increasingly intolerant towards migrants.
These men and women who fought for the continent did not make that sacrifice for corruption and oligarchy to take root in the continent. We must be bold enough to state the truth; which is that many of our politicians are working against the wishes of those who fought for our independence. If you had told the people who fought for our liberation at the time that following autonomy, a few individuals would hoard up all of their country’s wealth, while most suffer from financial hardship, they likely would have been much less enthusiastic in their efforts.
Similarly, if you informed them that their efforts would only lead to even more tyranny, I doubt they would be satisfied. Yes, the unfortunate reality is that in many African countries, independence replaced one form of tyranny—colonial domination—with another, as indigenous rulers established oppressive dictatorships.
“We spoke and acted as if, given the opportunity for self-governance we would create utopias, instead injustice, even tyranny is rampant.”
Julius Nyerere
Even more disheartening is that instead of condemning such oppressive governing systems, there are those who praise these regimes. Our previous generations did not sacrifice for us to not be free. Authoritarian governing systems should not be praised or accepted.
Some like to dismiss democratic rule, as just being a “Western” style of living. They would claim that democracy is foreign to the African continent. They claim, falsely, that democratic rule is responsible for many of the qualms felt by Africans. When, in reality, it is quite the contrary.
Many of the problems faced by Africans today stem from our lack of adherence to democratic values and principles, not the other way around. The reason, corruption and economic mismanagement have managed to become so prevalent around the continent is often due to a lack of transparency within government and the lack of government accountability mechanisms available to the public.
Some argue that democratic regimes are too inefficient for the economic progression of developing nations. They would claim that authoritarian systems give governments more freedom to enact policies aimed at economic development, without having to deal with the bureaucratic hurdles present in democracies.
However, such arguments fall on their face when you come to the realisation that most African countries are not indeed democracies. And it is because of this non-democratic nature of many of our governments that corruption has managed to root itself in so much of African politics. It is oligarchy and authoritarianism that has prevented Africa’s development.
For the sake of those who came before us and fought for the emancipaton of our people from colonial oppression, we cannot praise or encourage authoritatinism in our nations. We must have the right to live and express ourselves freely, just like any every other person alive. It is on this basis of true freedom, based on democratic values, that the African continent will truly become prosperous.