To say that the current leadership around the continent have failed in their duties to their constituents would be a bit of an understatement. In fact, to state that they “failed” may not even be the right wording to describe our current situation. Because to say that one has failed eludes to the fact that any kind of conscious effort has been made to actually improve the lives of the constituents our politicians are supposed to represent. In fact, quite the contrary might be true.
One could easily argue that much of Africa’s politicians have been widely successful, actually. Because rather than our politicians entering politics with a plan to improve the living standards of the people they are supposed to be serving, many of our politicians enter politics with the express aim of enriching themselves and their families. So in that case, you could easily make the argument that African politicians are in fact among the most successful all around the world.
The African continent has the potential to be one of the most prosperous areas around the world. We are a continent that is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, we have millions of young working age people all around the continent desperate for any kind of work. If we had a leadership that actually cared and made a concerted effort towards developing our economies, it would happen. But the unfortunate reality is that we do not.
Our leadership’s mandate is first towards themselves, not their constituents. Before any kind of infrastructure or economic policy is even discussed, the first concern of our our ruling class is on what benefits they can acquire as a result of their privileged positions. It is therefore not a coincidence that around the continent typically the wealthiest people are our politicians, or people with strong connections to politics.
African politicians see no problem with earning exorbitantly high salaries while many of the constituents they are meant to serve are living in squalor. They see nothing wrong allocating billions of dollars towards vanity projects, palaces and private jets when not too far from them there are people who do not know where their next meal is coming from. In the same breath as Africa’s politicians raise taxes and strip away subsidies from already struggling communities, they would increase their own salaries and splash billions of dollars on themselves.
In Kenya, where we recently saw major protests against tax hikes, when the government finally caved and withdrew the tax policies, the government announced that it would instead raise funds by reducing government costs. That included less travel for politicians, using cheaper modes of transport, stripping away funding for the first lady’s office and eliminating other non-essential costs.
The question that arises from this debacle in Kenya is; why was that not the first thing the government did? If the government was looking to balance its budget, why is that the first thing that comes to mind is to tax their constituents who are already suffering from economic hardship? Why wouldn’t all the members of parliament instead reduce their own salaries? Why wouldn’t they think: maybe I can just fly in economy class rather than first class? Or even better yet, all non-essential costs unrelated to government activity should not be procured using public funds.
Another example is Nigeria. We recently saw the government doing away with the fuel subsidy that had been in place for decades, stating that it cost the government too much money to maintain. So all in one go, the fuel subsidy had been removed and the economic catastrophe that has followed has been disastrous and unprecedented in our nation’s history. Yet at the same time we have governors and senators on lifetime pensions, costing our government billions of dollars.
We have even seen the president and senators give themselves a raise amongst the current economic turmoil. Yet when workers demanded a raise in the national minimum wage, they had been told that the governments do not have enough money to meet their demands. Imagine Nigeria’s elected officials telling people they are unable to earn 100,000 Naira minimum wage when the salaries of many of Nigeria’s govenors and other elected officials are in the tens, and hundreds of millions of Naira.
The root of the problem is that these government officials typically see their high salaries and all the perks of being in their positions of power as being essential. And they see meeting the needs of their constituents as being less important. Therefore in their minds, they see no issue with the way they conduct themselves. Either it is because they have this archaic perspective that because of their high ranking position they deserve to be spoiled, or it is because they are just morally bankrupt and don’t care that they are stealing from their own countrymen.
The unfortunate reality is that barring a few exceptions, since independence Africa’s leadership has largely been terrible for our economic progression. Following independence, we have exchanged one form of exploitation from European colonial powers to another form of exploitation, this time spearheaded by our own indigenous regimes. However, the news does not have to be all bad. As we, the new generation of younger Africans coming of age, we have the ability to course correct. We have the power to implement real change to our governing bodies.
Following independence, we have exchanged one form of exploitation from European colonial powers to another form of exploitation, this time spearheaded by our own indigenous regimes.
We can build civilisations that those who fought for our independence had dreamed of. Civilisations where true democratic governance is a reality, where our governments would actually work for us rather than the current broken system that is in place right now, where they only work for themselves. Where our human rights and dignity are respected, where people would be free to express themselves and live their lives how they see fight.
However, that sort of change will not come by itself. We must be willing to work towards that future. That can come in many forms, whether it be by becoming more politically engaged, through educating ourselves more, and/or even participating in organisations aimed at enacting change around the continent. We cannot allow the theft we have witnessed to carry on into another generation.