WILLIAM GUMEDE | Unless Africans elect better leaders, developing continent remains a dream

African countries will remain stuck in mass poverty, systemic corruption and indebtedness for the next 100 years.

Former colonies, such as Singapore, Saudia Arabia and South Korea, which have in recent times become developed countries, will become even more wealthy unless African countries change the type of leadership they have consistently selected since Liberia became independent on July 26 1847.

Unless Africans elect better quality leaders, rapid advances in technology and artificial intelligence will leave African countries so far behind they may never catch up, becoming the world’s permanent underclass. And Africans will continue to blame colonialism, apartheid or imperialism while remaining in poverty and living in violence, lawlessness and instability.

Gangsters, criminals, violent men, populists, ideologues, the prejudiced, the narrow-minded, the ignorant, the unread, the corrupt, and village idiot leaders have dominated Africa since the end of colonialism.

Further, those who scream violence the loudest, scapegoating “enemies”, whether they be foreigners or those of different colours, ethnic groups or political affiliations, for self-inflicted problems and who promise impossible nirvanas are hero worshipped, especially by the youth.

African leaders who make critical decisions based on outdated ideology, wishful thinking, pure fantasy, and lack of common sense, reality and logic, appear wildly popular.

More than a third of African countries are led by military leaders who grab power in coups. However, they are widely embraced. Impoverished, unemployed and illiterate youths often support military coup, jihadist or populist leaders, hoping they will provide a better life, only to worsen their lives as these false “leaders” escalate the violent chaos, corruption and failure when they take charge.

It takes countries under military control about 30 years to return to the development level before the coup happened. They always backslide into deeper poverty, violence and indebtedness.

In most cases, countries where the military took over by force, end in a civil war. Coup leaders in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali claimed they violently took over governments to push back against French “colonialism”, saying the governments they deposed were “puppets” of France.

Blaming colonialism, after more than 50 years of African independence is still conveniently used by military coup leaders, as well as populist leaders who want to gain power and autocratic leaders in power, to woo support of African youth.

Violent leaders cannot deliver stability, inclusive development or collective societal healing from past trauma. Leaders who are perpetually in victimhood mode, blaming the past for lack of development or to cover up their own shortcomings, incompetence or corruption, will not deliver a better life for ordinary Africans either.

Neither will leaders who govern for their group only bring inclusive development, growth and stability. Incompetent leaders are unlikely to manage national government competently either.

Many leaders are elected only because they can sing, dance, behave like the village idiot, shout slogans, attack “enemies” and will not deliver. Proponents of one bullet solutions and outdated ideologies that have failed spectacularly elsewhere are not going to work either. Importantly, corrupt and dishonest leaders can never deliver development. 

It appears that many Africans have a trauma bond– unhealthy attachment to their abusers – outdated ideology leaders. Leaders who are humble, with a clear sense of purpose and strong moral, democratic, inclusivity and fairness values, appear to be rejected on the continent.

Leaders who try to govern in the widest public interest rather than for party, self-interest or ego appear not to be valued highly in Africa. Unless Africans select the latter leaders, reducing mass poverty, endemic mass violence, systemic corruption, state failure and country breakdown, will remain a distant dream in our lifetime.

■ Gumede is associate professor at school of governance, University of the Witwatersrand. The article is an edited extract of his remarks at the recent FuturElect Summit24 in Cape Town.