Challenges to Governance and Leadership in Africa

Ch every(prenominal)enges to Governance and Leadership in AfricaIt is undeniable the item that regime and its progeny, bunk, pervades every aspect of human life and existence. In nations, organizations, families and wherever human life is found, these two variables exist in one variety show or the other. It is also a truism, that thither exists a huge regime and leadership gap in many countries in the world, especially, in Africa. The slack up pace of Africas development is concomitant to this governing and leadership predicament. A 1989 World Bank report on the topic SubSaharan Africa From Crisis to Sustainable reaping A Long-Term Perspective Study affirms this position by stating that vestigial the litany of Africas development problems is a crisis of constitution (p60). In a standardized way, Walumba et al posited that while African countries are richly endowed with all manner of pictorial resources, their economic performance since independence has been generally abysmal with a few exceptions (426). They further argued that ultimately a countrys economic performance is contingent on the effectiveness of its leadership (425). These assertions, dispassionately underscores the governance and leadership predicament in Africa. Consequently, this essay seeks to discuss nearly of the reasons wherefore governance and leadership still remain a braggy challenge in Africa, and also proffer ways to alleviate these bottlenecks, respectively.To arrest with, this essay would want to point out that several reasons contribute to why governance is impoverished in Africa, especially in the Sub-Saharan region. These reasons entangle the wrong form of governance the continent practises as a ending of compoundism, selfish leadership, weak institutions, and too much foreign interference on the continent.First and foremost, it is not a ruse that the governance and leadership challenge Africa faces is an upshot of the wrong form of governance the continent is practising or organism coerced to practise. Historical evidence have shown that, many years ago, before Africa was colonized by the Europeans, Africans governed themselves through the chiefs, clan and family heads, etc and the form of government they practised was gerontocracy and monarchy. These systems of governance as practised by these pre-compound Africans had its root in their heathen and sacred beliefs. Thus, governance and religion/culture were intricately interwoven. Yet, subsequently creation colonised, the Europeans constrained their form of government on the indigenous people. These forms of government, which are the different forms of republic we see around the world like a shot, had obstructive and damaging consequences on the religio-cultural preference of the indigenous people. However, the colonial masters turned a blind nerve centre on these developments. Decades after Africa gained independence, these colonial forms of governance are still being practised in Africa, with much complicatedness. This is evidently because, the cultural and religious underpinnings of the African orientation of what governance is, and should be is different from those of the colonial masters. As Africans, our cultural upbringing upholds, fundamentally, communalism which is expressed in our proverbs, religion, folklores, songs, and mythology. In a sharp contrast, the colonial masters form of governance had as its foundation, capitalism. Hence, putting the square finalize in the round hole has led to the current governance and leadership challenge in Africa. African leaders are thorn amid satisfying their people based on tradition and pleasing their colonial masters because of the carrot and stick model of diplomacy they (colonial masters) employ. This complexity is the cornerstone of the governance and leadership predicament in Africa.Moreover, selfish leadership is a major setback to good governance in Africa, and the underdevelopment of the continent . Post-independent Africa has seen the rise of selfish, stomach-driven and thoughtless leaders. Some came to power through coup dtats, amidst shedding of unsophisticated bloods, destruction of infrastructure left for the continent by the colonial masters, and looting of the wealth of these African nations. These leaders used the power they ceased to amass as much wealth as they could for themselves, their families and cohorts at the detriment of their nations development. Obviously, these leaders had no expertise or knowledge about governance or effective management, hence the worsening of the socio-economic lives of their country, and countrymen. Principles of fundamental human rights were not honoured, while individual, ideological, partisan or even labour dissent were potently stamped out. The result was regimes collapse either internally or externally engineered amid 1963 and 1966, and which attracted international outcry against the governance style of post independence Afr ica- Leaders.The other set of leaders, who supposedly were elected to lead their countries, were of no significant exit from their predecessors. Most of these leaders hardly have as their aim, the comfort and cheer of themselves and their families at the disadvantage of the populace. They had no clear vision for their countries. Democratic rule, in their various countries, witnessed horrible governance style, mismanagement of resources and propagation of self-aggrandizement. Undoubtedly, the leaders Africa has had after independence, under the guise of liberating their people, have rather contributed to the free-fall/underdevelopment of their countries. This they did by their profligate spending, sticky management of state resources and infrastructure, and visionless governance.Furthermore, weak institutions since independence have contributed significantly to the governance and leadership predicament in Africa. After most African countries gained independence, instead of the l eadership to focus on building tough institutions, where in their absence, those institutions could serve to achieve the development they sought for which reason they fought of independence, they rather built strong personalities and empire around themselves. This phenomenon has continued perpetually till now. In Africa today, there is the practise of rule by fair play not rule of law. This is because, people in authority (government) use their power, position and influence to hint institutions in their favour when it comes to matters of the law. Institutions cannot hunt certain individuals in fellowship nowadays because those people are above the law. This phenomenon which is brought about by the partisan politics we practise, have corrupted majority of the state institutions in Africa. It has made justice, accountability, enhancer and fairness a fairy tale, simply untenable. Institutions in Africa are simply weak and frivolous. Adding to the non-functional institutions is a collection of skewed and corrupt civil society organizations. Instead of these civil societies to be a watchdog of the populace to fix state and institutional efficiency, most of them are pursuing partisan agenda. hitherto more, too much interference of foreign nations on the continent is troubling and highly destructive. This phenomenon is as a result of globalization. Virtually every finality and every action that most African leaders make, is contingent on the approval of their pay masters, the foreign nations. These foreign nations come into the continent in de guise of helping develop it, but with the mindset of draining the natural and human resource of the continent. They determine for us almost everything, from economic policies, to education, to religion, to who should lead the country etc. The ordinary African has a limited carry in deciding for himself and in helping build his country or continent. The Constitutions in most African countries rarely exists due to rule by foreign powers. The ordinary African is not consulted on any break as power is in the hands of these overlords while our leaders only serve as errand agents to ensure compliance of their subjects.