Unchain Africa Press

On Friday October 1, 2010 Nigeria’s Independence Day Celebration was tarnished by a double car bomb explosion in the capital city of Abuja. 12 people lost their lives in the attack, and several others were injured. The movement for the emancipation of the Niger delta or MEND as they are commonly referred to claimed responsibility for the attack. Outside of being a national tragedy, these attacks have even further complicated the highly contentious Nigerian Presidential race.

 
To fully understand the issue it is necessary to go back the 2007 Presidential elections. One of the most significant political issues of the time was the Niger Delta. As has been well documented, the Niger Delta accounts for the overwhelming majority of Nigeria’s oil wealth, but the region remains severely underdeveloped. Additionally the region has suffered massive amounts of pollution from oil spills, which have destroyed fisheries and farmlands. This is eliminating the indigenous people’s livelihood, and their ability to improve their standard of living.  Several international NGO’s and local Nigerian civic groups have brought this issue to light, and were able to get Nigerian politicians to address this serious issue.

 
To demonstrate his commitment to fixing the problems of the Niger Delta then presidential candidate Umaru Yar’Adua, picked Goodluck Jonathon who is originally from the region to be his running mate on the powerful People’s Democratic Party(PDP) ticket. After the two won the election they were able to negotiate with MEND and offered amnesty for those willing to lay down their weapons. They also created a Ministry of the Niger Delta to address specific development concerns in the region. These initiatives by the Yar’Adua administration showed signs of initial progress leading some to believe that oil production would soon return to its optimal level.

 
This progress suffered a major setback after the untimely death of President Yar’Adua. His sudden death has threatened to offset the balance of power or elite consensus agreed upon in Nigeria to keep the peace. The unwritten agreement is that the North and South will rotate turns manning the presidency of the country. When Yar’Adua died it put the international spotlight on Nigeria and forced the nation to abide by the constitutional rules of succession and allow Goodluck Jonathan to become president even though it is against their unwritten agreement. Many hoped that he would agree to not re-run for office in the 2011 elections but he has decided to do so anyways. The decision has caused lots of controversy because it is widely considered the North’s turn to rule.

 
The Independence Day car bombing has become a major issue in the Nigerian political debate particularly between president Jonathon and his main rival for the PDP nomination Northerner Ibrahim Babangida. Reports have surfaced that President Jonathon’s administration tried to pressure exiled MEND leader Henry Okah to retract his group’s claim of responsibility for the attack and instead say it was carried out by “Northern extremist who opposed President Jonathon.” Additionally the head of Ibrahim Babangida’s presidential campaign, Raymond Dokpesi was arrested and accused of having sent e-mails to members of MEND confirming the attack. He was later released and has threatened to sue the government over his detention. Dokpesi also claims that his family has received threats from members of MEND and people he describes as Jonathon’s supporters.

 
Although at this point it is uncertain who was really behind these attacks what is clear is that both sides are attempting to benefit from it politically. If members of MEND are ultimately found to be responsible then it will undermine President Jonathon’s credibility as someone who can handle the militants in the Delta. If it was Northerners behind the attack it will play into fears of extremism and make Babangida a less appealing candidate.

MEND issued its latest threat on October15th. The group said it will carry fresh bombing attacks in Abuja without specifying the time and day to prove to the Jonathan’s administration that they were behind the October1st blasts although President Jonathan seems to be accusing an outside terrorist organization, or political opponents for the attacks. In response, MEND has accused Jonathan of arresting innocent people for their attacks.

 
At the end of the day it will be up to the Nigerian people to choose who they want to lead their nation over the course of the next presidential term. The elections were originally scheduled to take place in January of 2011 but they have currently been postponed to April 2011. Only time will tell who will emerge as the next leader of Africa’s most populous nation.

Sub-Saharan Africa has seen armed conflicts of different magnitudes at different periods of time. These conflicts are fueled not only by one specific issue but by a variety of factors that combined with the uncertainty created by the divergence of ideals or interests; make things harder to an extent that they turn to become protracted. No matter what armed conflicts you can think of, that occurred during the past decades or that are ongoing whether it is in Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Chad, Nigeria, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Central African Republic, etc.., much of it happened or continue to occur in the form of what Johan Galtung at Transcend calls physical and structural violence. Although these two types of violence are ongoing and create a danger for societies, today in Africa like it is in most parts of the world, the physical violence is what continues to be recognized and sometimes dealt with. Physical violence can in fact be seen and felt because people are hurt whether they are killed or wounded by gunshots at time of war, in an ambush, or during a rampage. In contrast, the structural violence that I argue is even more dangerous in Africa is often not dealt with because when this type of violence is inflicted on the people, we are not readily able to see this violence itself. When this type of violence occurs, no one is wounded or killed by an object, a gun or a machete. But this violence could create anxiety, frustrations, anger and mostly hatred.

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Following the post-independence period, most Sub-Saharan African countries established dysfunctional states in which authoritarianism and dictatorship have emerged as ways of ruling. There are a few states such as Botswana, Namibia, and Mauritius, which demonstrated the ability to democratize, and built their social fabric after independence. However, most Sub-Saharan African countries have failed to prepare for their future. As an African who was born and who grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo while I lived and traveled in several other African countries, I continue to ask myself why Africa is so far behind the clock. I tried to investigate possible causes that drive Africa not to keep up with those who have managed to overcome extreme challenges in other parts of the world. I have concluded that failed leadership has been and continues to be the primary cause of political, social, and economic instability in Sub- Saharan Africa.

While some often continue to blame colonialism and imperialism to be the causes of the problems facing the continent, I understand that argument. However, I encourage my fellow Africans to look beyond that. There is so much we can do than just blaming all our contemporary problems on the past. This does not discredit the impact that colonialism and imperialism have had on the continent. It is painstakingly clear that these events have caused devastating damages that have led some countries paralyzed. However, in this contemporary era, in which our own sons and daughters rule our African nations, I would hope to see that we take the analysis a step further by looking in the mirror, and recognizing our role in perpetuating what has happened on the continent post-independence from European colonialism. Our thoughts can start to lead to action and make sense if we reform our past thinking. We can no longer afford to look for solutions of our problems elsewhere. We are part of the problem; therefore, we need to be part of the solution.

Even following post-independence, we continue to witness unfair treatment of African people by their own leaders. The Africa leadership deficit leads to the continued rampant corruption that is widely seen from the offices of the presidents to the youth and petty traders in the streets. There is also a democracy deficit caused by the lack of transparency in governing, the illicit campaigns of ruling parties silencing its opponents, and often physically eliminating them in order to establish one party states. Power struggle has become a continued trend that Sub-Saharan Africa continues to deal with on a daily basis.  Leaders seek to unconstitutionally extend their mandate or hold elections marred by fraud and irregularities. All of these practices are the work of our contemporary leaders. They were not passed on to the African leaders by colonial powers though the last have also played a negative role that contributed to the chaotic situation in the wake of post-independence period.

For instance, if we take a look at elections held this year alone on the continent; you will find that nearly 100 percent of them experienced either massive fraud or irregularities. From Burundi to Guinea, Ethiopia, Togo and Sudan, people did not get the leaders they deserve because the democratic processes in these countries are not real. They are simply pure manipulative machines of the establishment rule to maintain power indefinitely by excluding their challengers. This clearly shows that the democratic closure in Sub-Saharan Africa has reached its peak.

What further complicates things in Sub Saharan Africa is the magnitude of misrule and dictatorial regimes.  Leaders continue to lead by decree, and dissolve national parliaments to extend their rule. They ban political parties, restrict protests and demonstrations while shutting down independent news papers. They institute harsh laws to muzzle the press including banning independent journalists from practicing their job. On top of that, the civil society and opposition movements haven’t played the necessary role empowering their followers to explore their full potential to become good agents of change. Therefore, it is important that we pay much attention in fixing the failed leadership in Sub Saharan Africa in all sectors of the society if we want to make progress.

Leadership should be drawn from all parts of society to address the most pressing challenging issues that the continent faces today. Comrades; here I mean the grassroots, should empower themselves to initiate the democratic change they wish to see should their leaders block this process. I am under the impression that most people try to look for a leader elsewhere while they can be the leaders needed to turn things around. What is lacking is the motivation to start organizing, as everyone waits to see the other doing something. With this attitude, chances are that no one will step up to lead others to embracing change.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela has a word for African new generations. On his release from prison, Mandela on February 11, 1990 at a rally in Cape Town called South Africans, blacks and whites, to recognize that apartheid had no future in South Africa. He urged blacks and whites to pursue a mass action to end Apartheid so as to build peace and security. But as leadership is not a one-person business, Mandela said:

“…the need to unite the people of our country is as important a task now as it always has been… No individual leader is able to take on this enormous task on his own. It is our task as leaders to place our views before our organizations and to allow the democratic structure to decide” (African National Congress.)

This is the kind of leadership Sub-Saharan Africa needs; a collaborative leadership that serves the common purpose for Africa to end the politics of exclusion. Finally, establishing a free democratic system modeled by taking into account Africa’s realities could be crucial to ensure that people get the leaders they deserve. You can get to the free democratic system by engaging citizens into the process so that they understand their obligations as members of a nation. As misrule has been the norm for the past five decades, there would be a need to establish new democratic principles and systems. Separating powers, enforcing political accountability and transparency could be key in avoiding failed leadership in most countries in the region. It implies putting in place a constitutional law and an independent judiciary that will help uphold it. In addition, a working legislative body with parliamentary scrutiny over state institutions is crucial.  Failure to address issues that are raised here will leave room for a continuation of political, economic and social instability in Sub Saharan Africa with failed leadership continuing to be the norm.