In Africa, politicking for power, or what we erroneously call “democracy” (without its fundamental conditions of transparent voting and collation, and true citizen participation) has eaten the prospects of economic transformation and true governance transformation for breakfast.
There is very little time and space for the hard work – and thinking – that drives taking millions out of poverty and into the middle class as China has done.
The focus is on “winning” “elections” that are mere periodic cycles of turn-by-turn ineptitude and corruption, in which the emphasis is on the patronage reward of incompetent regime loyalists with the very responsibilities that require specific competences, preparation, and aptitude these loyalists often may not have.
Transforming economies cannot happen without fundamental understandings about the philosophical foundations of wealth creation, the abilities for policy choices and execution capacity, and the strategic communication capacity that mobilizes citizens around commonly agreed short, medium and long term goals.
The same goes for “good governance” ambitions, which politicians proclaim as a goal while they undermine the emergence of independent institutions that can exist and function outside of political control, and which are essential for transformation to happen.
By focusing fanatically on “control freakory,” as one African academic termed this tendency, loyalty is placed above competence and the possibilities for transformative outcomes are short-changed very early, as loyalists may not always be the most competent persons for the tasks given to them.
Thus, all in all, politics eats the economy and governance, and culture eats strategy, for breakfast. How can our continent change this trajectory? In the absence of enlightened, visionary leadership from the political class, I think the answer begins with the citizens themselves. Make no mistake, this will likely carry a cost of tears, sweat, and blood.
But I see no other path. Waiting for external “saviours,” some of which have their own internal challenges in their own countries, and who are only interested in their short term goals, is a vain hope.
But meeting the challenge requires an educated and conscious citizenry, motivated by their own collective interest as part of a country from whose government they must demand change and benefits of a better life as has been achieved in many other countries.
This is where technology and its enablement, including social media, can be a game changer. The first challenge such a platform must overcome is the very “culture” that eats strategy for breakfast. This culture takes different forms in different countries, but in most African countries, ethnic irredentism is a core part of it.
Unless and until citizens can understand that hunger, poverty and the absence of electricity or jobs are equal-opportunity menaces that operate across ethnic or religious divides, they cannot take their destiny in their own hands and make their political leaders truly accountable for governance and economic outcomes.
So, the first task is the use of technology for mass education to achieve the purpose of reprogramming mind and mindsets.
Professor Moghalu is a former presidential candidate and also former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria
