What Africa Needs Now: Economic Builders, Not Political Leaders

By Jean Narcisse Djaha

The true state of leadership in Africa today.

Contrary to the popular belief in the Western world, leadership in Africa is not on the brink of total collapse and destruction. Yes, it faces an existential threat in this era dominated by notions such as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, accountable & transformational leadership, and innovation. It would be a big mistake on my part to advance the Western theory that Africa should always be under its paternalism or political leadership influence. However, it is widely accepted among Africans that one of the most challenging scourges undermining Africa's development lies in its poor leadership. In other words, they say Africa has weak institutions, fragile governing systems, underfunded private sectors, and poor civil societies.?The global pandemic of COVID-19 created a unique opportunity for African leaders to build a new leadership style faster and more sophisticated than ever on the continent. The challenges become higher as the next larger pool of leaders will enter the workforce by 2030.

Africa Has Always Used An Imported Structure of Government

I want to start developing this argument by citing an excerpt of an exciting book that I commend to the next generation of African leaders on the continent. The book is written by Nana Kobina Nketsia, a former professor at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. Professor Nketsia was also a powerful and strong traditional ruler. The title of the book is" African culture in governance and development: The Ghana paradigm". I would state a very important quotation, which I found on page 36 of the manuscript, and it reads, "When we look at the African independence explosion, we must consider that not one African nation came to power using a conventional African structure of government. Everyone of them used an imitated parliamentary procedure taken from Europe. Africa will never succeed using European parliamentary techniques."?

The quotation argues that the key to understanding how Africa's ongoing leadership continues to fail their governments lies in a deepening understanding of its leadership origins. Following the wave of independence of African countries in the 60s, most leaders adopted models of leadership that contradict their own realities in terms of government, trade, and culture.?

In his book?Power in Action: Democracy, Citizenship and Social Justice?, Steven Friedman, a South African academic, newspaper columnist, widely quoted public intellectual, activist, former trade unionist, and journalist, also depicts the longstanding leadership problems on the African continent. Friedman wrote, "The way African leaders lead shows that leadership is a symptom, not a cause... If leaders are interested only in themselves rather than those who they are meant to serve, the reason is that the latter do not have enough voice to ensure a different form of leadership".?

Africa's Imported Political Leadership Was Designed Not To Serve Collective Actions Of Development

A good read on the African imitated European, Soviet, and latter American forms of political leadership's history shows it merely serves frontline leaders, not the people, and communities. Friedman would argue that "the core democratic idea is that members of political communities should govern themselves – that, in principle, citizens should decide what is best for their societies". A factual development, Friedman states, is that the form of political leadership we have seen on the continent over the past decades never favors collection action, a necessary project to build collective good, development, and prosperity.

What Africa Needs Now: Economic Builders, Not Political Leaders

By 2030, young people are expected to make up 42 percent of the world's youth. This accounts for 75 percent of those youth under age 35 in Africa. With such a large population of young people, more than ever, supportive policies and programs on inclusive youth development are critical. Harnessing the demographic dividend and expanding opportunities for young people—to the benefit of all Africans—will require sound economic leadership development programs on the continent.

Africa needs economic builders, not political leaders. Economic development will contribute to the development of Africa. This begins by giving young people the economic means needed to innovate and create solutions to advance sectors.

Africa will become a respected continent when its leaders are economically powerful. Those who feed you can manipulate you. Those who fund your institution always put their agenda first. Millions of brilliant African youths and minds have great projects. They have the skills, competencies, and determination. Unfortunately, they do not have money to realize their dreams

Without money, there are no politicians. Without political leaders, money will continue to work. Let us invest in young people in Africa. It is not late to do so.

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