Alh. Ibrahim M. I. Obaretin
Nigerian residents in:
The Gambia and
Germany.
African
Predicament: A Problem of Bad Leadership or a Cultural Defect?
African
Predicament: A Problem of Bad Leadership or a Cultural Defect? by Alh. Ibrahim M. I. Obaretin
It is not unusual to hear
African elites, home and abroad, blaming African leaders for the
predicament of the African continent. This position is not absolutely
wrong; it is however a parochial appraisal of the situation.
African, very certainly, has an
appalling problem of bad leadership which tend to be incurable. But
the real problems of the continent are the conditions the breed bad
leadership. You will agree with me that malaria cannot be prevented
solely by drugs; the environment conditions that breed mosquitoes must
first be averted. Then, the second step: prevent mosquitoes from
coming in contact with man possibly through a treated bed net. Bad
leaders are like mosquitoes; the menace of bad leadership - like the
malaria parasite - is an ailment. It symptoms are poverty, violence,
political instability, technological backwardness, misplaced priority,
social frivolity, frustration, incredible waste of natural and human
resources, and unhealthy political rivalry.
If you consider this position
seriously, it will be logical to assert that the stakeholders in the
African predicament have been wasting previous time, energy and
resources treating the symptoms of an ailment whose root is
continuously been nourished by the pool of cultural defect. Leaders
are but the face of the people. A corrupt leader is a product of a
corrupt society. He is an epitome of those virtues that are cherished
in his society.
The African society is a
materialistic society – a society where all that matters is material
acquisition, a society where the end justifies the means. Why then do
we blame our leaders for egoism and incurable urge for material
acquisition and personal aggrandisement at the expense of their
people? What moral justification do we have for blaming the leaders we
elected to power despite their ugly track records which were well
known to us prior election? Why do we complain of bad leadership when
we saddle our friends and relatives in government offices with
problems far beyond the reach of their salaries? And if they fail to
comply, they simply become outcasts.
The existentialists will concord
that we Africans are the very architect of our miserable destiny. We
reject good leaders; we cry them down when they manage to assume
power. Like the Jews, we kill the ‘prophets’ of good will sent to
deliver the continent. We consider certain people as too clean, too
intelligent to lead us and encourage them to remain critics far away
from the corridor of power
African has a cultural problem.
Our value system needs a radical reform. It is only after this reform
that we can attain our God’s given height as the richest continent or
God’s most favoured race. For now the truth remains at it has always
been: our continent remains the richest while our people continue to
be the poorest, the most miserable, and the most hopeless of the human
race.
"If
you consider this position seriously, it will be logical to assert
that the stakeholders in the African predicament have been wasting
previous time, energy and resources treating the symptoms of an
ailment whose root is continuously been nourished by the pool of
cultural defect. Leaders are but the face of the people. A corrupt
leader is a product of a corrupt society. He is an epitome of those
virtues that are cherished in his society."
