I am writing this column on the day of Nigeria’s presidential and parliamentary elections, and I cannot help but think about the challenges Africa faces and the role of leadership in overcoming them.
The quality of political leadership has been the bane of many African nations for decades. Like other regions, the continent has had its share of military dictatorships, kings and despots alongside other leaders. Unfortunately, many of these have been on the lower end of the quality leadership spectrum, which is one of the reasons the continent continues to lag behind its peers.
Too often, African politicians are more concerned with self-aggrandisement and the enrichment of themselves, family, friends and cronies than with working towards a common national purpose. They promote the interests of the groups they belong to – tribes, religions, political parties – and in return those groups keep them in power.
Part of the problem is the weakness of national institutions. Courts, electoral bodies, opposition political parties, civil society groups and the media are often so weak that a strong leader can take over the state and mould it in a way that perpetuates their rule – a number of African leaders have been in power for over 20 years, not because they excel but because they have entrenched themselves.
Accountability
If Africa is to improve its fortunes, there must be change. Citizens must attach far greater importance to the quality of their political leaders, who must be accountable, with their performance measured against how well they tackle a country’s challenges. Civil society groups and the media must act as watchdogs to ensure leaders hit the targets set for them and fulfil promises made.
African nations must also build strong institutions that provide guardrails to ensure leaders are guided towards national, not personal, interest. These institutions must be stronger than individual leaders and be able to maintain standards, irrespective of the leaders’ views.
Merit and competence must be the measure by which leaders are chosen. In today’s Africa, corruption, cronyism and nepotism mean that the most successful are not necessarily the best. Opportunities, in politics and often in business too, are given to those with connections, and not to those who, by virtue of their skill and experience, deserve those opportunities. This has led to a massive haemorrhage of talent from the continent. Businesses in Africa have been hurt by this brain drain, and would surely benefit from its termination.
Poor policies suppress growth and depress consumption
Good for business
The benefits of good political leadership for business would be considerable, as it could turn the fortunes of most businesses around. Presently, African businesses are bedevilled by the poor performance of economies on the continent. The lack of basic infrastructure such as electricity, roads and rail makes logistics expensive, reducing business competitiveness. Poor policies suppress economic growth and reduce the income of citizens, which in turn depresses consumption. For large businesses, even accessing finance is a higher hurdle than it should be, as their credit ratings are held down by the sovereign ratings of their home countries. Better political leadership could improve all of this.
Africa is developing, so there is plenty of room for more products and services. There are gaps everywhere, and such gaps should spur entrepreneurship. Unfortunately, this is not the case, as the environment is usually difficult and does not particularly support new ideas and businesses. Better-quality leadership could change this and make the continent the beehive of activity it should be.
As in so many areas of life, there is an applicable African proverb here: the fish starts to rot from the head. A good proportion of what is wrong with Africa stems from its choice of leaders. To improve, the continent must get better at selecting its leaders and demand better leadership from them.
