The legendary star Halimo Khalif Magool said it all “Ho hay! Afrikay Horudoy Duli lama Hilaabtee Away Hanadadaadii”.
Background information: Huge number of Africans still reminisce about the good old days when the African Nationalists forces, were on the march and wrecking havoc against the ranks of the tired and shrinking colonial powers.
The victorious nationalist forces have been betrayed by a unholy-alliance between the colonial masters of the yesteryear and to day’s African despots ruling their tribal never lands with flags. These one man show despots dashed the then dreams, of whole generations of aspiring Africans excited for the hardly won independence. The memories of irreversibly busted dreams, aspirations, pride will leave indelible memory on generations of native Africans.
Soon after the psuedo independence, the colonial powers immediately resorted to their plan B option of controlling the newly independent states through remote control. They changed their age old colonial tactics of direct control. They just put weak, inefficient entities, run by poor managers in positions of power and leadership. They filled Africa with self-centered yes men who catered to their hegemony, imperialism and their so-called vital interest amounting to the economical, educational and social exploitation of the fragile states, they just allowed to have a limited independence. Africa never became truly independent.
Asia would have met the same Fiat accompli had it not be saved by its legendary and nationalist leaders such as Mao-Se-Tung, Ho-Ch-Ming, Kim-IL-Song, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahirlal Nehru, Mohamed Ali Jinnah, Lee-Kwuang-Yul, General Mustafa Kamal (Kamal Ata-Turk) and others. Many African leaders lack the attributes of Asian leaders such as vision, forth sight and a sense of true nationalism
The few African leaders who tried to take an independent course and cater to their countries and their people are ousted by western engineered coups or became the victims of assassinations and coups. A case in point was the great Patrice Lumumba, Samara Michael, Amil car Cabral and Dr. Kwama Nkrumah. The African masses also failed to mount a a coherent and efficient protest to stop the pervasive neo-colonial intervention and interference into the affairs of the infant African states.
Yesterday, Joseph Mobutu and his elk, the man who was behind the infamous assassination of Patrice Lumumba was replaced by new brands of despots. These new breed of dictators are more ruthless and brutal than yesterdays African presidents for life. Today’s one man show enterprises are warlords in control 20 by 50, 100 by 150 fiefdoms, never lands, Bantustans and enclaves. Yesterday’s despots have beautiful capitals, where they centralized everything. They concentrated power in a handful of mega cities. Most of the countries businesses, companies, military, government agencies, foreign embassies, Universities, health care facilities and almost all other vital infrastructure were concentrated in few places, while the rest of the country rot in neglect.
Today’s so-called leaders are psuedo leaders, self-styled presidents for life, They have the propencity to commit inhuman atrocities against civilians and their rivals. These people kill, Maim, rape and steal inncent people to accumulate power and wealth at the expense of their people. Rwanda, Somalia, Burundi, Congo, Sudan, Liberia, and Sierra Leone are vivid showcases for this type of malignancy, callousness and brutality.This clearly demonstrates what these monsters masquerading as leaders can potentially capable of. If you want a good example of what I am talking about look at Rwanda, Somalia, Zimbabwe, South Africa,Sierra Leone, Liberia and other places.
Preview
African conflicts are not letting up and Congo is again in the news. Powerful rebel forces are marching in Eastern Congo and routing government forces and gaining large junks of ground in a very short period of time. The Darfur situation is not letting up yet. South Africa is increasingly gripped by an out of control violence. The Horn of Africa is getting from bad to worse. The list goes on and on.
“Some scholars have argued that the existing boundaries are, nevertheless, arbitrary and that the states operating within them have attained only “juridical” as opposed to “empirical” sovereignty (Jackson and Rosberg). Juridical sovereignty refers to territorial entities maintained by agreements among outside powers (in this case both the international community and the rulers of other African states) rather than by real integration of the resident populations into a common political community”.
In depth description: “Juridical verses empirical” The former-Juridical sovereignty means existing Africa states enjoy a semblance of a legality (though shaky), meaning they only exist as a result of agreements between them and other African states(mostly for life dictatorships and the United Nations), but they lack a very vital and long time ingredient in their health, life-span and total existence. That is the empirical sovereignty which is the real integration of their diverse populations, ethnic, racial and language groups. That is one of the major factors fueling the unrest, coups , counter-coups, and now incessant and wide spread rebellions against the for life rulers of the continent. The later might continue into the 21st century and may increase in magnitude, intensity, scope and sophistication.
Things in the current level or worst go unabated unless a huge structural reconfiguration of the current post colonial states happens. Newton’s second law of motion may apply here ” Objects will continue in a straight line or be at rest unless disrupted by an outside force” This needs a far-reaching peaceful revolutionary undertaking which requires a bold populace, visionaries and brave leaders with fort sight. Those who adjust to the diverse needs of their countries and nations will survive, Others will be embroiled in a perpetual unrest, violence, lack of progress, development, environmental degradation and lawlessness.
These factors and others will make huge junks of the African continent ungovernable in the coming decades. We are already seeing the signs of those predictions, in the form of the pirates off the coast of the Horn of Africa, the continuous adventure of desperate African migrants and boat people in the high sees, huge spontaneous but furious combustion in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Chad, Central African Republic, increasing unrest and violence in South Africa and other places.The increasing unrest and lawlessness in many countries around the vast African continent.It is crystal clear, many African countries are ticking time bombs or volcanoes waiting to explode If you will. It is really just a powder keg.
“Somaliland has the reverse of the above-mentioned phenomena. Unlike all the post-colonial entities, Somaliland enjoys an “empirical sovereignty” while still lacking juridical sovereignty, meaning It has succeeded in the total integration of its population into a political community and identity.” Why not embraced by the African world? Simple It is a radical exception which has broken the norm of the failed, old post colonial thinking and mentality, which goes along the lines of a one man show artificial state, where a post-colonial president for life is the judge, the jury and the executioner. The good news is the old post-colonial states are increasingly losing their legitimacy and grip on power.The old colonial-capitalist-complex is also collapsing very rapidly.
A new paradigm ending the post World War II and post-colonial mentality is emerging. Somaliland as a pioneer and peaceful revolutionary phenomena may stand a great chance of success, but new leaders who have a grip on the 21st century world, a new fresh blood who can fathom the emerging new world order are needed to take the gable. These new leaders who can lead Somaliland from the shadows of the international order, and into the sunlight and potentially the forefront of the coming international order has to take the driver’s seat.
The road ahead is long and hard, but there is a great opportunity also. Guess what! what you may see today as a nation in the doldrums of international legitimacy as it exists today, may be transformed to a Nation in the front line of a new frontier of a new, fresh world where the old vestiges of the old world and the post colonial system is all but gone. At same time, this may be the only hope for all the great people of Somali decent. All the people of Somali decend need to support Somaliland and Djibouti. These are the hope of all the Horn of Africa.
I would like to put three major culprits and a suggestion into perspective:
1. These originally decolonized states were not real states but a collection of inviable territories
2. Bad and inept leaders who lack the political skills, the temperament, the wherewithal and nationalism
3. The international political, economic have never integrated Africa into its system
4. Suggestions If Africa has to have a scintilla of viability in 21st century
1. The 1960 foreign made, European colonial powers engineered false nation state
Miserably failed. That phantom state by the European colonial powers, to the European colonial powers and for the European colonial powers has failed. What you see all over the place through out the unfortunate continents is signs and symptoms of a failed or failing nation states. Most African countries are fragile states that have already collapsed, on the verge of collapse or collapsing. most of these states are structurally defective states that were never viable. They also miserably failed to calm down huge animosity, and conflict within the borders of these states. many of these states were not more than a clusters or clusters of primordial clans and tribes who can barely understand the trappings of modern, centralized nation state. They were also semi-independent entities who never have a central control. From the very beginning their founding they were structurally, functionally and economically dead on arrival.
Many former European colonial powers believe deep down, that these countries have no chance of succeeding, and in the interim paid very little attention to help build real and viable states.That was the plan and the agenda of the European colonial powers, which was a fore gone conclusion long before their hasty departure from the continent.This means these states were structurally defective products from the get go. But with the right leadership, hard work and vision, that does not mean they could not stand a chance of becoming relatively viable states. The latter was in short supply and the continent never got the opportunity, to have transformational leaders who can build these defective states from the bottom up.
When you factored in bad, undereducated, with selfish and inept politicians with very little political skills, temperament and vision, amounts to a clear invitation for a disaster. African dictators failed to save their suffering masses out of grinding poverty, illiteracy and from the darkness of tribalism, sectarianism and corruption. African dictators failed their countries. Many helped the deconstruction and the total unraveling of their defective states. Africa is the only continent which was bestowed with the a lion’s share of the worst, most narrow-minded and corrupt leaders in the world. It is the only continent residing out of the international financial system, economical system, electronic age and the age of the Internet and the super high way. Today Africa is behind in every kind of the developmental index such as health care, GDP, life expectancy, socio-economic and education. Most of the African states are nothing but a bunch of economically and technologically inviable states.
The profile of a failed state is a state that falls short of providing goods and services to its people. It is a government that lost control of a large junks of its territory. A government that can no longer safe guard the security and safety of its people. The conditions in most of so-called states of Africa are consistent with afore-mentioned prescriptions. These states were never got off the ground from the start.
The African situation is going from bad to worse.The bleeding did not stop since the last old colonial powers departed the continent 50 years ago. Flames and brush fires keeping on flaring up every now and then. Lately those fires were frequent, intense and more brutal. Of all places Kenya was recently in flames. Thousands of civilians have Perseid following a rigged presidential elections, where the current president Kibaki, a remnants of the old guard, a left over of Africa’s so-called big men blatantly stolen the presidency from the real winner at the time, Mr. Odinga. Months of devastation and death ended when a UN mediation temporarily brought the conflict into conclusion after forging a fake compromise where power was shared with the opposition. Then came a much expected conflict in Zimbabwe where an old guard president Robert Mugabe plunged a beautiful country into a very serious crisis where he destroyed the economy, infrastructure and the fabric of the Zimbabwean community.
2. The impact of Bad leaders on the continent’s ills
Bad and recycled leaders from the past are still lingering in most of Africa. These are inept megalomaniacs who spent most of their times on their survival strategies. They pal around with other kin and kit in a number of regional shell organizations such as the so called African Union (AU), which is nothing more than a tyrant country club where nothing is ever done. This so-called organizations which never did anything about the Rwandan genocide, the 30 years old Eritrean struggle, the Congo debacle where more than 5 million people died, the blood-letting conflicts in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and else where. Today There are a handful viable nation states in Africa. The perennial conflicts in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast Somalia, Uganda, Rwanda and other places are still brewing and may be in a lull but might subject to eruption at any time. Congo is already in the news. Rebel army led by general Kundha, a Tutsi general have already taken a huge junk of land in eastern Congo. The Congo conflict is still raging because the so-called stake holders failed to resolve the he major underlying reasons for the conflict, that is the genocidal Hutu army at is still operating from eastern Congo at the behest of that country. There are dozens of other conflicts which may potentially flare up in the not distant future.
3. Africa never became a part of the international financial system
The international financial system mostly based in post World War II political, economical and political situation of the world. The so-called multilateral organization such as the world bank, IMF and other institutions are dominated by western powers. Even the emerging Asian nations do not yet have a proportional share. Though the world of today is much different than the world of 1945, the mentality, international institutions such as the United Nations and its agencies act as vestiges of colonial powers. These organizations still are kowtowing to western policies and interests. For example on the Korean war the so-called United Nations forces fighting under the command of American military leaders were fulfilling the western view of not letting all Korea come under the communist block. The Korean war was changed into a cold war conflict between the then Soviet Union and the United States. The Vietnam war was driven by the same mentality. Though the French were seen as losing the war, the United states still gave huge military and financial aid to the French. Moreover, Africa is absent from the international financial markets.
4. No body has a magic solution for this chronic and very old problem afflicting this potentially rich continent.The continent is ridden with structural, foundational, legitimacy, and other fundamental deep-seated problems related to the creation of those states in the first place. These states never succeeded or attempted to integrate their community, as a one nation living together within the same border. These countries were primarily technical entities, predominately carved by colonial powers in an arbitrary manner, not out of viability, ethnic, tribal, language or religious relationships. The then so-called organization of African unity(OAU), modern (AU) was created in 1963 would have resolved that problem while the independence euphoria of 1960 was still fresh. They would have been realistic and attempt to adjust, correct and rectify and make some closure of some of the ethnic, tribal language, ethnic or racial divide and animosity. These post colonial leaders ignored that fundamental problem. That cancer has metastasized today and it is extremely difficult to a put a bandage on a disease that needs an aggressive surgery which needs the removal of multiple organs. In modern Africa, that is where things are today.
Suleiman Egeh - Freelance Writer
MS: Molecular Biology
MA: Science Education
Suleiman Egeh is a freelance writer and a senior science instructor Based in Miniapolis Minnesota, USA
(harowo)
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