Africa and The Successor Generation

Sheraton Hotel, Cotonou, Benin
26-28 November, 1998

Complied&Edited
Bolaji Abdullahi
Summary Report and Papers Presented
at the
10
th
Anniversary Meeting
of the
Africa Leadership Forum

http://www.africaleadership.org

ISBN: 978-34838-4-6

Printed by Intec Printers Limited. Ibadan

Africa Leadership Forum
? ALF Publications, 1999
P. O. Box 2286, Abeokuta,
Ogun State, Nigeria.
Tel: 234-39-722521, Fax: 234-39-722524
E-mail: info@africaleadership.org ; .
.editor@africaleadership.org

Typeset: Femi A. Johnson
Cover Graphics: Anthony Esua-Mensah

Table of Contents

Summary Report 1

Opening Session
Africa & The Successor Generation:
The Challenges Ahead
By H.E. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo 21

Session One
The Leadership Recruitment Process in Africa:
Implication for Governance & Development.
By M.J. Balogun
... 39

Evolving A Sustainable Youth Leadership for Development:
A Gender Perspective
By Bilikisu Yusuf 72

Session Two
Ensuring Good Governance in Africa:
An Alternative Policy Perspective of the Successor Generation
By Kodi Anani 91

Agriculture in Sub-Sahara Africa, Backbone or Archilles Heel
A Challenge for Successor Generation
By M.A. Sakara-Forster 120

Session Three
The Succeeding Generation: Challenges & Opportunities
By Prof. Ahmed Mohiddin 127

Session Four
Information and Communication Technologies In the New Africa
Renaissance: Towards Innovative Thinking Systems
By Senyo J.C. Afele ..157

Anniversary Lecture
Chairmans Comment
By Francis M. Deng 177

Africa: Facing the 21
st
Century
Sir Shridath Ramphal.. 182

Appendices ..201

The concept of African
Renaissance is anchored on
expectations peaked by recent
events within the continent and the world over. As dictatorship and its various
mutations disappear from the continent, as military rule becomes an
endangered specie of the African political ecology, and the guns are being
hurriedly swapped for the ballot boxes, Africans everywhere became
convinced that their troubled continent is set on an irrevocable process of
reinventing itself. This recreation, it is thought, will further accentuate the
uniformity of the African destiny, and enable its people present a collective
agenda in facing the challenges of the next millennium.

The rampaging effects of globlisation, which have effectively torn down all
borders, have left Africa with no hiding place. The continent can no longer
insulate itself from the restless hurricane of changes taking place all over the
world in all spheres of human endeavour. Therefore, Africa has to be
prepared to swim through the stormy crosscurrents of these changes or
simply sink.

While the present generation of African leaders have to face the challenges
of defining Africas path into the next millenium, the actual task of taking
Africa to the promised land rests squarely on the fledgling shoulders of the
next generation of Africans. There is the compelling need, therefore, to
prepare Africas successor generation for the challenges of the 21
st
century.

The Conference

The Africa Leadership Forum recognised the need to ensure that the
emerging and future leadership of Africa is given the exposure, the
knowledge and the training that will enable them withstand the rigour and
Introduction

challenges of leadership in the next millennium. This will also stand them in
good stead with their counterparts in other parts of the world who are
obviously more equipped with the mental and socio-psychological
infrastructure required for effective leadership. It is in realisation of this that
the ALF anchored its tenth anniversary conference of the theme, Africa and
the Successor Generation. The Conference was held at the Sheraton hotel,
Cotonou, Republic of Benin, from November 26 to 28, 1988. Sponsored by
the UNDP and the Canadian International Development agency, the meeting
attracted participants from across Africa and other parts of the world. These
include diplomats, development specialists, students, journalists, women
activists, government functionaries, party executives, parliamentarians,
young professionals and policy experts.

Objectives of the Conference

The objectives of the conference were to:

??Examine the current situation of leadership and the process of developing
the leadership capacities of young people to enable them to assume the
mantle of leadership towards realising the African renaissance.

??Examine the challenges of creating capacity for young Africans to
participation and eventually lead the process of developing sustainable
development systems for Africa.
??Consider the political, economic and social issues that need to be
addressed if the young people of African countries are to enter the next
millenium with a culture of integrity, hard work and public spiritedness

??Examine how constraints to the productive use of existing capacity, as
well as the development of new capacity, can be overcome in African
countries.

??Examine how technological revolution, globalisation, and advances in
communication can be deployed to enhance the participation of young
Africans in critical leadership positions.

Following on these objectives, the conference discussed and deliberated on
the following thematic issues:

? ?Leadership Challenges for Africas Socio-political transformation

? ?Promoting Leadership for Sustainable Development

? ?Redressing the continuous systematic deterioration of public-spiritedness
and Professional Ethics

? ?Developing the Requisite and human resources for the Future Global
knowledge and the Challenges for the African Environment


General Olusegun Obasanjo, Chairman of Africa Leadership forum,
declared the conference open. In his address titled, Africa and the Successor
Generation: The Challenges Ahead, he noted that the African continent is
today pervaded by the great hopes that the continent is on the verge of
rediscovering itself by re-organising its societies for the enthronement of
posterity as a basis for launching the continent into the mainstream of global

intercourse in trade, commercial and general developments. He lamented;
however, that the disturbing needles of fear that the successor generation, on
whose shoulders must be placed the burden of concretising this hope are
roundly pricking the balloons of this hope may be too weak for such
enormous task.

General Obasanjo observed that while in other climes, massive efforts and
investment by way of sound health and education are being concentrated on
preparing the successor generation for the task ahead, the next generation of
Africans are being stultified by neglect and a host of other problems like
illiteracy, poverty, bad governance, denial of access, and dysfunctional
orientation of war and violence. Thus, he observed, our successor
generation, Africas greatest resources, is losing the race before it begins.

Based on this, he observed that the major challenges facing the next
generation of Africans is how to fashion the political will that would
integrate them into the rapidly changing world with all its advancement and
possibilities. Africa might have suffered from history, but the experience and
burden of history, he observed, must be converted into positive resources in
preparing for the future. The African environment, he said, needs to be
recreated to make it more conducive for development, just like we would
need to re-define our attitude to conflict resolution to embrace peace, rather
than war. Leadership in Africa, he said, has to be based on service, and
governmental policies must be motivated by the need to be in keeping with
progressive trends across the world and improving the lots of the people.
The state, he said, must slacken its hold on public service institutions and
sharpen its efficiency in performing its primary duties.

General Obasanjo also noted that if the concept of African renaissance must
make any meaning at all, African countries must be prepared to combat

poverty, disease and illiteracy. He observed that hunger, lack of education
and the HIV\AIDS epidemic currently ravaging Africa are about the greatest
challenges confronting the continent today. To combat these effectively and
fulfill Africas hope, the retiring generation, must be prepared to blend their
energies and skills with the successor generation, not only as a way of re-
enforcing their potentials, but also to prepare the next generation for the
onerous task ahead.

Concluding his remarks, General Obasanjo expressed the hope that the
various challenges he had outlined would be confronted headlong. He also
expressed confidence that the African values, which include communal
interest, family obligations, caring and sharing, concern for human dignity
and the link between the dead, the living and the unborn, will see the
continent through. One of the major highlights of the Generals address is
the announcement of the ALF Prize for Leadership Excellence to reward
young African leaders who have demonstrated and continue to demonstrate
leadership qualities in their various fields of endeavour.

In his own remarks, Sir, Kemitule Masire, former President of the Republic
of Botswana, shared the Botswana experience with the participants. He
declared that the process of change that we seek in Africa ought to be
carefully managed in order to avoid unnecessary disruptions. The successor
generation, he said, must be seen to embrace democratic principles and the
empowerment of the young ought not to be seen as a victimization of the
old. According to him, the experience in Botswana has been that the society
is further strengthened when the young and the old work together to build
societal institutions and values. His message to the successor generation is as
follows: older persons must be respected even as their exit from the political
arena is being prepared. Young people must be democratic in their ways and

choices, and finally, leaders should know when to quit and not to sit tight in
the office.

Mr. Alfred Sallia Fawundu of the UNDP in his own statement, lamented the
various crisis and conflicts that have engulfed Africa. People, he noted,
should form the focal point of development efforts; therefore, the HIV\AIDS
epidemic that is fast decimating Africa must be addressed.

The Leadership Recruitment Process in Africa:
Implications for Governance and Development.

In his presentation, M. Jide Balogun, Senior Regional Adviser, United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa, posits that leadership perception
and recruitment process often determines its character and impact on
development and governance. He argued that leadership, far from being a
chance occurrence, has the capacity to shape its environment. And that it
only fails to do this when it is not fully informed about its environment and
therefore, passes up the opportunity to make environment forces work in its
favour. He then went ahead to identify four major leadership environment
combinations that could be found in the African continent, viz:

? ?A state of nature which favours patrimonial and predatory leadership;

? ?An environment in which competition is deflected or restricted. (This
is a haven for buccaneers and ethically flexible oligarchs);

? ?decomposed system or environment in need of redemption (these
respond to entrepreneurial but autocratic leadership thrusts); and

? ?rapidly changing and competitive, market opportunities, responding to
demands from citizens-consumers, and competing on a level playing
field).

Environment is, however, not static. And whenever it changes, leadership
has to change in tandem to respond to new realities presented by the change
in environment. However, when a leader remains, impervious to changes,
Balogun argued, he soon brings the tragedy of regression upon his people. A
combination of bold and new initiatives would, however, see a leader
moving his people forward. Even then, such leaders have to remain
conscious of their operative environment. And this is why Balogun
suggested that a leader must operate by constantly undertaking what he
called a SWOT analysis. This, he said, is an analysis of:

Strengths (organisational, financial, human resources waiting to be
tapped);

Weaknesses (organisational, financial, human resources constraints)

Opportunities (to change the environment for the better, and in the
process, capture/retain power);

Threats (particularly, environmental threats to the realisation of
objectives).

The African continent, Balogun noted, is bedeviled by a myriad of
seemingly intractable socio-economic and political problems. This, he said,
should, however, provide the environment for the emergence of purposeful
and visionary leadership. The continents current ugly profile, made up of
devastating socio-economic crisis, the largely poor governance record, the

widening civil conflict and border confrontations, the growing refugee
population, the decaying infrastructure, all these, he argued, provide ample
opportunity for visionary leadership to seize the moment of history and
stamp his imprint in recreating his environment.

The challenge ahead, Balogun argued, is to strengthen the capacity for the
emergence of development oriented leadership and discourage self-
servicing systems. According to him, leadership must be prepared to respect
and abide by the judgement of their followers. This, he said, can only be
sustained through comprehensive attitude modification towards acquisition,
retention and renewal of the sovereign power of the state. Therefore,
leadership recruitment, he said, should focus on individuals who share an
ethical regeneration vision that is so critical to the long-term development of
the continent. A leaders moral authority, he argued, is as significant as, if
not more important than the power that formal positions confer. As a safety
valve, Balogun recommended that holders of government positions should
be subjected to a process of contract renewal. This, he said, would keep
them permanently on their toes.

To prepare the successor generation for the challenges of leadership, current
child rearing approaches, he said, must be re-enforced through a radical
overhaul of the educational curricula, to actively prepare children for
leadership responsibilities.

An Alternative Policy Perspective of the Successor Generation

Kofi Anani, a graduate student of rural studies of the University of Guelph,
Ontario, Canada, in his own paper pointed out that ensuring good
governance has been a major concern on the African continent. He argued
that while indigenous governance system has proved incapable of meeting
the challenges of modernity, the modern system has also failed to meet the
aspirations or constructively harness the world view of the indigenous rural
people, the Africas majority. This, he said, is because, while the rural
dwellers derive their philosophy of governmental participation from the
indigenous African socio-political thought, the minority who are urban
dwellers, derive theirs from Euro-American political thought. Rather than
being mutually exclusive, the principle of knowledge offered by the two
worlds, are indeed, mutually complementary.

For the purpose of good governance, therefore, the successor generation
would have to formulate alternative strategies that will blend the values and
principles of both the indigenous and modern leadership arrangement and
integrate them for fashioning a new logical democratic mechanism for good
governance in Africa. Rural-Urban philosophical orientation, will provide
the operational environment for mutual re-enforcement between the western
model of governance which best served the minority in the urban centers,
and indigenous forms of governance, which effectively served the majority
in the rural settings. In view of this, therefore, Anani argued further, the
search for good governance, based on popular participation within the
context of the socio-cultural realities of Africa, must, in fact, commence
with a robust appreciation of the shared cultural values inherent in the
organisational and resources management principles of the Africans.

Good governance, Anani argued, has to be based on participation upon
which the entire socio-cultural dynamics of the African life is based. The
traditional African setting, more than any other, allows individuals to share
in the rewards and burdens of belonging to the community. Therefore, rather
than repel, indigenous African systems have demonstrated an amazing
capacity to absorb modern governance values and adapt them for indigenous
needs. Anani contended that most governance and leadership behaviour
regarded as western, have, in deed, existed in various formats in Africa,
therefore, can easily be assimilated and adapted for indigenous resources
management and distribution even better than the modern system could do.
Therefore, Anani argued further, marginalising indigenous leadership
arrangement, as is currently done in the continent, cannot attain good
governance. And, in the face of sordid failure of the western system in
various spheres of African life, the indigenous system, in deed, needs to be
re-enforced co-opted to come to the rescue.

Outlining the expectations and opportunities under the emergent leadership
arrangement, Anani noted that the paramount task before the new leadership
would be to provide the basis for scientific and technological innovations.
This, he said, would galvanise good governance by providing the knowledge
base that the people, whether in the rural or urban settings, could employ for
positive enhancement in their various areas of livelihood. Areas he said
require urgent scientific and technological innovations include:

??Indigenous medical and botanical knowledge (This, he said, could lead to
ways of finding an alliance between local people and plant chemists)

??Application of indigenous knowledge in formal education (this, to make
learning, environment and experience relevant)

??Agricultural management

??Strategies on labour productivity, mobilisation and organisation

??Management of natural environmental resources and regenerational
activities

The Succeeding Generation:
Challenges and Opportunities

In this paper, Professor Ahmed Mohiddin, Director, Africa Foundation,
pointed out that democracy played no part in the emergence of the first
generation of African leaders. He said those who inherited power after
independence, were either a creation of the colonial authorities or the self-
appointed brigade of anti-colonialists crusaders. In either case, the process of
their emergence created an environment of exclusion whereby, these leaders
alone knew what they wanted. Although both claimed to be driven by the
popular interest, they both harbour a parallel perception of these interests.
This, inadvertently create a competitive atmosphere which resulted in
mutual hostility, and sometimes, even violence. Consequently, valuable
energy that could be invested in enhancing the welfare of the people was
dissipated in the field of rivalries as each group pre-occupied itself with
contriving all manners of survival strategies. Thus, Mohiddin surmised, they
were mainly oppositional and opportunistic, rather than constructive and
visionary.

So, what are the implications of this self-serving leadership strategy?
Mohiddin argued that while it would not be exactly accurate to dismiss these
leaders as total failure, because they succeeded in the provision and
extension of social services, their oppositional strategies created the
environment for willful emasculation of the succeeding generation. He said,
although there are many young people in Africa today with leadership
capabilities, and capacity to respond effectively to the challenges of the 21
st

century, the stultifying socio-economic environment prevailing on the
continent has made it impossible for them to emerge.
In spite of all this constraining environment, however, Mohiddin argued that
the changing world and its challenges and opportunities has made

imperative, the need to create a new leadership that is capable of nurturing
and promoting the African renaissance. Leaders who will operate with
knowledge-based policies, global realities and experience, rather than
abstract ideological principles, personal inspirations or wishful thinking.
Mohiddin, however, posits that the emergence of these leaders will not be
possible without the co-operation, of at least, the connivance leadership.
Therefore, rather than exist in an atmosphere of mutual hostility and
suspicion, the incumbent and the succeeding generation of leaders need to
collaborate in a kind of relay race, with the old blending its experience with
the expertise and energy of the young. The burden, is however, on the
incumbent generation who, Mohiddin argued, will need to create a system
that will identify and attract talented and ambitious young ones, nurture and
encourage them to take positions of leadership in their various fields of
endeavour

Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa, Backbone or Archille s Heel?
A Challenge for the Successor Generation

Michael Abu Sakara-Foster is the Country Director, Sasakawa Global 2000.
In this paper, he repudiated the idea that agriculture is the backbone of
Africa. If there were any credence to the assertion, he argued that the neglect
and low productivity that the agricultural sector has suffered in the hands of
successive governments across Africa had negated these.

The African continent has continued to provide legitimacy for the
Malthusian theory. Population growth rate is almost double food production.
And, projections into the first quarter of the 21
st
century, holds a grim
prospect for Africa. A UNDP report had predicted that up till the year 2025,
60% of Sub-Saharan Africas population would be food insecure and live
below poverty line. Sakara argued that lest this prediction come to pass,

African leaders must urgently begin to bother about finding means of
accelerating agricultural growth in its various ramifications. He also argued
that higher agricultural productivity is necessarily contiguous on
development in other sectors. According to him, increased agricultural
productivity could lead to industrial development, based on surpluses of raw
materials from agriculture. This, he said, would enhance opportunities for
off-farm employments that can help increase household income. If this is
true, Sakara argued, then it must also be held that agricultural intensification
and environmental conservation are not necessarily parallel, just like
agricultural intensification and poverty alleviation are not mutually
exclusive. He therefore concluded that the successor generation has the duty
of embarking on well-articulated agrarian reform programme. They must not
only prioritise policies on agricultural growth, they must also empower
farmers and create the enabling environment to organise themselves in the
pursuit of their collective interests.

Sakara observed that agricultural mechanisation alone cannot translate to
real development. While improved agricultural technology has the capacity
to stimulate productivity, real growth, he said, can only be achieved if it is
complemented by good government policy which supports high investment
in farming and encourages farmers in diversified ways to enhance input
distribution systems, develop rural infrastructure, functional literacy and
primary health care. Sakara, however, warned that while positive agrarian
reforms have the capacity to elevate the status of the farmer, it also has the
dysfunctional capacity to drag him off the land to the urban centres. This, he
said, is in fact, the major challenge before the successor generation who
must device the means of balancing productive agrarian reforms that would
improve the quality of life of the farmer, with the need to keep him in the
village to do his farming.

Information and Communications Technologies
in The New African Renaissance:
Toward Innovative and Thinking Systems.

Africas socio-economic and political profile is dismal. Recent events across
the world and within the African continent itself have, however, imbued the
continent with great hopes. The end of cold war, the emergence of
globalisation, and the realities of common destiny it presents to mankind,
the emergence of democracy, howbeit fragile, across Africa, and the
revolutions in information and communications technology, all these hold
out great promises for a new Africa on the verge of renewal.

In this paper, Senyo John C. Afele, a research associate at the University of
Guelph, Ontario, Canada, analyses how Information and Communication
Technology systems, especially, could assist Africa in this transformation
mission towards the realisation of the dream of African renaissance. Afele
posits that IT has the capacity to provide channels for the rediffusion of the
positive blend of indigenous and modern knowledge system for human
capacity development. This, because the acquisition of IT systems and
knowledge, he believes, could enable Africans to tap into the global pool of
communications which they could apply in solving the many problems they
contend with daily on the continent.

Afele, however, warns that since IT is not required for its sake, in applying it
to Africa, care must be taken to avoid a situation where Africans will be
mere docile receptors of global knowledge in a uni-directional flow. Africas
time-tested indigenous knowledge base, he said, must be harnessed and
blended with external knowledge if it must serve the purpose of providing
livelihood security for the people. Specifically, Afele pointed out, the failure

of modern national administration systems across Africa has made the
rejuvenation of indigenous administration imperative. Enhancing the
communication potentials of all the stakeholders, he said, can do this. IT
offers a great promise in this direction, if it is anchored on the African ethos
of community as one. In essence, modern interactive communication system,
he argued, has to be based on African terrain resources, bearing in mind the
specific needs and aspirations of the people. The African intellectual, Afele
charged, has a great role to play in this regard. They have to devise a means
to synchronise the knowledge of culture and technology to achieve
maximum impact through symbiotic assistance between the expert of
African culture and expert of IT technology. This, he said, will also help in
the intellectualisation of the African tradition as well as assist in the
development of primary education for social and cultural relevance as a
foundation for re-inventing Africa.

Evolving A Sustainable Youth Leadership for Development:
A Gender Perspective.

Bilikisu Yusuf, Deputy Editor-In Chief, Citizen Magazine, pointed out in
this paper that Africa has a history of youth involvement, and that all
through the continents history, youth had played vital roles in community
development and security. The contemporary African society, she pointed
out, is not an exception, in that many communities in Africa have been built
and sustained on youth involvement and participation. Therefore, as Sub-
Saharan Africa battles to beat a path out of the wilderness of socio-political
and economic problems, the youth, she argued, have to be allowed to play
vital roles.

Bilikisu, however, lamented the whirlwind of socio-psycholgical pressures
blowing across the continent today, which had trapped the African youth in
the snare of the same problems he is being called upon to solve. As their
countries groan under the heavy burden of intractable debts and the
consequent collapse of vital infrastructural services; as they are caught in the
devastating hurricanes of wars and violent conflicts; as they are roundly
pummeled by socio-economic pressures from more developed parts of the
world, their capacity to offer constructive services become greatly eroded.
She acknowledged that there have been token efforts at psychological
rehabilitation for youths victims of wars in Africa, this effort, she lamented,
are not backed up with the appropriate political will, and therefore, have
been largely ineffective.

The way out, she argued, is for the emergent leadership in Africa to map out
a comprehensive and integrated training scheme that will prepare the youth
for leadership responsibility and educate them on social values, civic duties
and responsibilities. The girl child and the woman, she pointed out, have
been greatly marginalised in Africas development agenda. Such training
scheme, she said, therefore has to be gender sensitive by demonstrating a
conscious understanding of the impact of gender on youth development in
Africa.

The Burden and Challenges of Youth Leadership
- A Personal Experience

Honourable Livy Uzoukwu was the Attorney-General of his state, Imo state
in Nigeria. He came out of the experience of that office with the conclusion
that Africa does not have a carefully thought-out and executed youth
leadership recruitment, preparation and training programme. This, he said,
could be seen both as a cause and a consequence of the disdain and lack of

respect for youth prevalent on the African continent, particularly as it
concerns public office.

In this paper, Uzoukwu related how his appointment as the chief law officer
of his state at the young age of 35 caused considerable stir because it was
against the run of convention for someone of that age to be appointed into
such office. He said although, he was professionally qualified, most people
considered him too young. It was against this backdrop of heavy prejudice
that he assumed office, having to contend with a heavy burden of cynicism
by older colleagues and others as well who thought his age was a more
important factor than his professional competence. This, he said, caused him
a great deal of trauma. Instead of allowing it to defeat him, however, he
converted it to a kind of driving force which he said imbued him with a
sense of mission and determination to prove cynics wrong and vindicate his
generation, who flags he believed he was carrying. He spoke of how he drew
on his innate talent and abilities, experience of others and teachings of
writers and set about the task of revolutionisng the states legal systems by
introducing a sense of dynamism and restoring respect for the rule of law
and the courts. He also gave an impressive account of how he undertook the
herculean task of reforming the states legal system.

Uzoukwu admitted that the entire experience was tough but in the end he
was convinced by the kind of testimonials he was getting that he had made a
success of his job. If nothing else, he came out of his tenure in office
convinced that what the youths of Africa lack is not talents or abilities, but
the opportunity to express their potentials and improve on their limitations.
He, therefore, expressed his conviction, that leadership excellence can be
acquired through apprenticeship, learning, humility and self-discipline. And
that whether a leaders succeeds or fails,, is always on account of his abilities
or limitations, rather than age.

In the discussion session that
followed the presentations,
participants focused on the
theme, Leadership Challenge for Africa's Socio-Political Transformation.
They reviewed among other things, the nature and structure of African values
in the face of persistent calls for change and the alienation between African
leaders and the people. They also discussed values and institutions that ought
to be passed on to the younger generation to give them a strong sense of
identity and support, the cultural alienation of youth and women, and the
problem of de-Africanization of African youths. The meeting also drew
attention to the fact that part of the problem in Africa is that old people dictate
to the young ones, thereby not allowing them to use their initiatives; mass
poverty, and the absence of structures which has continued to frustrate
development efforts in Africa.

The meeting questioned the real differences between the older and younger
generation and the problem of low productivity in the continent. It was
observed that central to the objective of transforming Africa politically, is the
need to institutionalize public hearings for political appointments as well as the
security of tenure for public servants. It was concluded, in effect, that the
dilemma of leadership in Africa is not just political, but a function of the
relationship between classes within the society: men and women, the old and
the young, the leader and the led. Whatever contradictions may be found in the
public space, it was said, are usually pre-conditioned by problems in the
private domain.

Participants, therefore, reasoned that it might be instructive if the younger
generation of Africans is allowed the opportunity for self-expression and
encouraged to impact on policy formulation and implementation. The conduct
Group Work and Discussions

of politics, it was reasoned, should be informed by the principle of inclusion,
not exclusion. The meeting also suggested as follows:

i. young people should write their own success stories, dream their own
dreams and chart their own path as members of society.

ii. ii. Womens participation in political and economic issues should be
encouraged, success stories of women in public life should be
vigorously promoted to build confidence and inspire other women.

iii. African governments to involve the masses that are largely illiterate
should introduce civic education programmes

iv. Role models in various fields of endeavour should be identified and
promoted.

v. Public officials, both political and non-political appointees should be
assessed regularly to ensure transparency and accountability in
government.

vi. Leadership training should be organised as and when due for aspirants
to political offices to ensure that they understand the democratic process
and the demands on political office holders.

Participants also noted that most African leaders are greedy, often tyrannical,
and rather than relate to their environment, they are insulated from the realities
in the various societies they are supposed to be leading.

Focussing on the challenges of promoting leadership for sustainable
development in Africa, participants observed that the issue should not be one

of doing things for young people and women in society; the challenge is for
government to create the necessary legal and political framework that will
empower women and youths to take their own decisions, build confidence and
intervene positively in public life. It was further noted that political leadership
in Africa is a minority privilege.

The majority of the people live in rural areas under primordial structures
informed by values that are radically different from the prevailing norms in
urban centres. These differences ought to be re-examined and perhaps, the key
to liberating Africa lies in the adoption of traditional African values as the
basis for governance in a modern world. Participants also observed that the
paradigm of leadership in Africa is masculinized, yet women are in the
majority in the continent. Development projects must become gender-
sensitive. Poverty alleviation should be a major target of such projects. It was
added that young people are easily marginalised also because they are not in a
position to control the means of production, and in many cases, they are short-
changed by what seems to be a generational failure to display attitudes
compatible with the aspiration of making young people the leaders of
tomorrow.

Participants concluded by recommending that informed research should be
carried out to study the condition of young people in Africa. Credit facilities
should be extended by African governments to youths to enable them establish
their own businesses, and acquire the means of production in society.
Opportunities should be created for meaningful collaboration between the
young and the old. Young people should be educated to become more positive
about society and the future.

The meeting also deliberated on the challenges of redressing the continuous
systematic deterioration of public-spiritedness and professional ethics and

noted a sad connection between the collapse of structures of governance, the
disappearance of values and social mores, and the failure of institutions across
Africa. Participants pointed out that the issue at stake is one of change and
how to respond to it. There is so much corruption in the public space in
|Africa, resulting in a crisis of leadership due to the failure of the post-colonial
modern states in the continent, the collapse of the family unit, the frustration of
constitutionalism and the rule of law by tyrannical governments and the
inequitable distribution of opportunities. Conditions of poverty in Africa have
also undermined integrity in the various societies. The dominance of Western
culture has imposed a capitalist ethos that is at variance with traditional
structures, which emphasise communalism and public-spiritedness. The point
was further made that the best way to re-discover lost values and re-build
institutions will be to create conditions that will enable a triumph of the public
spirit over greed, and conspicuous consumption.

Participants argued that the state and governments in Africa will have to be re-
invented to re-establish the connection between the state and the people.
Constitutionalism and the rule of law are also non-negotiable conditions.
African societies and governments must become open societies, and
institutions in the civil society must be empowered to ask questions, raise
objections and participate directly as stake-holders in the process of nation-
building. Education is important, both formal and civic. Older people must
serve as role models to guide youths, and to create natural succession patterns.
All forms of discrimination, which disempower individuals and groups, must
be discouraged. Professional groups should equally be encouraged, and there
must be strong sanctions to deter abuses of the system and its privileges.
Finally, participants contended that the relationship between the old and the
young should not be one of conflict and struggle, but a kind of relay race built
upon a foundation of mutual collaboration and understanding.

The meeting also reviewed the issue of developing the requisite human
resources for the future and noted the need for a clear and effective set of
strategies for developing the skills and capacity of youths in Africa and the
institutions to enable the fullest expression and use of the skills so developed.

The meeting agreed that additional challenges in this respect include the
mobilisation of the resources and expertise of Africans in Diaspora and how to
stem the tide of brain drain, which seems to be turning Africa into a provider
of skilled manpower for other parts of the world, while the continent remains
grossly under-served. Participants observed that there is an urgent need to
make governments in Africa more responsive to the need of the people.
Private sector initiatives must be encouraged, and the role of government in
public enterprise should be small, rather than big and totalitarian. Credit lines
should be created to assist private investors, government monopolies should be
broken. African countries should also approve dual nationality for their
citizens to enable Africans in Diaspora participate more effectively in the
development processes at home. A stable macro-economic environment
should also be created to build investor confidence. Participants also argued
that democratic rule, good governance and transparency in governance are pre-
conditions for strengthening the human resource potentials of African nations.

Focussing on the core challenges of global knowledge and Challenges for the
African Environment, the meeting was concerned with the possible modalities
for harnessing opportunities in technology, globalization, as well as advances
in communication to further strengthen African societies. It was observed that
knowledge is power and global knowledge creates a lot of incentives for
development. The concept of the Magic Cs was established and evaluated. The
Magic Cs were enumerated as Collectivity; Capacity Building, Contents,
Creativity, Communication, and Cash. This involves the acquisition of
computers and software, getting onto the Internet, training, accessibility of the

Internet, creative presentations, knowledge in the use of network systems and
creating community centres for easy access. In general, the discussions
focused on the importance of technology and communication particularly IT
systems.

It was established that for Africa to make advancement in technology and
communication, there is a need to create an enabling environment through the
removal of existing constraints and the establishment of open societies. Some
of the problems identified include mass illiteracy, weak educational systems,
and the monopoly of access to technology and communication by the urban
populace, lack of adequate knowledge by government officials and cultural
prejudices.

Participants observed that people should not wait for government to erect
structures before embracing the information technology. It is available and we
need to take it and create a virtual cycle of opportunities, which would lead to
motivation and initiative.

Subsequently, the meeting broke into four working groups and a range of
recommendations and commitments for future action were undertaken.


By
H.E. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo
1

Permit me, in my capacity as the Chairman of the Africa Leadership
Forum and on behalf of the Council of Conveners and the Executive
Committee of the Africa Leadership Forum, to extend my fraternal
greetings to all of you for honouring our invitation to this conference
and for accepting to fellowship with us. My deep sense of
appreciation goes to our brothers who have had to create time out of
their busy schedules to fraternize with us and to share with us part of
their lived experience as we gather to ruminate over the challenges of
the successor generation in Africa. I refer in particular to H.E
Presidents Kemitule Masire and Kenneth Kaunda as well as our
Anniversary Lecturer, the Rt. Hon. Sir Shridath Ramphal.

To President Kerekou, words fail me in conveying to you our gratitude
for the hospitality, support and encouragement given to us since we
broached the idea of holding this event in Cotonou. We are mightily
grateful to you.

Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen our gathering here over the
next three days provide us with an opportunity to celebrate and to
reflect on the core challenges confronting the successor generation of
Africans on the eve of the next millennium. This conference also
provides us with an opportunity to formally institutionalize the ALF

1
Former Head of state of Nigeria and Chairman Africa Leadership Forum.

Prize for Leadership Excellence in Africa. I will dwell more on this
later.

In Africa today, there is high and hope optimism in the air that we might be
on the verge of rediscovering ourselves. There is hope that we are on the
eve of recreating, re-organising our societies. There is hope that we might
still forge a common collective future that will facilitate the enthronement of
prosperity among our people. There is hope that in the foreseeable future
Africa will move away from the periphery into the mainstream of global
interaction in trade, commerce, productivity and quality of life. There is
unquenchable optimism in the air that all is not lost and the future can still
be bright. All of these I believe are at the heart of the current buzzword
variously known as African Renaissance.

After three years of forced absence, I regained my freedom recently and was
thrust into this air of optimism which has been most refreshing, re-
invigorating and reassuring. However, as the initial euphoria fades and the
grim reality begins to dawn on me, as I moved around Africa and my
country Nigeria, as part of my reality check, I notice a defect in the core
fabric of this hope. I detect a soft underbelly of this gargantuan hope. Yes, it
was dampened and I shudder to imagine that all of this hope might very well
become yet another mirage. The basis of my fear ladies and gentlemen, rests
on the strength and the carrying capability of those shoulders which must
bear the burden of concretising this hope in future. Those to whom we must
devolve the Herculean task of cracking the nut of the much talked about
African Renaissance. I compare the process of deliberate preparation of our
successor generation in Africa with the magnitude and quantum of
investment in their peers in other parts of the world and I fear that ultimately
Part I

we might be competing within an unfair framework. While most societies
are literate as well as numerate, majority of our people are illiterates. While
most regions of the world are busy arguing over mechanisms for expanding
the prosperity of their people. Most Africans are not just poor, the income
levels are such that the basis for a radical transformation of prevalent levels
of poverty is virtually non existent. To cap it all, we are as yet generally
unable to agree on the imperatives of good governance.

In contrast, other regions have invested and are still investing heavily in the
successor generation in a variety of ways. Other regions are investing
handsomely in health and education to ensure the complete physical and
mental development of its successor generation. As I look around me in
Africa, the quantum of our investment in health and education compared
with our investment in other sectors of the economy saddens me greatly. I
am honestly alarmed as I visualise the implications of our minuscule
investment in health and education with our investment in military defence,
armament and other destructive and unproductive ventures. Most of our
young people have nothing other than experiences of war, martial
experience, squalor, poverty etc. Others have been systematically shut off
from the cutting edge of technology through a systemic denial of access.

Yet we intend to engage the rest of the world on equal footing. We aspire to
breed world class leaders, yet we are only willing to invest more in
acquisition of instruments of world class annihilations. We aspire to take on
the rest of the world on an even keel, yet we consign our young people to the
balcony of life, as mere spectators and idle bystanders. Most of our young
people have become economic refugees. Others have been bred solely on a
violent struggle of wars, famine, disease and destitution, filling them with
hopelessness, resignation and withdrawal.

Part II

The Challenges of the Next Generation:

At the dawn of the new millennium, our countries are confronted with
tremendous opportunities as well as tremendous challenges. How we take
advantage of the opportunities and meet the challenges will determine whether
the much-vaunted African renaissance becomes a reality or whether it remains
an unfulfilled wish or even a promise betrayed. More than ever before, new
opportunities for advancement abound. Technological advances have made the
world smaller, communications more instantaneous, and information more
accessible. Whether and how we take advantage of the new opportunities will
in large part depend on how we view the future and our place in it. The
choices are clear. We can embrace the world, or we can choose retreat from it.
A long term vision, a clear understanding of what is required to achieve it, and
the political will to fulfill it, are essential if and when we choose the path of
involvement and integration.

Whatever the reasons for Africas past performance - and colonialism,
inadequate preparation for independence, and cold war politics rank high
among them - lessons can be learned to ensure the future leaders do not repeat
the mistakes of the past. As African countries declined, others prospered.
When many African countries gained independence, they were in similar
positions as a number of Asian countries. However, the Asian countries
quickly outstripped their African counterparts in terms of economic growth
and development, and in creating societies able to respond to a rapidly
changing world. With very few exceptions, African countries fell further and
further behind. Now, although the continent is rebuilding itself, it has to make
up for lost time, and the stakes are very high. What is done today does not

only affect current performance. It will also create the conditions for future
prosperity.

The current challenges confronting us imposes on us the need to define and
create the environment which will enable us fulfill our potential, and to allow
the sort of leaders that the next century will require - in business, in society, in
political life, in international affairs - to develop. Peace, security and stability
are prerequisites of such an environment. Political inclusion, participation,
sound governance and the creation of opportunities for broad-based socio-
economic development are other basic features. But identifying the elements
of an enabling environment does not mean that it will be easily achieved. In
many instances, profound changes and difficult choices will be required.
Current leaders need to take the decisions that will open up societies and create
multiple opportunities for advancement, in the process eschewing short-term
gains in favor of long term progress.

Armed conflict has been a severe impediment to progress in Africa. While the
main consequences have obviously been felt in the countries themselves,
surrounding countries have also suffered the spillover effects and the continent
as a whole has earned an unwarranted image of instability and violence. The
militarization of societies and the proliferation of small arms are additional
legacies in many countries, fueling continued violence. While there is now a
general consensus that there can be no development without peace, stability
and security, much more need to be done to ensure that disputes are settled
through peaceful means and that the underlying causes of conflict are
addressed. Without this, there is a danger that the threat of instability will
continue to undermine efforts toward progress.

Leadership at all levels is needed to prevent violence and to create the political
framework and institutions which provide alternatives. In the past, lack of

opportunity to contest power through constitutional means provided an excuse
for armed struggle. Now, even though democratic processes are increasingly
being established as an option, violence is preferred by some that feel they
may not win at the ballot box. Leadership is required to counter this tendency,
and to institutionalize democratic governance. Given that political exclusion,
lack of equitable access to resources, and discrimination on ethnic, geographic
or religious grounds are among the underlying causes of conflict which can be
inflamed by political ambition. Attention to these problems is of paramount
importance. In such circumstances, strong and dedicated leadership is
necessary to convince populations that change is for the general good, and to
withstand pressure from those who will lose their privileged positions.

Given the complexity of the process, leadership at all levels is also required to
create a human rights culture that does not assign separate rights to particular
ethnic or societal groups, but encompasses human rights in their entirety as
belonging singularly and collectively to all, as indivisible and non-negotiable
values. Throughout Africa, this leadership exists. In recent years one of the
most heartening developments has been the increase in active involvement of
citizens in preventing violent conflict and helping to rebuild confidence
between groups once conflict is over. This leadership, much of which is from
women, deserves recognition and support. Over time, it will help to create a
normative environment in which armed conflict, and all the atrocities resulting
from it, is no longer seen as inevitable in African countries.

The prevalence of single party politics in the recent past resulted in a deficit of
real political leadership throughout much of the continent. Although the
politics of patronage did not result in widespread support for ruling regimes, it
certainly muted criticism of them, and few, if any legitimate mechanisms for
the expression of opposing views existed. Many of the people who could have
provided leadership were driven into exile. Many more were excluded from

the political process by virtue of belonging to ethnic or religious groups other
than those of the party in power. Now, although some countries are still
caught up in conflict or authoritarian rule, the situation has changed radically
throughout Africa. Most countries are undergoing political reform and creating
the basis for participatory, pluralistic political systems. There is, however, still
much to be done if real, functioning, democratic systems, and not just nominal
democracy, are to be nurtured.

Throughout the continent, people have sent clear signals that they want to
participate in defining their destiny. The challenge is to provide them with
leaders who can move beyond personalized politics and articulate a clear
vision for the future, in which all stakeholders can participate. The institutional
means to guarantee the equitable and full representation and participation of all
societal groups, including minorities and women, also have to be developed.
The formation, functioning and funding of political parties, as well as the
funding of election campaigns, require attention if the political leadership of
African countries is to be renewed on the basis of clear competition and free
choice. Once in office, the capacity of parliamentarians to adequately
represent the people, and of parliamentary institutions to exercise their
oversight responsibilities, have to be strengthened. Elections at the local level
are also an important part of the democratic process. In many countries in
other regions, local politics provides an important training ground for future
political leaders at the national level. The same could apply to African
countries also.

Leadership at both the national and the local level is required to improve the
poor governance that is at the root of many of the problem, which beset
African countries. By and large, the single party systems and military
governments which have dominated much of Africas recent past disregarded
and undermined the principles of good governance, preferring instead to

remain in power through a combination of repression and political cronyism.
Now, countries are trying to overcome the legacies of the past, and create
transparent and accountable systems of governance, based on respect for
human rights and rule of law. This is a difficult process, given the decline of
most of the institutions, which uphold such governance, and the relative lack
of capacity to support it.

Promotion of, and respect for human rights, is fundamental to good
governance. Although most countries have made considerable progress as
regards freedoms from - freedom from oppression, from cruel and unjust
punishment, from arbitrary arrest and the like there has been rather less
success in institutionalizing freedoms to. But it is these freedoms - freedom
of opinion, freedom of the press, freedom of movement, which will help to
create the sort of open societies which will allow African countries to develop
and future leaders to emerge. Adherence to rule of law is also essential for
improved governance, and this has to be rebuilt if any sustainable progress is
to be made. In many countries, ordinary people have no confidence in the
judiciary or the judicial process as a means of protecting their rights or as
recourse in cases of abuse. Building respect for human rights and rule of law
requires collective leadership, from politicians, from within the legal system,
and from the community. Sporadic and individual actions by one group will
not be sufficient, continued action by all is what is needed.

Leadership at all levels is also required if transparent, accountable government
is to be promoted, and the corruption, which threatens the future prosperity of
African countries, is to be addressed. The corruption, which is now widespread
through most of the continent, is in large part a consequence of the expansion
of the role of the state and the concurrent decline in public institutions, which
were a feature of single party politics. The predominant role of the state led to
excessive regulation, which in turn led to multiple opportunities for rent

seeking. At the same time, lack of transparency and accountability allowed
corruption, once established, to flourish. In many instances, the decline in
government salaries and ability to deliver services, coupled with lack of
effective controls, fueled petty corruption, while discretionary authority over
large government contracts and limited scrutiny of government and business
alliances facilitated the spread of grand corruption.

Corruption is not a problem unique to African countries. It exists throughout
the world, and indeed, the role of multinational corporations in large-scale
corruption has to be addressed. But the consequences of corruption in Africa
are extreme. To the extent that it impedes development and drives away much
needed investment, it will contribute to the continued impoverishment of
African countries and peoples. To the extent that it erodes the legitimacy of
governments and the confidence of people in the institution of government, it
will prevent the establishment of the systems, which permit people to
participate in the process of governance.

Corruption in African countries is both a challenge to existing leadership and a
threat to the development of the successor generation of leaders. Current
leaders have to take serious measures to combat corruption if they are to create
the conditions for future prosperity in their countries. At the same time, they
can be under considerable pressure to ignore corruption rather than risk losing
their power base. Even if they take a stance against corruption, those whose
privileges are threatened can block their best efforts. Nepotism and cronyism
stifle competition and ensure that a small group of interconnected elite
continues to control access to power. This not only perpetuates the status quo,
but also prevents the creation of the sort of open and vibrant societies, which
would nurture future leaders. Although strong and determined political
leadership is needed, leadership from civil society, from the parliament and

judiciary, and from within the civil service are all also required if coalitions
which can genuinely combat corruption are to be formed.

The political and economic changes which most African countries are
undergoing necessitate a change in the role of the state, away from control and
toward facilitation. Most countries have undergone significant public sector
reform in recent years, but still more needs to be done to improve the quality
of the public sector, as well as the services provided. In short, a public sector
for the next century has to be created. This is not an issue for African countries
alone. Throughout the world, the public sector is changing. Public sector
institutions are becoming more streamlined and service oriented. Many of the
functions they once provided are being contracted out. They are paying greater
attention to the cost and quality of services. Hierarchical structures are being
flattened, and length of service is no longer a condition for advancement.

To the extent that African countries implement similar reforms, the changes
will be profound. Meritocratic public service institutions will foster an ethos of
excellence, which in turn will facilitate the emergence of new leadership. At
the same time, decentralisation of government services will create the
conditions for leadership at the local level to develop. It obviously will not be
easy, and strong leadership now is required to see the process through. Many,
particularly those who will lose as a result of reforms, will resist changes. But
a streamlined, more service oriented public sector is essential as African
countries move into the next century. The state has to reduce its role, but
become more efficient in performing its legitimate functions, and more
transparent and accountable. Reform of public service institutions has also to
encompass the military. There too, leadership is paramount to create
professional, non-partisan forces which uphold democratic principles and
protect common good.

Most African countries rank among the poorest in the world, and reducing
poverty is of singular importance if African countries and peoples are to
fulfil their potentials. In the past, African leaders did not do enough to
overcome poverty, or to give the poor the means of helping themselves. In
fact, it often appeared as though the poor, and particularly the rural poor,
were wilfully ignored. Periodic disasters focused attention and elicited pleas
for emergency assistance, but once the disasters were averted, little was done
to improve the situation, and the policies, which perpetuated poverty, were
largely continued. While much can be done to alleviate the suffering caused
by poverty, only economic growth will help to reduce it on a sustainable
basis. Achieving and sustaining high levels of economic growth is thus the
basic challenge facing current and future leaders throughout Africa.

Economically, there has been a turnaround in most African countries from
the days of negative growth when economies throughout the continent were
in freefall. Those countries, which have consistently pursued reforms and
maintained macroeconomic stability, are now seeing the results in terms of
increased growth. More than a dozen Sub-Saharan African countries have
now registered growth rates of over 5 percent since 1996, with some
registering much higher rates.

However, growth alone is not sufficient. Attention is required to ensure that
it is broad-based and brings socio-economic development to the mass of the
population. Growth without development will not help to reduce poverty,
and will in fact worsen the income disparities, which are already pronounced
in a number of countries. African leaders need to continue and deepen
Part III

economic reforms to ensure that the benefits are sustained and built upon.
They need to convince people of the necessity of reforms, and persuade
them to stay the course. In turn, economic growth will help to open up
societies and create opportunities for successive generations of leaders.

To achieve the much higher rates of economic growth needed to reduce
poverty, both savings and investment must be raised from their current low
levels. This is a challenge for the leadership of African countries, because it
will in part depend on public and investor confidence in their commitment to
political and macroeconomic stability. Although most African countries are
poor, people do save. However, domestic savings are frequently not
monetized, either because people lack confidence in the government and the
banking system, or because financial intermediation institutions do not cater
to their needs. Capital flight is also a problem, and was as high as 70 percent
of private wealth during 1970-1992 by some estimates. This is in marked
contrast with East Asian countries where high levels of domestic savings
provided the basis for their economic growth. Leadership is necessary to
convince people that they have a stake in the future of their countries, and to
invest in it.

Not only savings, but investment too has to be increased, and for this,
African leaders need to be realistic about the constraints, which exist, and
how they can be overcome. Both domestic and foreign investors need to
have a degree of security for their investments. Legally protected property
rights and contract enforcement, as well as a prudentially managed banking
system, are prerequisites. And yet these exist in very few African countries
to any significant degree. Flexible labour laws, reliable infrastructure, a
trainable workforce, and consistent application of clear regulations, which
are also basic requirements, tend to be in equally short supply. Without
these, it will be difficult for African countries to attract the sort of

investment, which generates employment and builds capacity over the long
term. Without security, both foreign and domestic investors will focus on
short term profits, not on long term development. If African leaders are
serious about attracting investment, they will need to create the requisite
conditions, even if they involve difficult political choices.

In other regions of the world, foreign direct investment not only created
employment, it also helped to spur local entrepreneurial capacity, which in
turn created new business leaders. There is no reason that this should not
happen in Africa also, provided the conditions for investment are put in
place. It is now generally recognised that the private sector has to be the
engine of growth, and that an environment conducive to private sector
activity has to be fostered. The formal private sector is relatively
underdeveloped in most African countries, largely because of the
predominant role of the state in the economy, and because governments still
tend to make it difficult for the private sector to operate effectively. The
obstacles in the way of government harassment, corrupt officials, and
limited access to information, technology and capital need to be removed.

Initiative, incentive and innovation mark progress. However, in a good
number of African countries, the old style of doing business, with its
reliance on government contacts, favourable treatment, and special
exemptions, is still entrenched in many instances. This notwithstanding, a
new generation of men and women entrepreneurs is developing as
conditions become more propitious. Many of these have gained experience
in other countries and are accustomed to working in a competitive
environment. These new business leaders - dynamic, innovative and ready to
take advantage of opportunities - will provide a very different role model for
future generations.

Young people have to believe that they have a future, and they require the
skills, which will enable them to create their own employment or to seek it
with others. Without education, future generations of Africans will not
prosper, and even run the risk of falling further behind. Although the
considerable improvements, which have been made, should not be
underestimated, the education situation in most African countries is still
pitifully inadequate. Primary school enrolment rates for Sub-Saharan Africa
as a whole, excluding South Africa, are 71 percent of school age children.
Secondary enrolment rates are even lower, at 23 percent. Girls on average
receive less schooling than boys, and the same distressing situation exists
with regard to literacy.

Poor though they are, the statistics mask the enormity of the problem. It is
not just the availability, but also the quality of education, which matters. In
many instances, particularly in rural areas, this has declined to precarious
levels due to lack of facilities, teaching materials and qualified staff. Access
to education is also uneven, with the poor the least able to benefit. And yet,
ordinary people understand the benefits of education. Throughout the
continent, service delivery surveys indicate a widespread dissatisfaction with
the quality of education provided by authorities, and as a result, examples of
communities building and maintaining schools, paying teachers, and
purchasing supplies abound.

The direct benefits of education are clear. But there are other, less obvious
benefits also. Schooling fosters innovation and experimentation; it builds
the skills, which enable people to respond to external changes, and promotes
the adoption of new technologies. All of these are required for adaptation to
a rapidly changing world. The linkages between female literacy and
education and the well being of their families have also long been known,
and are consistently demonstrated. The effects are cumulative. Educating

girls and women is an investment in the future. Without education, ordinary
people will continue to be left behind, and will be unable to take advantages
of the opportunities which peace, stability and sound policies will bring.
Perhaps more than anything else, education provides the basis for
broadening the range of leadership. In countries in other regions, both
historically and at the present time, it is mass literacy and education, which
have provided opportunities for social, political and economic leaders to
emerge.

In addition to education, information is essential for leadership. There would
appear to be linkages between the openness of societies, the creation of
opportunities and the ability of people to act on them. The media have an
important role to play in creating open societies that have a free flow of
information. In the past in most African countries, access to information
was severely curtailed and filtered through government-owned media
channels. Even when private media existed, it was hard for them to obtain
accurate information to report. As a result of political liberalisation, the press
is much freer and more independent in most African countries, and although
access to information is still not as easy as it could be, it is much more
readily available than in the past. Moreover, technologies have made it
possible for information to be transmitted more easily through non-official
channels, and this can be expected to become more widespread as the cost of
fax and e-mail decrease. Leaders need to embrace technology and recognise
the importance of information for development, and not seek to control it.

Information, and leadership at both the political and community levels, are
desperately needed to prevent one of the greatest tragedies besetting Africa,
that of HIV/AIDS, from worsening. Throughout the continent, children are
being orphaned as their parents die of AIDS. In the past, such children
would have been absorbed into the extended family or local community and

cared for. Now, as the social fabric of many societies becomes more and
more frayed, as traditional mores break down, and as the gulf between rural
and urban areas increases, this frequently does not happen. Increasingly,
these children are being abandoned to find their own way. Instead of care
and attention, they find themselves on the streets, vulnerable to abuse.
Instead of school, girls turn to prostitution to survive, and in the process can
contract the same disease which caused their predicament in the first place.

The rates of HIV positivity and AIDS are frighteningly high. Of the
reported 30.6 million people with HIV/AIDS world-wide, 21 million of
them are in Africa. In countries such as Botswana and Zimbabwe, an
estimated 25 percent of the adult population is living with HIV/AIDS.
There is no reason to believe that other countries, which have much
lower registered rates are in fact any better off, and every reason to
believe that the apparently lower rates are a result of poor data
collection, lack of awareness and limited access to adequate
services. Unless the spread of HIV/AIDS is slowed, the future for
many in African countries, and indeed for the continent as a whole, is
bleak. Although changing attitudes and social behaviour is difficult
and takes time, this is an area in which leadership can make a
difference.

Group-based politics has long been a feature of African countries, and
leadership is needed to overcome this tradition and create political systems
in which all societal groups can participate and enjoy democratic rights and
freedoms. While political leadership is needed, civil society also has an
important role in creating a culture of political tolerance, and in helping
promote national unity and social justice. Throughout the continent,
leadership at the community level has made a tremendous contribution to
social harmony and building understanding between societal groups.

One of the greatest assets of Africa is its people. Investing in people is the
way forward. The task facing the leaders of today is to create the
environment, which will unleash the potential of people and allow them to
act on their own development initiatives. The task for tomorrows leaders is
to ensure that new opportunities are constantly taken advantage of, and that
peace and prosperity truly become a reality for the peoples of Africa.
Government policies are important. But policies alone will not work
miracles. Commitment on the part of the people and governments alike is
ultimately what will make a difference. What is done today will affect the
world that African children will inherit tomorrow. The opportunities to
create a brighter future exist, more than ever before. It is for the people of
Africa to take them.

As part of the required response mechanism we shall, during the course of
our gathering, institutionalise the ALF Prize for Leadership Excellence in
Africa. It is a venture that I hold close to my heart and to which I have
decided to once again make personal contribution and hope that we will be
able to elicit and secure the co-operation and support of others in raising this
prize to a point where it becomes the Prize in Africa that will further assist in
the search for Positive Role models. Our intent in creating the prize is to
provide the much needed recognition, support and encouragement to those
individuals in Africa who are positively contributing towards the overall
development of their respective societies.

I have had occasions in the past to express my fears, both profound and
ordinary, about the situation in our continent. But there would only be hope,
if we move away from passivism, acquiescence, scepticism and cynicism.
Part IV

The observable trends among most of you, who I consider as the third
generation of leaders, are attitudes of resignation, buck-passing and cynicism
almost about everything, but particularly about governance and leadership.
Yet, those of you within the average age of 40 years today, can, in the next
20 years, make a great difference to Africa.

Is the situation in Africa totally hopeless? My answer is no. The odds are
heavily stacked against us. But so have they been stacked against other
nations and regions that have broken the shackles and the jinx. We must feel
shamed and diminished by our situation; but yes, we must also feel
challenged and inspired by it. When those in my generation were growing
up, we had limited opportunities, but we had hope. We used the hope to
create opportunities.

Today, I believe that although you have greater opportunities you also have
diminished hope. However, if you effectively utilise opportunities and
awareness that you have you can create greater hope and a better future.
Development is not what others can do for you or what you can enjoy in
other people's country. The countries that we admire today and where you
would like to migrate to or spend your holidays are developed countries
because things work there and people have had to pay the price and make
the sacrifice for development. They had done the first things first - work
before pleasure, production before consumption, investment before returns
and profit.

If you give up, nobody will do the work for you. It is our work as Africans.
The work will involve regeneration and recreation, reinvigoration and
reorientation. It will draw sweat and blood from you, but you will have the
joy and satisfaction of success, achievement and accomplishment. You will
proudly move around the world as a member of an achiever-race, not as a

member of a race condemned to the rim and periphery of the world. It would
not happen if you do not consciously strive to make it happen. You are the
future and you will live in the future, and you must provide the plan. You are
young and you must be restless and have insatiable appetite for the
development of our nations, and our world.

The past is history, it is gone and we only need to know it to instruct our
present. Mistakes have been made in the past. Throughout history, that has
been the lot of all societies and all communities. But those who learn from
mistakes of the past to enlighten the future emerge determined, virile, stable
and more successful. Whatever you do, you must develop the character and
attitude for caring and sharing. That is the culture of African society and we
must not jettison it under the guise of modernity or development. We live in
a world of 'might is right'. Don't be deceived to the contrary. If we are not
strong economically, we will be treated as less than human beings and as the
scum of the earth.

The task is great, heavy, diffused and ramifying. In whichever direction you
walk, it is an uphill task. But it is our task and no one else's. We cannot run
away from it, as the task will continue to mount and become super-hydra-
headed. Let us throw body, mind, soul and ourselves to it and we stand a
chance of success. If we ignore it, we and generations yet unborn will be
consumed by it. The verdict of history on us is clear and our race and our
people would have no place on this planet.

Let me say here that my own generation and those before me are becoming
spent forces. The generation before me is already becoming endangered
specie. Your generation and those after you must pick up the gauntlet. The
major problem for most of my generation and the generation before them is
lack of adequate concern and commitment for the nation-state rather than for

self and immediate extended family or clan. There is need for blending of
experience and dynamism between the old and the not-so old. Asian
miracles, 1 am convinced, is predicated on collective concern for the nation-
state.

Your generation cannot afford to make similar mistakes. The challenges are
different, the environment is different and the stakes are high. I have had
occasions in the past to express the fear that if there are no radical changes in
the next one thousand years from now, the Black Race may become an
extinct specie on our continent and the region of Africa may have to be
inhabited by other people who will make the place more congenial, more
hospitable and more productive.

In spite of unsteady progress so far, I see hope in the future. I see hope in the
determination and the resilience of our people. I see hope in the ability of the
African if empowered, motivated and well led. I see hope in their resistance
when they are pushed to the wall. I see hope in the blending of experience
and dynamism of the old and the new. I see hope in the youths and the
young. I see hope in the dynamism of African culture. I see hope in the
undivided reality of our existence. I see hope in the commonality of
humanity. To lose hope is to lose all. We must be sustained by keeping hope
alive and active. Our hopes lie essentially in the fundamental African values.
These include our sense of communal interest, family obligations, caring and
sharing, concern for human dignity and the link between the dead, the living
and the unborn in our consideration for the environment. But more than
anything else, you, the successor generation are the hope of Africa. You
cannot afford to fail.

Let me round off my remarks by thanking our donors who provided us the
required financial muscle for this conference, the United Nations

Development Programme, Regional Bureau for Africa, the Government and
People of the Republic of Benin, the Canadian International Development
Agency, and the Africa Leadership Foundation Inc. To all of them, we
express our profound gratitude and appreciation.

I wish you a most fruitful and engaging deliberation and may I also say let
the celebration commence.

The Leadership Recruitment Process
in Africa: Implications for Governance
and Development

By

M. J. Balogun
1

"Whatever is, is in God, and nothing can either be or be conceived without
God". - Spinoza (Proposition XV)

"And let their be among you a body of men who invite to goodness, enjoin
equity, and forbid evil. And it is these who shall prosper". - Qur'an, 3:104

"The superior man comprehends yi (righteousness); the small man
understands li (profit)". - Confucius

Leadership is often viewed as a variable that is too dependent on its
environment to be treated as a discrete analytic category. Yet, it cannot always
be dismissed as insignificant. Its impact on development, in general, and on

1
Senior Regional Adviser, UN Economic Commission for Africa
Abstract

governance reform, in particular, is a function of how it is defined. Where
leadership is perceived merely as a power structure - an instrumentality for the
dispensation of favours to allies and for unleashing terror on opponents - issues
of survival will likely take precedence over those of democracy and
development. In contrast, an entrepreneurial, citizen-oriented view of
leadership most frequently translates into constant exploration of public
service opportunities, the opening up of the "democratic space", and the
broadening of developmental horizons.

The challenge ahead is to strengthen the capacity for development-oriented
leadership at the expense of the generally entrenched self-serving, sometimes,
predatory, systems.

An Analytical Framework

Understanding the role of leadership in promoting governance reform and
extending the development frontier requires that we reach a consensus on the
term's meaning. While some analysts view leadership as a person or a group of
persons that are picked by the environment to hold "command" and decision-
making positions for a while
2
others regard it as an independent variable -
specifically, an institution endowed with the capacity to mould its
environment
3
Yet other commentators place leadership somewhere in between
the two extremes of helplessness and omnipotence (Balogun, 1997).

Of all the attributes essential to the definition of leadership, the one most
frequently mentioned is personality. In popular discourse, a leader is "a person
that leads other persons", and leadership is the act of, and the qualities

2
(Wilson, 1989; Allen, 1995:301-20)
3
(Young, 1988; Haldenius, 1992:145-6: and Lijphart, 1977:165).
Leadership, Governance and Development:

associated with, leading. If this is all there is to leadership, it should not come
as a surprise that some analysts find it too tenuous a base on which to construct
a viable social theory. Thus, according to Wilson (1989:227) the fact that
innovative leadership depends on a chance occurrence - i.e., the emergence
from the environment of individuals committed to change - makes it difficult,
if not impossible "to build a useful social science theory ...."

In much the same way, Allen (1995:301-20) argues that focusing on structures
(like leadership) and discrete events (such as military coups or state collapse)
would not help our understanding of the multi-dimensional and complex
nature of African politics. To have a firm grasp of political developments on
the continent, we need to adopt a holistic view of structures and events, and
examine both "within the appropriate historical sequence."

Not everyone agrees with this fatalistic view of leadership. Adedeji (1992:4-5)
contests the hypothesis that it is the environment "that makes or breaks
leaders". To regard the environment as a variable that does not respond to
human inventive genius, he argues, is to exclude,

"... experiences in history reflecting the difference which the
ascendancy of certain personalities made to national awakening
or collapse."

If environmental change has to await the "ascendancy of certain personalities",
Wilson's argument about the futility of building a social theory around "chance
appearances" deserves careful consideration. Indeed, the burden of proof is on
the proponents of the thesis that a fleeting and totally unpredictable
occurrence, such as leadership, is capable of moulding a durable and
impregnable entity like the environment. If it is accepted that leaders "come
and go" while the environment remains (to keep the recruitment and

retrenchment cycle going) we need a framework outlining a set of
environmental conditions which produce or favour the emergence of one type
of leadership or the other.

A definition that credits leadership with the capacity to change the
environment will of necessity have to focus on the dynamic relationship
between personality and the environment. The outcome of the trade-off
between the two is an institution that champions new causes, preaches
revolutionary values, and suggests radical solutions to existing or unforeseen
problems. Adedeji's observation on leadership attributes is apt:

"The difference between a leader and a follower is that the
former leads a group, a nation, or a region of the earth, through
crisis situations to triumph and properity, while the latter simply
follows the trends.... A leader, particularly, a political leader
without a vision, is a fraud on society, and a country that is
unfortunate to be afflicted with that kind of leadership is doomed
to move from one crisis to another" (Adedeji, 1992:8).

If we go by Adedeji's classification, two types of environment can be
identified: one in which leadership plays a critical, sometimes, decisive role,
and the other which is adrift, or, in plain language, rudderless. This still leaves
unanswered the question where environmental influence ends and leadership
takes over. With reference to societies in which leadership proved critical, we
need to know the factors explaining this type of activism. Specifically, we
need to answer the question whether leadership activism emerged
"spontaneously" or as a result of the interaction among several environmental
forces.
The underlying thesis of this paper is that far from being a "a chance
occurrence", leadership is a variable that has the capacity to shape the

environment. It becomes a dependent variable only when it is not fully
informed about its environment and passes up opportunities to make
environmental forces work in its favour. This presupposes that certain types of
environments tend to be favourably disposed towards a specific leadership
ideal-type. A review of the African experience suggests at least four possible
leadership-environment combinations, viz:

a) a state of nature' which favours patrimonial and predatory leadership;
b) an environment in which competition is "deflected" or restricted (this is a
haven for buccaneers and ethically flexible oligarchs);
c) decomposed systems or environments in need of 'redemption' (these
respond to entrepreneurial but autocratic leadership thrusts); and
d) d)rapidly changing and competitive, "market" environments (these favour
policy entrepreneurs who are capable of exploring "market
opportunities", responding to demands from citizen-consumers, and
competing on a level playing field).

Leader-Predator

In a state of nature, power gravitates towards the creature with the monopoly
of terror. The animal kingdom is a perfect example of an environment
characterized by the routine decimation of the weak by the strong. In such an
environment, the question of who gets what is neither based on consensus nor
put to a ballot. No formal rules exist for peaceful resolution of conflict.

Rights are conferred by individual desire but determined by strength (usual,
physical, but sometimes, mental).

The patrimonial model of governance is the human form of predatory
leadership. Its natural habitat is a society that is largely primitive, agrarian,
inward-looking, and, in view of conflicting primordial loyalties, lacking in a
clearly defined "sense of direction". It is a clean slate waiting to be written on,
a virgin territory in need of exploitation.

In such a society, popular participation in governance and development tends
to be restricted by low literacy, urbanization, and social mobilization rates.
Communication technology tends to be at the rudimentary stage, and the flow
of information tends to be highly restricted.

It is in such an environment that a strong father figure (the "supreme ruler")
frequently emerges. He begins by staking a claim on a "virgin" territory and
appropriating to himself the sovereign powers. In case a rival entertains any
hope of dislodging the leader, the latter pre-empts the former's moves through
systematic application of terror and the appointment of trusted lieutenants to
command and control positions. Every institution that matters - the age-grades,
the medicine-men, the rain-makers, and, in modern societies, the legislature,
the judiciary, the civil service, the central bank, and, naturally, the armed
forces - are viewed as part of the ruler's personal house-hold.

It goes without saying that considerations of development and governance
reform are secondary in the calculations of the patrimonial ruler. The
environment is too submissive to make demands along those lines. The ruler
himself regards the state as his personal property - to be disposed off in any
manner he deems fit. For example, besides exercising authority over every
member of the group and overseeing the allocation of land for farming, the

Yoruba bale was entitled to gifts of farm produce from members, and to a "leg
of every animal or foul offered for any sacrifice in the compound" (Forde,
1962:11). In the Zande community (Reining, 1966:16), the chiefs

"combined in their offices all political and administrative
functions as well as many economic ones. They were the military
and political leaders and the wealthiest men."

Changes within the patrimonial environment and without, most frequently
signal the need for a change in leadership, or at least, in leadership style. Yet,
predatory leadership tends to be too set in its ways to read danger signals in the
environment or to "evolve" to a more democratic form of political control.
Like the creatures in the animal kingdom (that have no back-up plans for wild-
life poaching, or rapid depletion of forest cover), the leader-predator tends to
be too blinded by self-interest to perceive looming threats.

Buccaneer-Oligarchs and the "Power Seekers"

The conclusion that can be drawn from the preceding analysis is that predatory
leadership finds its niche in a leaderless environment - one lacking in vibrant
government and civil society institutions. There is, however, another category
of environment - one in which formal political and social institutions exist, but
the rules to apply in recruiting or retrenching the institutions' leaders are either
not clear, if clear, are subject to manipulation by an oligarchy.

Under the liberal democratic principle, for instance, the sovereign powers of
the state belong to the elector, who, at regular intervals, casts his/her vote to
underscore preferences for particular candidates, policy platforms, or labels.
Thus, based on universal adult suffrage, free elections are conducted to decide
"who governs" over a period.

The rule outlined above pressuposes that rival candidates would articulate their
ideas on governance and development, and attempt to "sell" these ideas to
potential "consumers" - i.e., the electors. The rule portrays the political space
essentially as a "market" in which rival suppliers of goods/services meet
individual consumers.

The competitive, market model seldom works in the political arena the way it
was conceived in economics. As noted by Gailbraith (1977:29) and Haefele
(1971:350), marginal analysis exhibits two fundamental flaws when
transplanted from economics to politics. The first is its assumption of
consumer sovereignty, while the second it is failure to anticipate the
probability of government using its monopolistic power to raise the "scarcity
value" (or price) of public goods.

The consumer sovereignty that underlies marginal analysis is, in the real world
of politics, a myth. Inequalities in access to education, information, and
material wealth most frequently translate into inequalities in the political
"market". But even more significant is the general inclination towards
monopolistic control in the political arena. Neither the "ruling" party nor any
of the opposition groups can claim to embody the free will of each and every
member. These parties are, at best, oligopolies, at worst, monopolistic, one-
party arrangements.

With all their imperfections, political parties still represent the main
instrumentality for sustaining competition in democratic political systems. The
problem lies in the ease with which the imperfections could be capitalized
upon by buccaneer-oligarchs. These category of "leaders" might have been
democratically elected or might have used the bayonet in place of the ballot
box. Either way, their ascension to power tends to be characterized by
systematic violation of the basic competitive rules.

Depending on their reading of environmental signals, the buccaneer-oligarchs
employ different methods to restrict or "deflect" competition and, in the
process, consolidate their positions. The methods include the co-option of
opponents, the judicious dispensation of patronage, subtle manipulation of
religious and ethnic sentiments and symbols, and occasional recourse to the
use of terror (Jackson and Rosberg, 1982:25-6; Balogun, 1997:239-241). To
the buccaneer-oligarch, the state is a business enterprise which presents
boudless "profit-making" opportunities to those controlling it.

The buccaneer-oligarch is therefore driven not by the will to serve but by the
fear of the "consequences of not being in control of the government...." (Ake,
1994). To him, power is to be valued above everything else, and morality is of
little significance. Accordingly, s/he will stop at nothing to wrest power from
opponents and retain it. For all s/he cares, corruption may continue to thrive,
institutions may decompose, the basic public services may grind to a halt, and
the entire nation may even be dragged to an excruciating war. Under the
system of government favoured by the buccaneer-oligarch - the system
Barbara Darling (1997:1) terms "entrepreneurial autocracy" - what matters is
not the revitalization of the economy, the enhancement of public service
productivity, or the advance of democracy. Rather, it is acquisition of power
for personal gain and aggrandizement. As the quintessential cynic, the
buccaneer-oligarch believes him/herself free to act,

"unrestrained by concerns with the rights of others, constitutional
checks and balances, or even prudence" (Harrison, 1992:13).

The only way to check-mate the "entrepreneurial autocrat" is to come up with
a strategy that appears in every sense better informed on environmental
conditions and demands. Unfortunately, the general tendency on the part of

those seeking to dislodge the buccaneer is to "react" to his/her moves. If s/he
flies a religious or ethnic kite, the opponents follow suit, and by so doing,
reinforce the barriers to rational communication. If s/he dangles ministerial or
corporation appointments, the ethically flexible members of the opposition go
for the bait first and reason much later. In effect, uncoordinated action against,
and sloppy responses to, the buccaneer-oligarch's competition-deflecting
tactics, becomes an environmental factor in the survival of this type of
leadership.

Anti-Corruption Crusaders

At times, the conditions prevailing in the environment call for another - i.e.,
the crusading - type of leadership response. Such conditions include large-
scale human rights violations, systemic corruption, war weariness, mass
poverty and deprivation, and constant loss of national prestige.

While the preceding conditions are necessary for the emergence of the
crusading type of leadership, they are not sufficient to bring crusaders to
power. The socio-economic and/or political malignancy must not only have
reached the terminal phase, but must have generated enough public revulsion
to strengthen the hands of the potential reformers.

A distinction needs to be made between genuine crusaders and the so-called
"corrective" regimes. While the former is really intent on removing past
abuses and placing the system on a path of rectitude, the latter may be an
apologia for predatory or oligarchic leadership of the worst type.

Sage-within, King-without

The fourth leadership ideal-type meshes with environments in which seminal
ideas and innovative approaches are highly valued. In such environments, the
leader that is most likely to succeed is that who combines what the renowned
Chinese philosopher, Confucius, termed "sageliness within" with "kingliness
without". The sage-king (Plato's "philosopher-king") places high premium on
two types of knowledge - "other-wordly" or philosophical speculations, and
"this-wordly", practical knowledge.

The sage-king is different from the ordinary run of leaders mainly in terms of
his/her definition of success. In what reads like a job description, another
Chinese sage, Mo Tzu, identified the success indicators:

"Of old when God ... established the state and cities and installed
rulers, it was not to make their rank high or their emoluments
substantial.... It was to procure benefits for the people and
eliminate their adversities; to enrich the poor and increase the
few; and to bring safety out of danger and order out of
confusion" (Fung Yu-Lan, 1948).

The sage in the king most frequently takes him beyond spatio-temporal
experience. This enables him, among other things, to "see things in the light of
Heaven", and to take a universalistic, rather than primordial view of day-to-
day occurrence. His view of the world transcends the finite and is underscored
by the belief that:

"The right is an endless change. The wrong is also an endless
change. But the man who sees things from the point of view of
the Tao stands...at the centre of the circle." (Fung Yu-Lan, 1948).

When worldly issues become dominant and pressing, the king in the sage takes
over. All the same, the sageliness within does not recede totally. It manifests
as an impulse towards constant improvement in citizen welfare, a contempt for
short-termism, and a disposition towards long-term, strategic planning. The
philosopher-states person is thus apt to be a policy entrepreneur, one capable
of "re-inventing" the entire government machinery to anticipate, and respond
to, the demands of the "citizen-customer". In this role, the sage-king joins
other world leaders who take risks, analyse the costs and benefits of their
actions, encourage innovative management practices, and hanker after
productivity gains (Schneider, et al, 1995:6; and Osborne and Gaebler,
1992:19-20).

Moral values (such as those of patriotism, self-denial, honour, integrity,
endurance, fairness, and compassion) guide the conduct of the sage-king. S/he
exudes, and looks for in subordinates, the attributes similar to those integrated
into the training of administrative cadets in the former Northern Region of
Nigeria - the attributes of courage, self-reliance, initiative, adaptability,
comportment, responsibility, self-restraint, and ability to work under
conditions of sustained physical and mental stress (Kirk-Greene, 1960:6).

The question may be asked if the sageliness and kingliness combinations are
relevant only to holders of formal leadership positions. Besides presidents and
prime ministers, political party and company board chairpersons, and hockey
or soccer team captains, is it possible to trace attributes of philosopher-
kings/queens in an "ordinary" person?

While the "stuff" of which leaders are made is beyond the scope of this paper,
it can safely be argued that it is in an "ordinary" person that leadership
qualities best manifest themselves and present limitless opportunities for
objective assessment. Afterall, it is not unknown for formal positions to
"inflate" the importance of individual personalities - i.e., to clothe natural-born
followers in the garb of a leader.

It must be stressed that the human personality is too complex to be easily
understood. What was once a meek, humble, and pleasant character may
subsequently turn up in public office as a monster. An individual who is
renowned for "getting along" with everybody may, on being elevated to high
office, insist on having his/her way on every subject. All the same, and apart
from the tell-tale signs which any careful observer should be able to pick,
psychological testing methods can be applied to identify the real person behind
the mask. The popular colleague - the one who never disagrees with anyone,
and has no opinion on any subject - might be interested in something which
s/he cannot get any other way, and certainly not in an open and fair
competition.

Environment Change and Leadership Response: An Overview

Leadership testifies to the fact that history both repeats and renews itself. It
repeats itself when leadership response to contemporary problems lags terribly
behind environmental change. It is obvious that a leader who stands still in a
rapidly changing environment will, sooner or latter, take his/her people back in
time. (See Fig. A for a diagrammatic illustration of the leadership-environment
nexus).

In contrast, through bold, new initiatives, a leader may move his/her society
forward in time. Thus a person aspiring to a leadership position in a multi-
ethnic society may, instead of nursing what s/he considers historically justified
ethnic grievances, target issues that touch upon the life and well-being of the
collectivity. In effect, therefore, leadership entails undertaking what is referred
to in strategic management as SWOT analysis. This is an analysis of:

Strengths (organizational, financial, human resources waiting to be
tapped);

Weaknesses (organizational, financial, human resource constraints);

Opportunities (to change the environment for the better and, in the
process, capture/retain power);

Threats (particularly, environmental threats to the realization of
objectives).

Using the SWOT analytic scheme described above, we may wish to find out
what the strengths and weaknesses of leadership are in Africa, and how
visionary leadership can maximize opportunities for change while minimizing
the threats.

Let us start with opportunities awaiting visionary leadership. This may come
as a shock, but the chance to make a difference as a leader lies in Africa's
currently negative outlook - the devastating socio-economic crisis, the largely
poor governance record, the widening civil conflict and border confrontations,
the growing refugee population, the decaying infrastructure, etc. Stemming the
multiple crises is certainly a daunting challenge, but being in a position to act
is an opportunity which the leadership class ought not to let go.

The socio-economic situation seems to have improved slightly in recent years.
In contrast to the late 1980s and the early 1990s, a growing number of
countries in Sub-Saharan Africa recorded positive GDP per capita growth
between 1995 and 1996. In 1996, alone, 20 countries registered GDP growth
of 5 per cent or higher. However, the 6 per cent growth target which,
The Nature and Magnitude of Leadership Challenge in Africa

according to conservative estimates, needs to be achieved to gain the ground
lost in the 1980s, is still beyond the reach of a number of countries.

With a total (1996) population of 600 million, 10 per cent of the world's 6
billion people are Africans. Yet, the continent accounts for only 5 per cent of
the $244 billion capital inflow to developing countries, and only 2.4 per cent
of the developing countries' foreign direct investment of $109.5 billion.
According to the World Bank, close to 40 per cent of the people live on less
than $1 per day, i.e., $365 per year.

Total external debt stood at $235 billion in 1996. The debt burden is
confounded by the growing debt, servicing obligations, and worsening terms
of trade. Lack of diversification of the economic base presents a major
structural problem. With the possible exception of a few countries, the
economy tends to be dependent on a narrow range of export (mostly primary)
products. Industrial manufacturing remains largely under-developed, and
investment in technological innovation is low.

The prevailing economic conditions have spilled over to the social sector.
Besides the collapse of health, education, and other social services - a
consequence of the austerity measures adopted as part of structural adjustment
programmes - a growing number of people have had to adjust to a steady
deterioration in the quality of life. Evidence of this deterioration are the
swelling ranks of the unemployed, the growing incidence of crime and threats
to personal security, and the worsening environmental and ecological
conditions. Up to 35 per cent have no access to health services of any kind; 54
per cent are without access to potable water; and the illiteracy rate is around 47
per cent of the total population.

Super-imposed on the socio-economic crisis is the crisis of governance and
security. Ethnic conflict and political differences have, in some cases,
developed into large-scale military confrontations. Besides diverting resources
away from development to armaments procurement, these confrontations have
uprooted large communities and turned them into refugees in foreign lands or
beggars and scavengers in their own countries. As at 1994, there were
approximately 2.2 million refugees from Rwanda, 795,000 from Liberia,
536,000 from Somalia, 397,000 from Sudan, 389,000 from Burundi, 284,000
from Angola, 275,000 from Sierra Leone, 234, 000 from Mozambique, and
211,000 from Chad (UNDP, 1996:26). The figures from the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Congo Brazzaville, and Guinea Bissau were not available
at the time of writing.

There is no doubt that with the opportunities for change come threats. Any
leader wishing to turn the generally bad situation around would have to reckon
with natural and artificial barriers. These include weak state and civil society
institutions, a lack of consensus on basic governance ethos, ethnic and
religious divisions, and status-quo-oriented but powerful vested interests.

The momentum (i.e., the strengths) needed to resolve the governance crisis
and clear the way for long-term development would appear to have been
counter-balanced by the multiple weaknesses. Prominent among these is the
mismatch betweeen the prevailing environmental conditions, on the one hand,
and leadership response, on the other. A good illustration of this is the blunder
committed by the late general Sani Abacha in opting for a combination of the
predatory and the buccaneering style in a complex, relatively competitive and
rapidly changing society like Nigeria. Even if the general had managed to pull
off his "self-succession" gambit, the long-term consequences would have been
disastrous. Peace and development under his regime would have been
thwarted by the systematic plundering of national resources, the weakening of

state and civil society institutions, the gross human rights violations, and, the
elimination of dissent through the application of terror and "extreme
prejudice".

As far as one can see, the key to success lies in leaders respecting, and abiding
by, the judgement of their followers. This will require a totally different
attitude towards the acquisition, retention and/or renewal of the sovereign
power of the state. However, as the next section reveals, the challenge ahead
is in reworking the leadership recruitment equation in such a way that the
popular choice becomes the decisive factor.

The role of pro-democracy groups in organizing resistance to autocracy needs
to be underscored. In Nigeria, NADECO and the various human rights
organizations sensitized the people to the dangers of Abacha's "self-
succession" plans. In this regard, one must commend the role of Chief
Anthony Enahoro, Chief Olu Falae, Alhaji Balarabe Musa and the late Chief
Michael Ajasin. Outside NADECO, General Olusegun Obasanjo and his
former Chief of Staff, the late Shehu Musa Yar'adua, put national interest
above personal liberty and convenience. All these individuals displayed the
stuff of which visionary leadership is made. Their exemplary behaviour
certainly distinguishes them from General Ibrahim Babangida who, in a bid to
stay alive, abdicated the responsibility for the protection of the mandate freely
conferred on the late Chief M K O Abiola by the people of Nigeria.

While on the issue of resistance to autocratic rule, the point needs to be made
that the strategy adopted by some groups tends to play into the hands of their
opponents. An example is the way supporters of the late Chief Abiola allowed
the late General Abacha to pin an ethnic label on the clear mandate which the
whole of Nigeria had given to the late Chief on June 12 1993. As the
experience of FORD and the proliferating opposition splinter groups in Kenya

reveals, ethnicity tends to hinder rather than help the cause of governance
reform in highly polarized settings.

If the pro-democracy groups do their homework, they are likely to discover
that there are among them individuals who do not need to wave ethnic or
religious flags to get to leadership positions. This is certainly the case with
former President Leopold Senghor of Senegal and the late Chief M.K.O
Abiola of Nigeria. The same could have applied to the late Chief Obafemi
Awolowo in Nigeria, the late Oginga Odinga in Kenya, Etienne Tshishekedi in
the Democratic Republic of Congo, and John Frundi in Cameroon.

With specific reference to Nigeria, a leader with immense potential is Chief
Olu Falae. He has not only discharged himself creditably in highly strategic
positions, he has also demonstrated his capacity to work with reform-minded
individuals from different parts of the country. The same applies to John
Oyegun, Solomon Lar, and Dan Sulaiman. Outside NADECO, it is possible to
identify pro-reform elements like Mohammadu Arzika, Bala Usman, Col.
Abubakar Umar, Ms Chris Anyanwu, and Alhaji Balarabe Musa, among
others.

It was not General Obasanjo's ethnic origin that recommended him as an
acceptable successor to the late General Murtala Mohammed but his (General
Obasanjo's) personal leadership qualities. A Dr Akinyanju (Punch, August 11,
1998:25) recently criticized the Genenral for rejecting an ethnic leadership
mantle. According to the biological sciences don, General Obasanjo "cannot
even read Nigerian politics correctly." If, as argued in the next section,
leadership goes beyond the mad scramble for power, it is the doctor, not the
General, who needs a new pair of reading glasses.

Patterns in Leadership Recruitment and Retrenchment

It can be deduced from the preceding analysis, that the leader's moral authority
is as significant as, if not more important than the power that formal positions
confer. Yet, the experience to date appears to suggest that the acquisition (and
rentention) of power takes precedence over leadership obligations. The
methods of leadership recruitment and retrenchment provide ample
illustrations.

The point needs to be made - and emphatically too - that moral turpitude is
neither a defining attribute nor a monopoly of generations of African leaders.
In fact, Africa is blessed with world-class leaders (among them, Mwalimu
Julius Nyerere, Leopold Sedar Senghor, Q. Masire, Nelson Mandela, and the
Chairman of the Africa Leadership Forum, General Olusegun Obasanjo). In
contrast, leadership depravity outside the Africa continent has opened the door
to racial discrimination, genocidal wars, institution decay, and monumental
waste of resources.

However, if truth be told, the process of leadership recruitment and renewal in
a number of African countries is still fraught with problems and occasionally
liable to be mired in controversy. Instead of conceding to the followership the
right to choose from its own ranks the person(s) to undertake leadership roles,
individuals apply methods, fair and foul, to impose themselves on the people.
Before examining the various recruitment methods, it is necessary to assess the
measures adopted to prepare the various categories of leaders for their role.

Preparing for Burdens of Political Leadership

Everything being equal, leadership is a burden placed by many on a few. It
entails finding solutions to nagging communal problems, taking difficult,
sometimes unpleasant and unpopular, decisions, and, on top of one's regular

job commitments, overseeing implementation of agreed measures. As an
illustration, a neighbourhood might have been terrorized over a period of time
by armed gangs. It takes a leader to identify the problem, sensitize the entire
neighbourhood to the need for action, solicit ideas on various security options,
and getting a largely apathetic public to participate in community policing
arrangements or to contribute to a neighbourhood patrol fund.

Monarchic rule is based on the assumption that some individuals are cut out -
nay, divinely chosen - for this kind of role. At times, even those with royal
blood flowing in their veins, and the "aura" of leadership radiating from their
bodies, need to undergo some form of preparation for the responsibility that
the job of "leading" entails. So it is that before ascending the throne, princes
and princesses are exposed to formal and informal training on etiquette,
comportment, the monarchy's obligations towards the citizenry and their
elected representatives, relations with the house-hold staff, use of language,
and other subjects deemed relevant to the effective performance of royal
duties.

This is where recruitment into the political leadership cadre appears relatively
deficient. Besides the charisma which some leaders bring to the political
scene, there is hardly any training or "apprenticeship" scheme which could
have prepared aspiring political leaders for their onerous responsibilities.

Child-rearing practices offer an opportunity for preparatory leadership
training. Yet, neither the traditional nor the "westernized" African has
adequately availed him/self of this facility. Among the Yoruba and in the
Hausa-Fulani communities of Nigeria, for example, the principle of seniority
governs child-rearing practices and reinforces the hierarchical authority of
elders and rulers. And among the Ibo, traditional religious beliefs and
superstitions are, according to Basden (1966:35-36),

"deeply ingrained in the minds and lives of the people; they are
blindly accepted by the adherents. No questions are raised as to
the whys and wherefores."

Whether at the nuclear or at the extended family level, the values imparted on
the child are those likely to support predatory and oligarchic leadership types.
Parents, siblings, and distant relatives never pass up the opportunity to drum
up into the child's ear a message that could be summarized as "Shut up,
Survive, and Succeed." If the child goes out to "confront the authorities", or to
question the judgement of an "elder", s/he is perceived as lacking in "home
training". The attributes of courage, initiative, and perseverance (which make
the environment hostile to predatory and oligarchic, but conducive to
reforming, leadership) are often regarded by family members as too "risky" to
be developed in the child.

Religious institutions have a role to play in propagating the necessary
leadership values. As a matter of fact, a few clerics have, at great personal
risk, been known to castage corrupt rulers. Unfortunately, the steady
commercialization of religion (particularly by the spirit mediums, television
evangelists, and native medicine men) has contributed in no small measure to
the distortion of religious values.

Western education has to some extent changed the African's world view, but it
has yet not adequately highlighted the nature and challenges of political
leadership in changing environments. While additional and more systematic
studies need to be carried out, anecdotal evidence points towards abysmal
ignorance and/or misconstruction (particularly, among the younger generation
of Africans) of the concept of leadership. School children know little or
nothing about the basic government institutions, about politics and politicians,

and about policies and programmes. What is more interesting is that when
asked what kind of jobs they would like to have after leaving school, the
majority of children polled in a particular school ticked the offices of "military
governor", minister, and customs inspector - not necessarily, in that order.

The signals constantly picked from the environment have not helped much to
foster healthy public attitudes towards government or to educate potential
leaders about their role. Apart from the occasional radio and television jingles
on the evils of corruption and the need for "personal sacrifice in the interest of
the nation", the un-ending stories of grand corruption and fraud in public
offices tend to nurture and reinforce cynical attitudes towards political
leadership roles. Unless and until there arise in state institutions and in civil
society, leaders of exemplary character - those who, as mentioned in the
Qur'an, invite to righteousness, enjoin equity, and forbid evil - preparatory
leadership training will have minimal impact, and political leadership
recruitment will remain problematic.

Professional and Political Components of Military Training

We have up to now focused on preparations for political leadership roles. If
we turn to the military, we are likely to see a different picture. What marks the
military from their civilian counterparts is the attention given by the former to
training - more significant, leadership training. At least two patterns are
discernible, training for professional development, and for political control.

In countries where civilians remain firmly in control, emphasis, in the training
of the officer corps, is on the enhancement of professionalism and overall
military capability. The curriculum of the typical military staff college is thus

likely to feature purely military subjects, e.g., strategy and tactics, organization
and management of depots and commands, weapons handling,
communications and logistics, military law and code of justice, physical and
psychological endurance training.

However, in countries where the relationship between civilian political
leadership and military professionalism has been inverted, the training of the
officer corps tends to underscore the role and "obligations" of the military to
conquer, subdue, and dominate the environment. Thus besides the
conventional military topics forming part of the curricula of staff colleges and
other command training institutions, trainees are expected to study, and pass
examinations in, subjects such as politics, sociology, economics, international
relations, and public administration. In effect, the politically ambitious military
tends to acquire a capability in excess of its professional requirements. That
way, it ensures that its members can match, if not out-do, the civilians brain-
for-brain. Oladimeji (1990:235) sums up the military's perception of the role of
training. According to the Navy Captain, the training received by members of
the officer corps, when combined with the discipline fostered by hierarchy,
prepares the military for national service - a service that transcends ethnic or
religious loyalties.

Training for Leadership in the Civil Bureaucracy

The orientation of the career civil service is critical to the achievement of goals
set by any particular leadership category. Afterall, the service plays a major
role in advising on policies and programmes, assembling the data needed in
taking decisions, and most important of all, carrying out political instructions,
no matter how disagreeable or unpopular those instructions are. Leaders who

take the enforcement of their orders/decisions seriously therefore attach a lot
of importance to the selection, if not the training, of top officials (like
permanent secretaries, managing directors and chief executives of parastatal
bodies, and, in some countries, local government chair-persons).

Partly as a recognition of the importance of training, and partly to be seen as
emulating others, a number of African countries established in the 1960s and
70s institutions for the training of civil servants. Variously referred to as
administrative staff colleges, schools and faculties of public administration,
and institutes of development management, these institutions were generally
expected to contribute towards the administrative modernization efforts of
governments by organizing high-level policy management seminars,
undertaking applied research studies, and advising on measures aimed at
enhancing the productivity and effectiveness of government agencies.

However, with the exception of a few, the IPAs have made little conscious
effort to impart leadership skills in, or disseminate the supporting values
among the policy advisory and senior management cadres of the public
service. They have focused mainly on the organization of short-duration
induction courses for administrative cadets, management techniques
workshops for the intermediate categories, and courses in such specialized
areas as finance and accounting, procurement, and computer software
applications.

While most public institutions have felt the impact of structural adjustment
measures, the IPAs appear to have been targeted for resource starvation.
Balogun's (1992:135) assessment is still applicable today, i.e.,

"... with the possible exception of a few, the training institutes
that were established amidst high hopes in the early sixties are,
as with other institutions, threatened with decay. They have
either lost their bearing or have succumbed to neglect and, in any
case, have stood out as a monument to unfulfilled expectations."

If it is accepted that the policy ambitions of leaders cannot be realized in the
absence of a professionally competent, adequately motivated, and properly
trained civil service, the time would appear to be ripe to begin to develop or
revitalize the leadership of the service. As part of the development and
revitalization effort, attention needs to be directed towards the training of top
officials - with emphasis being given to the inculcation of leadership skills,
like strategic planning, and of the underlying attributes, particularly, integrity,
courage and tenacity, self-reliance, adaptability, initiative, and public
spiritedness. The training should also include a physical and mental endurance
element - the Man O' War type, which was an integral part of the training of
the first generation of administrative officers in the former Northern Region of
Nigeria.

Leadership Recruitment Process

It should be clear by now that the importance accorded to the design of formal
training programmes varies from one leadership group to the other. The
military appears to have paid the greatest attention to the acquisition of
professional - and to a certain extent, political leadership - skills. While
leadership has not been consciously and adequately integrated into the
curricula of civil service training institutions, these institutions have developed
programmes aimed at imparting technical and supervisory, middle

management skills. The civilian political class appears to have taken the rear
as far as preparatory leadership training is concerned.

Lack of formal preparations has not deterred the politicians from aspiring to
leadership roles, although it might have affected the on-the-job performance of
some of them. One thing is clear, only a few politicians belong to, or can
expect in the near future to apply for the membership of, the highly prestigious
sage-kings' club. This exclusive club is made up of persons who have been
tried and tested in different leadership roles. They have probably served in
low-level capacities and, after learning on the job and having proved
themselves worthy of being trusted with their followers' mandate, moved to
top leadership positions. Where they did not die fighting for human dignity
(like Patrice Lumumba in the Congo and Thomas Sankara in Burkina Faso)
they underwent training in the "school of life", i.e., in prison or under equally
unpleasant conditions. They thus ascended leadership positions fully
conscious of the evils of oppression and the virtues of public service.

While some of the leaders of the independence struggle remained steadfast in
their commitment to the ideals of good governance, a few of their
contemporaries went the predatory way. This latter category of leaders, having
"brought in independence", perceived the entire state apparatus as their
personal belonging. The vehicle for consolidating their hold on the state was
the single party. Membership of the party was not only a mark of honour, it
was evidence of "unstinted loyalty" to the leader. Membership conferred
immense privileges - particularly, access to positions of power in government,
in the career bureaucracy, and in the parastatal organizations. A party member
who fell out of favour could expect to be "recyled" to a more influential
position, but on one condition, that s/he demonstrated beyond doubt, her/his
loyalty to the leader. The generally accepted "indicators" of loyalty are
financial contributions to the party, frequent and conspicuous diplay of the

leader's picture on personal apparels, and, most ludicurous, flattering the leader
by imitating his sartorial preferences).

Loyalty to an individual also determined who is in and who is out in military
regimes of the clientelist and predatory variety. Thus, believing that total
control was not guaranteed by the frequent "reorganization" of command
positions in the armed forces and the periodic reshuffle of the federal cabinet,
the Abacha regime sought to out-do the preceding Babangida regime by filling
the "positions of confidence" in the public service with trusted aides, and
reserving the right to decide who was appointed to the position of state
commissioner or local government chairperson (Campell, 1994:193; Ibrahim,
1995). The patron-client process was not confined to the appointment of top
government functionaries but permeated every layer of the organization. As
noted by Balogun (1997:243),

"... having invested a lot of time and effort acquiring a
prebendary, and almost as much time retaining it, the average
official in a clientelist regime tends to build his/her own network
of loyalists, retainers, and favour-seekers."

The buccaneer-oligarch's approach to leadership recruitment is slightly more
refined than that of the predator. Like the latter, the former is interested in
maintaining control and will rule out no option - including substituting his
personal ambition for the will of the majority. The methods applied in
capturing and retaining power varies, depending upon whether the oligarch
sprang from the civilian ranks or from the military. As a civilian, the oligarch
is not averse to the purchase of voter registration cards, recourse to terror and
intimidation, systematic rigging of the electoral process, or the switching of
election results. Ethnicity also features in the political calculations of the
buccaneer-oligarch.

If the military is his "constituency", the oligarch would most probably have
staged a coup and overthrown the existing constitutional order. On capturing
power, he will, everything being equal, proceed to reward loyalists - that is,
those who proved most helpful at the coup planning and execution stages.
Potential candidates for key command and government positions are those
who had developed strong links with the "other ranks", secured key
installations, operated vital communication systems, and possibly, showed up
for action in case of "enemy resistance."

Lacking in a popular base, oligarchic regimes (like their predatory
counterparts) are likely to lean heavily on individuals within civil society who
appear to command a following, no matter how localized and how tenuous that
following is. It is this power-brokers (the local "strong men") who serve as a
link between an otherwise closed regime and particular interest groups. The
regime in turn reciprocates its agents' loyalty by appointing the latter's
nominees to key government and parastatal positions. It is highly unlikely
that the regime ever carries out any inquiry into the background of the
nominees or subjects them to professional competence, ethical uprightness,
and psychological fitness tests.

The buccaneer's old classmates, relatives, friends and trusted business partners
are also likely to exercise some influence in the appointment of officials. Olu
Awotesu's contribution to the Constituent Assembly's debate in 1977
(Proceedings of Constituent Assembly, 1977:190) captures the essence of
oligarchic rule:

"People who have found themselves in power in this country have
always seen it as an opportunity to enrich themselves and the
immediate members of their families. The military are not better.

They are even worse. They appointment Commissioners (from)
among their friends, their classmates and their village brethren."

However, realizing that incompetence was likely to threaten the survival of the
newly subdued empire, the oligarch would sometimes "bend the rule" by
seeking out professionally qualified subordinates. The Babangida regime
provides an illustration. It is generally acknowledged that this regime set the
stage for the corruption and gross human rights abuses that characterised the
rule of the late general Sani Abacha (Ibrahim, 1995; Joseph, 1995). Yet, there
is no doubt that Babangida knew how to pick, use, and, if considered
expedient, discard talent. The Political Bureau was staffed with the best brains
Nigeria could field. Key ministries (such as Health, Finance, and Foreign
Affairs) were headed by relatively competent individuals. The highly inspiring
speeches which the General delivered at the National Institute for Policy and
Strategic Studies and at other public fora were drafted by renowned scholars.
And when he fired Eme Awa for not being sufficiently pliable as chairman of
the electoral commission, Babangida appointed another eminent political
science professor, Humphrey Nwosu, in his place.

The Babangida regime in any case shares a number of attributes with, and
probably learnt a few lessons from, the Gowon Administration which preceded
it. Despite a commendable beginning, the latter was indicted on grounds of
carrying "corruption to an unparalleled degree in the history of Nigeria"
(Jemibewon, 1978). Yet, it was the Gowon regime that promoted the spirit of
reconciliation which, in turn, accelerated the reintegration of the former Biafra
into the Nigerian federation. It was under the Gowon regime that an ambitious
programme of development and reconstruction was implemented to respond to
post-war challenges. The commissioners (particularly, the late Chief Obafemi
Awolowo) and their permanent secretaries were generally professionally
qualified and experienced individuals.

Apparently success had gone into the head of the Gowon regime. By the mid-
70s, leadership drift was so much visible that something had to be done about
it. The cement "armada", the petrol queues, the shortage of "essential
commodities", and the widespread corruption - all these pointed to a system
that was at an advanced stage of decomposition.

It was the drift that the Mohammed and, subsequently, the Obasanjo regimes
were out to stem. The first nation-wide broadcast by the late general Murtala
Mohammed on 30 July 1975, about summed up the leadership crisis
confronting Nigeria:

"After the civil war, the affairs of State, hitherto a collective
responsibility, became characterized by lack of consultation,
indecision, indiscipline and even neglect...."

The overthrow of the Gowon regime revealed another side of leadership - the
moral side. While the regime had assembled professionally competent officials
to proffer solutions to the post-war reconstruction and development problems,
a fair number of these officials were subsequently found wanting in the ethical
department. This prompted the Mohammed-Obasanjo regime to embark on a
house-cleaning mission. By the time the exercise was completed, close to
10,000 officials had been relieved of their posts. The regime set a standard
which only one other (the Buhari-Idiagbon) regime attempted to uphold
between 1984 and 1985.

Civil Service Recruitment

While merit remains the principle underlying civil service recruitment in many
African countries, it is fair to say that other considerations have crept in to

rework the public personnel management equation. It goes without saying that
civil service recruitment has mirrored the general orientation of the political
leadership. Thus, ethnic and partisan political considerations are likely to be
strong in the recruitment decisions taken in predatory and oligarchic regimes,
while merit is essentially the guiding principle under reforming and visionary
leadership.

In some countries, appointment to top civil service positions is based on a
complex formula that weaves ethnic, regional and gender factors into vacancy
announcements. In yet a few others, senior positions are regarded as "posts of
confidence" which are subject to outright politicization. Lungu (1999:10) notes
that from 1991, recruitment into top civil service positions in Zambia became
skewed in favour of the Bemba-speaking adherents of the Movement for
Multiparty Democracy. Ethnicity is also a factor in appointment to senior
positions in Kenya although much less so in Zimbabwe (Lungu, 1999:10).

In recent years, some countries have begun to experiment with performance
contracts not only in the management of public enterprises but in the
appointment of senior officials. While it is still premature to assess the success
of the experiment, it deserves to be closely monitored. If it succeeds,
performance contracting deserves to be extended to areas of government in
which issues of productivity, "customer service" standards, and ethics and
accountability tend to be dominant. Example of agencies in need of
performance contracting are the police force, customs and revenue collection
authorities, vehicle testing and licensing offices, electricity and water supply
undertakings. Particularly in countries where public sector performance had
been characterised by extensive buccaneering practices, the reform agenda of
succeeding regimes should include the suspension of tenured appointments,

and the introduction, on a temporary basis, of fixed-term, contractual
appointments. The renewal of such appointments would then be contingent
upon the official's satisfactory conduct and performance.

Democratization and Leadership Recruitment

The account given in the preceding paragraphs largely appears to be dismal.
Yet, thanks to the recent achievements in the area of democratization, signs of
qualitative change in leadership and in recruitment methods are beginning to
be visible. In a growing number of cases, voter preferences are shaping the
policies of governments and influencing political recruitment processes.

But again, the effect of democratization on the recruitment process is mixed.
Whereas democratization has thrown public offices open to those who were
probably excluded in the past, it has also widened the political patronage net.
Political and civil service vacancies which were once filled on the basis of
merit now have to be "shared" among competing ethnic and political groups.
This is undoubtedly creating tension in a number of democratizing countries,
and in some cases, undermining civil service morale and hampering
productivity efforts.

It is gratifying to note that progress in leadership recruitment has been reported
in countries with a tradition of democratic participation (e.g., Mauritius and
Botswana) as well as in emerging democracies (South Africa, Namibia,
Ghana, Benin Republic, and Tanzania). The extent to which these countries
are able to sustain the achievements, to that will they serve as a beacon of hope
to the rest of the continent.

Reworking the Leadership and Development Equation:
Proposal and Summation

It must be clear by now that resolving Africa's governance crisis and clearing
the way for growth and development hinge on the adequacy of leadership
response to contemporary and future problems. The environment in which the
leader operates is relevant only in so far as it sends signals that the leader
ignores at his and/or his followers' peril.

In any case, leadership does not refer to an individual as such, but to an
institution that combines a sense of history with adequate knowledge of the
prevailing environmental forces and conditions, as a step towards fashioning
out a "willed future" for a group, a people, or a nation-state, howsoever
designated. Leadership entails building bridges across regional, ethnic,
religious, and cultural divides. Mutual exclusion strategies therefore have no
place in the calculations of individuals seeking to lead heterogeneous societies.

As leadership is meaningless outside the context of followership, they are the
true leaders who have the mandate, and enjoy the confidence, of their
constituencies. While originality of thought, a record of community service,
and/or evidence of self-denial for the sake of the collectivity may, among other
attributes, serve to propel individuals to leadership positions, a leader's
authority hinges in the final analysis on how far s/he is acknowledged by
her/his followers as possessing the required qualities. This is particularly the
case with political leadership which is rarely attested to by attendance at
formal training schools or by the possession of a "recognized" diploma.

Need for Leadership Training

Leadership training cannot, however, be dismissed as irrelevant. Besides the
military whose professional training sometimes incorporates leadership

modules, experience in royal circles supports the thesis that even those "born
to lead" most frequently require a form of preparatory and "on-the-job"
training. One who has never as much as retailed oranges cannot be reasonably
expected to transform instantly into a minister, a corporation chief executive,
or a company board chairperson. It is highly unlikely that one who has not
successfully run any outfit or held a recognized public office can hope to be
nominated for the office of president of the United States. Power can easily go
into the heads of upstarts, and costly errors may be committed by a person
lacking in a "feel" for, or experience in, the job.

Preparatory and on-the-job leadership training can take several different forms
- from formal and intensive training in policy analysis and strategic thinking,
through short duration leadership orientation seminars, to a graduated scheme
of "apprenticeship". Regardless of the type of programme that is supported at
any point in time, the Man O' War element (a combination of physical and
mental endurance training) should not be left out.
The Africa Leadership Forum certainly has a major role to play in sponsoring,
and if possibly, coordinating the three types of training mentioned above. The
extent of the Forum's involvement will, however, depend on the nature of the
training.

With regard to the first category - the formal and intensive leadership training,
the Forum will need to network with national and regional training institutions
with a view to agreeing on the structure, content, and duration of the
programme. A consensus should also be forged on the target group -
individuals in leadership positions in government, the career public service, the
private sector, and civil society, as well as those aspiring to such positions.
Above all, a suitable location (with Man 'O War facilities) should be
identified.

The second in the list of leadership training schemes is of the "refresher" type.
It is designed to re-orient "graduates" of the intensive programme to
contemporary challenges, and solicit their ideas on possible responses.

With respect to the "on-the-job" training, there is very little the Forum can do
beyond encouraging governments to put in place measures which would
encourage leaders to "start small" and, over a period of time, "grow big". The
small-to-big logic rests on the assumption that a local government chairman
would have been adequately prepared for the challenges of the office if s/he
had served in a lower capacity, say, local government secretary, or portfolio
councillor. And service at the level of a state commissioner is not only a good
preparation for the job of a federal minister, but enables the incumbent's
performance to be comprehensively and objectively assessed.

Leadership Selection

Training is not a panacea for success. Indeed the real test will come with the
selection of individuals for leadership positions. An error made at the
recruitment stage cannot be corrected by any other method besides the painful
one of termination or dismissal. The overall goal should be towards the
recruitment of individuals who share an ethical regeneration vision that is so
critical to the long-term development of the continent.

To ensure that the persons recruited to key positions do not turn out to be
misfits, it is advisable to begin to apply a more systematic selection procedure.
As applicable to senior-level career positions in the public service, vacancies at
ministerial and policy levels should now be widely advertised and eligible
candidates invited to compete. Political affiliation may be one of the eligibility
criteria but should not be the sole yardstick. For the avoidance of doubt,
political loyalty tests should be restricted to purely political levels, with merit

serving as the underlying principle of recruitment into career positions. Thus,
while the Head of the Civil Service and Secretary to the Cabinet is a post of
confidence, that of the Permanent Secretary or Managing Director is the apex
of the career service.

The screening of applications should include thorough background checks.
Specifically, information should be solicited on the short-listed candidates'
performance history, record of achievements, mental fitness, and personal
integrity. A panel of recruitment consultants should be assigned the task of
vetting the applications.

For "posts of confidence", the panel of consultants should work with
representatives/officials of the ruling party in interviewing and scoring the
candidates. For senior level but professional positions, the consultants should
be entrusted with the job of ranking the candidates based on interview
performance.

For highly sensitive positions - e.g., those of high court judge, member or
chairperson of electoral commission, cabinet minister, and ambassador - the
selection process should go a step further to provide for public or legislative
hearings.

Executive Performance Assessment

Since no selection method is perfect or foolproof, serious consideration should
be given to the recommendation that holders of government positions be
subjected to a process of contract renewal. Security of tenure is good in
principle. In practice it makes divorcing a wayward civil servant difficult or

impossible - even when it is clear that her marriage to the public has to all
intents and purpose broken down.
Whether the reference is to "posts of confidence" or to senior career positions,
it is essential that the performance of incumbents be periodically evaluated by
a panel of experts. The Executive Performance Assessment (EPA) should
focus on individual performance against pre-agreed targets, management and
supervisory achievements/failings, character traits/lapses having direct bearing
on the job or the image of government, how successful the individual has
coped with mental and physical stress, and the individual's perception of future
challenges the agency and his/her immediate organizational unit needs to
prepare for.

The Successor Generation

While the measures advocated in the preceding paragraphs partly address the
concerns regarding the coming generation of leaders, it is important that
specific suggestions be considered focusing on to how prepare future leaders
for the immense challenges ahead.

To fill the gaps in the current approaches to child-rearing, it is vital the
educational curricula be radically overhauled. Specifically, civic obligations
should now be made compulsory at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels.
Besides imparting knowledge on the role of government institutions, the
values (e.g. of integrity, courage, justice, accountability, patriotism) needed for
the effective operation of the institutions should also be taught as part of the
civic obligations course.

Institutional Capacity Implications

The recommendations outlined above have far-reaching institutional capacity
implications, and it is advisable that adequate feasibility studies be undertaken
before we proceed to the stage of actual implementation. Among the needed
preliminary measures are:

a) the conduct of empirical studies into contemporary experiences in the
implementation of some of the proposals (e.g. performance contracting);

b) the preparation of legislative instruments incorporating the lessons learnt
from on-going experiences and pointing the way to the future;
c) the reorganization of the agencies to coordinate the implementation of the
innovation (particularly, the civil service commission, the directorates of
personnel management, and the ministries/offices of establishments);

d) the design of forms (interview scoring sheets, performance contracts,
executive performance evaluation schedule); and

e) finally, the training of staff in the operation of the new system.

Bibliography

Adedeji, Adebayo, (1992), "'L' and 'M' Factors in the African Development
Equation", African Journal of Public Administration and Management, I. 1.

Ake, Claude (1994), in The News Magazine, 17 January 1994.

Allen, C., (1995), "Understanding African Politics", Review of African
Political Economy, 65.

Balogun, M. J., (1997), "Enduring Clientelism, Governance Reform and
Leadership Capacity: A Review of the Democratization Process in Nigeria,"
Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 15, 2.

(1992) "Policy and Management Training in Africa: Approaches and
Priorities", in M. J. Balogun and Gelase Mutahaba (eds.) Enhancing Policy
Management Capacity in Africa, West Harford, Kumarian Press.

Basden, G.T., (1966), Niger Ibos, London, Frank Cass.

Campbell, I. (1994), "Nigeria's Failed Transition: The 1993 Presidential
Election", Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 12, 2.

Forde, Daryll, (1962), The Yoruba-speaking Peoples of South-western
Nigeria, London, International African Institute.

Fung Yu-Lan, (1948), A Short History of Chinese Philosophy, New York, The
Free Press.

Haldenius, A. (1992), Democracy and Development, Cambridge, University
Press.

Ibrahim, J. (1995), "Obstacles to Democratization in Nigeria", Paper presented
at the University of Wisconsin's Conference on Dilemmas of Democracy in
Nigeria, Madison, 10-12 November 1995.

Jackson, R., and C. Rosberg (1982), Personal Rule in Black Africa, Berkeley,
University of California Press.
Jemibewon, D., (1978), A Combatant in Government, Ibadan, Heinemann
Educational.

Joseph, R., (1995), "The Dismal Tunnel: From Prebendal State to Rogue State
in Nigeria", paper presented at Wisconsin Conference on Nigeria,
November 1995.

Lijphart, A., (1977), Democracy in Plural Societies: a Comparative
Exploration, New Haven, Yale University Press.

Lungu, Gatian F., (1999), "Civil Service Neutrality in Anglophone Africa: a
Model for New Multiparty Democracies", African Journal of Public
Administration and Management, Vol XI, No. 1, January 1999.

Oladimeji, Naval Captain O.A. (1990), "The Military", Quarterly Journal of
Administration, Vol. XXIV, No. 3, April 1990.

Proceedings of the Constituent Assembly, (1977), Official Report, Vol. I,
Lagos, Federal Ministry of Information.

Reining, C.C., (1966), The Zande Scheme, Evanston, Illinois, Northwestern
University Press.

Spinoza, Benedict De, (1949), Ethics, New York, Hafner-Macmillan.

UNDP, (1996), Human Development Report, New York, Oxford University
Press.

By

Bilkisu Yusuf
4

Introduction:

The purpose of this paper is to explore the development of a gender
sensitive framework for sustainable youth leadership training in sub-
saharan Africa. The expectation is that such a framework will take due
cognisance of the role already being played by the youth in promoting
societal development and the challenges they face.

Composed of countries that reflect the diversity of African populations,
Africa displays varying trends in the level of youth involvement in
development. Yet the continent also parades countries, particularly in sub-
Saharan Africa, that are linked in different ways such as shared needs and
aspirations of their peoples for political stability, security and economic
development. African countries have also. worked together in regional and
Pan-African fora to improve national conditions, promote regional trade
and cooperation, conflict resolution-and peace initiatives, resource
management and networking.

The relevant questions that will emerge from this paper are: have the youth
been identified as a valuable resource within the fabric of society to be
used for strengthening the pursuit of these goals? Are the youth provided
with the opportunities they need to develop their full potentials in
contributing to societal development? Have African communities

4
Citizen Communications Limited, Kaduna, Nigeria
Evolving a Sustainable Youth Leadership
for Development:
A Gender Perspective

developed a mentoring process for the youth to ensure generational
succession and long-term success? What is Africa' doing about its younger
women, who too often like their older counterparts, are overlooked or
excluded from education, decision making, skills acquisition and other
training programmes? Is there a conscious effort to mainstream gender
into youth leadership training?

The Youth in Africa

The term youth defines that segment of the population comprising young
people who fall between ages 18 and 35. Africa has a large population of
youth because 63 percent of its population is under 25 years of age,
compared with 50 percent globally. This segment -of the continent's
population is growing rapidly; it is estimated that by the year 2005, there
will be a 27 percent increase in the number of people under the age of 25.
(UNFPA 1997).

In traditional African societies, the youth play a critical role in community
defence, development and sustenance, performing productive, reproductive
and community development functions. They are organised in age-grade of
young men and women and given specific functions. Full of youthful
strength and zeal, they are usually entrusted with defence and physically
demanding tasks, forming a large proportion of the army during wars and
undertaking productive activities such as farming, hunting, logging,
construction, digging etc. The youth age-grade was the backbone of
development in traditional societies and its existence among the Igbo of
Nigeria, the Zulu in South Africa the Poro or Sande in Sierra Leone, their
role in the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya, the existence of a youth leader
Zanna Du7'ima among the Kanuri underscore this.

African traditional societies have developed various processes that socialise
the youth in a positive way. However, some of these positive aspects are
being altered as societies strive to cope with modernisation and its
influence on traditional values and attitudes.

In contemporary African society, they continue to play an active role from
their involvement in the anti-colonial struggle the revolt against apartheid,
articulation and pursuit of Pan African ideals, to preservation of their
countries. In many African countries, labour force in industry, education,
which is a huge segment, the army, paramilitary forces, the police, the
professions, (law, medicine, journalism, banking engineering) and the
middle level service sector are all dominated by the youth. Athletics and
sports - a big business and also a global unifying sector - is sorely
dependent on the youth; they have become the celebrated sports
ambassadors of their countries and Africa in world tournaments.

Problems facing the Youth in Africa

The youth certainly occupy a critical sector in all spheres of life yet they
are also victims of the malaise plaguing our societies. Poverty in sub-
saharan Africa has been linked to the most serious problems facing the
youth as indeed other segments of the population. Changing economic
conditions of life in other parts of the world also impact on many African
countries which are saddled with a huge debt burden, declining income
from agricultural products thus undermining the ability of governments to
provide social services. Vital sectors such as health and education readily
come to mind, as the youth who receive poorer education also face the
pressure to contribute to family income often before completion of their
education. The poor youth are therefore multiply disadvantaged. Youth

serving agencies have identified some of the contemporary challenges
facing youth as follows:

i) Prevailing Value Crisis in Society:- There is confusion at the various
levels of society on the sanctity or fluidity of societal values and norms;
defence of human rights, democracy and justice.

ii) Societal Pressure: There is a strong pressure on the youth to succeed.
There is the burden to achieve, to perform certain tasks as set by the
society, parents, peers etc.

iii) Rapid social changes such as urbanisation, armed conflicts and war
require of the youth, the ability to cope with rapidly changing
circumstances often entailing drastic adjustments, inspirations, risk taking,
expectations, power pressure etc (We shall discuss the plight of children
in difficult or exceptional circumstances shortly.)
iv) Opportunity crisis: Limited access to education, jobs, income and social
esteem;

v) Cultural alienation of the youth: The youth are torn between conflicting
and multiplicity of cultures.
vi) Democratic Revolution which demands that the youth must assert and
defend their human rights as a matter of duty and self-affirmation.

vii) Scientific/Technical Revolution which imposes upon the youth the
acquisition of scientific art; although the infrastructure for this is
deficient.

viii) Information explosion, which implies that the youth must process much
more information even in its complicated forms than did their parents.
(Gana: 1 990).

Children in Difficult or Exceptional Circumstances

The foundations for a dynamic, articulate and motivated youth population
are laid during the years of childhood. Africa has neglected the needs of its
children. Deprived of basic rights, malnourished and diseased, the children
of Africa cannot grow into the responsive youth we need tomorrow.

The plight of children and by extension the youth in difficult or exceptional
circumstances has been recognised by the United Nations as a social
problem that demands priority attention. Various international and national
organisations have devised strategies to mitigate the hardship borne by these
categories of children and youth. The Organisation of Islamic Conference
(OIC) and the Islamic Fiqh Academy, IFA, define children in exceptional
and difficult circumstances as:-

i) Children who have lost both parents or one parent;
ii) Disabled children;
iii) Refugee children or those held in prison;
iv) Children born out of wedlock and abandoned children - foundlings;
v) Children in conditions of war and environmental and natural
disasters;
vi) Working children;
vii) Beggar children;

viii) Stateless children and
ix) Children born under military regimes.

The last category of children are included in order to reflect the subtle
militarisation of the psyche of children born and nurtured under military
regimes. In a country like Nigeria, the military have ruled the country for 28
of the country's 38 years since Independence. The effects of such prolonged
military rule is manifested in the way society is conceptualised by children
born in the post independence era who were too young to have experienced
life under a civilian regime. A military regime, no matter how benevolent, is
essentially a dictatorship. How can this category of youth understand what
democratic culture entails when all they have been exposed to is autocratic
culture. What does defence of fundamental human rights and essential
freedom mean to these youth? This is an area that has not been researched
and a challenge to Nigerian researchers.

We shall for the purpose of this discourse which is youth focused, highlight
conditions of youth and children in situations of armed conflict. Several
African countries are in the throes of prolonged insecurity and armed
conflict. Among these are Chad, Liberia, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Sierra
Leone, Congo, Uganda, Angola, Nigeria, Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda,
Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Niger, Mali, Mauritania etc.

Disturbed by the disastrous conditions to which children are subjected in
such conflict conditions, the UN General Assembly in 1993 called for a
study on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children. The study,
commissioned under the leadership of Ms Graca Machel, of Mozambique
examined the following:

??the protection and care of children affected by war;
??the adequacy of international standards;
??the physical and psychological recovery of children and their social
reintegration;
??and prevention of armed conflicts

The study revealed that in Africa, children as young as eight and ten years of
age have been forcibly recruited, coerced or induced to become combatants.
The exact figures of child soldiers are not available but the practice is
widespread. In Sierra Leone, about 3,000 children were recruited to swell
the rank of the rebel army as at June 1998 (Eziakonwa 1998). Many
children, youth and their communities were traumatised by the war. Indeed
some of the participants in the study were a group of young boys and girls
who lived through the horrors of the Liberian civil war. They told their
stories of sexual and gender violence, forceful recruitment as combatants
and hostages in a war they did not organise.

The plight of these traumatised children who have been denied their rights to
normal childhood has a direct impact on the youth, the future leaders that
would lead Africa in the next millennium. The concept of leadership
training for the youth can only take firm root in countries with functional
governments, a dynamic and active civil society not in a fragmented
community with a huge population of traumatised youth.

The study therefore recommended among several others, the immediate
demobilisation of child soldiers under the age of 18. it noted that while
clinical and medical treatment of war affected and traumatised children can

be effective, field experience has demonstrated that family and community-
centred approaches to psychological recovery and social integration are
significantly more effective and should be developed. It also recommended
that the War Trauma College in Liberia should be strengthened so that it can
serve as a regional training and research centre for West and Central Africa.

Many countries in SSA express commitment to developing their youth into a
productive, self reliant, disciplined and dynamic segment of their population.
Many of these countries also have good intentions, yet the commitment,
discipline and political will required to implement the pious declarations
contained in those crucial conventions they have ratified which also
constitute the foundations for achieving these goals are lacking. Developing
the full potential of the youth is a project with a long gestation period
beginning with promoting the rights of the child. The youth must pass
through childhood, a vital formative stage that impacts on other stages in
life. The first building block in constructing a balanced future for the youth
must begin with African countries fully implementing the provisions of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child and complementing it with
ratification and implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW 1979). Article 17 of the
Convention on the Rights of the child states that a child should have access
to education and information "aimed at promotion of his or her social,
spiritual and moral well-being and physical and mental health." The
convention has been ratified by 185 out of 189 member states of the United
Nations.

Education and Sustainable Development

Despite the tremendous gains made by African governments over the past
thirty years in increasing access to education, greater challenges lie ahead if

the goal of Education For All is to be achieved. Fiscal crises, civil strife,
political instability, drought, endemic poverty and persistently high
demographic pressures on the education systems have resulted in a
stagnation in enrolments and a decline in quality. (World Bank 1988) Odaga
et al (1995:1) recognise other pressing educational concerns such as poor
student participation, high drop out and repetition levels, low academic
achievement and low teacher morale and attendance. The most daunting
challenge is that of promoting female education.

The bulk of the students in institutions of learning are youth and several
African countries have invested heavily in education, others less so. The
number of youth in these institutions of higher learning is determined by the
earlier investments made at the lower levels i.e. primary and secondary
schools. Statistics contained in the United Nations Fund for Population
Activities publication; The State of the World's Children 1997 shows that
Africa has the lowest literacy figures. Countries with the lowest figures for
secondary school enrolment are Niger where only nine male children and
four female out of every 100 individuals are enrolled, Liberia 10 male to 5
female, Malawi 5 male to 3 female and Ethiopia 1 2 male to 1 1 female.
African countries that parade the highest enrolment figures are Egypt 81
male to 69 female, Algeria 65 male to 55 female and South Africa 66 male
to 77 female. What these figures prove is that "in much of the world, too
little attention has been paid to the education of girls. Huge gaps persist
between women's and men's educational achievement. Globally, nearly 600
million women remain illiterate today, compared with about 320 million
men. In certain parts of the world, moreover, as many as three in four
women are illiterate, and others have received no more than a negligible
education." (UNFPA 1997:50).

Education remains the most crucial input for the development of the youth
and society in general and any country that does not invest in education is
treading the path to mass retardation and ultimate decline. Supporting earlier
conventions, the International Conference on Population and Development
ICPD '94 identifies the eradication of illiteracy as one of the pre-requisites
for human development. The ICPD echoed the call for universal access to
primary education by the year 2015 and urged countries to close the gender
gap in primary and secondary education by the year 2005. It highlights the
need for "countries that have achieved the goal of universal primary
education to extend education and training to, and facilitate access to and
completion of education at secondary school and higher levels". The
convention however draws attention to encouraging the need for "quality
and type of education including the recognition of traditional values.

Before ICPD, Africa n policy makers, social activists and policy
implementers deliberated on the security, stability, development and
cooperation on the continent where improvement in the status of the youth in
Africa was identified as a priority. Participants observed that the youth as
leaders of tomorrow should be at the centre of development and
recommended that "Educational Systems should incorporate in their
curricula, teaching in African values, cultures, history, philosophy etc.
Research in African humanities should be given no less attention than the
pursuit of science and technology. In the face of escalating education costs,
strategies should be devised to ensure the acquisition of basic education by
all youth. Education is a prerequisite to the full and effective participation of
people in the democratic process and all efforts should be made to eliminate
illiteracy. (ALF, 1991).

Gender and Youth Development

Gender analysis and its incorporation into programmes has become a key
factor in development and the United Nations has adopted a gender focused
approach to its development programmes. Indeed the programmes of action
adopted at the ICPD Cairo '94 and the UN Fourth World Conference on
Women FWCW, Beijing '95 have become the global gender documents for
the next millennium.

What is Gender?

Development vocabulary has been reflecting gender for several decades and
gender-focused development has been recognised as an organising principle
of society. However, gender is yet to be understood by various segments of
society and it is often confused with sex.

Sex refers to the biological characteristics of women and men which are God
given, universal, biologically determined before birth and permanent.
Gender however refers to the roles and relationships in a specific society or
culture that are ascribed to women and men. Gender is therefore socially
determined by the people and it varies from one society and culture to
another. Gender is said to be a "social construct" because it is created,
supported and reinforced by societal structures and institutions.

It envices inequality and it also legitimises it. Gender is not permanent nor
is it universal. It is based on mutable stereotypes of male and female
behaviour and capability that are often associated with sex. They are also
affected by age, social class, ethnicity, education and technology. Crises
such as wars and natural disasters such as famine, floods, earthquakes etc
causes gender roles to change as men and women are forced to adopt new

roles to ensure survival. Gender roles often constitute a constraint to both
men -and women by limiting opportunities available to them for self
advancement but it often has a more repressive impact on women, restricting
their participation in societal development. (CEDPA 1996:3), to the general
detriment of humankind at large.

Gender and Development (GAD)

The new focus in analysing gender and promoting development is
recognised as Gender And Development, GAD. It is "an approach to
development which shifts the focus from women as a group to the socially
determined relations between women and men. GAD focuses on social,
economic, political and cultural forces that determine how men and women
can participate in, benefit from, and control project resources and activities".
The concept is based on the recognition that "the problems of women were
perceived in terms of sex - the fact of their being female - rather than in
terms of gender - social roles and relationships of men and women and the
forces that perpetuate and change these relations"(CEDPA 1996:12). GAD
emphasises the fact that girl children and women have been assigned
secondary and inferior roles to boy children and men, although both sexes
are equally intellectually endowed. In addition, the needs of the girl child
and women are considered in isolation from the larger society. The GAD
approach therefore seeks to make the girl child and women an integral part
of every development strategy and has developed the following concepts.

i. Both men and women create and maintain society and shape the division
of labour. However, they benefit and suffer unequally. Therefore, greater
focus must be placed on women because they have been more
disadvantaged.

ii. Women and men are socialised differently and often function in different
spheres of the community, although there is interdependence. As a result,
they have different priorities and perspectives. Because of gender roles,
men can constrain or expand women's options.

iii. Development affects men and women differently, and women and men
will have a different impact on projects. Both must be involved in
identifying problems and solutions if the interests and well-being of the
community as a whole are to be furthered (CEDPA 1996:13).

The GAD approach has developed strategies which open the path to gender
equity, which is the quality of being fair and right in allocating roles and
defining relationships between women and men. (see appendix 1). An
African gender focussed convention was also outlined in the Kampala
Document which called for the full involvement of women in decision-
making processes at all levels; appropriate policies and implementation of
strategies at the national, institutional and regional levels and specifically
called for the early implementation of the African Declaration on the
Advancement of African Women, notably the Abuja Declaration, and the
Arusha and Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies. It also urged all
governments to enunciate policies on these.

A Framework for Youth Leadership Training

Leadership as a broad concept goes beyond political/governance construct
and includes other sectors. A leader is any person who leads others. The
chambers dictionary definition of leadership is "to show the way by going
first" "to guide"; and a leader is "one who leads or goes first"; leadership
thus means "ability to lead". This simple but comprehensive definition of
leadership underscores the fact that leaders exists in all sectors and at all

levels of the society. Leadership is enhanced by the following:- popularity,
ability to inspire, to lead by example, intelligence, self sacrifice, integrity,
task motivation, and commitment to societal and organisational goals.

The leader's task is easier if the followership is educated and can help the
leader to set goals and achieve them. Borgadus (1928) defines leadership as
"the creating and setting forth of exceptional behaviour patterns in such a
way that other people respond". A leader is not an autocratic person who
remains deaf and dumb to the people's needs and aspirations and only
commands respect and fear through coercion.

The Objective

The overall purpose of any leadership training for the youth should be to
improve youth awareness of their societal values, system of governance,
their fundamental human rights and civic responsibilities, goal setting and
achievement. It should expand the youth's understanding of these issues in
order to achieve qualitative and quantitative improvement in the life of the
next generation of leaders in Africa. The training should improve the
capacity of potential youth leaders to undertake the necessary analysis of
their role in society, and be able to initiate change. The key objective of the
training should be to engender attitude formation, alter participants'
behaviour, crystallise and enhance the positive behavioral traits in the youth.

Mechanism

The leadership training programme should be structured in a manner that
will strengthen the links between the youth leaders and their followers at one
level and between the youth and the older generation at another level. Such
a linkage will make it possible for them to work together in a more fruitful

manner with the youth benefiting from the experience of their elders and the
elders benefiting from the free-ranging ideas and energy of the youth.
Training should be geared toward imparting specific skills to the youth
leaders who are the target group, to enable them to perform specific
leadership tasks.

Content of the Training Programme

The participatory method of training focuses on involving the training
participants in articulating their expectations from the training, active
participation in the training assessment and review. The youth participants
and the training facilitators should therefore negotiate the content of training,
the goals and identification of the specific skills that need to be imparted and
how. A content format for the training should among several others include
the following:-

Introduction - Historical

1) Africa: A Conceptual, Historical and Cultural Perspective to:

i) `The Anti-Colonial Struggle
ii) The Emerging Nation States (focusing on the individual country
from where youth leaders are drawn).

In Nigeria, the role of the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) in the anti-
colonial struggle should be discussed and comparisons made with the
experience of other countries.

2) Civics and National Development

? ?The country's constitution
? ?Forms of Representation in Government
? Fundamental Human Rights and Duties of Citizens
? International Organisations UN, OAU and relevant Regional
Organisations.

3) Leadership and Society

? Who is a leader? - Qualities of a leader
? Group Dynamics, constructive criticism
? Strategic Planning and Management
? Appreciative Inquiry, Assertiveness Skills
? Mentoring/Role model.

4) Gender And Development

? ?What is Development? - People focused development
? ?Indices of Development
? ?Gender concepts, analysis and tools
? Gender and International development - the various conventions -
CEDAW, 1979, ICPD Cairo 1994, FWCW Beijing 1995, Convention
on the Rights of the Child.

5) Civil Society and Good Governance

? Exploring Democracy and sustainable democratic culture

? Popular Organisations, NGOS, CBOs Professional Unions Youth
Organisations, Women's Groups, etc.
? Political participation, interest aggregation, etc.
? The Ombudsman, Transparency and Accountability in civil society
? Transparency and Accountability in Government

Networking and Coalitions

The youth leaders should be exposed to coalition building and networking.
Although various national and international organisations are involved in
youth development and leadership training in particular, there is little
coordination among them. Without coordination and networking, the
various groups will continue to work in isolation losing the opportunity to
strategise and derive strength from unity. Programmes of the various groups
will also be duplicative, making it impossible for others to share experiences
of lessons learned from various groups.

Conclusion and Recommendations

This discourse has focused on the need to evolve a sustainable youth
leadership development-training programme for African youth. Africa
cannot make significant progress on any front without collectively creating a
framework for training the youth and involving them in decision making.
This conference marking the tenth anniversary of the African Leadership
Forum is a rare occasion where a commitment for undertaking this crucial
and long overdue initiative can be elicited from youth serving organisations
and development agencies. The paper has focused on a general youth
training framework for sub-Saharan African not out of benign neglect of the
other sector of the continent but because the SS African countries are

considered the most needy of such an initiative, beset as they are by endemic
leadership problems.

The paper posits that the status of the youth in Africa will derive from the
continent's sincerity in implementing the Convention on the Rights of the
Child. Childhood is thus naturally linked to youth and adulthood. A
sustainable youth development programme is also hinged on a thorough
understanding of the impact of gender on development. Development is
viewed as a people centred process in which women and men work together
to facilitate societal growth. The paper stresses that the involvement of
women in all aspects of development through gender analysis and
programming holds the key to future development of the youth in Africa.
The last part of the paper is a presentation of a format for youth training
which is recommended for discussion and review, by youth serving
organisation and development agencies. It is a response to one of the
objectives of this gathering which is to develop a module for nurturing
young people as a continued process towards preparing and development
leadership capacities for the challenges of the future.

One must commend the ALF for the foresight it has demonstrated in ensuing
that the emerging and future leadership in Africa is given the exposure, the
integration, the knowledge and the training for the burden and challenges of
leadership. The Leadership Award it has also established will go a long way
in motivating the youth to demonstrate leadership qualities while drawing
societys attention to their capability and commitment to societal
development. As parents and friends of the youth, it is our bounded
responsibility to encourage the ALF and other leadership training NGOs to
develop a Pan-African Youth Leadership Programme which should
undertake the following:

1. Provide leadership training for young people from youth serving
organisation, mixed Non-governmental Development Organisation,
NGOs, corporate bodies and government institutions. The ultimate goal
should be to stimulate debate among the youth on political, cultural,
economic and social issues and to train significant numbers of youth for
informed leadership positions that will ultimately promote a progressive
development agenda for Africa. The development of an articulate, youth
constituency among the next generation of African leaders is crucial to
the future of Africa.

2. Provide a forum for African Youth to share ideas and experiences. Such
a forum should enable them build alliances for individual and
[professional support.

3. Develop a mentoring and role modeling system to ensure that the youth
benefit from the knowledge, skills and expertise of older people.

4. Encourage the production and review of literature by and about Africa
youth to enable the youth tell their stories and share their dreams with
African Communities and other nations of the world.

I thank you for listening.

References

1. Awe, Bolanle - "Gender and Policy-making in Africa: The Nigerian
Experience". Paper presented at the ABANTU for Development
Workshop on Strengthening NGOs Capacities for Engaging with
Policies 28-31/July, 1997.

2. Abdulkadir, ldris Alhaji, 'The Nigerian University System: At the
receiving Ed of National Socio-Political and Economic Instability'
Lecture delivered at NIPSS, Kuru November 5, 1993.

3. Adhiambo Odaga and Ward Heeveld - 1995 - "Girls and Schools
Technical Paper number 298, World Bank Washington.

4. Borgadus - (1 928) Cited in Fafowora, 0. Adeniran. T. Dare 0 - 1995 -
NIGERIA: In search of leadeLEhhoSpectrum Books, lbadan.

5. Ennew, Judith and Milne, Beian - 1989 - The ?xt Generation, Zed
Books, London.

6. Eziakonwa Ahunna - (1 998) "Aiding Child victims in Sierra Leone
Africa :?ecovery Vol. 12. No. 1 August 1998 United Nations, New
York.

7. Gana, Jerry "Mobilising the youth for Positive Development" Keynote
address delivered at the launching of MAMSER llorin 28/5/98.

Documents

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa UNECA - 1995 - Addis
Ababa. 17-19 April, 1995.

Africa Leadership Forum 1991. The Kampala Document Statement of the
Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa.
Kampala, May 19-22, 1991.

Directorate for Social Mobilisation - 1 989 - Political Education Manual

ii. A 2-year Youth Mobilisation Programme.

National Directorate of Employment and Creating More Jobs Opportunities.

ii United Nations Commission for Africa UNECA as in Statement of the
First Regional Consultation on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children -
Abidjan November 7-10, 1995.

iii UNECA Studies In Participatory Development.

United Nations Population Fund UNFPA - 1997 - African Forum On
Adolescent Reproductive Health Addis Ababa.

CEDPA - 1996 - Gender Equity: Conce)ts and Tools Lor Develooment.

Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) and Islamic Fiqh Academy, IFA,
Jeddah - 1990 - Proceedings of the Symposium on "Child's Right and Care
In Islam' organised by OIC/IFA and UNICEF cited in "The Plight of Muslim
Children in our Society'. Paper presented at the Ramadan Lecture, NTA,
Lagos, January 1996 by Lateefa Okunnu.

By

Kofi Anani
1

The tenet of this paper is that it is about time Africa
ventures into the realm of innovative blend of
indigenous and modern leadership arrangements, integrate the values and
principles embodied in such arrangements, and champion the emergent
outcome as the logical democratic mechanism for ensuring good governance
in contemporary Africa. This viewpoint is projected in the light of the rural-
urban character of African countries and the dismal state of the economies
on the eve of a new millennium. The aim of this paper is to explain why
Africa needs to embark on such a venture, what the innovative enterprise it
would entail and what is envisioned as the possible expectations and
opportunities under the new leadership arrangement.

Conceptualizing the Requisites of Good Governance

Efforts to ensure good governance in Africa require the participation of the
majority of the people in the planning and making of decisions which govern
their lives. Participation demands leadership arrangements and structures of
governance capable of mobilizing and organizing human interactions in an
orderly and peaceful manner. Ethically, the realities of co-existence in a
society would mean that the leadership arrangements are geared to manage

1
Ph.D Rural Studies, University of Gu elph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1

An Alternative Policy Perspective of the
Successor Generation
Introduction

the resources upon which the people depend for their livelihood activities in
a way that benefits everyone. Further co-existence implies that certain
resources in a community are categorized as common resources, and access
modalities enshrined as the inherent rights of the people. On this note, it is
presumed the leadership arrangements would entail in-built organization and
management principles regarding the allocation, distribution, consumption
and utilization of such resources. Examples of the resources include the
human beings, land, markets, health care facilities, knowledge generation
mechanisms, organization of festivals and means of communication.

Normally, the philosophy underlying community organization and
management principles is about peace, security and prevention of possible
conflict which might arise as a result of exclusion in the resource
distribution process. In this regard, the essential elements of the leadership
arrangements would involve an organizational regime which is close to the
people, administrative structures capable of managing resources and delivery
of services efficiently, operational procedures which command the respect,
loyalty and support of the people, and a sense of belonging and attachment
of the people to the overall arrangements of co-existence. The ability of a
community to operationalize these essential leadership elements in the
exercise of political authority as well as defining the nature and character of
the general political process is governance.

It can be discerned that governance evolves out of the key organizing and
management principles of a communitys life, and is basically a group and
collective behavior. From the onset, attention is drawn to the majority of the
people because their participation in decision making is of utmost
importance to ensuring good governance. Granted this, we need not over-
stress that the socio-cultural realities of the majority are quite different from
that of the minority in terms of suitability of arrangements to participate in

decision-making and problem-solving. On careful examination, it does not
take much to realize that in the realm of the African majority, primordial
loyalties and pre-capitalist social organizational structures remain strong and
constitute the strength and assets of the people. The majoritys perceptions
of self-interest, their freedom and their location in society are all defined by
the socio-cultural milieu in which they interact with each other(Ake 1997).
Participation in governance arrangements is linked to the community and
based on a consciousness directed toward belonging to the whole. People
participate to seek, explore and perform their roles and duties in life which
supposedly transform the individual into attaining personhood in the
community. Participation thus becomes a matter of taking part of sharing the
rewards and burden of community membership and belongingness.

Needless to say, the majority of Africans who are mainly rural dwellers
derive their philosophy of participation from the indigenous African socio-
political thought while the minority who are urban dwellers derive theirs
from Euro-American political thought. Both schools of thought entail
principles of knowledge relating to the right and forms of representations,
autonomy, accountability, transparency, dissent and the types of
empowerment that would ensure the making of decisions and choices with
the probability of effecting political changes. Both knowledge categories
complement each other in the various political dimensions of virtues for
peaceful co-existence in society.

Specifically, the majority of Africans are familiar, comfortable and attached
to the indigenous African version while the minority are inclined to the
Euro-American version. While the indigenous forms of representation for
example, would be problematic in the urban settings because of the different
philosophical underpinnings, the Euro-American version seems to provide

the solution. Conversely, the Euro-American version is inept in the rural
settings, therefore the indigenous component serves to fill the loop-holes.

It becomes imperative that the search for good governance strategies should
foster a critical review and reconciliation of these complementary ideas and
institutionalize practices of co-existence based on the rural-urban
philosophical orientations. Such a task would demonstrate how those areas
of weaknesses in the Western model of governance which has been
institutionalized in Africa correspond to the strengths of indigenous forms of
governance at least in the rural African world. If scholarship on African
socio-political thought is geared to explaining the indigenous cultural values
and principles of participation to outsiders in a manner that expresses their
complementarity to the weaknesses of the Western model, it would possibly
lead to infusing relevant indigenous knowledge, values and philosophy into
community governance, leadership and education initiatives on the continent
- a sadly neglected fact of life in Africa.

In this respect, attempts to re-create participation to ensure good governance
in the context of the socio-cultural realities of Africa should begin with an
understanding of the shared cultural values embodied in the organization and
management principles of resources upon which the livelihoods of the
majority depend. Understanding the expressed values is crucial because they
espoused local perceptions of good in terms of organization, mobilization,
roles, rules, regulations and accountability regarding who gets what, when
and how in the rural communities. Not only do the values show the mode of
thought and the general principles used to direct personal and social
behavior, but they also reveal the way Africans look upon the tangled web of
human relationship and life, and chart in details the dangers of life and the
perils of the human environment (Dzobo 1997:vii).

African rural dwellers employ, in some cases, both indigenous and modern
(Western) principles to regulate the use and management of resources. In
several cases, however, the use of indigenous African principles seems to be
predominant which brings to the forefront the place of indigenous African
knowledge (values) in a scheme of African modernity. The observed
managerial trend presupposes that in the various communities something
from the past has worked and continues to work now. Therefore the shared
values provide the foresight to perceive which aspects of the cultural life of
Africans could be brought to the innovative enterprise of ensuring good
governance in modern Africa.

Furthermore, the expressed values should inform our overall appreciation of
the leadership arrangements which nurture and sustain the enabling milieu
for rural dwellers to participate in the management of resources. Such a
perspective defines the path to determine the extent to which the leadership
arrangement in question is utilized in present-day administrative practices in
Africa. If the values are properly understood, it will emphasize the
conviction that tradition is not necessarily at variance with modernity in
innovation to ensure good governance in Africa. Basically, these are values
of human security, community sustenance, property ownership,
entrepreneurship, unity and peace, freedom and well-being which are needed
in any society to induce good governance strategies. The values of the
African majority are expressed in the body of thought on varied livelihood
mechanisms such as land, markets, primary health care facilities, the practice
of festivals and initiatives to maintain community schools. In a word, the
values demonstrate the functionality of certain cherished ideas and practices,
and shed light on the meaningful roles they could play in attaining the goals
and vision of good governance (Kakonge 1995). Some specific examples are
noteworthy in this regard.

Socio-Cultural Values and Local Perceptions of
Good Principles of Governance

Fundamentally, the African majority perceive organization and management
principles in terms of collective behavior. With regards to land, the
attributed values define the principal perspective of property ownership,
settlement patterns and primary security arrangements of rural dwellers.
Livelihood in a rural community is intimately tied to land. This engendered
the indigenous public policy of land which has its overall objective as the
well-being and security of the community - hence the familiar knowledge
that land is communally owned. What is essential here is that the principle of
communal (collective) ownership of land has been formulated to protect
both the individual and the community. Provisions are made to ensure the
individual and community rights to land thereby providing the basis for the
existence of both private and public ownership of property in a communal
context. Communal ownership of land does not preclude the notion of
private property and affirmation of individual interests contrary to the
misleading interpretation that private or individual ownership is non-existent
in indigenous communal societies and cultures.

The rationale for the communal arrangement is to find ways of adequately
and realistically responding to the needs and well-being of the individual
member of the society and defining what sorts of relationship should hold
between them as they function in a society (Gyekye 1996:96). In a
predominantly agriculture economy, this is security and protection against
hunger (at least with the chance to grow ones own food). The value
perspective of land is thus both socio-economic and ethical which serves to
eliminate tension between individual and community rights by specifying
the relationship between the individual and the collective. Such a notion of
property ownership in land has made it possible for elements of individual

and personal accumulation habits to co-exist with communal pursuits of
well-being. A security device is thus put in place by the communities to
safeguard against an individual member of a lineage ever becoming
propertyless. The original crafters of the indigenous public policy of land
envisioned the right of communal entitlement to make some land available at
all times for livelihood activities which bring progress to the community.
For the fact that communal ownership has gained the status of a norm and
resilience for centuries, it should be acknowledged and recognized as local
perception of good arrangement of property ownership which seeks to
promote peaceful co-existence in a society.

The same can be said about market as an age-old concept of the indigenous
communities which reveals members attributes of entrepreneurship. Market
is about wealth creation and its existence in any community presumes a
body of thought on the ethics of work and the materialistic orientation of the
people. Indigenous knowledge expressed through the proverbs and maxims
of the rural communities indicates the value and importance placed on
capital acquisition and accumulation, monetary management through
savings and investments, and indignation of laziness and poverty. Emphasis
is placed on self-acquisition based on individuals efforts. This is highly
valued and appreciated because of the contributions a wealthy person is
expected to make to the welfare of the community.

Indigenous marketing arrangement teaches the entrepreneurial lesson that
capital cannot be accumulated without proper monetary management and
availability of mechanisms for savings, credit and investment. That saving is
a pre-requisite of capital accumulation is manifested in practice through the
creation and establishment of numerous indigenous credit, savings and
finance networks called in one African language - Ewe- susu or sodzodzo
(invariably known in English as rotational and non-rotational credit and

savings associations). Almost every adult in the rural communities is
involved in one or more savings and investment associations. The value of
this entrepreneurial attribute is made explicit, for example, by installing of
market queens for every product sold and exchanged at the community
markets. Further, it is recognized wealth is not generated without acquiring
the habit of hard work. And hard work is considered the means by which to
have a socially appreciable livelihood. This entrepreneurial spirit of the
individual inculcated through the operations of the indigenous marketing
concept should reflect in schemes of relevant cultural values necessary for
inducing participation in governance initiatives.

The idea and practice of festivals among rural dwellers represent the need
for unity and peace within and outside the communities. By their very
nature, festivals are acts of bringing people together. Values of unity and
peace are the product of social relations crafted on the acknowledgment of a
sense of common good - a relationship within which individual members
understands the obligation to feel a sense of loyalty and commitment to the
community. In the realm of rural existence, festivals go beyond the specific
festivities and express the values of solidarity, cooperation, mutual
assistance, interdependence, collectivity and reciprocal obligations. All this
exhibits a deep understanding of the types of social relations that promote a
sense of common good without harm to the well-being of individual
members of the community. As occasions to express these values openly,
festivals make it possible for individual kinsfolk to come together to discuss
issues, patch differences and generally strengthen relationship. Again a
balance is forged in the claims of individuality and communality.

To accomplish common objectives, attention must be paid to ones own
needs, interests and goals as well as considering the needs and welfare of
other members of the community in ones thought and action. Hence in the

rural communities, the respect and social standing of an individual, the
influence an individual has on others, an individuals personal sense of
responsibility - all this is measured in terms of how much sensitivity the
individual demonstrates to the needs, demands and welfare of the group
(Gyekye 1996:46). In this sense, the practice of festivals is the public
manifestation of resentment of extreme and excessive individualism. By
providing the platform to establish, renew and strengthen communal ties,
festivals are the African majoritys expressions of values of unity and peace
within and outside the communities which could be tapped in designing
good governance strategies.

The rural communities are also entities with dual medical systems -
indigenous and modern. While the spatial character of the communities
(cluster of scattered settlements) might seem to validate the first source of
therapy as plant medicine, it is indicative of the attitudes of the people that
the communities have used herbal medication for millennia. Fundamentally,
beliefs in the efficacy of plant medicine is an expression of commitment to
preserving plant biodiversity. One major way of expressing the value for
biodiversity is the range of indigenous rules which regulate the use and
access to natural resources.

Indigenous ecological resource management regimes put in place are part of
the mechanisms of decision-making and the transmission of values cherished
by the communities, and handed by older users and keepers to the younger
generations (Kakonge 1995). Since the primary health care needs of rural
dwellers depend, to a large extent, on herbal medicine, the values attached to
maintaining the ecological balance in the use of natural resources should not
be underestimated and explained away as attempts to romanticize indigenous
practices because they are capable of complementing modern efforts to

ensure good governance of primary health related resources and needs of the
people.

Often, the communities initiate action to construct and maintain school
buildings, and these are not indigenous but modern formal schools. It is
possible to trace the communal initiatives to the importance placed on the
acquisition of knowledge and possession of wisdom in the realm of thought
of the African majority. Knowledge is expressed in an African proverb as
the source of freedom: the freedom that comes from ignorance enslaves the
one who entertains it (Dzobo 1997). Knowledge is highly valued for its
practical benefits to the individual and community. In line with the thought
that knowledge is like a garden, if it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested,
rural dwellers consider it their moral obligation to maintain the physical
structures of the schools even if they do not determine the contents of what
is being taught. They are aware that like a garden which needs cultivation,
knowledge is not innate or simply possessed at birth but requires conscious
and active efforts on the part of the individual to acquire the types of
knowledge which must be used to solve the problems of life.

Although freedom comes with knowledge, it does not necessarily translate
into the success of ones personal life. Freedom from knowledge needs to be
complemented with the ability to analyze and solve the practical problems
of life - and the ability to pay reflective attention to the fundamental
principles underlying human life and experience (Gyekye 1996:137).
Anyone with such an ability is considered as having acquired not only
knowledge but also possessed wisdom. In this regard the expectations of
rural dwellers about anyone sent to formal modern school extend beyond the
mere acquisition of knowledge. What is highly valued is that in the freedom
acquired through knowledge, the individual would develop wisdom or the
capacity to provide practical and feasible solutions to the myriad problems

of the community. This is because wisdom is not like money to be tied up
and hidden away. An individual who possesses wisdom would be
recognized from his/her actions which bear on the practical problems of life
of the communities.

Again, a moral dimension is built into the possession of wisdom as
expressed in this proverb: wisdom creates well-being. The implication is
that while someone might acquire knowledge and be clever in
accomplishing certain feats in life, it may not necessarily amount to wisdom.
For the ultimate purpose of the exercise of human wisdom is human well-
being; that which leads to something else is other than wisdom Ibid).
Wisdom like knowledge is not limited to one person and the benefits from
possession it are not restricted to the individual well-being: wisdom is not
in the head of one person. Here the individual is encouraged to be open-
minded and recognize the capability of others to contribute relevant ideas
and solutions to societal needs. This indicates resentment of intellectual
arrogance and its accompanying situation where the mere acquisition of
formal degrees constitutes instant marks of wisdom.

The crucial issue is whether the values could be considered suitable in the
contemporary search for good governance in Africa. Regardless of the
society, any governance strategy would definitely embrace acceptable
property ownership modalities, wealth generation avenues, mechanisms to
promote unity and ensure peace among residents, natural resource use
conditions, and human capacity building measures. Ideally, the search for
good governance would be a situational initiative that engenders action
research into local values, culture and indigenous participation in
institutional designs, rather than a normative one that seeks to adapt and
implant best practices from outside onto the local context (Ndue 1998).
Given that participation of the majority of the people in decision making is

the basic principle of good governance, then the values which have
withstood the test of time and continue to be cherished as defining local
parameters of what is good would constitute a formidable platform to
induce the needed level of participation. In a predominantly rural situation
where the majority of the people utilize these values in their day-to-day
interactions and relations, the search for good governance in a modern
context should not imply total rejection and negation of the entire cultural
values of the people.

At this point, it is necessary to explain how the cherished values are given
political institutional expression and recognition in the exercise of authority
at the local level. In many African countries the institution of chieftaincy has
been the form of leadership arrangement created by the African majority as
the political framework for actualizing the values of participation and co-
existence. Drawing from the specific experiences of Ghana, it is possible to
determine the extent to which the indigenous leadership arrangement which
promotes these values in practice is utilized in present-day modern
governance initiatives. What follows should inform and bolster our claim for
a blend of indigenous and modern leadership arrangements in Africa as a
logical democratic construct for ensuring good governance.

Parallel Leadership Arrangements and the Exercise of
Local Political Authority

The prevailing local governance mechanisms in Ghana and many other
African countries have been derived from the concept of parallel local
leadership formulated as an administrative strategy in the later part of the
C18th to manage local resources and services, and regulate the exercise of
authority by the indigenous leadership. To modernize the indigenous
landscape, colonial government statutory provisions established a new

additional leadership structure - appointed district commissioners - alongside
the recognition for the pre-existing indigenous leadership. A series of
ordinances enacted created treasuries and legalized the imposition of levies
on the people. The responsibility for managing the treasury and the exercise
of authority initiating local development under the patronage of the central
government was devolved on the commissioners. These earlier attempts at
modernization planted the seeds of conflict in the exercise of local political
authority which seemed to have rendered elusive subsequent initiatives to
attain good governance in Africa. By vesting the exercise of the principal
political authority in a central government appointee, the indigenous
leadership was relegated from the onset to a subordinate position in major
decision-making processes for local development initiatives.

The modern local administrative trend was further streamlined by the
concept of political party democracy introduced at independence.
Thenceforth, instead of appointed colonial administrative representatives,
the exercise of local political authority became the responsibility of national
government appointees in the post-independence years. The subordinate
position of the indigenous leadership was entrenched and institutionalized as
a modern norm in local administration. What is striking here is a local
governance system which should be close to the people has not been
designed with existing institutions created by the people themselves. From
the onset, a social milieu ingrained with the parochial sense of paternalism
was cultivated by the central government authorities. By implication, the
indigenous leadership and its people had to look up to the central
government for delivery of local services and other initiatives to transform
the areas. All this means legitimization of central control of local resources
and relegation of the indigenous leadership to peripheral roles in the local
development process. Such has been the general thrust of local governance
initiatives (paraded under the charade of decentralization) in the past which

shaped the form and character of current administrative and management
practices in many African countries.

It is instructive to note the structural composition of the prevailing modern
local governance arrangements in light of the subordinate relationship
imposed on the indigenous leadership. In Ghana for example, non-partisan
elections are organized to elect two-thirds of the members of the District
Assemblies (DA) which have been vested with the statutory, legislative and
consultative authority of the districts. The remaining one-third are the
nominees of the central government acting in consultation with recognized
groups, organizations and the indigenous leadership in the districts. A recent
provision stipulated that the percentage of the nominees is to be divided into
three parts and the seats allocated to women, identified groups and chiefs. In
consonance with the past trend, an appointed District Chief Executive (DCE)
serving as a member of the DA becomes the local political leader and
principal public manager of the district.

In a sense, non-partisan assemblies at the local level indicates the realization
of the inappropriateness of organizing rural dwellers along party lines for
promoting the common good of the communities. Although the element of
election is meant to make the process representative in the modern sense,
the outcome has been an electoral arrangement which fails to command the
respect and support of the people in the rural areas. Results of the DA
elections held in June 1998 recorded an abysmally low voter turn-out. In the
Kpandu district of the Volta Region for instance, only 7 per-cent of the 48
electoral areas could register more than half of the votes of the eligible
voters in the district. Voter turn-out in some areas was as low as 19 per cent.
Discussions with the District Electoral Officer revealed that the residents
were either not interested, did not understand or seemed not to be bothered
by the modern electoral initiatives. This suggests the extent of involvement

and participation of the people in the selection of their local representatives
under the modern administrative electoral provisions has been very low and
apathetic.

The same, however, cannot be said of the peoples participation and
involvement in the selection of their indigenous leaders. Chiefs and queen
mothers are elected by a committee of elders (Kingmakers) from several
eligible men and women of the royal lineages with equal claim to the
stool/throne. While this is a departure from the Western norm of direct
election by the people, the basic criterion in the exercise of jurisdiction by
the kingmakers is the acceptability of the elected person to all the people of
the community. In this respect, the kingmakers are obliged by the selection
method to consult the people and consider their wishes because anyone
chosen as a chief or queenmother has to be acceptable by all as their ruler.
Since kingmakers cannot go forth and elect a person opposed by the people
as their leader, the selection procedure ensures some form of judiciousness,
consent and the expression of the peoples will (Gyekye 1996).

Composition of the indigenous assemblies is based on representations
derived from the settlement patterns of the people. Settlements are
demarcated into divisions and comprised of various extended family
members who could trace a common ancestral relations to the original
settlers of the areas. In every division, there are committees made up of
representatives of the families. The chair of the committee represents
members of the division at the indigenous assembly. Usually there is a
particular lastname (surname) which is common to several members of the
division, and this name is often that of the original settler and his/her
descendants. Some of the divisions are thus known in the local languages by
the predominant lastnames.

It is also important to note the source of legitimacy of both the modern and
indigenous leadership because it is a crucial factor in determining the
success, effectiveness, respect and support for a leader. Usually, the DCE
derives legitimacy for the exercise of local political authority from the
central government. Even though participation in the DA elections has been
low, the DAs can be considered, to a certain degree, to have its legitimacy
from the electorate. However, this is still contentious because the
fundamental idea of the DA did not emanate from popular suggestions but
rather imposed by the central government. Appointees and elected members
of the DAs are inaugurated into office in ceremonies chaired by officials
from the central Ministry of Local Government. Recent inaugurations in
August 1998 indicated the detachment of the events from the daily activities
of ordinary people. The event was a gathering of members of the DAs to
familiarize themselves with each other and this took place without any
formal participation of residents of the districts.

On the other hand, the chiefs and queenmothers derive legitimacy from the
history and customs centred on the stool/throne upon which the community
was built. Every community member cherishes the stool and considers it as
sacred. The stool is the symbol and strength of the community which
members would defend at all cost. This seems very definitive in nurturing
the people psychologically which serves to whip up support, loyalty and
respect for the occupant of the stool/throne.

An elected chief or queenmother takes a public oath on the occasions of
formal installation before the indigenous assembly comprising all the people
of the community. An interpretation of the contents of the oath reveals a
series of injunctions and checks which regulate conduct and seek a promise
of rule in accordance with the laws, customs and institutions of the
community. The injunctions derive from the values and wishes of the people

and revolve around issues of respect, fair and reasonable sharing of
economic goods or advantages, resentment of rule by material greed, acting
upon the advice of the representatives of the people or rule by consent, and
accessibility to the people at all times. All this is an indication of the
peoples thought of true or good leadership as given conceptual expression
in the following: A chief is a chief by the people; or Chieftainship is
people.

The injunctions constitute a contractual agreement between the ruled and
ruler. Its open recitation before the whole community is a public
proclamation of the wishes of the people with regard to the conduct of the
leader, and the nature of political relationship expected to be maintained
between the ruled and the ruler. Participation in the formal installation of
chiefs and queenmothers is an all-out community event. And because of the
elaborate structure, established and acknowledged method of choosing and
installing a leader in the areas, questions of legitimacy and credibility of
authority and office of the indigenous institutions hardly arise.

In light of the DCEs and the Das responsibilities for the overall
development of the districts, financial power has been vested in them by the
central government and they are the sole rating authority in the districts.
With the guidance of District Planning and Budget Officers, the DAs
formulate the district budgets. Revenue is generated through the imposition
of development levies, collection of market tolls, rates, licences, fees, fines,
assistance from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and central
government ceded revenue and grant- in- aid. The central government
maintains an assertive stand in matters of finance and provides regular
instructions to guide the DAs in their operations.

On the contrary, the indigenous leadership has been stripped of any financial
power. Its revenue generation power is restricted to voluntary contributions
in kind and cash by wealthy individuals and associations, minimal fines
generated at the traditional courts, fund raising rallies and festivals, and at
times, assistance from NGOs. Neither the modern nor the indigenous
assembly is allowed to obtain loan or financial credit from any source
without approval by the central government. The central government pays
the salary and emoluments of the DCEs and other officials, and provides
token stipends to the indigenous leadership.

In most cases, the DCEs cannot be removed from office without the consent
of the central government. This means that even if the people of the district
are dissatisfied with the performance of the political leader of the district,
they have no choice so long as the official remains in the good books of the
central government. Such a scenario indicates that the highest local political
authority wielding official in the district is neither elected by the people nor
accountable to them. Arguably, this constitutes an act of imposing leaders on
the rural communities.

In the case of the indigenous leadership, non-adherence to the terms of the
public oath constitutes liability to condemnation and destoolment by the
people. The oath outlines how the chief should govern and hence an
indication of the confidence the people have in insisting on the exercise of a
political power that will reflect their wishes. Also the oath indicates the
peoples intention to make the chief aware that he will need to depend on his
people for a satisfactory and peaceful rule (Gyekye 1996:114).

The deliberative processes of the modern DAs shed light on the nature of
relationship forged between the people and their leaders or representatives in
the execution of administrative duties and responsibilities of the districts.

Observing the Executive Committee (which is the most powerful and
important committee in charge of the day-to -day administration) of the
Kpandu DA in session reveals some striking features of the deliberative
process in terms of what happens after the representatives occupy their seats
in the assembly. In other words, what happens with regards to the
participation of the people in decision-making after the representatives are
elected to the assembly?

Out of the 22 members present, two were female: the DCE and the
representative of the Market Women. The chair of the committee is the DCE
who, as indicated earlier, is a government appointee. Minutes of previous
meetings were written in English. While the chair opened the floor for
discussions in the local Ewe language, responses from the members were
given in English. The language of deliberation is critical here because it
appears majority of the members could not speak or write English. This
reflects the background especially of the elected members. Since the D.As
are to be comprised of ordinary people elected through the ballot box, many
who stand and win the elections are usually not very articulate in English.
Consequently, the discussions were dominated mainly by three members
who could express themselves fairly well in English. The government
nominees of the assemblies are usually educated and retired officials from
the area, and therefore constitute those who participate actively in the
discussions and initiate major actions. It is doubtful that if the elected
members were participating in the deliberations of the indigenous assembly
which invariably represents a familiar and more convenient gathering they
would have been silent throughout the proceedings.

In observing an indigenous assembly in session in the Hohoe district of the
Volta Region where members of the community gathered in a communal
undertaking to construct their palace, (and with about 100 men and women

in attendance), there seemed to be free expression of opinion and high level
of involvement in the activities of the day. No one appeared to be hindered
from actively participating in the deliberations to arrive at decisions about
the best possible way to organize themselves to ensure the building of their
palace. It was apparent that even the views of the lowliest had the equal
chance of being favourably entertained as depicted by the free flow of the
exchanges. In fact, the massive turn out of community members at the
building site indicates the level of commitment and attachment of the people
to their indigenous leadership arrangement.

The issues discussed at the Executive Committee meeting provided an
insight into the types of activities undertaken by the DAs to manage local
resources and deliver services for the benefit of the community. Discussions
revolved around the privatization of revenue collection in some of the area
markets, land valuation, bye-laws to take control of all the markets under the
jurisdiction of the assembly, strategies to implement assembly decisions
effectively, and prosecution of corrupt toll collectors and rate defaulters.
What emerged as the central thrust of concern was effective revenue
generation at the area markets. It was obvious that the DA considered the
markets as the bedrock for its existence and operations. Yet this official
perception of the market seems to be the source of tension and conflict
between the market women association and the assembly. In an interview
with the Kpandu market women leader, it was pointed out that while the DA
exercised control over the collection of market tolls, it has often reneged on
its responsibilities to re-invest the revenue into building and repairing of
stalls in the market.

Taking the factor of the market as performance measuring yardstick for
service delivery and effective management of local resources, it is clear the
DA has not forged a close and cordial working relationship with the market

women who are supposed to be the major stakeholders and beneficiaries of
what is generated from the markets. Without a close relationship, the quality
of service delivery is always poor. On this count, it is reasonable to say that
if service delivery in the sector which is considered as the live-wire of the
assembly is not satisfactory to the major stakeholders, the performance of
the assembly in other less prioritized sectors is not likely to be impressive.

The nature of the consultation processes of the central government and the
DAs also indicate the existence of a communication and access gap. There is
a general consensus among rural dwellers that the central government
officials consult them mainly when their votes are needed in an election, or
when support is being solicited for a particular government directive.
Furthermore, sentiments expressed from the corridors of the DAs reveal the
concern that quite often, the local political authorities are not consulted by
the central government when decisions relating to their areas are taken. All
this seems an aberration in the search for good governance because central
governments policy decisions are abound to have effect on the communities.
Lack of regular consultation means the views of the communities are either
ignored or not adequately expressed, consensus based on the will of the
people are not formed around issues and decisions which affect livelihood
activities, and the likely tendency to use incomplete information and
knowledge on the communities in policy decision-making. Invariably, this
represents a pronouncement on the state of accountability between the
central government, its local representatives and the people. For a claim
cannot be made that effective accountability ensues in the management of
local resources if regular consultations and discussions with the people are
not done.

Quite the contrary, the operations of the indigenous leadership assembly is
based on regular consultation or conferment, and active participation of all
community members as expressed in the saying: one head does not go into
council. Peoples participation in indigenous assembly deliberations do not
stop at the ballot box after the representatives assume their positions in the
assembly. Community members consider the affairs of the community as
everyones business. Such an attitude towards the running of the affairs of
the community establishes a close relationship between the ruler and the
ruled. Unlike in the modern administrative set-up, the people seem to have
easy communication with their leaders. The leaders are readily accessible to
them and any member of the community could engage the chief or the
queenmother in discussions and concerns relating to the interest and well-
being of the area. (It should be noted here that easy communication and
access are enshrined in the public oath whereby an indigenous leader is not
expected to say to any of his/her subject there is no time). Thus the distance
which exists between the DCE, the DAs and the people, for example, cannot
be observed in the relationship forged under the indigenous leadership
arrangements.

In fact, the easy communication and access by the people to the seat of
power suggests the possibility of decisions made by consensus at the
indigenous assembly. This is remarkable because consensus is a virtue born
out of the pursuit of the social goal of peace, harmony and unity.
Specifically, consensus allows everyone a chance to speak his/her mind and
promotes patience, mutual tolerance and an attitude of compromise - all of
which are necessary for democratic practice (Gyekye 1996:117). The
importance of consensus also lies in the fact that any decision taken by that
measure cannot be opposed or set-aside by the leader. Granted this state of
affair, it is not far-fetched to say that the indigenous leadership arrangements
create no distance between the ruled and the ruler. This overriding factor of

consensus as the most cherished feature of the indigenous deliberative
arrangement seems to be missing in the deliberations and operations of the
modern assemblies. Arguably, the values - equality, collective reciprocity,
mutual respect and recognition of others - which give rise to consensus in
deliberations are sacrificed on the altar of establishing strong central
government presence in the rural areas. In effect, the general operations of
the DAs prevent the community members from developing a sense of
personal commitment, respect and support for the modern local leadership
arrangement.

Deconstructing the Concept of Parallel Local Leadership

At least a major clue can be discerned from the comparative reflection on the
parallel local leadership arrangements which illuminates the extent to which
the cherished values of the people and the institutions by which they are
given political expressions are utilized in present-day administrative
practices. Clearly, it is the modern local leadership which has the central
governments mandate to exercise political authority and reposed with the
official responsibility for development initiatives in the areas. And this
leadership seems more of a link between the central government and the
district material resources rather than a link between the people and the
central government.

In the same context, the indigenous leadership arrangements as the political
embodiment of values of governance appreciated by the people is relegated
to the back burner of day-to-day administration, and restricted to marginal
roles in development initiatives undertaken in the communities. This is
obviously an anomaly in political administrative discourse and the search for
good governance in Ghana. That the leadership arrangements which entail
the normative and utilitarian attributes from which the values expressing

local perceptions of sustainability and participation are derived remain
negated exhibits the absence of any genuine concern on the part of the
modern educated minority elite to include the majority of the people in
managing the affairs of the communities.

How then do we explain this anomaly in light of the search for good
governance in Africa? Critical consideration of the issue brings to the
forefront the historical arguments usually invoked by the minority ruling
elite for marginalizing the indigenous leadership arrangements in present
modern administrative and management practices. Under certain specific
conditions during the eras of slavery, colonialism, pre- and post-
independence struggles, some individual chiefs became collaborators and
puppets of the colonizing forces which diminished their credibility in the
eyes and minds of the modernizing African elites. From then, the indigenous
leadership arrangements have been viewed by some of the modern educated
elites as divisive and reactionary to the goals of nation building. Such a
reason has often been cited as the main factor for considering the institution
of chieftaincy as irrelevant in contemporary times. What has often not been
stressed is the history of resistance on the part of some chiefs. For example,
many of the chiefs who refused to be co-opted were exiled and banished
from their ancestral homes to prevent them from having their mobilizing
influence on their communities.

While the indigenous leadership structures might seem anachronistic from
the perspective of some modern educated Africans and outsiders, the so-
called modern Africa is yet to produce leaders with a greater capacity and
influence for rural communication, mobilization and organization than the
indigenous leadership (Vaughan, 1995). The fact that certain individual
chiefs were muzzled into puppets under specific historical conditions of time
does not mean that the values, principles and forms of representations

espoused in the indigenous leadership arrangements have lost their influence
and significance in the scheme of African modernity. Subordination of
cherished arrangements of co-existence to the expediency of struggles for
control over people and their material resources does not necessarily mean
the values and principles are devoid of practical utility.

The numerous attempts by successive African governments to establish
concrete local governance structures, and the tendency of the modernizing
elites to rely more on wholesale replication of external organizational
principles in both urban and rural Africa, thereby marginalizing and
alienating the majority in the process, make mockery of the historical
arguments for negating the indigenous leadership arrangements. The
existence of such a scenario has created deep-seated confusion and conflict
of interests regarding the credibility, legitimacy and administrative power of
local leadership in the rural areas. In a sense, the issue of conflicting
legitimacy and credibility summarizes the basic problem of governance in
Africa - lack of management, hence leadership - if leadership is conceived as
management of material resources and people: The problem is not one of
mainly lack of resources as is usually portrayed - but lack of management or
lack of dedication to management, (Obasanjo, 1996:304). And the major
cause of this discrepancy particularly at the local level is the negation to
marginality of the indigenous leadership.

Instead of building governance mechanisms in the context of the given
realities and leadership arrangements which fit the socio-cultural milieu,
African ruling elites seem to be preoccupied with modems whose sole
purpose is to establish a mechanism of central control of how political
authority is exercised at the local level. Such a state of affairs renders
meaningless the concepts of majority rule, participatory democracy and the
power to the people rhetoric which have been used as justification for the

prevailing forms of local rulership. For the aforementioned concepts to have
any cultural credence in Africa, it would not be attained by marginalizing the
indigenous leadership arrangements. This is because the Western forms of
representation currently in vogue are mainly appropriate for the few urban
enclaves in the various countries. That such an anomaly exists mainly serves
to strengthen the observation that since independence, there has been no
coherent efforts on the part of African leaders and scholars to develop
authentic indigenous solutions to the many problems facing Africa and
Africans (Obasanjo, 1996:303).

Under prevailing modern arrangements, the indigenous leadership is
expected to exercise its authority in relation to the state through government
intermediaries. The picture depicted is that the indigenous leadership
considers the government intermediaries as stumbling blocks to the
transformation of the areas. It is argued that since chiefs and queenmothers
are in direct contact with the majority of the people and interact with them
on day-to-day basis, they could serve their people better and perform their
duties in a more judicious manner if the government intermediaries are
removed.

In truth, the inherent capacity of chiefs and queen mothers to ensure peaceful
co-existence in the rural communities has not been deeply explored in the
scheme of African modernity. The psychological orientation towards the
institution of chieftaincy as sacred provides a modicum of autonomy
recognized by all chiefs and the people of the areas. This means that all the
paramount chiefs of the traditional areas are equal in the exercise of power
and authority even though there are divisional chiefs in the areas of their
jurisdictions. Thus in the formation of councils of chiefs and queenmothers,
the election of a presiding chair becomes an act of one among equals. Such
an arrangement prevents encroachment and possible conflicts among each

other. Also, it is significant to note that since independence, apart from a few
and quite insignificant incidents, many of the African indigenous leaders
have been at peace with each other which attests to the relevance and
significance of the indigenous leadership arrangements. Hence, it is a
grievous political administrative mistake that the modern state officials have
not done much to strengthen the indigenous leadership positions and build
solid national democratic structures on the indigenous arrangements.

Regarding whether the institution of chieftaincy is tolerant of changes and
adaptable to present needs and demands, it should be recalled that no human
institution is static and therefore, it would be erroneous to conceive the
institution as oblivious to changes of the modern times. Remarkable changes
have taken place, which are worthy of note. For example, in some
indigenous jurisdictions, emphasis is now placed on installing younger men
and women as chiefs and queenmothers, and often, the educational
standards of the candidates are taken into consideration. Obviously, this
departs markedly from past practices of installing leaders. The willingness
has also been expressed to consider a chief or queen mother serving a
maximum term of office unlike the current arrangement where a leader
serves all his or her lifetime. Undoubtedly, this represents a radical shift and
new thinking in the institution of chieftaincy which augurs well for efforts to
ensure good governance and transform the livelihood activities of the
people. What then needs to be done to rectify the seemingly anomaly in the
prevailing governance arrangements in Africa?

Policy Action: Elevation of the Indigenous Leadership
Arrangements in the Exercise of Local Political Authority

There cannot be progress in any field, be it education, health care,
agriculture, economics etc. towards the substantive promotion of livelihoods

in Africa without good and stable governing systems. In the light of the
socio-cultural realities of Africa, good governance strategies have to be
carved out of the cultural values of mobilization, organization and
communication of the majority. The urgent policy action required is to
elevate and incorporate the indigenous institutions of governance into
modern-day administrative practices beyond what pertains now. What makes
this suggestion a propitious policy undertaking is that in West Africa for
example, the demarcations for modern local and district councils correspond,
or are based on traditionally-delineated paramountcy boundaries. Also many
of the rural communities have sons and daughters who have acquired
modern education and still maintain ties with their kinfolks and lineage
members thereby making available potentially willing cadres of competent
local technical staff. Instead of central or national governments appointing
district secretaries or commissioners to preside over the modern districts,
the paramount chiefs and queenmothers of the areas automatically become
the presiding authorities.

Indigenous organizational principles of governance involving the paramount
chiefs, divisional chiefs, queenmothers and village assemblies would
become the foundation upon which the modern states and institutions of
Africa are built and operated. National governments would be formed under
a constitutional rule based on the oath of allegiance and upholding the
integrity of the revitalized indigenous institutions of the rural areas. The
form of democracy would proceed from a background of wisdom and
intuition whereby regardless of which political party or government is in
power at the national level, the local indigenous institutional arrangements
of governance would remain intact and be guided by indigenous
organizational values of co-existence.

National elected officials would be responsible and accountable to the
foundation institutions and recognized as the real representatives of the rural
communities in the day-to-day dealings and interactions at the national and
international levels. Change of national government would be by means of
party elections. If rural dwellers are not satisfied with the performance of
any national elected officials, they would be the arbiters through the medium
of periodic elections. In a word, Africans would be governed by indigenous
organizational principles at the local levels, and modern organizational
principles of representation at the national levels.

While the foregoing provides some insights into what the elevation of the
indigenous structures would entail, there would be a need for some extensive
background preparations and actions to put this ideal in motion. Of utmost
importance is the necessity to understand the indigenous working
arrangements for co-existence of the rural communities and document (text
and audio visual) these structures of cooperation in clear terms using both
the indigenous and official languages. Such a documentation would include:
the indigenous methods of representation, mechanisms of checks and
balances involving procedures of autonomy, accountability, dissent and
transparency; strategies for managing common property resources, conflict
resolution or arbitration, maintenance of law and order and enforcement of
resource regulatory regimes. The documentation would also include
guidelines and criteria for performance monitoring, evaluation and
measurement; and working arrangements determining the boundary, scope,
influence and relationship of the national authorities with local indigenous
institutions of governance. In this context, the documentation would provide
the basis for codifying patterns of indigenous values, ideas and behavior of
co-existence into written standardized rules and practices which would serve
as constitutional guidelines for the blend of modern and indigenous
leadership arrangements for good strategies in Africa. With such steps

taken, pace-setting communities would be selected and adopted for pilot
initiatives during a period of transition towards full-scale operationalization
of the new arrangements of governance.

Expectations and Opportunities Under the
Emergent Leadership Arrangement

Generally, the foremost task of the emergent leadership arrangement would
revolve around the need to safeguard the physical, mental and social well-
being of everyone - both rural and urban dwellers. This makes it essential
that members of the society have access to the types of knowledge and
information that enhance the positive transformation of their livelihood
activities. In pursuit of this endeavor, the new leadership arrangement
would be obliged to provide a solid and viable base for modern technology
and development in the indigenous African technologies. A proactive
generation of innovative scientific and technological activities based on the
convergence of indigenous and modern knowledge is imperative if Africa is
to participate significantly in the modern world.

Some areas of livelihood activities requiring urgent scientific and
technological innovations for generating types of knowledge from which
applicable good governance strategies would emanate could be identified:

(a) Leadership direction would be needed to induce African scholarship to
generate knowledge and information regarding the physical health
conditions of the people. The potential of indigenous botanical knowledge
has been acknowledged and documented. What would be necessary is to
generate information revolving the method of preparation and application,
and how essential ingredients in specific plants used in the treatment of
specific diseases by the rural communities could be explored and studied.

Content could be geared to finding ways of establishing alliance between
local people and plant chemists which would lead to small-scale industries
capable of enhancing the pharmaceutical components of plants, production
and manufacture of tropical medicine. Information would be expected to be
drawn from the rich reservoir of indigenous medical practitioners and
directed at strengthening a relationship of complementarity with modern
health care delivery systems to improve the primary health care conditions
of the communities.

(b) The new leadership arrangement would be expected to facilitate the
formulation of strategies on how to utilize indigenous knowledge in formal
educational institutions to redress the disjunction between the course content
encountered in schools and the local knowledge of African students (Tedla
1995). The purpose of content generation would be a linkage between what
students learn in schools and their immediate experiences, thereby making
acquisition of knowledge relevant to students daily activities. There is also
the need to generate knowledge for civic/political orientation and
responsibilities through distance education training in the art and practices of
the basic elements of modern public administration, and the blending of
these with indigenous management practices.

(c) Another area which would require the attention of the emergent
leadership arrangement is agriculture management practices capable of
ensuring an appreciable degree of food adequacy and security for millions of
starving Africans. Knowledge in this context should evolve from issues of
food production, consumption, distribution and marketing. Content
categories would likely hinge on: (i) community social relations which
condition accessibility to various productive resources such as land, (ii)
indigenous forms of product ownership accessible to residents of the various
communities, (iii) agricultural group labor forces, (iv) credit facilities within

the context of indigenous credit systems and how these could be
incorporated into the formal rural banking processes and (v) community
markets as channels for communication, distribution, exchange,
transportation and sharing of food product prices and processing
information.

(d) Further expectations would involve knowledge generation for strategies
on labor productivity, mobilization and organization to stem the tide of
idleness, vulnerability and alienation characteristic of the social fabric of
particularly, the youthful population. Of likely relevance is content
information involving the numerous existing formal and informal civil
associations with development functions and responsibilities but have been
dormant in many cases. It is essential that information engendering the re-
energization of these associations and strategies for their effective utilization
features in the scheme of promoting good governance under the new
leadership arrangement.

(e) Knowledge on technology for harnessing and managing natural
environmental resources and regenerational activities would be needed to
forge cordial relationship between the ruled and the rulers. The leadership
arrangement is envisioned to facilitate content generation structured around
all aspects of indigenous technology for farm and off-farm activities. Details
would derive from the need for basic and intermediate farm implements,
food processing equipment, weaving and textiles, building and household
appliances, mechanisms of local road building, transport repairs, masonry,
toolsmiths, logistic and maintenance, and engineering for solar, wind, water,
waste and residue energy conversions. Information needs to be tapped from
the existing indigenous expertise in these categories and with minor
alterations transformed into technology more appropriate to present
conditions. Making available such information would generate enormous

input in the overall process of devising good governance strategies to
transform the livelihoods of Africans.

Concluding Remarks

To conclude, it is important to emphasize that the sordid conditions of
African economies in the midst of abundant resources requires innovative
ways to utilize the capacity and potential of both the modern and indigenous
leadership arrangements so that the strengths and weaknesses of both
categories are complemented in a manner which would induce the
formulation of good governance strategies. Good governance mechanisms
have to be created out of the context of the given realities and leadership
arrangements which fit the socio-cultural milieu of Africans. For the
concepts of majority rule, participatory democracy and power to the people
to have any cultural credence in Africa it would not be attained by
marginalizing the indigenous leadership arrangements in governance
mechanisms. The Western forms of governance arrangements currently in
vogue in Africa are mainly appropriate for the few urban enclaves in the
various countries. Thus there is the need to fill the void with institutional
arrangements which have the cultural credibility and legitimacy of the
majority of the people as an effective way of managing conflicts of co-
existence.

Many of the internecine conflicts which have mired Africa in recent times
revolve around the operations of the modern leadership arrangements
derived outside the existential experiences of the majority of Africans.
Violent conflicts resulting from the operations of the indigenous leadership
arrangements in African rural communities have been minimal, yet the rural
dwellers have been the major victims of the purely modern-leadership
induced conflicts. A major cause of these conflicts could be attributed to the

fact that since independence, no coherent efforts have been made to find
indigenous solutions to the problems facing Africa. Finding indigenous
solutions would begin with well-thought out procedures for incorporating
the indigenous leadership arrangements into present -day administration and
management practices.

References

Ake, C. 1997: The Unique Case of African Democracy, Africa World
Review, (Nov-1997-March 1998).

Anani, K. 1998: Sustainable Governance of Livelihoods in Rural Africa: A
Place-Based Response to Globalism in Africa, Development, Journal of the
Society for International Development, Vol.41.3.

Atte, O.D. 1992: Indigenous Local Knowledge as a Key to Local Level
Development: Possibilities, Constraints and Planning Issues (Ames, Iowa:
Iowa State University).

Dzobo, N.K. 1997: African Proverbs: The Moral Value of Ewe Proverbs,
Guide to Conduct Vol. II, (Accra: Bureau for Ghana Languages).

Gyekye, K. 1996: African Cultural Values (Philadelphia: Sankofa
Publishing Company).

Kakonge, J.O. 1995: Traditional African Values and their Use in
Implementing Agenda 21, Indigenous Knowledge Monitor Vol.3, No.2.

Kroma, S. 1995: Popularizing Science Education in Developing Countries
through Indigenous Knowledge, Indigenous Knowledge Monitor Vol.3,
No.2.

Ndue, P. 1998: Best Practices in Institutional Reform, Developmental
Policy Studies Vol.4, No.3.

Ngwainmbi, E. 1995: Communication Efficiency and Rural Development in
Africa (New York: Lanham).

Obasanjo, I. 1996: The Leadership Role of the African Intellectual in
African Development, in Hans dOrville (ed.) Beyond Freedom: Letters to
Olusegun Obasanjo (New York: Collage Press).

Tedla, E. 1995: Sankofa: African Thought and Education (New York: Peter
Lang).

Vaughan, O. 1995: Assessing Grassroots Politics and Community
Development in Nigeria, African Affairs Vol.94, No.377

Agriculture in Subsaharan Africa, Backbone
or Archilles Heel?
A Challenge for the Successor Generation

By

M. A. Sakara-Foster

Leadership is not a perogative, but rather a responsibility. Power
and position are only given to enable you to better serve your
constituents -not to carry out you idiosyncrasies or fulfill self
advancement and agrandizement

The idea and statement that Agriculture is the
backbone of a country is often touted by
government officials, civic leaders, developers and ordinary people from all
walks of life in most African countries South of the Sahara (Sub-Saharan
Africa, SAA). This statement often goes unchallenged either because it states
the obvious and therefore merits no further reflection, or is a mark of the
timerity that audiences accord their distinguished speakers. A close
examination of this statement might reveal not only what these speakers wish
to convey, but also the ambiguities that belie what appears to be an obvious
truth.

On the surface of things, there appears to be no doubt that Agriculture is
very important and dwarfs other sectors of Sub-Saharan African economies.
Agriculture employs the majority of population (60% to 80%) for whom we
seek good leadership. These rural dwellers, through agriculture, contribute a
Introduction

lion share of GDP from (16% to 60%) and earn most of the foreign
exchange (20% to 50%) in most Sub-Saharan African countries.

On the other hand, agricultural productivity of most Sub-Saharan African
countries is low. Food production is growing at only 2% maximum and
carries a 1% deficit below population growth rate (3%). Projections into the
year 2025 predict that up to 60% of Sub-Saharan Africas population will be
food insecure and live below acceptable standards of poverty (poverty line -
UNDP). How then can agriculture be so strong as to be a backbone? Could
the metaphor not mislead us into a false sense of security? Perhaps the
metaphor approximates more realistically, a weak man shifting his weight
onto the most rested of his weary thin legs. What may appear to be the pillar
of his support is actually the last of his dying legs. Can it be that a weak
agriculture is the cause of weakness in our national economies? Are slow
rates of agricultural growth the cause of low rates of economic growth? In
other words, is a poorly developed agriculture the Archilles heel of national
development?

Identifying The Problem

Why is SSA agriculture generally weak but for a few exceptions (South
Africa, Bostwsana, and until recently Zimbabwe)? The more successful
countries are characterised by higher levels of investment in agriculture and
policies that have not teathered private sector growth. SSA countries have
typically invested range of 1% to 6% of national recurrent and
development budgets in the agricultural sector.

The synergistic linkages between agricultural growth and health, education,
rural infrastructure and rural development are well established and
documented. It therefore needs little proof that retarded development in

Agriculture has had negative interactions with these other sectors. Little
investment has resulted in little output! and we should not expect to harvest
where we have not sown!

Past leadership has recognised the usefulness of the rural majority as a
source of votes, but have failed to deliver in any significant measure the
goods, tools and services that these small scale farmers need to become
prosperous in their predominant occupation, farming. They remain
subsistence farmers and are protesting their plight by marching into urban
settlements. The impotence of past governments to stem rural migration is a
good measure of their failure to transform agriculture from a subsistence
operation to a viable and commercially remunerative livelihood.

The biggest single challenge to the next generation of African leaders in the
next millenium is to manage agrarian reform and cope with its impact of
transforming rural communities to urban societies. For the first time on the
African continent, more people will live in urban societies than rural
communities.

The outcome of this process of transformation will be the single most
important determinant of the success or failure of the successor generation.
We will have no excuses, because we are informed, we have indebted
ourselves with loans for capacity building and we have condemned the
failures of past leaders.

Understanding the Problem

Low and slow growth in agricultural production are however symptoms and
not the cause of low rates of growth in agricultural sector. The inherent
brake on agricultural growth in sub-Saharan Agriculture is low productivity

arising from a combination of limited access to areas of high production
potential and widespread application of low yielding and inefficient
production methods. Marketing constraints also put a downward pressure on
agricultural growth, it is arguable which of the two has been the greatest
inhibitor of agricultural growth and development in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Governments have made many false starts in devising systems for
agricultural research and extension that will effectively modernise
subsistence agriculture. The green revolution has occurred in various
measures in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, but it is yet to occur
in Africa. More recent trends resulting from the approaches adopted in
partnership with NGOs (Foster, A.M.1998) give some room for optimism.

Advances have also occurred on the macro-economic front. Policy reform
aimed at restructuring SSA economies, has resulted in significant
privatisation and liberalisation of the agricultural sector. However,
investments have subsequently been primarily targeted at horticultural crops.
Food security remains at best tenuous, because productivity of staple food
crops remains stubbornly low. Therefore focusing policy on increasing
production and productivity remains an essential part of strategies to break
the cycle of poverty that keeps many rural dwellers food insecure. Increasing
productivity is particularly important because it makes food cheaper by
reducing unit cost of production and therefore making food generally more
widely available. This benefits low income groups more than anyone else
because they spend an appreciably greater proportion of their income, up to
70%, on food (Schuh 1998). Increased productivity and production also
helps to expand opportunities for off farm employment that can help
increase household income. A third an important contribution that higher
productivity brings us is its contribution to environmental conservation
through the land it saves from use, especially fragile lands. Finally, our
dream of industrial development can only be built on the surpluses of raw

materials from agriculture, it should be preferably our own indigenous, more
intensive and productive agriculture.

If future policy makers are convinced of the above then they must refute the
false dichotomy between:

1) Agricultural intensification and environmental conservation

2) Agricultural intensification and poverty alleviation.

Above all, African policy makers must recognise that the current trends will
not change by themselves and will most probably get worse if predictions
for 2025 are approximately correct. The past years of neglect of the
agricultural sector may be ascribed to the lack of political clout of its
constituency. A potential trade union of farmers consisting of 70% of the
population has been fragmented into political parties and various institutions
of dubious credibility that has not served their interests well, and there in lies
the challenge for the successor generation. The process of democratisation
should improve the plight of small-scale farmers and lead to a recognition
that:
1) food security is an objective and not an end in itself

2) farmers also want a better life for themselves and their children

3) the poorest farmers also get sick and need health care, they also need
clothing and shelter and are not aversed to a few creature comforts like
salt, sugar, oil, bicycles and radios. All this costs money and cannot be
purchased from subsistence agriculture.

4) improved productivity on small scale farms is based on the same
principles that laid the foundation for developed agriculture elsewhere.
There is no magic bullet for transforming agriculture.

5) The value of technology can only be fully appreciated if its costs both
financially and environmentally are known.

Which Way Forward

Top down approaches have had limited success if any. Trickle down
approaches have amounted to nothing more a trickle down the throats of
those at the top. A fresh approach must be made in rural development and
agricultural modernisation which would be under the control of the people
for whom it holds the greatest benefit.

Approach

We must begin with the rural communities. Farmers as a constituency needs
to articulate their needs in more organised groups. This presents an
opportunity for young people to take active leadership in their organisation.
Women and young people must be enabled to play a full role in their
communities singling them out as sub groups for separate development may
prove to be undesirable in the long term, although the immediate advances
they make can be satisfying.

Innovation and Application of Technology

The new emphasis on participatory approaches in technology innovation has
taken roots but not yet delivered as outputs in sufficient measure to give
demonstrable impact. More emphasis needs to be given to technology

content of extension messages. Message driven extension systems have
proved ineffective and not demand driven. Emphasis on developing farmer,
extension, research linkages needs to become main stream activities that
concern both extension and research institutions equally.

However, technology alone is not a panacea to low productivity because
there is a limit to how much we can modify technology to suit poor
government policy, low investment in agriculture or lack of interest in
farmers. Supporting services of input distribution systems, rural
infrastructure, functional literacy and primary health care are needed to
speed up the process. Multi-sectoral coordination is needed to maximise the
synergy that these areas provide to accelerate the momentum of
modernisation. Already, new strategies for agricultural development along
these lines have began to take shape in Uganda and Ghana. In fact both are
linked to the decentralisation process and will review the funding
arrangements to give districts direct access to specific funds for agricultural
development. The amount each district receives will be contingent on the
counterpart funds it can raise.

Financing Agriculture

We have to look increasingly to farmers to mobilize their own savings for
investment. More emphasis is being given to rural finance schemes that
stimulate savings and then give credit facilities. Many observes now agree
that credit should not preceed savings. SG2000s effort in Benin has shown
the way, farmers in over 40 CREPES have saved over 3.1 million dollars
and are now developing their own apex organisation (Galiba, 1998). Many
such efforts following the principles of the Grameen model are underway in
SSA in collaboration with several NGOs.

Marketing

Farmers need to develop partnerships with the agribusiness industry for
production and marketing. Out grower schemes offer new prospects that
combine the best of both worlds. The low costs of production of small scale
production and the marketing networks of larger farmers.

The challenge for the successor generation will be to maintain and
encourage an enabling environment that translates into tangible programmes
of assistance. The new leadership must provide a ladder of opportunity for
small scale farmers to advance beyond subsistence to prosperity without
leaving the village.

By
Prof. Ahmed Mohiddin
1

There has never been a time in modern African
history when the issue of leaders and quality of
leadership have been so important. The need for an African leadership that
has the competence to comprehend the challenges and opportunities of
globalisation, the imperatives of democratisation and good governance, the
vision of a preferred future and the capacity and commitment to realise it, is
clearly crucial. In the light of endemic problems facing Africa, the first
generation of African leaders have been subjected to severe criticism. It
cannot however be maintained that they totally failed Africa and Africans as
this conclusion would be both unscientific and unjust.

Some of these leaders responded to the problems confronting them in the
best manner they could. There were successes and failures. Time changes,
opportunities come and go and circumstances are never repeated; and if they
do appear to be repeated they may not respond to similar policies. Each
situation is a combination of continuity and change, the old and the tested,
and the unfamiliar but yet to be tested.

The first generation of African leaders had to a very large extent failed to
respond to the challenges of change: that. As Shakespeare put it: Time and

1
The Africa Foundation
THE SUCCEEDING GENERATION:
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Introduction

Tide Waits for no Man, or Person. For various reasons, the first generation
of African leaders lacked the capacity to fully understand the domestic and
global changes, the problems facing their people and the competence to
provide sustainable solutions. More importantly, they failed to create the
enabling environment for the evolution of succeeding generations of young
African leaders.

Part One of this paper begins with a brief revisit to the first generation of
African leadership, with the objective of ascertaining some of the major
factors that were responsible for the failure in coming to grips with the
changing world, or in preparing the succeeding generation for that task. The
future belongs to the youth and the first generation of African leadership
failed in creating the conditions conducive to the evolution of a young
generation of leaders with the capacity, vision and commitment to take
Africa into the 21st Century. It is important to be aware of these factors;
otherwise they might be repeated.

We live in a world that is continuously changing, impacting on Africa and
Africans in multiple ways and at various levels. Globalisation poses threats,
fears and challenges but it also creates opportunities and possibilities for
those with the capacity, vision and commitment. Part Two looks at the
changing world and its challenges, and opportunities for the young
generation of African leaders. What is needed is the creation of the
appropriate leadership that is capable of nurturing and promoting the African
Renaissance and steering Africa through the transition to the knowledge-
based and information societies of the 21st Century. Part Three discusses the
profile of the leadership appropriate for the 21st Century.

There is now a new generation of young Africans, well educated, many of
them are competent and committed with great potentials for leadership.
What is required is the creation of an environment that will facilitate the
identification of those with the talents for leadership, nurture and promote
the qualities of honesty, integrity, loyalty, respect for knowledge and
justified pride in strivings, achievements and successes. Part Four focuses on
the enabling environment, institutions and the mechanisms for the creation
of the succeeding generations of African leaders. Part Five concludes with
the challenges and opportunities confronting the succeeding generations of
African leaders.

Africa Leadership Revisited

Africas seemingly endemic problems have been attributed to three major
factors: inappropriate policies; bad governance; incompetent, corrupt and
ineffective leadership. In the last analysis they could all be reduced to
leaders and leadership. Given the problems and challenges confronting
Africa as it transits towards the 21st Century, it is most imperative that
Africa creates leaders who are knowledgeable about the ever-changing
world, competent, and honest, with integrity, vision and commitment.

We can best understand the paucity of African leadership with the requisite
capability, integrity, honesty, vision, competence and will power to lead
Africa towards its Renaissance by briefly revisiting the manner by which
leaders were recruited during the colonial period and the style of their
leadership. We need to understand the conditions and environment in which
the first generation of African leaders emerged. It is important to have a
Part One

balanced perspective. Not all first generation leaders failed. A few of them
did very well. And there are reasons for both failures and successes. These
leaders were subjected to the conventional wisdom and the buzzwords of the
nascent development community of that period. The same thing is taking
place today. Circumstances of the time need to be thoroughly understood,
otherwise history may be repeated.

There were two types of leaders: those created and supported by the colonial
authorities; and those who emerged amongst the people to lead the struggle
against colonial rule and for independence. The latter came to be generally
known as African nationalists and the former as colonial collaborators or
stooges. Democracy played no part in the recruitment or creation of either
type of leaders. The colonial government identified the collaborators and
imposed them on the people. With few exceptions African nationalists
manipulated and imposed themselves on the people.

Although both types of leaders claimed to be working in the interest of their
people yet each had different interpretations of those interests and the means
for achieving and promoting them. In most cases, these differences were so
profound and seemingly insoluble that hostility and war-like atmosphere was
created between the two types of leaders. Each regarded the other as the
enemy or obstacles to the real interests and welfare of the people. They
called each other names: snakes and hyenas. There was very little co-
operation between them other than the one that was occasionally forced
upon them by the colonial government; and this was often done in support of
the colonial interests. Each leader was more inclined to trust the colonial
authorities than any one in the other group.

Although diverse in their creation the major objective of these leaders were
basically the same: to capture power and assume leadership of their
countries at the end of the colonial rule. Greed and the need to maintain
themselves in power influenced their vision of the future more than real
development and peoples welfare. To achieve their objectives, they focused
their energies and mobilised resources: youth wingers, women organisations,
trade unions, peasant farmers, all types of the then inchoate professional
associations; in a word, they captured the nascent civil society, manipulated,
twisted and emasculated it. As they confidently believed that they knew
what was in the best interest of the people, they did not waste any time
consulting them. Meetings, conferences, seminars or rallies were taken
merely as opportunities for the leaders to tell people what they, the leaders,
wanted them to know and do, and not as those for the leaders to listen to the
people, their needs, fears and aspirations. This applied to both types of
leaders. There was no democracy for the people; and this was justified on
grounds of economic development and nation building.

Public policy was not based on objective information or systematically
acquired knowledge, but on leaders inspirations and personal whims, the
ideology of the single party, or on foreign advice and consultancies. Most
leaders lacked the requisite knowledge to govern a modern nation-state. And
the few who had the capabilities were unwilling to use them for various
reasons.

Oppositional and opportunistic, rather than constructive and visionary were
the main characteristics of the politics of the period. The leaders intrigued
and manipulated, threatened and coerced in order to maintain power. And
the qualities of leadership required, particularly in the single party, which
then dominated the political scene, were authoritarian and cynical.

Given the importance of ethnicity in African society, leadership tended to be
monopolised by the dominant tribe or a cluster of tribes. A shrewd
nationalist leader was the one who could assess, balance and manipulate
the contesting demands from the various tribal or regional leaders without
necessarily taking into account the overall interests of the country or the
welfare of all the people. In general, main preoccupation of the leadership
were to pacify, bribe, coerce, cheat, threaten and manipulate other leaders to
ensure that there was peace and stability so that nation-building and
economic development could take place.

This strategy worked well within the anti-colonial context, and was carried
over to the post-independence period in many African countries.

Apart from perpetuating the oppositonal and opportunistic politics, the
strategy also created an environment that tended to prevent the evolution of
a succeeding generation of young, well-educated, modernising, committed
and visionary leaders. It also discouraged some of the incumbent leaders
who were motivated by public service and wished to promote the welfare of
the people. On the whole, the youth, women, workers and peasants were
used as means to ends defined by the leaders. No specific measures were
taken to prepare them as the succeeding future leaders. Although there are
today many young people with the potentials for leadership, the socio-
political and economic environment in many African countries is such that it
is virtually impossible for youthful and competent leaders with visions
different from that of the incumbents to emerge. This situation has to
change.

It is however important to be mindful that such changes are unlikely to take
place without the co-operation, or at least connivance, of the existing
leaders. These leaders are not necessarily captive of the past. They are

valuable resources that could and should be harnessed. They are part of the
relay-race to be discussed later. But they are suspicious of the young and
some even hostile towards them. The young generation of Africans is better-
educated, well-informed, professionals in their chosen fields, aggressive and
critical of past leadership.

Major Concerns of the First Generation of Leaders

Following the departure of the colonial rulers, African nationalists took
possession of the colonial state with all its coercive apparatus. They became
the rulers and masters of their peoples. At independence, African leaders
were faced with three options. The first was continuity with some changes.
This meant "business-as-usual" but with the appropriate changes of attitudes
vis-a-vis the former colonial rulers. A new relationship of "partners in
development" was assumed but as yet undefined. The second option
represented a break with the past, and for several African countries it
entailed the adoption of a socialist model of development of some kind. The
third option was in effect the first window of opportunity provided by
independence, to enable Africans to reflect on the kinds of changes and
directions they would wish to adopt for their new nations.

Africa now has an opportunity to build an ethic appropriate to the
development of a good and stable society or allow one to develop
which contains the seeds of future strife and confusionIt is my belief
that we in Africa must seize the opportunity we now have, so that a new
attempt can be made to synthesise the conflicting needs of man as an
individual and as a member of society

..the opportunity [created by independence] is before us, provided
we have the courage to seize it. For the choice is not between change

and no change; the choice for Africa is between changing or being
changed - changing our lives under our own direction or being
changed by the impact of forces outside our control. In Africa, there is
no stability in this twentieth century; stability can only be achieved
through balance during rapid change.

Africa must change her institutions to make feasible her new
aspirations; her people must change their attitudes and practices to
accord with the objectives. And these changes must be positive, they
must be initiated and shaped by Africa and not simply be a reaction to
events which affect Africa.

Julius Nyerere, Collected speeches of the writer.

And while yet we are making out claim for self-government I want
to emphasise that self-government is not an end in itself. It is a means
to an end, to the building of the good life to the benefits of all,
regardless of tribe, creed, colour or station in life. Our aim is to make
this country a worthy place for all its citizens, a country that will be a
shining light throughout the whole continent of Africa. Giving
inspiration far beyond its frontiers. And this we can do by dedicating
ourselves to unselfish service to the humanity. We must learn from the
mistakes of others so that we may, in so far as we can, avoid a
repetition of those tragedies which have overtaken other human
societies."
Kwame Nkrumah, The Motion of Destiny, 1953

The first generation of African leaders was faced with seven major
challenges. One, the management of the inherited colonial state machinery,
the economy, and the maintenance of law, order and stability. In many

African countries there were not enough Africans with the required technical
and professional knowledge and experience to run a modern nation-state. In
some countries, the so-called multi-racial societies where Europeans or
Asian minorities were dominant in the economic and commercial sectors of
the country, the problems were quite serious, and urgent at that. Popular
perceptions of independence implied that Africans must be seen to be in
control, occupying key positions in the economy and society. Yet non-
Africans -citizens or non-citizens, occupied most of the important and
sensitive positions in the private and public sectors.

Two, to create a new political order of peace and stability within which
peoples from diverse racial, ethnic, regional and religious backgrounds could
work in cooperation and harmony to produce the goods and services needed
by the new nation. Three, to develop the human resources and institutional
capacities to meet the challenges of the rising expectations of the peoples
and the demands of the post-colonial governance. Four, to formulate an
ideology that could galvanize the enthusiasm, imagination, talents, skills and
energies of the ethnically, culturally and religious diverse peoples to build
the new nation, promote its interests and defend its sovereignty. The
nostalgia of the pre-colonial communal African past, coupled with apparent
successes of the Soviet Union and Communist China in rebuilding their
societies and feeding their peoples convinced a number of African leaders of
the relevance of socialism to their own post-colonial situations. But what
kind of socialism and how to implement it were questions that confused and
confounded African leadership and ruined many African economies. Five, to
obtain aid, technical assistance and to attract foreign investments.

Six, was the promotion of African unity. The quest for unity precipitated
controversial debates and led to the adoption of different strategies based on
divergent ideological convictions and international political and economic

support. Although unity was obtained in the form of the Organization of
African Unity Charter in 1963, this was achieved at the expense of
confirming the colonial boundaries, and thus reinforcing the artificiality of
African states and the fractious nature of their societies. The boundary
disputes were to engulf leaders in various political and armed conflicts,
which consumed their energies, time, talents and resources. And Seven, to
promote the decolonization of the rest of Africa. This was the logical
imperative of Pan-Africanism. If the rest of Africa was to be freed, then the
anti-colonial movements and their liberation armies must be supported.

Born and bred under colonial rule, the first generation of African leaders was
acutely conscious of racial domination and discrimination. Once
Independence was achieved, they determined to ensure that the succeeding
generations of Africans should not suffer the same fate as they did.

The resistance of the Portuguese colonial authorities to orderly
decolonization, and the reluctance of the major Western governments to
provide material support for African independence movements, converted
decolonization from an essentially legitimate political process into a military
confrontation in which the big powers were ultimately involved. The Soviet
Union and its allies supported any liberation movement that appeared to be
anti-West or critical of Communist China. Communist China supported any
movement that appeared to them to be either ant-West or critical of the
Soviet Union. And the West in general supported any movement that
appeared, or could be perceived, to be anti communist. Africa then became a
new arena of proxy wars and ideological competition between the big
powers. This further complicated African domestic and external politics and
economics. It also involved African leaders in unnecessary global
ideological struggles that consumed a considerable amount of their time and
talents.

The pursuit of the various concerns demanded from the as yet untested
African leaders to a combination of talents, abilities and skills ranging from
statecraft and consensus building to diplomatic shrewdness, political
manipulation, coercion and repression. The attraction and in some cases the
presumed relevance of the one-party democracy in Africa must be viewed
within the context of the problems and tasks confronting the first generation
of African leaders.

... Their Successes

Overwhelmed by the endemic problems of African development, critics
have tended to ignore or belittle the initial real achievements of the first
generation of African leaders. The odds against these leaders are ignored.
There were successes as well as failures. Clearly, one of the greatest
successes of the first generation of African leaders is the fact that they were
able to hold their countries and economies together for the duration they did.
In the midst of post-independence criticism of African leadership there is a
tendency to forget that virtually all the leaders were totally inexperienced in
statecraft or economic management. They had never had managerial
apprenticeship of any sort, political leadership experience or decent
exposure to the workings of democracy. The colonial rulers held tight on
the reigns and rules of their colonies.

The first generation of African leaders were most successful in the provision
and extension of social services, particularly education and health facilities.
They built schools, colleges and universities where none existed before.
They increased in multiple folds the entrance to the schools and colleges.
They built hospitals, dispensaries, and health stations of various sizes, and
trained doctors, nurses and all kinds of hospital support. They raised the
levels of adult literacy, and gave pride and self-respect to those that for the

first time in their lives could read the newspapers for themselves, or write
replies to the letters they received from their families. They brought piped
water to isolated towns, and improved the quality of drinking water to the
villagers. They extended electric power to a much wider circle than was the
case during the colonial period. They built impressive transport and
communication network. They improved the postal services. In their
enthusiasms to serve their peoples, post-colonial governments moved into
manufacturing and the supply of basic consumer goods, like soft drinks,
beer, textile, detergents, cereals; and so on.

The first decade of independence was in many ways exhilarating; partly
because independence itself was a novelty and partly because there were
many things Africans could now have or do which in the colonial period
they could not. The problems incrementally accumulated and became visible
towards the end of the second decade of independence. By then the novelty
of independence had worn off, the crudities and hardships of the real world,
the abuse of power and mismanagement clearly manifested themselves.
Nation-building were the major pre-occupations of the first generation of
African political leadership. They were obsessed with the fears of ethnic and
racial conflicts and the loss of the mobilization momentum achieved during
the anti-colonial struggles.

It is note-worthy to recall that some of these leaders were the best products
of their times, some of whom were educated and trained in the West. They
thus carried with them into power their share of the then prevailing Western
conventional wisdom in matters related to economics and politics. Some of
them espoused Fabian socialism and others Keynesianism, and a scattered
few were intrigued, though not yet seduced, by Marxism-Leninism. But all
of them believed in the primacy of import-substitution industrialization, a
strong central political authority and the state as the engine of economic

growth. In all these, the contemporary leading development economists and
modernization theorists including the World Bank - supported them.

...And their failures..

The first generation of African leaders assumed all the attributes of the
colonial state. In spite of the elections and promises of more freedom that
preceded independence, the state continued to be unresponsive,
unaccountable, lacking in transparency, and in most cases repressive. In
response to the rising expectations occasioned by the promises of
independence, the post-colonial government was forced to extend social
services to areas where they did not exist, and expanded them in places
where only a few existed. In the process the state became the main provider
of social and other public services, thus involving government in a much
wider circle of economic and social activities; and inevitably their control.
Gradually the state became not only very powerful but also the supreme
source of 'rent', and those who controlled it - the leaders- also manipulated
its flow in the form of bribery and other illegal means of acquiring incomes.

During the colonial period there was very little training in the transition to
power, or socialization in the democratic process and practice in good
governance. The most vocal African nationalists were called agitators; and
those who resorted to mass political education and mobilization were
considered rebellious and dangerous to peace, order and good government of
the colony. Hence, to the first generation of African political leaders,
political power was won by a combination of actual physical struggles, mass
political mobilization and propaganda against the constituted authorities. It
did not come through the medium of discussion, debates and civilized
arguments. With notable few exceptions, it was the results of bitter and
prolonged power struggles. And those were the perception of politics and

democracy the first generation of African leaders carried with them when
they assumed independence. This also explains why they tenaciously held
on to power. There was thus very little time for multiparty politics,
democracy or good governance to take roots.

The first generation of African leaders failed in five broadly related areas.
One was their inability to respond positively to the domestic and global
changes that had taken place since independence. Two, they failed to
creatively utilize the inherited colonial state as an engine of economic
growth. The colonial state per se, was not an obstacle to growth. It was
clearly a non-democratic state. However, Creatively and purposefully
utilized it could be a very efficient engine of economic growth. In the hands
of dictators and tyrants it could be an effective instrument of regimentation,
coercion and repression. And this is what happened in many cases.

Three, they failed to create modern economic institutions relevant to the
African conditions, adaptable to changing global patterns of production,
technology and markets, which could facilitate and promote sustainable
human development. Four, they failed to create democratic political systems
relevant to African traditions with structures and patterns of governance that
are effective, pragmatic, accountable and transparent. Five, they failed to
create the enabling environment for the evolution of the succeeding
generations of young African leaders with the capabilities to respond to the
challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century; with policies based on
knowledge, global realities and experience and not on abstract ideological
principles, personal inspirations or wishful thinking.

The Ever Changing World

We live in a world of continuous changes. Change is a fact of life. It is the
capability to anticipate changes and to respond to them positively that has
distinguished the successful from the failures. Historically, the successful
countries have been those whose leaders had the capabilities to identify or
anticipate important changes in the global market-place of goods, services
and ideas and responding to them timely and effectively.

Problems confronting Africa are very complex and deep-rooted in history. It
is the contention of this paper that Africa is poor and underdeveloped
primarily because it has failed to respond effectively and timely to changes,
challenges and opportunities in the domestic and global market-places.
Africa has failed because it has lacked the requisite capabilities, the political
will, or both, to effectively respond to the changes, challenges and
opportunities that have confronted the continent in the course of its modern
history.

The world has been in continuous shifts of changes in science and
technology, scales and types of production, organizational principles,
invention of new goods and services, and in various forms of social
development. Those who were actively involved or participated in those
changes acquired the capabilities to respond positively and timely to the
challenges and opportunities generated by those changes, as well as the
capabilities to predict and prepare for future changes, challenges and
opportunities. For various reasons Africa failed to participate in these
changes and exchanges in the global market places of goods and services, of
ideas and new ways of doing things.
Part Two

The cumulative consequences of the inability or unwillingness to respond to
changes have incrementally tended to isolate Africa and Africans from the
major global events. Africa became progressively isolated, ceased to be an
active participant in the global market place and instead became victim or
casualties of the global changes and challenges; in effect, a recipient of other
peoples' ideas and ways of doing things, and of their goods and services.
Africans have to be involved and participate as free agents in the global
market place. The survival of Africans as a distinct people with their own
cultures and civilization values to enjoy, nourish, promote and defend, will
depend on their capabilities to respond to the global changes, challenges,
possibilities and opportunities as the 21st Century is unfolding.

The persistent negative images of Africa, as a continent in deep troubles and
of Africans portrayed as a people unable to solve their problems is unhealthy
and damaging. If these images are not challenged they may not only
continue to mislead the rest of the world, more seriously they may cause
young Africans to doubt their own capabilities and self-esteem, and thus
undermine their role as levers of change for an alternative better future for
Africa. It is imperative that Africans begin to build now the requisite
capabilities to respond to these changes otherwise the marginalization of
Africa from major world activities, like trade and politics, science and
technology, would accelerate.

At a time when not only the developed countries, but also the
developing countries, are racing towards the 21st Century, Africa has
actually been sliding back into the Fourth World of its own. Not only
has Africa been losing its share of global markets and losing out in
the scientific and technological race, but it has been declining
economically and socially, and has also become increasingly
dependent on external food aid and food Imports; increasingly poor

and increasingly unable to satisfy the basic needs of its inhabitants.
Moreover, many countries in Africa have actually retrogressed into a
pre-underdeveloped state of ethnic anarchism and conflict and of
struggle for sheer survival. How can a continent with such attributes
not be marginalized?How can we ensure that Africa in the 21
st

Century will not continue to be forever preoccupied with survival and
would become a viable partner in global affairs?

Sadig Rasheed, Economic Commission for Africa, 1992
Nobody is going to bail out Africa. African problems must be solved by
Africans; and this of necessity requires rethinking, followed by imaginative
and bold answers. To acquire the capabilities to respond to the challenges
and opportunities in the market places of the 21st Century, Africa must
mobilize its resources by facilitating the release of the energies, talents,
skills, enterprise and entrepreneurship of its peoples. Only competent,
honest, visionary and committed leaders are likely to create the enabling
environment within which such liberalizing process could take place.

Profile Of 21st Century Africa Leadership

As the world is rapidly transiting to the 21st Century and as globalization is
inescapable a new type of leadership is needed to guide the destiny of
Africa. Globalization is not an option to be debated and avoided if so
preferred.
The phenomenon of globalization is irreversible and cannot be
avoided. It is not simply a fashionable word but a mode of behaviour
which is going to be imposed, and if Africa does not prepare itself for
the event, it will once again find itself marginalisedOur little
Part Three

African, Caribbean or Pacific countries will have to think hard about
how we can play a part in this world economy. There is no longer any
room for idiosyncrasies or sentiment! In economic terms, we have
moved on from the time when people took account of certain
considerations that were not purely economic to one in which the
clear-cut rules of liberal economics reign. We must prepare ourselves.
Instead of whingeing and asking our partners in Europe to grant us
total support, we have to organise ourselves to meet this objective.
Tertius Zongo, Burkinabe Minister of Finance
& Economic Development, the Courier,
No.164, July-August, Brussels, 1997, p.67

Each historical period dictates its own demands on society, and the type of
leadership required to promote the interests and welfare of the people and
defend their peace and security. People over the world are demanding new
leaders and new style of leadership that would guide them promote and
protect their interests in this bewildering world of globalisation. Africans
cannot opt out of globalisation nor continue to depend on the help of other
people. The culture of entitlement is now no longer acceptable and the
donors have rejected that of dependency.

Although globalization is a universal phenomenon, yet its impact and the
opportunities and possibilities if offers are bound to differ from one society
to another. As an extension of technology worldwide, it is only those who
are equipped to deal with it that are likely to be its beneficiary; and those
who are not are bound to be its victim. Africans belong to the latter category
and SouthEast Asians in the former. Hence although globalization might
enable Africans to participate in the global economy, however because of
Africas very low technological absorptive capabilities, they may do so in
roles whose determination Africans have no control. Africans may have the
goods and services offered by the global markets, but they may not have the

requisite technological capabilities to produce the goods and services with
quality and price acceptable to the advanced economies.

In addition to the new technology and associated
organisational developments which are being rapidly adopted in
advanced countries, other significant changes are also taking place
in the production systems of these countries, involving new concepts
such as flexible specialisation and just-in-time production. How will
the new technology and production concepts affect the relative
competitive position of developing countries vis--vis the industrial
countries? The main question at issue here is what implications
these global economic and technological developments will have for
international competition and for the skill requirements in the
developing countries. How should developing countries modify their
current educational and training systems to meet the needs of the
new technology as well as the far greater integration of the
international economy?

Ajit Singh, Global Economic Changes, Skills and
International Competitiveness,
International Labour Review,
Vol.133, No.2 1994, p.168

A new breed of leaders is needed in Africa; with leadership based on
intellect, knowledge and experience and not on personal inspirations or
aspirations; one who is well educated, respects knowledge and those who
have it, and knows how or where to obtain it; has a sound understanding of
the globalization phenomenon and its impacts on Africa, and is prepared to
respond to the challenges and opportunities created by the globalization
process; one who understands the critical importance of good governance,

accountability and transparency in both democratic and development
processes; one with honesty, integrity, and a vision of better future for all,
and with the capability and commitment to realize the vision; one who
recognizes the importance of the generational linkages and is committed to
develop and sustain the synergy between the generations. A leader who
believes in democracy not simply as an electoral mechanism of gaining
power, but as a means by which legitimate power is achieved and
responsibly and accountably exercised on behalf of the people. Elections are
held in all African countries and those elected claims to represent the will of
the people, and yet in their daily exercise of power they behave differently.
Africa needs a leader who respects and is respected, trusts and is trusted, by
those who elected him/her, and is thus secure and confident in his/her
leadership.

Creating The Enabling

As each historical period demands a particular kind of leaders and
leadership, it would be prudent to be mindful of the circumstances that
produced the first generation of African leaders and the manner in which
they pursued their objectives. History does not repeat itself. It is people who
try to repeat it. The first generation leaders had their successes and failures;
they made their mistakes some of which were costly in both human and
material terms. Nonetheless, their collective actions and experience
constitute an important body of knowledge that needs to be properly
understood, analyzed and lessons extracted from them. The four decades of
independence, of experimentation with their successes and failures, have
produced useful knowledge and insights on the processes of development
and democratization in Africa. Appropriately treated such knowledge and
Part Four

experience could be useful to the succeeding generation of leaders. What is
needed is the creation of an environment that will facilitate the transmission
of knowledge and experience between the generations.

Leadership: Succession

A distinction should be made between leadership succession and the
recruitment of leaders. Succession is a process that involves the assumption
or transference of leadership from one person, or group, to another. How
successful, peaceful or effective such an assumption or transference might
be will depend on the relevant laws, historical experiences, norms and
cultural traditions of the peoples concerned; as well as the existential
circumstances. Where the laws and traditions are observed the succession is
likely to be peaceful and effective. Where such observations are ignored
problems are likely to occur. In general, leadership succession in post-
Independence Africa has tended to be a product of crude political
manipulations, rebellions or military coups rather than the peaceful
application of the constitutional process. This is due partly to the fact that
constitutionalism is not well founded in Africa; and partly due to the
primacy of politics.

The constitution provides the basic foundations for the legitimacy of the
government to rule and the peoples rights to demand accountability and
transparency from the government. The constitutions of virtually all-African
countries make provisions for the establishment and maintenance of
accountability and transparency systems. It is the manner in which these
systems have performed that has been problematic. This deficiency in
constitutionalism is one of the major contributory factors to bad governance
in Africa.

Our constitutions are as good as any other constitutions in the
world. Our laws are equally sound. The judiciary is supposed to be
independent and the Police fair and accountable. In most of our
countries the laws and the regulations provide for equal access to land
and resources. Yet, we know in some cases, groups and individuals
prevail over the general interest. We do have institutions for control
such as constitutional courts, Ombudsman and other appeal courts and
commissions. But yet, the situation in the field is quite disturbing as
the rights of the citizens are often violated and undermined.

Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, Secretary- General,
Oganization of African Unity, Addis Ababa, 1998

Politics is a struggle for power. In a democracy the struggle takes place
within a competitive framework regulated by rules, principles, norms and
conventions. In Africa, politics is personalized and transformed into a means
of acquiring personal wealth and power, Thus those in power and position of
leadership do all they can to keep others out. They ignore the democratic
principle, norms and conventions. In Africa, politics ceases to be a properly
organized competitive struggle for power; it becomes simply a struggle
between those who have the power and want to keep it and those who wish
to take it away from them and use it for their own personal benefits. Hence
the struggle between leaders resolve itself into one for the price of power
and not as a competition for better policies and solutions to the peoples
problems.

And Recruitment

Leadership recruitment entails a process of identification, nurturing,
education and training. This presupposes the existence of an enabling

environment and institutions with mechanisms guided by principles, rules
and codes of conduct by which potential leaders could be identified,
attracted, nurtured and trained. Such an enabling environment attracts
independent individuals who are talented, educated and well informed, with
vision or ideas and are ambitious to promote them for the benefit of the
country. These people need not be professional politicians attached to any
particular party. They could be ordinary citizens who are sufficiently
motivated to play an active role in public affairs.

The existence of such an enabling environment is very useful in that it
facilitates the release of the talents, skills, enthusiasm, experience and
enterprise from the multitude of the citizens. It thus plays a critical role in
the expansion and enrichment of the pool of resources from which leaders
could be recruited. It enhances the empowerment of the people to choose
their leaders. It widens the options for various types of leadership for the
talented and ambitious individual. It restricts the monopolistic powers of the
political parties to impose their own leaders on the people.

Mature democracies have such environments and institutions for the
recruitment of leaders. They are however products of deliberate actions and
have taken a long time to evolve to the present state of performance. Africa
does not as yet have such environments or institutions. Certainly the
tradition of open competition for leadership where several contenders takes
part is yet to be firmly grounded in Africa.

Leadership:An Obstacle Race?

Admittedly, Africa demands new leaders and style of leadership that is
competent, honest, visionary and committed, that can steer Africa from the
vicious circles of endemic problems. Indeed, a leadership that is in tune with

the changing world competent and committed to respond to the challenges
and opportunities of globalisation. Clearly, that leadership is likely to
emerge from the generation of young Africans. There is now a generation of
young Africans who are well educated and understand how to get things
done in the modern globalising world. The major challenges are: one, how to
synthesize the ideas, experience and wisdom of the past generation of
leaders with the expertise and global perspectives of the young aspiring
leaders; and, two, how to create and sustain the synergetic impulses of the
two generations of leaders.

Obviously the future belongs to the young generation of Africans. It is they
who must assume the responsibility of formulating the appropriate policies
to respond to the challenges of globalization and the promotion of the
African Renaissance. But the future is part of the present and the present is
the continuation of the past. The future entails uncertain changes that pose
threats and challenges as well as opportunities and possibilities. It is
however difficult to anticipate the future and all the fears and threats it poses
to some people, and challenges, opportunities and possibilities it presents to
others, without a sound grasp of the present. Equally it is impossible to have
an objective who understanding of the present and all its problems without
some knowledge of the past and the circumstances which produced the
present problems. An objective comprehension of past events, the successes
and failures and their underlying reasons, to a good grasp of the present.
There has therefore to be a dynamic, selective and positive process of
continuity with change.

It is true that the future belongs to the youth - the succeeding generation. But
it cannot be entirely of its own making. The future contains selective
elements of the present and the past. The present is an inheritance of the
past, handed over by the first generation or simply assumed by the

succeeding generation. But like all inheritance it should be appropriately
preserved and productively utilised. It must be improved and not
indiscriminately destroyed. The succeeding generation must understand that
todays leaders are tomorrows seniors and veterans.

Or A Relay Race!

The past is a laboratory of social, economic and political experiments
conducted by the first generation of African leaders. It is also a library, and a
museum, that contain and preserve the thoughts, fears, inspiration and
aspirations, as well as the artefacts, bits and pieces and the practical
consequences of the actions of that generation of leaders. It is unscientific
and indeed unwise to assume that all the first generation of leaders failed. It
is arguable that even the few who could be considered as successes made
tremendous mistakes, some of which in retrospect are difficult to explain let
alone defend.

Nonetheless, amongst the first generation of African leaders there are those
who have explained their actions, admitted the mistakes and are prepared to
share the accumulated knowledge and insights that only age and experience
can offer. These leaders are valuable durable assets that need to be utilised
before they cease to be functional. The knowledge and experience they have
accumulated over the last four decades of tremendous domestic and global
changes are invaluable to the succeeding generation of leaders.

Unfortunately there are first generation African leaders who are suspicious
of the young aspiring leaders, and some even hostile towards them. There
are young African leaders who are acutely critical, and in some instances
contemptuous, of the first generation of leaders.

There is no need for hostility or suspicion between the generations. Each
needs the other. The young need the experience, wisdom and sagacity of the
senior to enable them better understand human nature, state-craft and the
real world of economics and politics. And the seniors need the expertise,
energy, enthusiasm, vision and the commitment of the young to complement
their own missions.

Hence the leadership succession should be a relay rather than an obstacle
race between the incumbent and succeeding generations of leaders. The
incumbent generation of leaders should consider leadership as a
responsibility and trust to be exercised on behalf of the people, to promote
their welfare and provide peace, security and stability. And as an intricate
part of the trust and responsibility each succeeding generation of leaders
should create and promote an enabling environment for subsequent
succeeding generations of leaders.
What Needs to Be Done

One, strengthening the key institutions supportive of democracy and good
governance: parliament; political parties; civil society; NGOs; press and
media; and the think-tanks. Two, promoting the major principles supportive
of the key institutions: democracy; good governance; open society;
pluralism; multi-party politics; accountability and transparency; and
rethinking government and politics. The constitution is a key legal and
political document. It is a cluster of fundamental constitutional principles,
encompassing basic freedoms and human rights, as well as a corpus of legal,
social and political processes. It is the source of power, authority and
legitimacy for all the key players in the development processes: government,
private sector and the civil society. And it is precisely for these reasons that
people are now demanding revisiting and rewriting their constitutions.
People were not involved in the making of the constitutions under which
they are now governed.

It [constitution-making] is actually the most fundamental political
process in any nations history. It is the historical rendezvous between
the State and society a time when the government and the people
review their past history as well as their present needs and their
future. It is a meeting point between these three points in time when
people ask themselves: How shall we organize our government? What
are the most fundamental values that we cherish and want to nurture,
promote and protect? So while power is an important aspect of
constitutionm-making, there is something even more important and
that is fundamental rights and duties.
Prof. Berek Habte Selassie,
Former Attorney-General of Ethiopia
who resigned during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie,
Daily Nation, Nairobi, Kenya, 16.3.98
It is difficult and certainly undesirable to create special conditions or
mechanisms for youth leadership succession. Leadership is a trust. It has to
be earned and its legitimacy and respectability depends on how it was
earned. Otherwise succession becomes a mere automatic inheritance. What
needs to be done are: the removal of the obstacles; hostility, prejudice,
ignorance, suspicion and fear on both sides of the generations divide. Two,
empowering the youth through education, training, socialization and
exposure to practical leadership situations. Three, re-assure the seniors by
acknowledging their service to the nation, providing them with reasonable
pensions, and ensuring them with a place in society; that there is an
honourable life after politics.

Democracy is not an option but an absolute necessity. It is demanded by
people who are prepared to struggle for it. Good governance, accountability
and transparency are not the prevailing conventional buzzwords or
conditionality imposed by the donors. These too are demanded by the
ordinary people. They demand open and honest government; and they want
their leaders to be responsible, responsive and accountable to them.

Though the task of governance and nation-building must be
approached with care, time seems not to be on our side.
Pressures are amounting both from within and from without for
improved governance. Our people are becoming more and more
aware of their rights in society and are accordingly demanding
accountability and openness form governments. globalisation
has also stretched our inter-dependency relationship demanding
in its wake the need to rationalise and harmonise efforts at
governance and development.

The present scenario of radical global change must however be seen
as an opportunity to interact and work in genuine partnership among
ourselves and with the technologically advanced countries.

Prof. J.E. Atta Mills, the Vice President of Ghana,
at the Governance Forum Two,
Accra, June 26, 1998

People want the power to elect leaders of their own choice; and once these are
elected to be able to call them to account in more effective and meaningful ways.
They are also demanding competence, honesty, integrity, vision and
commitment from their leaders to steer them from the endemic problems
towards the Africa Renaissance. Moreover, they want to be sufficiently informed
about public policy so that they could make the right choice of leaders, as well
as control and call them to account when necessary. They want leadership to be
appropriately and honestly earned and not simply given or taken. This requires
the creation of an enabling environment and the continuous support of key
institutions, mechanisms and processes.

But democracy and good governance are not there just for the wanting, or even
for the knowing. It is not merely an act of will, legislation or resolutions of an
important conference such as this one. Democracy and good governance will not

come about because good leaders have been elected. People have to struggle for
them, to be vigilant and continuously involved in public affairs. And this takes
time, effort, organisation, patience, persistence and resources.

In addition to the very high levels of illiteracy Africa also suffers from very low
levels of operational literacy amongst its educated population. The culture of
reading for sheer knowledge, information, enlightenment or pleasure is still
underdeveloped in Africa. After their formal education many, Africans lapse
into voluntary illiteracy. They read only when they have to; and even then it is
usually connected with their professional or job responsibilities. To sustain a
thriving democracy and good governance an informed and participatory
citizenry is essential

Visions do not fall from heaven like the Gospels or Koran. They are the products
of prolonged hard work, experience, and at time, the consequences of violent
struggles or revolutions. Hence: the importance of creating an enabling
environment, so that ideas, opinions, knowledge, information; in short, the
political, social and economic processes could take place without undue
restrictions.

Think-tanks and independent public policy research centres are crucial in the
support and promotion of an enabling environment. So are the press and the
media. Think tanks and research centres create new knowledge and subject the
conventional wisdom and the activities of those in power to reasoned criticism.
The press and the media help in the circulation of ideas and information.

Political Parties play a very important role in the processes of accountability and
transparency in a democracy. They mobilise public opinion in order to be
elected, and in the process make numerous promises to the public that once in
power they would be implemented. They thus create the basic foundations for

accountability and transparency for their members as well as the general public.
It is impossible to imagine a functional and sustainable democracy without
political parties. And yet in Africa many political parties are not democratically
organised or managed.

Internal party democracy will strengthen the accountability to the members and
promote the inter-generations succession of leaders. To ensure a sustainable
succession of leaders parties should be based on principles, visions and
commitment, so that support could be based on commitment to principles rather
than to personalities. This would enable the succession to leadership of those
most suited and trusted to promote the principles and vision of the party. There
must be genuine open competition for leadership within the party and the
country at large. To ensure that party policies are based on knowledge and
information and not just personal inspirations or whims - leaders must be
adequately educated and with experience in the management of a modern nation-
state.

In a democracy, parliament is the sovereign legislative body. It enacts laws,
appropriates, allocates and monitors public expenditure. It checks and balances
the activities of the government and censures members of government and senior
public servants. It acts as a forum in which the representatives of the people
articulate their grievances, express their anxieties, demand wrongs to be
rectified, and in general compel the government to acknowledge its
accountability to the people. Parliament is thus an important legal and political
institution in a democracy. It brings together leaders of the various communities
comprising the nation to deliberate and decide on issues affecting the entire
nation. It provides the environment within which national leaders could be
identified, and leadership established and acknowledged. It ought to attract the
Parliament

most talented, competent, committed and public-spirited individuals.

In mature democracies parliaments play very critical role in ensuring that
governments are accountable to the people, and that good governance and
transparency are observed. In many African countries parliament is weak. It has
neither the legislative independence nor the respect of the people. In some
countries fractious opposition parties have further weakened the effectiveness of
parliament as a forum to debate national issues. In most countries the executives
control parliaments. And in virtually all countries parliamentarians lack the
necessary institutional, academic and material means by which they could
perform their duties with efficiency, respect and dignity. Unless African
parliaments are strengthened and enabled to perform their constitutionally
mandated duties with respect and dignity, they would not be able to attract
young Africans with the appropriate expertise, visions and commitment.

Culture of Knowledge

Centre for Leadership Reflections and Studies

Africa continues to lack in the culture of accumulation, analyses and
dissemination of knowledge and experience. Very few political leaders write
their memoirs; and when they do, it is often a case of justifying past actions
rather than explaining events and shedding lights on hitherto classified events.
Some leaders have published several books but these have tended to be collected
speeches, elaboration of their ideological persuasions or defence of their political
decisions. Virtually no African leader has written a book explaining in details
his/her life long experience in politics, the exigencies of statecraft, economic
management, administration, and governance in general. Such information could
be useful to the new generation of African scholars and researchers who are keen
on creating an independent African scholarship and research capabilities.

Appropriately presented, it could also be very valuable to the aspiring young
African leaders.

Attempts should be made to develop the culture of written transmission of
knowledge; experience, insight and wisdom from one generation to another, so
as to enable the succeeding generation of leaders acquire the expertise and self-
confidence to respond to the challenges of the 21st Century. The first generation
of leaders has the responsibility of transmitting the knowledge, lessons learnt
and insights gained to the succeeding generation. Effective leadership entails
continuous flow and succession of leaders, and not just one or two good leaders.
Hence the notion of the relay race between the generations of leaders.

The ALF should consider the creation of a centre where retiring African leaders,
senior civil servants and businesspersons, could be assisted to collect their
thoughts, rethink the past, comment on the present and reflect on the future. This
could be done in recorded seminars, workshops or roundtable discussions, or
facilities being provided to those inclined to write. Africa is losing a lot of
valuable information on the art and science of its governance with every death,
senility or madness of an African leader.

Let Thousand Flowers Bloom

People are the greatest and most valuable resources Africa has. Over 60% of
Africas population are under 20years of age, and the majority of these are
female. Very few of these are likely to receive university education or any other
form of advanced education or training. Most of them are likely to be literate,
productive and creative in their various communities. They constitute the critical
mass of potential leaders.

The challenge is the creation of a system that can tap these resources, identify
and attract those talented and ambitious, educate, train, nurture and encourage
them to take position of leadership in their various field of endeavours and at
various levels. Leadership need not necessarily be in politics.

Know Your People

Inspite of the four decades of Independence citizens of many African countries
are still ignorant of the real social and economic conditions of their fellow
citizens in other parts of the country. They continue to suffer from the old
stereotypes and prejudices of the past that have unfortunately been manipulated
by unscrupulous politicians. Mobility within the country is difficult and
expensive - bad roads and high fares. Those who can afford to travel are eager to
travel outside their countries than within it. This is one of the downsides of
globalisation and liberalisation. Those with the marketable skills and talents are
attracted to the global markets for better rewards, working and living conditions.

There is thus the need to create national programmes that will enable the young
to know their fellow citizens, familiarise with the social and economic
conditions, and thus be able to appreciate the problems and potentials of their
countries. Good leadership entails appropriate technical and ethical knowledge
as well as familiarisation with the peoples social conditions. If the young from
different parts of the country are familiarised with other parts of the country and
are brought in contact with one another in a deliberate and constructive way they
are likely to establish links and net-works amongst themselves as they grow to
adulthood and maturity.

Ethnicity is still a very important factor in many African countries. It is a critical
factor in both democratic and development processes. In Africa the tendency to
vote according to ones ethnic preference rather than policy options is still

strong. And so is the allocation of economic and other social resources. Public
images of leaders are closely associated with their ethnic background rather than
the soundness of their policies. Given its multiplicity and deep historical and
social foundations, it is both impossible and indeed undesirable to suppress, let
alone eliminate the ethnic factor in public policy issues in Africa. Nonetheless,
to be trusted and thus acceptable and effective, the 21st Century African leader
has to act and be perceived as a leader of all the people

Challenges And Opportunities

Opportunities

The succeeding generation of African leaders is better educated and understands
the challenges and opportunities posed by globalization. They acknowledge the
critical importance of freedom, democracy, strong civil societies, good
governance, accountability and transparency in the development process. They
have a better sense of what needs to be done to prepare for the challenges and
opportunities in the 21st Century.

The end of the Cold War and the demise of communism as a competitive
development model have liberated Africans from the manipulations of the big
powers. Africans now have the opportunity to think for themselves; to decide
what is best for Africa without having to worry about the attitude or reactions of
the big powers. In a sense this is a second window of opportunity for African
leaders to reinvent their future societies. At Independence many of the African
leaders were inadequately educated or trained to manage modern states. Nor was
the relevant information available or easily accessible to them. With information
Part Five

technology, the succeeding generation of leaders has ample opportunities to
obtain the quality and quantity of information they need or want. These young
leaders are also living in a world that has had four decades of experience in
development cooperation, in which the notions of partnership, networking and
collaboration are the acceptable methodologies of getting things done.

Challenges

The succeeding generation of African leaders is faced with five major
challenges. The freedom and ability of the individual to pursue his/her own
interests, and the confidence to express ones views and question those in power
are critical to both democratic and development processes. The challenge is:
given Africas notion of the community and traditional preference for consensus,
how to promote individual freedom in order to release the productive energies
and creative talents without posing a threat to the fabric of the social cohesion,
or encouraging destructive individualism and alienation. Two, utilization of the
global market forces to promote growth and sustainable human development
beneficial to all the people and not only the multinationals and the few fortunate
African elite.

Three, the creation of an environment that will promote the cooperation between
the different generations of leaders and facilitate the recruitment and succession
of leadership. Four, the promotion of the culture of constitutionalism,
accountability and transparency. Five, democratic principles are universal but
their manifestations depend on specific historical experience and social
foundations. The sustainability of good governance depends on, not only the
observation of constitutionalism but also deference to the peoples cultures,
norms and traditions. The challenge is the identification of the appropriate
African norms and traditions that could be grounded with the universal
democratic principles.

By

Senyo John C. Afele
1

Sustainable development in Africa discourse often sparks hope or despair among
experts. Some have argued that Africa is placed (back) under some form of
international trusteeship while others have gone as far as to suggest that Africa
be cordoned off for 100 years
2
or until it is able to redeem itself from the plagues
that have come to be synonymous with Africa. There has been renewed
optimism, on the other hand, that the chronic economic malaise, human
indignity and environmental degeneration of Africa are about to be reversed.
The camp of despair might not necessarily be of those who are malicious but
probably of those who could not locate any development model to resolve the
African crises. The optimist group however, would have constructed models
which took account of recent events, such as the end of the Cold War,
globalization and theories of humanitys common future, the emergence of
democratic institutions even if fragile across Africa, and the revolutions in
information and communications technologies (IT). These developments are
expected to engender a peaceful milieu on the continent, within which economic
upliftment and resurrection of peoples pride could occur. These recent
developments globally provided the enabling environment for the unprecedented
six-nation African tour by a sitting President (William Jefferson Clinton) of the
United States in March 1998, during which he proclaimed The New African

1
Senyo John C. Afele [PhD (University of Guelph); M.Sc (Catholic University Leuven, Belgium); B.Sc (University
of Ghana, Legon)] is currently a research associate at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1. His
interests are sustainable rural livelihoods in Africa, with a bias on science and technology policy and innovation, based
on the blend of Indigenous African knowledge and modern knowledge systems. He could be reached alternatively at
jafele@uoguelph.ca
2
The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Tuesday, June 25, 1996. New Africans taking responsibility, by Howard French.
Information and Communications Technologies
in The New African Renaissance:
Toward Innovative and Thinking Systems

Renaissance
3
. Africa would now be viewed from a better perspective, for its role
in the global family. This essay analyses the circumstances under which The
New African Renaissance could become a reality, with a bias on the impact of IT
and the transformation of Africa into a continuously evolving and learning
society, a thinking system and intellectualization of Indigenous African
Knowledge. It emphasises that IT in rural Africa should have as goals, the
creation of a community-oriented innovative African population, and to serve as
channels for the diffusion of the blend of Indigenous and Modern Knowledge
systems for human capacity development toward sustainable livelihoods.

The core of the notion that IT can positively and infinitely impact the pursuit of
livelihood security in rural Africa is that Africans would finally be able to tap
into the global knowledge pool for application in solving local problems. Africa,
particularly Sub-Saharan Africa, remains the region of the world which is most
threatened by human insecurity. The mention of Africa connotes diseases,
plagues, hunger, famine; high rates of illiteracy, infant mortality and dangers in
child birth; and political and ethnic upheavals. The severity of the human
predicament engulfing the sub-region intensifies with increasing distance from
urban settlements. Thus rural communities of sub-Saharan Africa, about 70% of
its population, are the most fragile in terms of sustainable livelihoods. A valid
argument is that global knowledge, when delivered to such deprived
communities, would enable rural sub-Saharan Africa to govern itself, mobilise
its labour, improve health care delivery, prevent and resolve crises and, utilise
and manage the natural environment more efficiently while engaging in
activities in pursuit of improved standards of living. Knowledge and ideas about
human societies and nature have become the most strategic asset in development
(Soedjatmoko, 1989) and indeed, Acknowledge, more than ever, is power
(dOrville, 1996: 484). Information and communications play central roles in the
development, acquisition and utilization of knowledge. The ability of a
community to access information and to communicate with itself and with other

3
Speech by President William Jefferson Clinton at a durbar held at the Independence Square, Accra, Ghana, Ghana
News Agency, March 23; Clinton=s Historic Visit, West Africa magazine, 6-26 April 1998; Clinton Reaches out to
new Africa, The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Tuesday, March 24, 1998 p.A9. Time Magazine, April 6, 1998 p.34-37.

communities locally, regionally, and globally (Njinya-Mujinya and
Habomugisha, 1998) or a communitys abilities to collect, process, synthesise,
disseminate, and utilize information through modern information and
communication technologies (dOrville, 1996) will determine its potential to
develop coping mechanisms in the challenges of meeting its peoples needs. The
1995 Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development
4
(para 26(r)) recognised
that the new IT and new approaches to and use of technologies by people living
in poverty can help in fulfilling social development goals; and therefore to
recognize the need to facilitate access to such technologies. So essential is
communication that the capacity to communicate is expected to become a human
rights issue (dOrville, 1996) hence the international community has dedicated
much of this decade to Africas Connectivity issues, including the Global
Knowledge for Development (GKD)
5
real and virtual fora, the Global
Connectivity for Africa Conference (Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, June 2 - 4, 1998),
several mail lists and programs.

However, no amount or form of external knowledge alone is capable of
redeeming Africa, particularly rural Africa, from its human and environmental
insecurity problems without the participation of the Indigenous African
communities. If the success of any human community is its ability to provide the
basic necessities of life - food, clothing, shelter, health, and education - to its
inhabitants, then Indigenous African Knowledge has served its peoples quite
remarkably, even if not in a glamorous manner. Indigenous African Knowledge
has been employed almost wholly by rural Africans to make all their agricultural
tools, build shelters, produce their own textiles and clothing, create their own
furniture, kitchen and household utensils, develop and maintain their own
culture of language, music and art which transmit values, meaning of life,

4
Cited in Hans dOrville (1996): p. 484.
5
The Global Knowledge for Development Conference, Toronto, Canada, 22-25 June, 1997. The on-going mail list
is located at www.globalknowledge.org/

syllable, tenses, rhythm, and spirituality, heal the sick, resolve disputes, and
provide moral guidance to its peoples for thousands of years. Indigenous African
Knowledge has catered to the upliftment of other civilizations as well: treasures
of arts and crafts adorn some of the most revered museums outside Africa. For
example, Ghanas Ashanti Gold, Nigerias Benin Bronze, and Egypts Sphinxs
Beard, among others, have been held by the British Museum
6
; American society
is now accustomed to the phrase It Takes a Village (Clinton, 1996) although
many are unaware it is an African adage.
7

Yet this is not an attempt to romanticise Indigenous African Knowledge; no
matter how glorious one might wish Indigenous African Knowledge were, the
efficiency of that knowledge system by itself pales before the security needs of
modern Africa. Indigenous African Knowledge systems have not evolved for
some 400 years, since Europe first made contact with the Indigenous African
cultures (Odhiambo, 1997). Other factors, such as rapid population growth,
global climatic fluctuations, international trade and financial practices,
educational system in Africa which has been culturally irrelevant and
consequently alienated the African intellectual from Indigenous or cultural roots,
among others, have combined to weaken the potency of Indigenous African
Knowledge. Education has had little positive impact on the evolution or
reformulation of Indigenous African Knowledge.

The need is for the development of a knowledge system which is a blend of
Africas own Indigenous Knowledge base and that from beyond its realm or
Global Knowledge; a synthesized knowledge which would be translated into
practical policy tools and which would locally undergo continuous evolution for

6
The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Saturday, July 18, 1998, p A12. Victims gaining in tug of war over
antiquities, by Val Ross.
7
The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Saturday, August 31, 1996, page A9.

its relevance to local peoples needs. This requires a new partnership
arrangement between the North and the South, between political leadership and
civil society, between formal and informal sectors, between formally literate and
illiterate, between urbanization and rurality. It requires a judicious blend
between technological advances and Indigenous cultures and peoples, and
between human and the natural environment. It should endeavour to avoid the
greed and corruption which have characterized Adevelopment@ goals hitherto.

It is in the light of formulating this blend of knowledge and its dissemination
that IT becomes relevant. The content of IT is therefore as important as the IT
device, if not more. Laying of fibre optics or deployment of satellite
communications over rural African communities alone would not herald the
sustainable human livelihoods and environmental harmony that are sought.

Africa, since it freed itself from colonial domination some four decades ago, has
been a victim of reckless development models, experimentations, and
unwholesome partnerships between external elites and local cohorts. The New
African Renaissance, if it should bear desirable fruits, requires an innovative
development model. That model would be built on the strength of the
Indigenous communities. And in Africa, that would mean its Indigenous
Governance structures - the repository of Indigenous African Knowledge - and
its community organizational resource elements or COREs, such as kinship,
leadership, accountability, village theatricals, and access to common productive
natural resources and their management and utilisation, among others, as defined
by Kofi Anani (unpublished). It is imperative that IT in rural Africa be built
around the principal organizational principles of Indigenous African civilization
- the community as one.

As mentioned, the pinnacle of Indigenous African Knowledge is its
governance structure. There have been calls from all corners for African
leaders to establish a good governance mechanisms. Truly, that would
imply more than Western-style democratic structures. There is a
leadership crisis in Africa. Africa is the region where national leaders die
and citizens rejoice at the "divine intervention." There is no new or
imaginative way in which such good governance mechanisms would be
created apart from what has nurtured the African civilization for centuries,
even in its present chaos. To many who are only superficially
knowledgeable about Africa, but who profess to be experts because
they hold the key to modern technologies, financial or political power,
indigenous African governance is defunct. Hardly are such schools
aware that human mobilization in rural Africa is under the jurisdiction of
indigenous leaders even though they are unrecognised by modern
political administrative structures and are acknowledged only for
entertainment of local and foreign dignitaries for their tourist values.
Communal health, including establishment and maintenance of public
places of convenience, protecting the rivers and streams, clearing of farm
roads, dispute settlement, enacting and supervision of laws and taboos,
among others, is under the direct jurisdiction of indigenous leaders.
There are no village mayors, police posts, post offices, or health clinics in
many rural communities in Ghana, for example. The Indigenous
Governance system, a representative body whose membership is drawn
from all the village clans, shares the task of policy making, security, and
health. Each village member is duly represented; money does not buy
ones inclusion. Indigenous Governance is present in every citizen from
birth till death.

All this indigenous mobilization is via the infamous gong-gong beater or town
crier, the purveyor of information, good and bad. Therefore, if modern forms of

communication, particularly those that would enable the rural African tap into
global knowledge, should be made available to rural Africa, what should be the
basis of this linkage? Sufficient argument has been made to the effect that the
location, ownership, operation, maintenance and supervision should have the
community as focus. It should be noted that other forms of communication
(radio, television and print media) have been owned, managed, and operated by
state machinery in Africa and often as instruments of people oppression and
subjugation, while the humble hollow metal or gong-gong operated by
Indigenous Governance has communicated interactively with citizens, even to
gather the rural folks to listen to national government memoranda through the
indigenous leaders.

The assumption that IT would bring peaceful coexistence among various
African peoples has to be examined from the perspective of African Unity, a
theme which has been the rallying point or departure point for the
Organization of African Unity for more than three decades. African Unity
has proved elusive at national levels as African leaders create some of the
political tensions and upheavals, and even wars within and beyond their
national boundaries. The crises of Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Sierra
Leone, Liberia, The Sudan and Somalia, to name a few, were not initiated by
Indigenous African Leaders or their peoples. Those crises and others, are
manifestations of irresponsibility and lack of credibility of modern national
administration and clearly a disregard for the worth of the Indigenous
African. Indigenous African Leaders, meanwhile, build bridges across their
national boundaries; boundaries which were created without regard to
ethnicity; artificial borders which more than three decades of post
independence has not torn down. Indigenous African leaders and their
communities invite compatriots from outside national boundaries to their
Indigenous festivals and relatives sneak through barbed wire fences
separating nations artificially to interact with their kindred. A typical case

would be the southern border point between Lom, capital of the Republic of
Togo, and the Ghanaian border town of Aflao (both communities are of
Ewe-speaking peoples), which are divided by a barbed wire fence and often
closed by the national governments. Interacting IT with Indigenous
governance would only enhance the interactivity among Africans of
different nationalities but of common heritage. In other words, Indigenous
governance is legitimate at the basic level of rural community organizations
as it resides within the community, while modern African political
administrative structures (such as District Councils) are detached from the
indigenous communities or root, giving rise to impunity, greed, corruption
and irresponsibility. It is ridiculous to discuss African security from military
perspectives alone and no amount of ammunition and troops in an African
High Command (if created after three decades on the drawing board) or
ECOMOG
8
would bring lasting peace. A true African High Command
would be decentralization of local administrative authority to its rightful
owners - Indigenous Governance systems - so that a group of political
adventurers armed with a few rounds of ammunitions would not take over
a broadcasting house and constitute itself into government. The efficiency
of Indigenous administration can be enhanced if IT assists their
communication potentials.

The notion of telecentres is one that has been sounded at many fora.
However, a community telecentre based on Indigenous African principles of
the community as one might be different from the Website Cafs terminals
of the North. The fact that such centres are public would not imply
community-oriented. There are several communities within the Indigenous
community. It might suffice to use a practical example here. Recently, a

8
ECOMOG is the Economic Community of West African States Ceasefire Monitoring Group which was involved in
finding compromises to the crises of Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Northern IT expert returned from Ghana after a two-week field trip to Wa
(in northern Ghana), a community of about 80,000 peoples some 750 km
from the capital, to tout the success of telephony, based on his observation
of an individual match box trader saving $20 for every $1" spent on
telephone calls to place orders for her ware
9
. Such declarations would not be
in the interest of IT-supported sustainable development of rural Africa.

The role of communication devices in providing knowledge for development
in Africa demands something more concerted, more imaginative, more
customized, even more forceful and more sustaining than measuring IT
success by trading in match boxes. Existing interactive communication
systems in Indigenous African set ups should be the strength into which
modern ones are intertwined. If IT is to create a rural Africa where people
can make informed decisions, what constitutes the needs of the people ought
to be understood. What rural Africa needs is knowledge or the know-how to
design and to cheaply manufacture devices such as solar energy-powered
hand-held motorised hoes to assist the production process. This would
provide the alternative to the tractorization schemes have proved to be
expensive failures. Rural Africans need to constitute the active ingredients in
traditional "chewing sticks" into marketable dental products; they should
learn to convert household waste into organic land replenishment agents, and
to sink wells on farmlands as irrigation projects have failed to water farmers
fields and the African farmer relies on rain-fed agriculture in a land of erratic
rainfall. The rural African needs the knowledge to cultivate mushrooms from
simple inputs instead of hunting mushrooms from the wild like diamond
gems. IT in sustainable rurality would mean more than to enabling the rural
folk use the cell phone to call relatives overseas.

9
See GKD97 Mail Address: Re: The Internet and the Developing World
www.globalknowledge.org/english/archives/mailarchives/gkd/gkd-may98/0119.html for original posting
and debate subsequently, on this matter.

A clear definition of African livelihoods and interactive communication
model would require an honest partnership between the African (cultural)
intellectual
10
, and the Northern (technical) expert. Complex issues such as
endemic rural poverty require informed minds to decipher solutions to them
in a complex world. A blend of knowledge systems and a cultural foundation
are required to adapt knowledge to solving local problems. The African
intellectual understands indigenous culture for which there is hardly a road
map. Indigenous African know-how is passed on orally between generations
and no amount of energy expended by an outsider would provide the
understanding of the depth of the knowledge system; it is almost of a birth
right issue. However, for unknown reasons, there is a general and often
overstated assumption that Africans lack expertise. Quite to the contrary,
there is a large pool of African intellectuals inside and outside the continent
but who lack the clout to be heard by major donors.

The African intellectual has rather succumbed to the notion of lack of
expertise to the point he only follows the dictate of external intellectuals
who are only marginally aware of rural African livelihoods. The African
intellectual looks to external colleagues to design projects on Africa and then
console himself with a piecemeal consultant role on the project and
thereafter shamelessly cites foreign authors in describing his/her own
heritage. Development in Africa has been based on outside goals, outside
interests, outside technology, outside implementation, supervision and
evaluation (Atteh, 1992). Failure of the African intellectual to describe the
operational domain of rural Africa has perpetuated the cultural irrelevance of

10
Iyabo Obasanjo defined the African intellectual as anybody of African descent who has given the problems of
Africa in any area some serious thought and so it can be anybody irrespective of education (Obasanjo, 1996),
however, the definition is restricted to the formally educated in this essay while Indigenous African Knowledge refers
to the knowledge system of the formally uneducated.

technology which has been a characteristic of technological imports in
Africa. African scholars have been brilliant in the fictional section of book
publishing and have been internationally recognised as such. African writers
of political satire who have faced persecution by despotic leaders at home
have spent valuable times in exile. The politically innocuous technical
publishing field has however been rather silent. That is, African intellectuals
of technical disciplines have been inconspicuous in coming up with
protocols that would add modernity to Indigenous African technical
practices. Thus, the norm is that rural African farmers continue to employ
tools and practices of the stone-age. African intellectuals, as a group, must
begin to assert itself, beginning with IT designs; it must begin to think about
the cultural relevance of IT for its w/holistic application in resolving issues
of rural African insecurity.

Todays African intellectuals have come of age, and IT should facilitate their
participation in decisions that would affect the communities that nurtured
them. They have read the same books and have been taught by the same
professors that trained some of their foreign compatriots who parade rural
Africa and attempt to solve Africas problems. The African scholar knows
his culture, speaks the indigenous language and requires no interpreters. The
African scholar of today is literate in the major languages of the world:
Spanish, English, French, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian, among others.
They have come of age and that must be accepted as precondition for mutual
partnership with external scholars. The role of the African intellectual would
be to define the basis of Indigenous African communication systems for
technology, culture and education and to synchronise these for an effective
IT-led development model. A virtual network among African intellectuals
and its interaction with rural African communities would convert the
infamous brain drain symptom into brain enrichment and convergence,
regardless of geographical location of members. That would be the

appropriate means to intellectualize Indigenous African Knowledge for
sustainable livelihoods using IT
11
.

African intellectuals should express the full potential of their Indigenous
backgrounds and let their minds be nourished by it, and in return,
reformulate Indigenous practices with ingredients of the modern knowledge
system and let the process loop back like an auto-feedback mechanism.

To revisit the case study referred to earlier: Who could define the cultural
basis of marketing in rural Africa for IT design than an African intellectual?
Marketing in Africa is not necessarily synonymous with commodity
exchange as it is known in the shopping malls across North America. In
some communities of Ghana, where the telephony success was observed,
marketing is so central that the days of the week are known in relation to
market days, for example, asiamigbe, asito, asigbe (not in order) among
the Ewe-speaking ethnic group. Market Day in Ghana is a celebration
within the Indigenous Governance systems. It is a day when folks from the
"suburbs" come to "town," therefore it is also a day of meetings of
Indigenous Leaders and other elements within the traditional society; it is a
day people rise early to go to the fields and return to participate in the
activities. It is a day to seek out other members of the family who reside in
nearby towns and villages; mail and correspondence are exchanged by
relatives residing in different communities via those going to the market
places. It is the day of the week a husband is expected to give his wife the
>money for the week' or asigbe ga in Ewe, which is an index of good

11
The perspective expressed here about African and foreign intellectuals is not a blanket appreciation of all scholars
of African parentage or condemnation of all external scholars. Many scholars of African origin are not informed about
Indigenous African Knowledge, or are willing to admit to the state of rurality in their native lands, a situation which
resulted from the culturally irrelevant educational system within which they were nurtured. On the other hand, many
foreign experts are true Africanists and this discussion is to find the best resolution for complementarity and goal
achievement.

fatherhood. Passengers on a commercial vehicle in northern Ghana, where
Wa is located, would likely include a man carrying a guinea fowl which he
would sell in the market and use the proceeds to drink the local wine or pito
with other relatives and friends he would meet in "town." On Market Days,
it is common to see the town crier or gong-gong beater, the herald of good
and bad, beating his hollow metal and delivering messages from the
Indigenous Council to citizens or from citizen to citizens, messages of
communal importance, to a target audience beyond the regular evening
audience.

These, and other elements of marketing or trading, require that IT would
only make positive contribution to the New African Renaissance if tackled
from a w/holistic perspective. A customized communication system is
required for any meaningful service of this new-age industry. It entails an
unambiguous understanding of the cultural significance of marketing. An
individual trader in northern Ghana "saving $20 for every $1 spent using the
telephone," in a land where average monthly wages are bellow $30, should
not bring hopes to anyone that human insecurity in Africa is being reversed,
and this is not an attempt to dictate what goods an individual trades. Claims
of such project successes raise suspicions about the depth of
understanding of African rurality and sustainability than providing realistic
opportunities. There would be no improved "marketing," be it with
telephone, fax, email, or Internet, if the concept of marketing in rural Africa
is defined casually. Marketing in rural Africa should be placed within the
broader context of Indigenous African Knowledge systems and not be fished
out, or solutions would be designed for the 20% of the African population
whose needs have often determined national policy and technology
acquisition (Ayensu, 1997). Furthermore, northern Ghana is one of the
regions where human insecurity is pervasive: acute water shortages and
diseases resulting from drinking unhealthy water, meningitis, river

blindness, dust bowls, the threat of desertification and high illiteracy. Yet it
is the granary of the nation, with yams, rice, sorghum, millet, peanuts and
sheabutter cultivation. European colonial authorities realised the strength of
these peoples in northern Ghana and kept education out of their reach so
they could serve as a reserve of labour for the mines (gold/diamonds), cocoa
plantations and lumber companies in southern Ghana. It is doubtful that
trading in match boxes and plastics is what would reverse human insecurity
in northern Ghana or rural Africa generally.

The focus of global efforts in African sustainable development should be
carefully examined and employed in a manner that false hopes of poverty
alleviation are not sounded. The collapse of the Asian tiger economies in
1997 and 1998 should be a warning that human resource development and
capacity building should take precedence over factory relocations which just
offer product assembly without being interwoven into local adaptation of
technology and culture. In the Asian economic crises, within a twinkle of an
eye "some of the most dynamic and admired countries in the world have
become cripples, living on handouts from international financiers ... And the
worst may be yet to come."
12
In that crisis, those who had little to begin with
were having the most pain, pulling their children out of primary schools,
depriving the brain not only physical nutrition but academic nourishment as
well. "Development," even in a humble definition, in rural Africa should
seek to permeate all rural households and ensure continuous evolution of
human and ecosystem harmony for generations, not just for a short while.

The role of the African intellectual in providing IT for rural Africa might not
necessarily be in the development of IT hardware or software generally,

12
The Globe & Mail, Toronto, Saturday, June 20, 1998. pA1 and A14. Asian economies look for a locomotive, by
Marcus Gee and Barrie McKenna.

however, it should include customising designs to local needs through
innovative designs. For example, the African intellectual should consider
development of Indigenous Index Structures for local browse systems. The
world market price of cocoa beans might not be of direct value to the rural
cocoa farmer, however, the yam wholesaler needs to know the road
condition at a particular time; maps of Indigenous healers, traditional birth
attendants, and a directory of African Experts and their disciplines, among
others might be some of the elements of the Indigenous Index Structures.
Indigenous festivals, local development initiatives, rainfall patterns and
predictions, price of foodstuffs in local markets, births, deaths and other
demographic indices, and other local activities should be the focus of an
Internet system in rural Africa. Other features of the Indigenous Index
Structures would include Indigenous technical practices, community assets
and resources, needs and development goals, related non-governmental
agencies, program support groups, and external bodies of development and
funds. Above all, the medium should be tailored to the language of the
ethnic community and Indigenous symbols should be used more frequently
than text. This would be helpful in continuous learning and adult education
programs. In the case study, argument has been made that the high illiteracy
rate in rural Africa would mean that telephone calls are more suited than a
convergence of IT systems. Such thinking would only perpetuate the
dependency of rural Africa on external knowledge, often not available,
creating a vacuum. Several IT hardware designs are now available which
would minimise the influence of illiteracy on IT usage. The Touch Screen
13

and Web TV Internet systems, HF Radios, and several other forms built on
the convergence of IT systems, and which if local symbols are part of, would
make the argument of rural illiteracy redundant. A picture of a banana and a
local currency unit combined on a Touch Screen IT system might suggest
market price of the crop to the illiterate producer or trader.

13
AccuTouch Five-Wire Resistive Touchscreens (www.elotouch.com/atover.html)

Justification of non-viable and reckless technology deployment in rural
Africa has been based on the thought that if the rural people want more
telephones or if the national government endorses the design, then it must
be right. The question would be asked if the rural community which is
demanding more telephones has been presented with alternative uses of the
telephone, for example, that the same device could enable rural folks to
access a large portion of the global database, including information about
how comparable communities elsewhere were innovating, or putting the
community directly in touch with development agencies within the nation
and beyond? Furthermore, the thought that because an African government
demands some type of technology, it must be appropriate is meaningless.
African policy makers often have acquired technology types with less than
clear objectives or with models which have fallen short of critical factors,
therefore technologies that have not impacted sustainable rurality. African
governments, in other words, have always managed the radio, television, and
print media - information tools as well - but have failed to couple these to
Indigenous methods of communication, mobilization and rulership. African
policy makers and technical experts have not been able to place the
gong-gong, a central element of rural communication in Africa, in
development of national communication systems; no one thought of
coupling the gong-gong to a megaphone.

Knowledge and ideas stem from education which enables making informed
decisions about social, political, economic, and ecological harmony.
However, upon all the expansion of education across the world, illiteracy has
increased in the poorer countries (Soedjatmoko, 1989). Access to education
in Africa has continued to be limited at all levels (Africa Economic Report
1998) resulting in the lowest literacy rates in the world. The most crucial
stages in human education would be the early ages, as this would determine

a communitys ability to rejuvenate itself. However, in sub-Saharan Africa,
the primary school age population is the most deprived in knowledge
resources. Primary school age population in Africa is increasing at about 3.3
per cent annually while school enrolment for the group is rising by only 2.2.
per cent. To address Africas chronic educational deficiency, the Assembly
of Heads of State and Governments of the Organization of African Unity
adopted the Decade for Education 1997-2006 (Resolution AHG/Res. (251
XXXII)) in June 1996 (cited in Africa Economic Report, 1998) with the
objective of removing obstacles which impede progress toward Education
for All. The international community as a whole has also resolved to
strengthen educational systems at all levels in The 1995 Social Summit
14

(Plan of Action) by calling for the creation of the necessary conditions for
A... ensuring universal access to basic education and lifelong educational
opportunities while removing economic and socio-cultural barriers to the
exercise of the right to education as a precondition for an open political and
economic system which requires access by all to knowledge, education and
information. However, like all other global technological advancements,
Africas level of development, acquisition and utilization of IT lags behind
the rest of the world and consequently lack of informed decisions regarding
human/resource utilization and development.

Conventional teaching and learning methods, however, have become
inadequate in the wake of deepening illiteracy, paucity of well-trained
teachers and diminishing resource allocation toward education (dOrville,
1996). Innovative teaching and learning schemes are therefore required if
sub-Saharan Africa should ensure the evolution of its civilization in the face
of globalization. Rapid advancements in IT herald unprecedented potential
for the resolution of the knowledge hunger in rural sub-Saharan Africa.

14
See Hans dOrville(1996): p.491

However, teledentsity, the principal index of IT utilization, in sub-Saharan
Africa, excluding South Africa, is only 0.48 telephone per 100 population
while the regions rural peoples (70% of the population) share only 228,000
telephone lines (dOrville, 1996). In Ghana, for example, teledensity is 0.31
lines per 100 people nationally but some 40% of the nation=s population (of
18 million) contained in the Volta, Upper, Northern, and Brong-Ahafo
administrative Regions share 3,800 telephone lines, or 0.06 lines per 100
people. The Ghana Governments Telecommunications Policy for an
Accelerated Development Programme 1994-2000
15
for telecommunications
seeks to meet short-term demands in telecommunications by providing
100,000 new lines but businesses are the priority of that program while
overall demand is estimated at 300,000 - 500,000. The government has
acknowledged that network growth of about 35% pa would be required to
meet even the lower end of demand estimates; that is a network growth rate
of almost two times the level achieved by some more advanced economies.
The governments connectivity target for rural Ghana, even if achieved,
would mean one public telephone line in each village of 500 people, which
is far less than the modest five lines per 100 population recommended by the
International Communication Union.
16
Considering that the investment cost
in telecommunications in Ghana is about $1,500 - $4,200 per line, the
chances of educational reform via IT are unrealistic except innovative
methods in communication and education are devised.

What is needed is a poor persons learning system which, in this case, would
enable an entire community to utilise a few units of the convergence of

15
Ministry of Transport and Communications (Ghana). Telecommunications Policy for an Accelerated Development
Programme 1994 - 2000. July 24, 1998. www.communication.gov.gh/
16
A Communication gap between rich and poor rising, U.N. agency reports.@ Geneva, March 22, 1998.
www.nando.net

television, radio, telephone, Internet, CD-ROM, and print media, to offer
new prospects in the delivery of sophisticated information to the previously
uneconomic regions of the world. That is, IT systems in development of
school curricula in rural Africa should be adapted to local realities. The
impact of IT on local education demands planning at national and regional
levels so as to make these tools relevant to socio-cultural needs. Individual
nations should selectively exploit positive elements of these tools to prevent
pitfalls that may lead to disenfranchisement, loss of cultural identity, or
inappropriate technology acquisition and deployment (Nostbakken and
Akhtar, 1995). That is, each region should consider the cultural push
factors and not only the technological pull factors. In discussing the
benefits of connectivity in Africa, most experts make references to
government, education, health, statistics, agriculture, and natural resources,
often with partial comprehension of the potential benefits of IT in providing
an enabling environment for the intellectualization of the African (Djamen,
1995). That enabling environment would include integration of all data on
Africa and permit dissemination of such data, as well as, extend the oral
storytelling of the African traditional system. An archive is the most
precious gift a generation bequeaths onto the next. Oral traditions of
information storage and retrieval in Africa should be viewed with scrutiny in
the age of IT. Njinya-Mujinya and Habomugisha (1998) have called for the
establishment of rural information or data banks in Africa to document
indigenous livelihoods
17
and as a means to redressing the booklessness
state of rural Africa. The advent of IT in rural Africa should seek to tie the

17
The Center for Indigenous Knowledge for Agriculture and Rural Development (CIKARD, Iowa State University,
Ames, Iowa), Institute for Development Studies (IDS, Sussex), and partners have been actively documenting aspects of
Indigenous Technical Knowledge, however, a more comprehensive documentation encompassing the essence of
Indigenous Governance and Community Organizational Resource Elements (COREs) has been proposed by Kofi
Anani and John Afele. In: UNDP-University of Guelph Symposium on Sustainable Livelihoods, April 16-17, 1998.
(unpublished proceedings. However, excerpts could be obtained from the authors via email: jafele@uoguelph.ca or
kanani@uoguelph.ca)

notion of telecentres into this rural infobank
18
concept as a process toward
the intellectualization of African tradition, and for building human capacity
in rural Africa. Essentially, such an approach would integrate formal school
curricula development, adult education programs, and continuous learning
systems. Thus the role of national library systems, university faculties of
education and communications, ministries of education and information
services or their variations, should be revised to reflect the need for modern
information storage and retrieval systems.

In conclusion, information and communications technologies have the
potential to propel the vision of The New African Renaissance into reality,
however, the form in which IT is deployed would determine the level to
which rural poverty alleviation goals are accomplished. African intellectuals
should play central roles in genuine partnership with Northern compatriots
and Africans in the diaspora. That partnership should result in a blend of
knowledge systems and harmony among technology, culture and education.
In essence, African connectivity should be conscious of the cultural and
technological realities of rural Africa and should seek to enhance the human
capacity building process.

18
The rural infobank concept has been transformed into pilot project proposals by this author and an international
consortium who are currently working with the Ghana Computer Literacy and Distance Education Program
(GhaCLAD) (www.ulbobo.com/gdep/) for implementation.

Literature Cited

African Economic Report - 1998. July 24, 1998.
www.un.org/Depts/eca/divis/espd/aer98.htm#i

Atteh, O.D. 1992. Indigenous Local Knowledge as a Key to Local Level
Development: Possibilities, Constraints and Planning Issues. Studies in
Technology and Social Change, No. 20. CIKARD, Iowa State University,
Ames, Iowa.

Ayensu, Edward S. 1997. The Status of Science in the Service of Sustainable
Livelihoods in Africa. Paper presented at the workshop of the UNDP
International Working Group on Sustainable Livelihoods. Pearl River
Hilton, New York, November 19 - 21, 1997.

Clinton, Hillary Rodham. 1996. It Takes a Village. Simon and Schuster.

Djamen, Jean-Yves. 1995. Networking in Africa: An Unavoidable Evolution
Towards the Internet. African Regional Symposium on Telematics for
Development, Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, 3-7 April, 1995. United Nations
Economic Commission for Africa, chapter 23.

DOrville, Hans. 1996. Tackling Information Poverty. In: Hans dOrville
(ed.). Beyond Freedom: Letters to Olusegun Obasanjo. p.483-494.

Njinya-Mujinya, Leuben, and Peace Habomugisha. 1998. The Third
Millenium, Information Banks and Publishing in Africa. In: P.
Habomugisha, D.R. Asafo, and L. Njinya-Mujinya (eds.) Now and in the
Next Millenium 1990s-3000 CE: Assessing Africas Scholarly Publishing
Needs and Industry. JARP & RA-GLOBAL Communications. p.146-154.

Nostbakken, David, and Shahid Akhtar. 1995. Does the Highway Go South?
Southern Perspectives on the Information Highway. African Regional
Symposium on Telematics for Development, Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, 3-7
April, 1995. United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, chapter 20.

Obasanjo, Iyabo. 1996. The Leadership Role of the African Intellectual in
African Development. In: Hans dOrville (ed.). Beyond Freedom: Letters to
Olusegun Obasanjo. p.305.

Odhiambo, T.R. 1997. Research and Knowledge: Natural and Physical
Sciences. Paper presented at the Research and the Production of Knowledge
in Africa Conference. Center for the Study of Cultures, Rice University,
Texas, November 7 - 8, 1997.

Soedjatmoko. 1989. Education Relevant to Peoples Needs. Daedalus:
Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. P.211-219.

Chairmans Comments

By

Francis M. Deng

Those of us who know Sir Shridath Ramphal and have heard him speak on
numerous occasions can assure you that you are about to have a special treat.
But my task here is not to introduce Sir Shridath Ramphal. That task has
been assigned to another speaker. My assignment is to make chairmangs
comments, which I understand to be an open invitation for me to say
whatever I want.

I have chosen to focus my remarks on some highlights of events that have
guided or influenced our work over the last decade, since the establishment
of the Africa Leadership Forum.

But perhaps I should begin with a brief background about my partnership for
Africa with General Olusegun Obasanjo, the founder of the ALF. Our
collaboration began when he was Head of State of Nigeria and I Minister of
State for Foreign Affairs of my country, the Sudan. We both left our
respective positions at about the same time, Obasanjo having guided Nigeria
back to democratic rule and I having left the service of my country as the
Government was moving inexorably with an Arab-Islamic agenda that I
could not in good conscience represent. We met again in the context of the
Inter-Action Council of Former Heads of State and Government, of which
Hans d'Orville was then co-director. The Inter-Action Council requested
that I do a study on armament and development in the Third World
countries, for a High Level Committee, which General Obasanjo chaired.

Even while he was Nigerian Head of State and I State Minister, General
Obasanjo and I worked together in a manner that transcended the barriers of
status or protocol. He was always more committed to substance and results
than he was to formalities and protocol. I was close to his consultations with
President Jaafar Nimeiri over mediation efforts in the conflicts in Chad,
Western Sahara, and Ethiopia, among others.

By the time I left office, Sudan was once again immersed in a ferocious civil
war between the North and the South. General Obasanjo conveyed to me his
concern over that conflict and pledged to do whatever I thought he could to
assist in the search for peace in that country. I was then a Senior Research
Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, working
on Africa-related issues. In that capacity, I organized a workshop in which
the political forces in the Sudan participated. When I called General
Obasanjo to honor the meeting as a senior African Statesman whose
experience and wisdom could facilitate the Sudanese dialogue, his answer
was affirmative. As I told you, if there is anything I could do to be of help, I
am prepared and ready, he said in earnest. And sure enough, even at a time
of tragedy in his family, General Obasanjo attended the workshop.

Some time later, he called me to inquire into the results of the workshop and
implications for action. I told him that the Wilson Center was in the process
of producing the proceedings into a book. He welcomed the idea of the
book but argued that one should not leave it to gather dust on the shelves.
Instead, we should use the book as a basis for a personal peace initiative
through which we should use the findings and the consensus of the
workshop in fostering dialogue and negotiations. That began an initiative,
which was to continue for several years and to a certain extent, is still on-

going. Africa Leadership Forum will soon publish a book documenting our
efforts.

Some time in 1988, as I was with General Obasanjo in Nigeria, our planning
one of our trips to the East African region in connection with Sudan peace
efforts, he showed me a draft of what would become the document
establishing the Africa Leadership Forum. It seemed like an excellent idea
even then, but little did I know that within a few years of that date, ALF
would be born and grow rapidly into maturity. At about the same time, I had
embarked on establishing an African Program, which I had initiated at the
Woodrow Wilson Center, but completed and began to implement after
joining the Brookings Institution in I988 as a Senior Fellow.

Both the Africa Leadership Forum and the Brookings Africa Program were
significantly influenced by the international climate prevailing at the time.
The Cold War was coming to an imminent end and the implications for
Africa could be anticipated. The end of the Cold War would mean the
strategic withdrawal of the major powers from Africa; their attention was
expected to shift to the former Soviet allies in Eastern Europe. Africa would
be marginalized.

The positive aspect was that with the strategic withdrawal of the major
powers, African problems would be seen in their proper regional context
instead of being distorted as elements in the bi-polar rivalry of the super
powers. On the other hand, this would mean reapportioning responsibility
for addressing African problems, with African countries assuming the
primary responsibility.

In conceptualizing the framework for the Africa Program at Brookings, the
question we posed was what are the critical problem areas that call for sound
scholarly research and analysis that would guide policy formulation and
strategic action? The areas that quickly came to mind were conflict
resolution, human rights protection, democratic participation, and
sustainable development, with culture as a crosscutting theme.

As conflict resolution was deemed crucial to security, stability, democracy,
human rights and development, it became the first area of focus in the
research agenda. The program began with a conference on conflict
resolution in Africa, which General Obasanjo honored with a keynote
address. That address together with the papers presented became the first
publication of the Brookings Africa program.

A series of regional and country case studies were then carried out to address
the pertinent issues within the regional and national contexts. These studies
also appeared as separate publications in the series. A final volume which
synthesized the major findings and conclusions of these studies focused on
governance and the need to recast national sovereignty as a normative
concept of responsibility for the security and general welfare of citizens and
all those failing under state jurisdiction. The issue, which was pursued in a
subsequent conference, resulting in yet another publication was how to
substantiate the normative concept of sovereignty as responsibility.

The Brookings research agenda and in particular the search for an
appropriate framework for good governance in Africa has interfaced with
the work carried out by the Africa Leadership Forum. To counter the
anticipated marginalization of Africa in the post-Cold War era, ALF sought
to build on the European Helsinki process to develop a normative framework
for Africa that could attract international support. A series of consultations

conducted in close partnership with the OAU and the ECA culminated in the
conference held in Kampala early in 1991 to which some 500 participants
from Africa, including several incumbent and former heads of state, and
others from outside the Continent participated. The outcome of the
conference was the Kampala Document, which stipulated principles for a
Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa -
CSSDCA.

The Kampala Document was submitted to the OAU Assembly of Heads of'
State which met that year in Abuja, Nigeria. So threatening were the
principles postulated by the CSSDCA that it was obstructed by a few but
vocal vulnerable countries, with the result that the document was referred
back to the Secretariat of the OAU for further studies and consultations with
Governments. That is where the process has so far stalled.

But the CSSDCA principles have inspired and contributed to significant
developments on the Continent. The OAU Mechanism on Conflict
Prevention, Management, and Resolution is reported to have been inspired
by its principles relating to security. The security arrangements of the
Southern African Development Community are also reported to have been
significantly influenced by the CSSDCA principles. And so was the Entebbe
Joint Declaration of Principles which President Clinton signed with a
number of African Leaders from the Greater Horn region during his historic
visit to Africa in March of I998.

Clearly, despite the obstacles, which have impeded their adoption and
implementation within the OAU, the principles of the CSSDCA remain
sound and timely. The current Brookings Africa Project plans to elaborate
on these principles, analyze the obstacles to their adoption thus far, and
explore alternative ways of promoting them at the national and subregional

levels. Some people even argue that the time may be ripe to table the
principles for reconsideration by the OAU as the climate seems more
conducive to their adoption now than when they were first presented.

Let me conclude with a word about the role of the Africans in the Diaspora,
which has been a subject of several comments in this meeting. As the
activities conducted under the Brookings Africa Project indicate, being
outside the continent does not necessarily indicate disengagement from
African concerns. To give a personal example, when I left the foreign
service of my country, because the Government adopted an Islamic
fundamentalist agenda that I could no longer represent in good conscience,
the question I posed to myself was whether that meant that I was turning my
back on my country and the continent of Africa. The answer was of course
negative. Indeed, I believe that it is by projecting a conceptual bridge which
permits a to and fro mobility, both intellectually and physically, that one can
ensure continued service to ones people, country and the continent, and
sustain a sense of identity, self-confidence, and inner security in foreign
lands. What is important is to link the efforts of Africans in the Diaspora
with conditions on the continent. This should include sharing the results of
the research conducted outside Africa with African audiences. The
Brookings research agenda on Africa, which I have described, has produced
numerous publications, which often do not reach the African readership for
which it was in significant part intended. This is a problem, which needs to
be addressed by providing for distribution in Africa in the funding of Africa-
related research agendas outside the continent.

I should not keep you any longer from the anticipated pleasure of listening to
our principal speaker, Sir Shridath Rainphal, and now call on Cece Modupe
Fadope to make the introduction I know you are eagerly awaiting.

Anniversary Lecture

By

Sir S. Ramphal

A decade is not a long time in a continent's
history, but it is a significant period in
Africa's post-liberation history, and the ten
years since the Forum was founded have been a notably eventful time in
Africa - and in the wider world that constantly impinges on Africa. I shall
have occasion to refer to some of the events that have punctuated the past
decade in Africa, but in the context of this meeting and my presence here,
none are of greater relevance than the changes that have occurred in Nigeria
in the past year, changes that have included freedom from incarceration for
General Olusegun Obasanjo, whose many services to Africa includes the
inauguration of the Africa Leadership Forum.

In responding with enthusiasm to the invitation to participate in the
tenth anniversary celebrations of the Forum, I was moved to a
considerable extent by the opportunity it would present to join other
friends in celebrating the restoration of his freedom - and in saluting
his courageous and indomitable struggle for the freedom and rights of
all the people of Nigeria and indeed of Africa.

I am aware that the Forum has welcomed friends from other continents into
its fellowship. Nevertheless, I felt deeply privileged to receive the invitation
to give the Anniversary Lecture on this very special occasion of a double
celebration, a celebration, not only of the end of the Forum's first decade of
Africa:
Facing The 21
st
Century.

service to Africa, but also of the newly restored freedom of its founder. That
my friendship for Africa should be so distinctively acknowledged - and
indeed rewarded - binds me even closer to this great continent and its people
in solidarity.

I came to know General Obasanjo during his term as Head of State of
Nigeria in the year after I had assumed office as Commonwealth
Secretary-General in London. Our relationship was to gain strength
from our common commitment to the cause of freedom in South
Africa and the Commonwealth campaign against apartheid. It was
further reinforced when in the mid-I980s I had the opportunity, and
the good sense, to invite General Obasanjo to be a Co-Chairman -
along with Malcolm Fraser, a former Prime Minister of Australia - of
the Group of Eminent Persons that Commonwealth leaders
assembled for the purpose of encouraging a peaceful transition to
majority rule and the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa.

The Group's report, Mission to South Africa, documented an endeavour
without parallel in world affairs. If it failed to bring the apartheid regime to
the negotiating table, it certainly brought the negotiating process to a
hitherto obdurate evil. It unveiled the beginning of the end, as it helped to set
the stage for the final act of the South African drama which was to take
place not long after. The role of General Obasanjo was crucial in the work of
the Commonwealth mission. He was the first member of the team to talk
with Madiba in Polismoor prison, and the early release of Nelson Mandela
was one of the key recommendations of the Group's report. By one of the
cruel twists that history sometimes offer, a few years after the apartheid
regime had freed Mandela, the Abacha regime in power in Nigeria put
General Obasanjo in prison because his spirited advocacy of democracy was
inconvenient to its authoritarian ruler.

The end of apartheid and racial conflict in South Africa and its
emergence as a democratic state with universal citizenship and
majority rule, constitute without doubt, the most momentous event of
the past decade in Africa. The South African phenomenon has had
repercussions far beyond the country's borders, acting as a beacon,
lighting the way for those striving for freedom, for democratic rights,
for an end to conflict and for reconciliation in divided societies. South
Africa's peaceful transformation after decades of repressive rule, by a
racial minority, had a benign, healing effect; it was a welcome
counterpoint to the tragedies, disasters and setbacks that have been
part of the record of the past decade.

The change in South Africa has, of course, not been the only welcome
development in Africa over the past. This year, we have had good reason to
be thankful for the news from Nigeria. The process set in place by Nigeria's
new ruler, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, to return the country to
democratic rule is still to be completed, but it has already resulted in
important changes, not the least of which is the release of General Obasanjo.
The way is being opened of the people of Nigeria to exercise their
democratic rights and return to power a government of their choice. During
the years of repressive rule to which its people were condemned, the
democratic process, democratic structures, democratic habits were all stifled
- throughout the country and at all levels. As Nigeria therefore faces the
staging of a series of elections, complex as their organisation will be, it also
has to engage in restoring democracy: rebuilding the democratic system, re-
inspiring faith in democratic values and regenerating the democratic culture.

These are formidable tasks, given the size of the country, the
composition of the electorate, and, even more, the years of

democratic disquieted while power remained usurped by the military.
But we can take in from the resilience of the democratic spirit, of
which there has been refreshing evidence despite the ferocity and
durability of the repression to which Nigeria's citizens were subjected.
We can take heart in the courage and resolve of many Nigerians, in
their unwavering commitment to a democratic future for their country
and its people. We can take heart from the many activists for
democracy and human rights who have struggled against great odds
and at great risk so that the pulse of freedom may continue to beat in
their country - a great heartland of Africa. Many have been forced to
pay a price for so struggling; some with prison terms; some even with
their lives. It is right that we should salute them, but the best tribute to
them would be a new, democratic Nigeria in which freedom reigns
and fear is dispelled.

Thrust into office by the death of his predecessor, General Abubakar
has voluntarily offered to hand over power to the people in Nigeria. In
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mobutu had to be forced to
end his long and infamous reign. Its long overdue release from the
terrible despotism of Mobutu was certainly part of the good news from
Africa in the past decade. The conflict that has since erupted there,
marring the country's recovery from the wounds of the Mobutu era,
drawing neighbouring countries into partisan involvement, and
postponing the day when the people's right to peace and democratic
governance may be realised, does not obliterate that gain. But it is a
deeply lamentable setback. There have been other setbacks too,
including notably, the agony of Rwanda besides the conflicts in
Liberia, Sierra Leone and Somalia. More recently, there has been the
failure of Ethiopia and Eritrea to resolve their differences without

going to war - after the cordial manner in which they had agreed on
their separation into two sovereign states.

Taken together, this is unquestionably too much. These excesses cannot be
excused as the making of others; they are African failures; Third World
failures; our failures. We are all marked by these stains: 'Failed States', deep-
seated conflicts, violence degenerating into genocide, tribal and ethnic
regressions; pervasive corruption, self-aggrandisement and authoritarianism
at leadership levels. Of course, it is not so everywhere in the Continent. But
it is sufficiently real where it is, and given so high a profile in our world of
instant communication that, to a degree, no one is exempted.' we are all
involved.

And yet, in this same decade, there have been sufficient indicators of
progress and of favourable trends to make me more hopeful about
Africa's future than I would have been ten years ago. Most
importantly, many dictators have bitten the dust, and the movement
for democracy has made headway, though democracy remains a
fragile growth in many places. There is cause for celebration too in
the economic news, in the very creditable performance of a number
of countries in increasing their economic growth rates since the mid-
nineties. The fact that the sub-Saharan region as a whole achieved
an average growth rate of over 4 per cent a year in the years I995-97,
and several countries recorded rates well above that must renew
confidence in the continent's inherent capabilities. That level of
growth meant that after many years of declining per capita income,
there was a sustained, if modest, rise in per capita incomes. And 2I
countries were able to register GDP growth rates of 5 per cent or
more in I997, with eleven countries growing at 6 per cent or more.

These statistics may not add up to a vibrant regional performance, but after
the dismal record of the I980s continued into the early I990s - when two-
thirds of the countries income per head income continued to fall year after
year - they represent a gratifying change of direction. This level of
performance is in sharp contrast with what had been achieved earlier, but it
is by no means exceptional for Africa. I think it is important not to lose sight
of the fact that independent Africa started off promisingly well, with the
average growth rate keeping ahead of population growth. In the first years
after independence, the region achieved, in the words of one assessment,
"respectable, and for some countries spectacular, growth rates." In its first
post-independence decade, up to I973 when OPEC first raised oil prices,
Sub-Saharan Africa turned in a performance that was a distinct improvement
on what it had been able to achieve under colonial rule in the I 950s. The
word 'tiger' had not been given an economic connotation at that time but, if it
had, at least half a dozen African economies would have qualified for the
term.

The economic recovery that began in I994 was partly the result of an
upturn in commodity prices. Coupled with an increase in the volume
of exports, this enabled the region to increase its export earnings
significantly. That source of external stimulus has already been
undermined; one of the early repercussions of the East Asian crisis
was weakness in commodity markets as the demand for commodities
from that region's industries began to sag. The prices of industrial
commodities are now reckoned to be at their lowest level in real
terms since the world depression of the I930s. It would be tragic if
Africa's nascent recovery after two devastating decades became a
casualty of the heightened instability that seems to have infected the
world economic system in the wake of globalization. The predicament
of this continent underlines the need for the international community

to recognise that efforts to deal with the current world economic crisis
should be responsive to the interests of all parts of the world and
should therefore be considered by representative bodies rather than
only by groups of the dominant economies.

I believe the present situation serves to highlight a serious hiatus in our
institutional arrangements for world governance. We have no public body at
the highest level to bring to bear the perspectives of all groups of countries
to a consideration of the gravest economic crisis facing the world for nearly
seven decades. We have a Security Council in the United Nations to address
matters of war and peace, of threats to the physical security of states. It has
its weaknesses; the power placed in the hands of five members in perpetuity
is an affront to democratic principles. It needs to be reformed, of course.
Nevertheless, its existence affords a measure of security to all states. But
where the threat to human security is from major economic changes, there is
no such world body, no Economic Security Council, to consider what action
the international community should be taking to avert the threat or to
minimize its consequences.

The Commission on Global Governance, which I have had the privilege to
co-chair together with lngvar Cadsson, former Prime Minister of Sweden,
called for the establishment of an Economic Security Council as part of the
proposals for reforming the United Nations which it made in its report, Our
Global Neighbourhood, in 1995, the year the UN marked its fiftieth
anniversary. The current crisis of global capitalism greatly reinforces the
case for such a world body. We pointed out that existing arrangements for
addressing global economic issues were inadequate and had the effect of
neglecting the interests of developing countries. The United Nations
Economic and Social Council - ECOSOC -, which might have been a
suitable forum, has been emasculated, and turned into little more than a talk

shop. The governing bodies of the IMF and World Bank are too narrowly
focused on financial issues. Furthermore, while these bodies have universal
membership, members are not all equal, with the rich countries given more
votes than the poor. And few doubt that what they do is what the US
Treasury wants them to do.

In the absence of an appropriate, properly constituted forum, the role of an
apex body for dealing with major global economic issues has been arrogated
by the Group of 7. This is wholly unsatisfactory because the G7 is only a
privately constituted group with no democratic legitimacy; it can represent
no one but its few members and they account for no more than one eighth of
the world population. It includes no developing countries, not even countries
like China and India which are now of more consequence to the world
economy than some of the industrial countries which are part of the G7. It
includes no countries from Africa or Latin America, while it includes four
countries from Western Europe and two from North America. With its
membership limited in so many respects, it can bring only a narrow
perspective to bear on global issues that affect all countries. It cannot by any
means bring an African perspective.

Dissatisfaction with the role of the G7 has been growing, and not just
in the Third World. An important voice calling for new arrangements
for global economic oversight has been that of Peter Sutherland, the
first head of the World Trade Organisation who is now Chairman of
the Overseas Development Council in Washington besides being
Chairman of two leading multinational companies. Long a critic of the
G7's inadequacies, the current crisis of global capitalism has led him
to campaign for a world summit on globalization to be attended by

leaders representing all major regions and three groups of countries:
industrialised, emerging market, and least developed. He has
suggested that the participants could decide at the end of the meeting
if they should meet periodically in future. Such meetings of a
representative group of world leaders to review the world economic
situation and consider key issues would be immensely preferable to
the present arrangement under which seven industrial countries
presume they have the right to deal with these matters on behalf of
the world. But the more formal arrangement of a similarly
representative Economic Security Council proposed by the
Commission on Global Governance as an organ of the United
Nations would have greater advantages.

A summit on globalizaton would clearly have many issues to address. What
the current crisis has amply demonstrated is that globalization, while
injecting considerable dynamism into the world economy and helping many
countries to make substantial, even dramatic, progress, has also made the
world economy more unstable. National economies, including economies
that have benefited from globalization, have shown themselves to be liable
to much more violent swings. Economies held up to be models of the global
capitalist order of free markets and deregulation have been severely battered,
and millions of their people thrust back into poverty. Besides what happened
to several Asian currencies, the 10 per cent oscillation in one day of the
dollar and the yen - the world's top two currencies - which occurred last
month (October) was unprecedented. And in Asia, I believe many people
would have thought that Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed was
right to ask, with reference to the collapse of the Indonesian rupiah, "Can it
be that all the assets of that huge country with 220 million hardworking
people are suddenly worth only one-sixth of their previous value?"

Recently, in my part of the developing world, 500 years after Columbus
reached West Indian shores, Europe celebrated the historic moment without
much thought of the consequences for those who discovered it or of the
genocidal age that followed. Nor did it give much thought to its
consequences for those who replaced the victims of that holocaust - the
human cargoes that crossed the new found middle passage from Africa and
later from India. That was not altogether surprising. There is a tendency in
Europe to be 'buffish' about no longer bearing responsibility for the wrongs
of earlier generations. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa - to use Walter
Rodney's memorable title - is quite forgotten. But obligations do remain.
The slate of history is never-wiped clean; but we can turn it over and write
on a new side; and that, in some measure, has been the effort of the post-
colonial era.

Within that effort has been the Lome process, beginning in the I970s. I was
there at the beginning and know how great an effort it took for Europe to
bring itself to the promises of Lome I - promises that were not to be wholly
fulfilled. But Lome was not a process of reparation. It was an act of
enlightenment; of building bridges of trade and development and
institutional bridges of other kinds between Europe and the ACP. And it had
an ethical side; that of devising for a post-war world, to which, through the
first fruits of regionalism, Europe could bring new collective strengths,
developing new relationships founded not on dominance but partnership,
relationships that were creative and looked to a future that would be
enhanced as it endured. It had as its inevitable consequence the building of
bridges between Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific as well.

Those were the foundations of Lome I. They must be the foundations
on which a future Lome, a Lome for the 2I st century, must rise.

There are developments which reinforce this logic. The European
Union remains the largest partner in development cooperation.

And there are other factors. The Lome Conventions reached toward
global trading relationships between Europe and the Third World - not
all of Europe, and not all of the Third World, but enough of both to set
down a marker against spheres of influence. And now Lome spans
more of Europe and more of the Third World - 70 developing
countries. But, as we move deeper into a unipolar world, the need to
frustrate hegemonic ambition is not diminished. Rome once divided
Gaul into three parts, to better rule it; later, Europe divided Africa
under several European flags to exploit it. Let us not be a party to the
North dividing the South into three parts - the Americas, Africa and
Asia-Pacific - for the same convenience of dominion. To try to do so
would be vain and foolish in the era of globalization. Having preached
to the South the panacea of liberalisation and held out the promise of
global markets, it would be ironic now to plan a 2Ist century
'scramble' for the South, but that does not mean there will be no
voices urging it. So the Lome philosophy is important even beyond
the immediate domain of its membership; it is important to the world
in a time of transition, and Europe is easily the most enlightened
partner in smothering any notion of a new trading trilateralism.

There is another issue that has this 'foundation' character. The hallmark of
Lome was 'non-reciprocity'. It was the single most important achievement of
ACP unity in the early' negotiations. Now there is a tendency in Europe to
talk of 'reciprocity' and 'differentiation'. Reciprocity is the orthodoxy of the
new liberalisation theology; some would like it to be the point of departure
of Lome V. But this must not be allowed to happen. Even in an intellectual
climate in which reciprocity is a norm, there are other norms that demand as

much respect. One is the basic tenet - with a European heritage no less
venerable than Aristotle in his 'Ethics' - that as between unequals equity
requires not 'reciprocity' but 'proportionality'. That is a basic truth; when the
partners are of unequal weight and vulnerability, strict reciprocity enlarges
inequality, increases disparities. It tends to make the rich richer and the poor
poorer and more vulnerable. If we must talk of reciprocity in a post-Lome
IV context, it shall have to be in the language of Proportionality; a
reciprocity that is levelling in its impact on relations between the partners,
not one that renders them even more unequal. Nothing is going to be more
important than this.

And the quality of our lives depends increasingly on our relations with
an even wider world. When those relations are threatened by hints of
dominion, it is only the rules and norms of the wider world that can
aid us, besides our strength as a regional community, in overcoming
the vulnerabilities of smallness. Of course I generalise; but within
those generalisations is the truth. The world has become a global
neighbourhood and we are a part of it. We have to be good
neighbours; and others have to be good neighbours to us.
Developing those global neighbourhood values and living by them is
an inescapable challenge for us in the 2Ist century. Nestling in the
Purple Mountains overlooking Nanjin in eastern China is the Sun Yat-
Sen Memorial on whose pinnacle are immortalized the words:

Tien Xia Wei Gong: What is under Heaven is for all.

Sun Yat-Sen took them from one of the ancient books of China to provide
the guiding principle for the revolutionary movement that liberated his
country from its feudal past. That past was not peculiar to China; it has been
a part of the history of most countries, East and West, North and South. The

words used by Sun Yat-Sen speak for all the world, and though they are
ignored by it, they are specially relevant to our modem global society which
needs liberation from its own feudal nature.

Feudalism as a system of economic, social, and political organization was
one that held people in permanent dependence. Narrowly construed, it
justified itself on the ground of contract: the service of the serf in return for
the protection of the lord and master. In essence, it was a system that divided
society into strong and weak, powerful and powerless, haves and have-nots,
those who made the rules and gave the orders and others whose role was to
defer and obey. To the great credit of our species, the history of human
society has been one of movement away from feudalism to systems less
unequal and unjust, systems in which Earth's bounty and the fruits of human
toil are shared more fairly, societies that more closely respect the precept
that "what is under Heaven is for all." But for the greater part, the movement
away from feudalism stopped at national frontiers; the concept of sharing,
even of fairness, generally evolved within states, not between them. Human
society, the world of people, remained beyond the reach of that civilizing
precept. What is under Heaven has not been for all on Earth.

Nothing brings this out better than the bondage of debt. Let the numbers
speak for themselves:

??Microsoft Corporation makes $34 million profit a day. This is what Sub-
Saharan Africa, the world's poorest region, pays each day in debt service
(interest and capital repayments).
??Developing countries paid $60 per person in debt service last year - a
total of $270 billion, up from $I60 billion in I990.

??If African countries did not have to pay debt, the money released would
save the lives of about 2I million children by the year 2000 and provide
90 million girls and women with access to basic education.
??Each day, developing countries pay the rich countries $7I7 million in
debt service.
??By I980, developing countries owed the rest of the world $600 billion.
Today, the figure stands at $2.2 trillion.
??Britain spends $926 per person each year on health and $568 per person
on the military; Jamaica spends $48 per person on health, $II per person
on the military, and $264 per person on debt service. Yet Jamaica is not
eligible for debt relief as its debts are not big enough.

There has seemingly been no lack of international activity to deal with
this problem. The number of conferences at which the debt issue has
been discussed is legion. A melange of capitals or countries has
given their names to initiatives intended to relieve the plight of
indebted countries: London, Lyons, Mauritius, Naples, Toronto,
Trinidad. But the results have been meagre. The predicament of poor
countries struggling under the debt burden has prompted
commentators to recall the Greek story of Sisyphus, the king who
was condemned to Hades, to remain there and roll a stone endlessly
up a hill, a stone that kept rolling down each time it was rolled up. Not
only does the stone of debt keep rolling down, but - like a snowball - it
also becomes bigger and heavier as it does so, as accumulated
arrears, on interest payments and capital repayments, are added to
the debt. Two-thirds of the increase in the debt of Sub-Saharan Africa
since I988 are attributed to arrears. Only in this region has debt as a
proportion of national income risen over the last decade.

The failure to free Africa from the shackles of the debt problem all these
years is all the more reprehensible in view of the fact that most of the
region's debt - nearly four-fifths, is owed to official creditors, i.e to
governments under bilateral programmes or to multilateral agencies such as
the World Bank. As a multiplicity of private banks is not involved, a
successful approach to the question of debt reduction should have been
easier. The approach now being followed, the Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries or HIPC Initiative, designed to help 4I countries of which 33 are
in this region, is the best so far, but how slowly and how grudgingly does it
confer its benefits! Since it was started in I966, only six countries have so far
passed the stringent eligibility test that qualifies them for assistance under
the programme, and only one country, Uganda, has seen any actual
reduction in its debt. Mozambique will join Uganda next year, but it will be
only in the new millennium that a third African country, Burkina Faso, sees
any of its debt reduced.

There has been a strong campaign to persuade rich country
governments to make the scheme less rigid and offer faster relief to
debt-burdened poor countries. The UN secretary-general has called
for broader access to HIPC relief, and the UN Children's Fund and
developmental agencies like Oxfam have drawn special attention to
the effect that high debt service payments are having on children
because these are forcing governments to cut expenditure even on
their health and education. Improvements in the HIPC scheme are
known to have been blocked by the intransigence of certain
countries, notably Germany. It is to be hoped that the recent change
of government in Bonn will lead to a more accommodating approach.
Relief from the debt burden can give a much-needed stimulus to the
development efforts of many countries, and would be particularly

valuable now in helping to moderate the effects on Africa of the
worldwide recession that is now threatened.

In addressing the role of the international economy in securing
humanity's future, the Brundtiand Commission on Sustainable
Development made the basic point that "the pursuit of sustainability
requires major changes in international economic relations." It
elaborated this in its report "Our Common Future" as follows:

Two conditions must be satisfied before international economic
exchanges can become beneficial for all involved. The sustainability
of ecosystems on which the global economy depends must be
guaranteed. And the economic partners must be satisfied that the
basis of exchange is equitable; relationships that are unequal and
based on dominance of one kind or another are not a sound and
durable basis for interdependence. For many developing countries,
neither condition is met.

That was in I987. In I995, the Commission on Global Governance had this
to say:

A sophisticated, globalized, increasingly affluent world currently co-exists
with a marginalised global underclass. The post-war system of economic
governance has seen - and facilitated - the most remarkable growth in
economic activity and improvements in living standards within human
history. Many indicators of social progress - infant mortality, literacy, life
expectancy, nutrition - have improved significantly, at least in terms of
global averages....

At the same time, people are increasingly aware - through better
communication of the global problem of continued poverty. The number of
absolute poor, the truly destitute, was estimated by the World Bank at 13
billion in 1993, and is probably still growing. One fifth of the world lives in
countries, mainly in Africa and Latin America, where living standards
actually fell in the I980s. Several indicators of aggregate poverty -I.5 billion
lack access to safe water and 2 billion lack safe sanitation; more than I
billion are illiterate, including half of all rural women - are no less chilling
than a quarter-century ago. The conditions of this 20 per cent of humanity -
and of millions of others close to this perilous state - should be a matter of
overriding priority.

That marginalised global underclass of which the Commission on Global
Governance complained, will have no economic space in the 2Ist Century.
They will forever be struggling in the periphery. The global economy will be
shaped by others, its directorate motivated by those old instincts of greed
and self-aggrandisement - caring neither for the Earth nor for those barely
clinging to their inheritance of the right to life on Earth.

And there are other drums that beat to the same tune in a global setting. In a
recent issue of Foreign Policy is an article by the distinguished American
internationalist, Charles Williams Maynes, which he entitles, The Perils of
(and for) an Imperial America. Its rubric reads as follows:

Not since ancient Rome has a single power so towered over its rivals.
From US military might to the 'virtual power' of software, America
reigns supreme. Yet not only does the American lmperium threaten to
become dangerously overbearing, but also to impose costs that could
prove intolerably high.

From poor countries, there must always be, as there has been
already, absolute and unequivocal denunciation of these trends. But
there are also less overt ways of denying us space in the century
ahead, and some even bear innocuous names. Extra-territoriality is
one of these ways: the illegal attempt to bring one sovereign country
under the sway of the law of another. It is one thing to have
sovereignty moderated by global governance - through international
institutions democratically constituted - it is quite another to have
sovereignty negated by the extraterritorial operations of the law of
another country which asserts dominance. 'Helms-Burton' is the
crudest form of this intrusion; but have we thought, for example, of
the implications of German 'consumer protection legislation for the
African tourist industry. The issue of extra-territoriality could become
a major factor in curbing the freedom of African societies in the next
century. Their space is not guaranteed unless we entrench the rule of
law between states, even as we insist on it within countries.

Extra-territoriality may be thought of as an unacceptable aberration
over which international norms will ultimately prevail. Liberalisation
and globalization on the other hand have already come to dominate
our economic lives in a pervasive way. Those who preach the gospel
of globalization tend to imply that it is leading to a 'world without
borders'. In a larger context, the context of 'one world', that is a noble
aspiration. But that is not what is meant in a trade context; and apart
from what is meant, what is the reality? Ask the Mexicans if they are
living in a world without borders - and they are in NAFTA; ask the
North Africans - and they have a Trade Agreement with the European
Union. Yes, within limits, the borders are open between them for the
movement of goods and to a lesser extent services; and globally,
borders hardly exist in relation to the movement of capital. But, for the

movement of people, the movement of skills, the movement of human
resources, borders are all too real; and for the movement of goods
they are absent only to the extent that they are negotiated away.

'Open markets' are not open to all products or all people; free trade is rarely
fair trade. Globalization, it is claimed, is not a choice, it is a reality. That
might be so; but being a reality does not of itself endow it with virtue. What
is clear already is that there are aspects of globalization which hold more
dangers for the weak than for the strong. These propensities of globalization
for endangering many a defenceless country and millions of vulnerable
people will have to be curbed - and ultimately, this may be necessary in the
interests even of the strong.

The present emphasis on market economics, free enterprise and
individual responsibility has gone so far that it has eroded social
responsibility for combating poverty within countries as well as
globally. Many of the poor are too unskilled, too lacking in such basic
assets as land or tools, or just too malnourished to participate even
marginally in the free enterprise system, either as employees or as
self-employed persons. They are the victims of the debilitating
pressures which society puts on the poor through institutional and
policy failures to correct for unequal bargaining power, inadequate
empowerment, poor access to credit, and unsafe working conditions.
Developing countries have profited from globalization far less than
the richest industrialised nations. World Bank and OCED figures now
show that the Uruguay Round of GATT was expected to penalise
Africa to the tune of $2.6 billion by the year 2002. To leave the poor
to the mercies of the market and to fail to assist them to participate in
the system is to be ethically, socially and economically irresponsible.

The excesses of globalization and liberalization, their brutal consequence for
those whose interests they do not serve, or are manipulated to harm, have
opened up a debate whose implications could be far reaching, and certainly
go well beyond our capacity to predict today. It found voice at the I997
meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in the
explosive condemnations of Prime Minister Mahathir of Malaysia and the
response from the financier George Soros. Many in the developing world
understand well the perspectives of the Malaysian Prime Minister when he
criticized the 'great powers' for forcing Asian countries to open their
domestic markets to traders and then manipulating their currencies as
competitors. They appreciate too China's call for - indeed assertion of - a
new and 'multi-polar world' that would 'resist bullying' by more developed
countries.

We tend to associate this Century with the flowering of human genius and
the explosion of human prosperity. And in some respects that is true; but is
not true in all respects. One hundred years ago, as the 19th Century turned
into the 20
th
, the ratio of average income of the richest country in the world
to that of the poorest - was 9 to I. As the 20th Century turns into the 2Ist,
that ratio has risen to at least 60 to 1. Today, the average family in the
United States is 60 times richer than the average family in Ethiopia - or, in
America's own Hemisphere, 40 times richer than the average family in Haiti.

Economic development is needed to improve people's life chances; it can
also advance Africa's other major objective: to nurture democracy. Poverty
and deprivation tend to offer inhospitable ground for growing democracy.
Indeed there is good reason to believe that development and democracy can
be mutually reinforcing. In a democracy, those who govern are accountable
to those who elect them. In a well-functioning democracy in which citizens
are active participants and use the democratic system to safeguard their

interests, they can influence the governing establishment to follow a
developmental path rather than merely pursue economic growth. They can
demand that governments pay heed to equity and social justice and not
follow policies that enrich mainly the already privileged sections of the
community. It has been observed that democracies tend not to go to war with
other democracies; what is more germane to my argument is that famines
tend not to occur in democracies. This is the conclusion reached after
considerable research into famines in both Asia and Africa by Amartya Sen,
the Indian economist who was awarded the Nobel Prize this year. In a recent
article he wrote:

One of the remarkable facts in the terrible history of famine is that no
substantial famine has ever occurred in a country with a democratic
form of government and a relatively free press. They have occurred in
ancient kingdoms and in contemporary authoritarian societies, in
primitive tribal communities and in modem technocratic dictatorships,
in colonial economies governed by imperialists from the north and in
newly independent countries of the south run by despotic national
leaders or by intolerant single parties. But famines have never
afflicted any country that is independent, that goes to elections
regularly, that has opposition parties to voice criticisms, that permits
newspapers to report freely and to question the wisdom of government
policies without extensive censorship.

Democracy is therefore to be sought both for its own sake for the political
rights it secures, and also for the economic rights it could facilitate. The
avoidance of large-scale famines is not by itself a guarantee of equality of
economic opportunity but the fact that democracy and famine tend not to go
together testifies to democracy's potential for protecting the interests of
citizens, including the underprivileged. It is potential that needs to be

grasped and used, which is more likely when electors are actively engaged in
the democratic process and vigilant in defence of their interests as citizens. It
is a truism to say that the democratic process is more than elections and the
electoral process but it is nonetheless easy for democrats to forget its
message. Elections are the crucial elements of a democratic system, of
course, but democracy is healthiest when it is a continuous process of
communication and interaction, between people and government, between
electors and elected. That kind of relationship is most likely in societies in
which there is an active civil society, with a multiplicity of channels through
which people are able to articulate their aspirations and make their views
known on issues of public concern. It seems to me that promoting the
growth of civil society must be one of the priority objectives of those
working for a democratic Africa.

Earlier this year, the UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan - now a
Graduate of our University - had this to say to the people of his
Continent:

In far too many cases, post-independence rule has been
characterized by an acute form of winner-takes-all politics,
where victory at the ballot box has translated into total control
over a nation's wealth and resources. With the absence of
proper checks and balances, inadequate accountability and
lack of respect for human rights and the rule of law, political
power has too often become a weapon for the few rather than
the instrument of the many. In these situations, the multi-ethnic

character of most African states exacerbates already existing
tensions and fears, making conflict virtually inevitable.

Good governance - ensuring respect for human rights and the
rule of law, strengthening democratization and promoting
transparency and capability in public administration - is now
more then ever the condition for the success of both peace and
development.

Africa, like the rest of the developing world, must discharge its own
quota of responsibility for ending poverty. It must include a genuine
and deepened democracy that empowers the poor. It must include
incorrupt governance that ensures that the poor's share of the
national patrimony is not stolen. And it must be intolerant of a culture
of mediocrity which is a curse threatening many sectors of African
life. This is all the more deplorable because of the levels of
excellence to which Africa aspires and achieves in many fields of
endeavour. In sport, African athletes hold their own with the best in
the world. African writers are in the very front rank internationally.
African scholars are prominent in academia - mostly outside the
Continent. And yet, at many other levels within African society, in the
public and private sectors, it is mediocrity not excellence that is
increasingly accepted as normal. Quite apart from such material
implications as the impossibility of developing a services sector that
must help to win Africa economic space in the 21st century,
mediocrity is a cancer that will spread throughout the Continent with
implications for the quality of leadership itself. And that is a deficiency
with which Africa must not be afflicted as it faces the 21st Century.

At the end of the Report of the Commission on Global Governance,
we said that 'the world needs leaders made strong by vision,
sustained by ethics, and revealed by political courage, that looks
beyond the next election'. On the threshold of the new Century,
Africa, like the rest of the world, can look back to a few truly great
leaders among many others that fell far short of greatness. But as in
the world, so in Africa, it is the few who are more significant than the
many - and who justify hope for the future. Today, Nelson Mandela
stands tall among not just Africa's but the world's political leaders. His
is without question the most commanding moral authority in the
international community. He must set the standard for Africa in the
21stCentury.

The Africa Leadership Forum could have no more challenging mission than
to help this great Continent to make those high standards of leadership an
African heritage. It Is 'leadership' beyond all else that will determine whether
for Africa, the 2Ist Century will be one of 'Renaissance' or regression. In
enlarging the prospects for leadership, there is no greater service that this
Forum could render to Africa, or that Africa could render to the world.

Appendix I

List of Participants

1. H.E General Obasanjo Olusegun, Chairman, Africa Leadership Forum,
P.O.Box 2286 Abeokuta, Nigeria. Tel.: 234-39-722521 /722523, Fax:
234-39-722524, E-mail: alf@alpha.linkserve.com

2. H.E. Dr. Malacela John S., Former Prime Minister of Tanzania, Member
of Parliament for Mtera Constituency, United Republic of Tanzania. P.
O. Box 7610, Dar-es-Salaam. Tanzania. Tel.: 255-51-34510,38761, Fax.:
255-51-32342
3. H.E. Machungo Mario de Graca, Former Prime Minister of
Mozambique, Av. Do Zimbabwe N0. 1024, Maputo, Mozambique. Tel.:
258-1-491337, Fax.: 258-1-493432
4. Hon. Masire K., Former President of Botwana, Tel.: 267 353391,
Botswana.
5. Hon. Ramphal Shridath, Former Secretary General, The
Commonwealth, The Sutherlands 188 Sutherland Avenue, London W9
1HR. Tel:0171 266 3409Fax: 0171 286 2302, E-
mail:ssramphal@msn.com
6. Abati Reuben, The Guardian, Rutam House, P. M. B. 1217, Oshodi,
Lagos, Nigeria, Tel: 234-1-4529183-4, 234-1-4528521, Fax: 234-1-
521982, E-mail: abati@kilima.com
7. Adams Esther, P. O.Box C5117, Cantonments, Accra-Ghana.
Tel;406655, Fax:667708
8. Aderinwale Ayodele, Director, Africa Leadership Forum, P.O.Box 2286
Abeokuta, Nigeria, Tel: 234-39-722521/722523, Fax: 234-39-722524, E-mail::
alf@alpha.linkserve.com, Website: www.africaleadership.com
9. Alabi Niyi, The Polylot, Box 13115 Accra. Tel: 233-21 400413, E-mail:
freedom@africaonline.com.gh
10. Alghali Sidi T., Presidential Adviser, c/o State House, Private Mail Bag ,
Freetown Sierra Leone, Tel: 232-22-223601; Fax: 232-22 272 292
11. Amoah A. Dela, Coordinator, Women Workers Activities, OATUU, P.
O. Box M386, Accra Ghana,, Tel: 233-21-774531; Fax: 233-21-772621,
E-mail:oatuu@ighmail.com

12. Anani Kofi, Graduate Student, Rural Studies, University of Guelph,
Guelph, Ontario, Canada NIG2W1, Tel: 519 821-8950, E-mail:
kanani@uoguelph.ca
13. Awity Kofi, Accra-Ghana, E-mail: kofiawity@hotmail.com
14. Awhere-Bafo John, University of Cape Coast, c/o Mr. Joseph Asante,
P.O. Box 521, Accra-Ghana. Tel: 021664941 ext. 399, Fax: 021227984,
E-mail: jabafo@hotmail.com
15. Bankale Oluwafisan B. A., Sketch Press Ltd., 1 Oba Adebimpe Road, M.
B. 5067, Dugbe, Ibadan, Nigeria. Tel: (W) 234-2-241-2988;241-4983,
Tel: (H) 234-2-810-3809, Fax: (W) 234-2-241-1982, E-mail:
fisan.banlale@skannet.com
16. Balogun M. Jide, UNECA, P.O. Box 3005, Ethiopia, Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia. Tel: 251-1-517200; 510175, Fax; 251-1-514682; 518155, E-
mail: balogun@un.org
17. Bergstresser Heinrich, German Deutche Welle, Cologne, Germany. Tel:
0221-3894976; Fax: 0221731466, Email: bergstr@dwelle.de
18. Bergstresser Sibvlle, Consultant, 50733 Koln Gustav-Cords-Str 23b,
Germany. T-221-731466
19. Bonin A. Nutepe, Translatics Ltd, Box 103773 Accra North. Tel: 233-
21-2219-56, Fax: 233-21- 22-44-48.
20. Brenes Arnoldo, Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress, P.O.
Box 8 6410 1000 San Jos, Costa Rica, Tel (506)2336348/2552885,
Fax:(506) 255 22 44, Email: arnoldo@arias.or.cr, Tel: 506 2533420
21. Chambas Mohamed Ibn, Deputy Minister of Education, Ministry of
Education, Ministries, Accra. P.O.Box M 45, Tel: 665610/774508
22. Chukura Lynn, Co-ordintoar, Ashoka Innovators for the Public, Box
121 Akoka, Lagos. Tel: 77 44059, E-mail; lynn@rcl.nig.com
23. Dada Jabo, Project Manager, Defence and Development Project, 76 Juta
Street, 13
th
Floor, British Council Bld, Braamfonten, Johannesbourg

South. Tel: 2711403 7666, Fax: 2711403 7563, E-
mail:jdada@gom.org.za
24. Dandjiou Pierre, Programme Officer, PNUD, BP 506 Cotonou. Tel 229
315384, Fax 229 315384, E-mail@sdnpaf@intnet.bj
25. Dawa Angie, Well Woman Initiatives, P.O.Box 35302, Nairobi, Kenya,
Tel: 254-2-506057, Fax: 254-2-506057, E-mail:
adawa@africaonline.co.ke
26. Deng Francis, Former Ag. Chairman, Africa Leadership Forum, 1775
Massachussells Avenue, Washington D.C. 20036. Tel: 202-797-
6021/7260081, Fax: 202-797-6003/797-6004/726-9469, E-mail:
fdeng@brook.edu
27. Delu Thomas, Security, PB 001 Gaborone Botswana. Tel 353391, Fax:
35 68 66
28. Dei-Tumi Emmanuel, Foundation for Future Leaders, P.O. Box 19058,
Accra-North, Ghana. Tel: 231110/236516; Fax: 237778
29. Diagne Mountaga, Research Student, C.D.P Garab Gii Rue & No: 96
bopp Dakar. Representant de la CDP Gaabi Gii au Nigeria. Tel:-02-810
11 00 ext. 12 78s
30. Diop Katy, Regional Representative, ASHOKA Innovators for the
Public, B. P. 15090, Dakar-Fann, Senegal. Tel: 221-8254343, Fax:
2218253343/8254343, e-mail:asoka@enda.sn/kdiop@ashoka.org
31. DOrville Hans, President, Africa Leadership Foundation, 1255 Fifth
Ave. 7K, New York NY 1009. Tel; 212 534 2355, Fax 212 534 0637,
E-mail: dorville@undp.org
32. Fabien Nkot Pierre, University of Laval, Pavillion Parent # 2634, Sainte
Foy Quebec, GIK 7P4 Canada. Tel: 418-656-7777 EXT 19278, Fax: 418-
653 51 49, Email: fnkot@hotmail.com
33. Fadope Modupe Ceci, African Perceptives, 1425 4
th
Street, S.W A217,
Washington DC 20004, Tel: 202/414-2337/479-4296, Fax: 202-0 414
3073, E-mail-cece@igc.apc.org

34. Floyd Virginia Davis, Director, Human and development and
reproductive Health, The Ford Foundation, 320 East 43
rd
Street NY
10017, Tel:212 573 5277, Fax:212 357 36 50, E-mail:
V.floyd@fordfound.org
35. Gambo Mohammed, Managing Director, Jimeta Productions Inc. (Youth
Program Specialist), House 12 G-Cappa Estate, Maryland Ikeja Lagos
Nigeria. Tel: 01-4964970
36. Goma Yvonne, Chairperson, Zambian Federation of Assoc. of Women in
Business, P. O. Box 320153, Lusaka, Zambia. Tel: 260-1-
233476/222303/702837, Fax: 260-1-611227/611227, E-mail:
lopilopi@zamnet.zm
37. Ighofose Johnson, Human Resources Manager, Vita construction Ltd, 10
Mustapha St Orgun Lagos. Tel: 234-01-77 40305-6, Fax: 234-1-7740305
38. Jean-Cluade Gouthon Henri, PDG de GH Benin (SA), Lot 34 Patte doie
O4, Bp 0108, Benin. Tel: 229 30 0702, 229 300056, Fax: 229 300047, E-
mail: ghbenin@bow.intnet.bj
39. Kpegba-Dzotsi Kafui, Depute Assemblee Nationale, BP 357, Tel: 22-82-
12-361, Fax: 22-11-68, Lome, Togo.
40. Kontaga Sekou, Secrtaire a LEducation du SYNTADE, Union
Nationale des Travailleurs du Mali, P. 254, Bamako, Mali. Tel: 223-
222673, Fax: 223-236334/230580
41. Kowouvi Sitsofe, Assocaition Internartionale des Jeunes Unites hors
Siege, 185 Av Albert Thomas 87065 LIMOGES CEDX FRANCE, Tel
00555452607, E-mail: sitkowou@hotmail.com
42. Lawanson Kehinde, Managing Director/Chief Executive, Peak Merchant
Bank Ltd. Tel: 234-01 26 23 15, Fax:234-01 26 15 465
43. Lekoueiry Med Vall Ould, Directeur des Services Generaux a Assemble
Nationale de Mauritanie B.P. 185, Nouakchott. Tel;
222251130/51131/54675, Fax:222257078

44. Mungwa Alice Aghenbit, Program Officer, Africa Leadership Forum,
P.O.Box 2286 Abeokuta, Nigeria, Tel: 234-39-722521 /722523, Fax:
234-39-722524, E-mail:alf@alpha.linkserve.com
45. Marshall Eileen, Senior Advisor, Global Coalition for Africa (GCA),
1750 Pensylvania Ave. N.W. Suite 1204, Washington D.C. 20006 USA.
Tel: 202-458-4266; Fax: 202-522-3259, Email:
Amarshall@worldbank.org
46. Matlhaku Alpheus, Deputy Permanent Security, P/Bag 001 Gaborone,
Tel:267 350 853, Fax: 267-350-888, Botswana
47. Medegan Francoise M., Jusite Conseiller Technique aux relation
Publiques du President de la Republique, BP 1287, Cotonou-Benin. Tel
229 30 00 90/300412/301628
48. Mensah Robert, Barrister at Law, Box 1507, Mamprobi-Accra. Tel: 233-
21-666445, Fax: 233-21 780021
49. Michael Foster Abu, Country Director, Sasakawa Global 2000, Box
6987 Kampala-Uganda. Tel;25641345497, Fax;346087, Tel230180, E-
mail:sakfo@starcom.co.ug
50. Mohiddin Ahmed, Director, Africa Foundation, 307 Tudos Drive,
Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surrey KT2 5PF, United Kingdom, Tel/Fax: 44-
181-241-2846, E-mail: Amohiddin@cablenet.com.uk
51. Mkandawire Richard, Director, Centre For Youth Studies, University of
Venda. P.B 5050, Thohoyandou, 0945, South Africa. Tel: 27159824742
52. Momoh Abubakar, Department of Policital Sceince, State university, E-
mail@ aswoka@rcl.nig.com
53. Monekosso Huguette Tichy, Communications and Public Information,
37 Rue Jean-Jaurs, P. O. Box 252, 01202 bellegrade sue valseure,
France. Tel/Fax: 33 4-50482270, 33450482270, Office: 41 22 9171024,
E-mail: afromedia@iprolink.ch

54. Mosha Felix G.N., African Dialogue Center, Executive Director, P.O.
Box 6202. Dar Es Salaam, Arusha, Tanzania. Tel: 255-578125/255-51-
668518; Fax: 255-57-667904
55. Mounlon Damaris, FESADE, B.P 726 Yaounde Cameroon. Tel: 237-
234232, Fax:237-23-42-32, E-mail: dmounlom@sdncmr.undp.org
56. Najman Dragoljub, Member, Executive Committee Africa Leadership
Forum, 6 Rue Borrome Paris 75015, France. Tel: 33-1-47346802, Fax:
33-1-47347486, E-mail: najman@filnet.fr
57. Nyangaya Justus, P.O.Box 41983 Nairobi. Tel: 630935, Fax: 630457
58. Nyinawagaga Claudine, Executive Secretary, Pro-Femmes, BP 2758,
Tel/Fax-250-72750 Tel(H):82480
59. Ocloo Pearl, Career Woman, Accra, P.O.Box 5154, Accra-North,
Tel:233-21772458/506762, E-mail-pocloo@hotmail.com
60. Odugbemi Sina, Monk Ellington Associates Ltd., 46,Sunset Road
Birchmere View, London SE 28 8RS, Tel: 0171-737-2946; Tel; 44-181-
312-0809, Fax 0181-3118707
61. Ofori-Atta Angela, University of Ghana, P.O.Box 3859 Accra. Tel:
23321-763050, Fax:: 23321669100, E-mail@angielam@africaonline.com.gh
62. Ofori-Atta Ken, Executive Chairman, Data Bank Financial Services,
SNNIT Tower Block, Ministries. Tel: 233-21-665124/763050, Fax: 233-21-669100, E-
mail: kenoforiatta@africaonline.com.gh,
63. Oladeinde Fred, Foundation for Democracy in Africa, Capitol Heights,
Maryland 20743, Washington D.C. USA. Tel: 301-499-1300, 202322-
1346; Fax: 301-499-1405
64. Quao Victoria K.A., Womens Commissioner, Ho Polytechnic, P. O.
Box 217, Ho, Ghana. Tel: 091-456
65. Quintal Angela, Political Correspondent, South African Press Assoc, c/o
Press Gallery, Parliament, Cape Town, South Africa. Tel: 021-403 2578,
Fax: 021 451143, E-mail: angela@sapa.org.za

66. Ramagoshi Mmabatho, National Programme Manager, Violence
Against Women, UNDP, 476 King highway Lynwood Ridge 0040 South
Africa. Tel: 012 3481231/3, Fax:12 348 1235, Tel; 27-12-9970501, E-
mail: mabr@tn.co.za
67. Sabiiti Jacquie, C/O Mrs. I. Sabiiti, Uganda Virus Institute,
P.O.Box 49, Entebbe, Uganda.Fax: C/O Linda, Nev . Botique.
Tel:256-41-259130
68. Sakyi-Addo Kwaku, P.O Box 6398 , Accra North. Tel; 233-28-21 22 86,
Tel/Fax: 233-21 243102, Accra-Ghana. E-mail: kwaku@ghana.com
69. Salomao Angelica, President, Institute for Gender Leadership &
Democracy, Av. Ahmed Sekou Toure, 1919 5o, Maputo, Mozambique.
Tel: 0258 1 491103, Fax:258-1-498643, E-mail: angelica@vorcom.com
70. Sessi Modupe Oluyomi, Chevron Nigeria Ltd, 2, Chevron Drive, Lekki,
Lagos. Tel: 234-1-2600600, ext. 8111, E-mail;yose@chevron.com
71. Sibeko Xoliswa, Director(State Administrative Secretary), Office of the
President, P.M.B X1000 Cape Town 8000, South Africa. Tel: 021 46 42
2211 5, Fax: 464 2217, E-mail: xoliswa@po.gov.za 32 Pieke Road,
Thornton, Tel: 27 21 531 6091
72. Shabodlen Rosieda, Director, Gender Advocacy Programme, 7
th
Floor,
Ruskin House, 2 Roeland St. Cape Town 8001, South Africa. Tel: 021
450197/8, Fax: 021 450089, E-mail: genap@sn.apc.org
73. Sofekun Ibi, 42 Abiodun St Somolu, Lagos Nigeria. Tel: 234-01-821309,
Fax: 234-1-825004, E-mail:njc@rd.nig.com
74. Sow Aliou, Departements des Langues, Litterature Civilizations
Anglaises Nord Americaines Universit de Dakar, Dakar, Fann Senegal,
Tel: 221-837-20-80, Fax: 221-825-4977
75. Tevoedjre Marcelio, Vice President, Assocaition Espace Liberal,
CADENCES, 01 BP1508 Cotonou. Tel 229 336439, E-mail:
cadences@elodia.intnet.bj

76. Thani Ernest, Security P.Bag 001Gaborone Botswana. Tel: 2167-340
273/503007, Fax: 267-342 311.
77. Thiam Fatou Dieng, Consultant, Femmes Afrique Solidarit, P.O. Box
2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland. Tel: 41-22-7980075; Fax: 41-22-
7980076, E-mail: info@fasngo.org, fkine@commail.com
78. Thompson Eve, Joint Center for Political And Economic Studies, 20
Melle Street, 4
th
Floor Van der Stel Place, P. O. Box 23881Joubert Park,
2044, South Africa. Tel:27114038641, Fax:27-113398386, E-mail:
jcsa@wn.apc.org
79. Wesseh Conmany, Executive Director, Centre for Democratic
Empowerment, 1A Broad Street, Srapper Hill, Monrovia. P. O. Box
3671, Monrovia, Liberia, Tel: 231-226959/226648, Fax: 231-
226393/226354, E-mail: medina@liberia.net
80. Yaw Asamoa, General Law Group, 1
st
Floor Swanzy Arcade, P .O .Box
330, Trade Fair Centre, Accra, Ghana, Tel: (233)-2124 01 62,
Fax:(233)21 226421, E-mail: glg@ighmail.com, Tel: 233-21503776
81. Yusuf Bilkisu, Deputy Editor-In-Chief, Citizen, 4 Sultan Road, Gra,
Kaduna-Nigeria, G. 11 Ungwan Kanawa, P. M. B. 2334, Kaduna., Tel:
062230165

Secretariat
1. Dia Mamadou, Africa Leadership Forum, P.O.Box 2286 Abeokuta,
Nigeria. Tel: 234-39-722521/722523, Fax: 234-39-722524, E-mail:
alfip@alpha.linkserve.com
2. Mensah Anthony Esua, IT Assistant, Africa Leadership Forum, P.O.Box
2286 Abeokuta, Nigeria. Tel: 234-39-722521/722523, Fax: 234-39-
722524, E-mail: alf@alpha.linkserve.com
3. Lassey Genevive, Administrative Secretary, 28 Solapost Sakumono,
Accra-Ghana. Tel.: 00233 21 76 30 28, Fax: 00233 21 763029, E-mail:
alf@alpha.linkersve.com

Interpreters
1. Bakary Abdel-Wahab A., Managing Director, Co.Bu.Co International,
01 B.P BP 4762 Cotonou, Benin, Tel:229-34054 71, Fax: 229-31 40 84,
E-mail@fitben@intnet.bj
2. Gomez Roger, Box 7871 Accra North. Tel: 233-027-564186, Fax: 233-
21 77 48 60

Appendix II

Agenda for the Meeting

Sheraton Hotel, Cotonou - Benin,
November 26-28, 1998

DAY 1 26 NOVEMBER

Part I
09.00 - 10.30: Opening Session

1
ST
PLENARY
11.00 - 12.30: LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES FOR AFRICAS
SOCIO-POLITICAL TRANSFORMATION

CHAIR: Francis Deng
Panelists: 1 Jide Balogun
2 Mmabatho Ramagoshi
3 Bilkisu Yusuf.
4 Alice Mungwa
5 Richard Mkandawire

I ntroduction: This session will examine the current situation of
leadership and the process for developing the leadership
capacities of young people to enable them to assume the
mantle of leadership towards realizing the African
renaissance.

Considerations: i. What obstacles impede access of young people to
leadership positions in Africa?

ii. What framework should inform the leadership
recruitment and development process?

iii. How do we create a critical mass of young leaders for
Africa?

iv. How might we consciously increase the participation
of women in critical leadership positions?

12.30 - 14.00: LUNCH

Afternoon Session

14.00-15.30 Promoting Leadership for Sustainable Development

CHAIR: H.E. President Kemitule Masire]

Panelists: 1 Kofi Anani
2 Rosieda Shabodlen
3 Angelica Salmao
4 Jeye Okorodudu

I ntroduction: This session will examine the challenges of creating
capacity for young Africans to participate in and
eventually lead the process of developing sustainable
development systems for Africa.

Considerations: What opportunities exist for the effective integration of
young Africans in the economic transformation of their
countries?

How might young Africans effectively participate in the
African and global economic integration processes?

How can young Africans participate in the transformation
of African economies from consumption orientation to
production orientation?

15.30-16.00 BREAK

16.00-18.00 Redressing the continuous systematic deterioration of
public spiritedness and
professional ethics

CHAIR: Ken Ofori-Attah
Panelists: 1 Ahmed Mohiddin
2 Xoliswa Sibeko
3 Reuben Abati
4 Eve Thompson

I ntroduction: This session will consider the political, economic and
social issues which need to be addressed if the young
people of African countries are to enter the next
millennium with a culture of integrity, hard work and
public spiritedness.

Considerations: What structures/institutions exist for nurturing and
sustaining integrity and professional ethics?

How might we institute, draw on, and/or develop and
sustain such values?

What can be done to promote role models?

How might we consciously initialize and evolve a
process of mentoring to sustain the process of leadership
capacity development for Africa?

DAY 2 27 NOVEMBER

Morning Session
9.00-10.30 Developing the Requisite Human Resources for the
future

CHAIR: Yvonne Goma
Panelists: 1 Fred Oladeinde
2 Sina Odugbemi
3 Cece Modupe Fadope
4 Fabien Pierre Nkot

I ntroduction: This session will examine how constraints to the
productive use of existing capacity, as well as the
development of new capacity, can be overcome in
African countries.

Considerations: African countries, like others, have to develop the skills
and capacity and create the institutions required to meet
the challenges of the future. However, while capacity
building is essential in most African countries, so is the
effective utilization of existing capacity.

How do we retain and effectively utilize existing
capacities?

How do we effectively mobilize for utilization the
resource potential of Africans in the Diaspora?

How do we effectively redress the issue of brain drain
and drained brains resulting from political oppression,
lack of economic opportunity, or war and evolve
mechanisms to stem its recurrence.

What mechanisms can we put in place (an enabling
environment), supportive of the active participation of
young Africans in the Diaspora?

10.30-11.00 BREAK

11.00-12.30 Global Knowledge and the challenges for the African
environment

CHAIR: Hans dOrville.
Panelists: 1 Ticky Monekosso
2 Marcelio Tevoedjre
3 Aileen Marshall

I ntroduction: Progress is marked by initiative, incentive and
innovation. The technological revolution, globalization,
advances in communication and the new era of
consciousness for enhancing the participation of young
Africans in critical leadership positions provide
unprecedented new opportunities for advancement.
Similarly, the opening up of societies and the expansion
of civil and political liberties throughout the continent
represent a break from the constraints of the past.

Considerations: How do we use the prevailing opportunities
constructively for the betterment of societies, not just for
personal gain, but also to create incentives for
development.

How do we create an environment which is conducive to
innovation?

How can people be encouraged to act on their own
initiatives?

How can the capacity of young Africans to use
information technology as a leadership tool be
developed?

12.30 - 14.00 LUNCH
14.00 - 15.00 Group Deliberations
15.00 - 15.30 BREAK
CHAIR: Professor Sidi T. Alghali

15.30 - 16.30 Plenary - Report back from Group Work & Discussions

CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ADOPTION
& CLOSING

CHAIR: H.E. Dr. Mario Machungo

DAY 3 PART II

10.00 10TH ANNIVERSARY LECTURE:

Speaker: Shridath Ramphal,
Former Secretary General, The Commonwealth

19.00 - 23.00: GALA NIGHT

Appendix III

Background Note
on the Africa Leadership Forum (ALF)

Despite over four decades of political independence, Africa's
aspirations and hopes remain today largely unfulfilled. This has not
been, however, a period of unmitigated failure in the history of the
continent, there have been successes in education, public health,
import substitution industries, and the continuing process of
decolonization. The problems of development, peace and security,
the health of the world economy, and improving the environment are
interrelated global issues; they do not admit of piecemeal solutions.

And yet, all countries find that in the absence of true global co-operation,
they have to tackle particular aspects of these problems. At the national level
in Africa, the inadequacy of information, data, and resources render the
problems daunting. Regionally, they are over-whelming.

Africa leaders have frequently come to their positions with limited
experience. Though most of them have battled on, confronting their
awesome problems of development and nation-building, essentially
unprepared and unaided, their efforts have been at best, only a qualified
success.

Africa cannot afford to continue with ill-prepared and unassisted leaders.
Those on whom the burden of 1eadership will fall in future must fully
comprehend their responsibilities, duties, and obligations. They must, that is,
have exposure and carefully planned preparation if they are to meet the
challenges that will face them.

The leaders of tomorrow, however, today have to be pursuing their
professional careers. They have little time to devote to gaining a
comprehensive knowledge of their own countries and their region, nor of the
cultures of their divers peoples. Nor even to learning about and
understanding the action taken by their present leaders where they do not
impinge on their own areas of expertise.

Most young potential leaders have focused primarily on single issues,
lacking time to look at wider, critical, regional and world challenges. Time
for comprehensive study and reflection, for sharing experience with persons
inside, let alone outside, their countries, region, and field of concentration is
very limited. Opportunities for such detached discussion and contemplation
are even rarer.

There are no private institutions in Africa devoted to preparing potential
leaders with a global outlook, leaders who will be able to co-operate within
and across national, regional and institutional boundaries. Further, it is
difficult, if not impossible, in many African countries to gain access to
relevant and timely information on most national, regional and global issues.

Experience in and out of Government and in international form bears out
this situation, one which poses a challenge to address and remedy. One
solution is to hold periodically, Africa Leadership Forum a series which
may be national, sub-regional, regional and international in dimension and
may vary in duration. The purpose is to enhance the knowledge and
awareness of young, potential Africa leaders, placing special emphasis on
diagnosing apparent failures of the past; on understanding multiple
dimensions and complex interrelations of local, national, regional and global
problems; and on seeking possible approaches to solutions.

Objectives:
The purpose of the Forum is to encourage diagnosis, understanding, and an
informed search for solutions to local, regional and global problems, taking
full account of their inter-relationships and mutual consequences.

To that end, the Forum organizes and supports programmes for the training
of young and promising Africans with leadership potentials so as to expose
them to the demands, duties and obligations of leadership positions and to
prepare them systematically for assuming higher responsibilities and
meeting the challenges of an increasingly inter-dependent world.

The Forum also endeavors to generate greater understanding and enhance
the knowledge and awareness of development and social problems within a
global context among young, potential leaders from all sectors of society,
cutting across national, regional, continental, professional and institutional
borders. This may foster close and enduring relationships among
participants, relationships promoting life-long association and co-operation.

Further, the Forum supports and encourages the diagnosis and informed
search for appropriate and effective solutions to local and regional African
problems and to global problems from an African perspective - within the
framework of global interdependence including consideration of phased
action programmes that can be initiated by various countries, sub-regions
and institutions.

In addition, there are specific weekend seminars organised as Farm House
Dialogues and Professional Seminars.

Africa and The Successor Generation

Încărcat de

Informații document

Titlu original

Drepturi de autor

Formate disponibile

Partajați acest document

Partajați sau inserați document

Opțiuni de partajare

Vi se pare util acest document?

Este necorespunzător acest conținut?

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

Africa and The Successor Generation

Încărcat de

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

Sheraton Hotel, Cotonou, Benin

26-28 November, 1998

S-ar putea să vă placă și