African patriots have agonized about Africa's puzzling underdevelopment for decades. Some believe the central issue is corruption and they are right, up to a point.
Nigeria has a veritable Hall of shame for corruption, starring Umaru Dikko, Abacha, Allison-Madueke and many others. Zaire or DRC had Mobutu and his acolytes. South Africa's plight is
South Africa's plight is highlited by Zuma's list of infractions, headlined by Nkandlagate.
Ghana has a long list of corruption scandals currently headlined by Woyome, the deliberate burning of the Central Medical Stores and the revelations of malfeasance at State-owned enterprises, including COCOBOD and SSNIT.
In short, every country has its list. However, corruption may be a symptom of our disease rather than the disease. Corruption exists everywhere. America had teapot dome under
However, corruption may be a symptom of our disease rather than the disease. Corruption exists everywhere. America had teapot dome under
Ghana has a long list of corruption scandals currently headlined by Woyome, the deliberate burning of the Central Medical Stores and the revelations of malfeasance at State-owned enterprises, including COCOBOD and SSNIT. In short, every country has its list. However, corruption may be a symptom of our disease rather than the disease. Corruption exists everywhere. America had teapot dome under
In short, every country has its list. However, corruption may be a symptom of our disease rather than the disease. Corruption exists everywhere. America had teapot dome under
However, corruption may be a symptom of our disease rather than the disease. Corruption exists everywhere. America had teapot dome under
Ghana has a long list of corruption scandals currently headlined by Woyome, the deliberate burning of the Central Medical Stores and the revelations of malfeasance at State-owned enterprises, including COCOBOD and SSNIT. In short, every country has its list. However, corruption may be a symptom of our disease rather than the disease. Corruption exists everywhere. America had teapot dome under
However, corruption may be a symptom of our disease rather than the disease. Corruption exists everywhere. America had teapot dome under
However, corruption may be a symptom of our disease rather than the disease. Corruption exists everywhere. America had teapot dome under
America had teapot dome under grant, the Agnew bribery case, the "Keating 5" and many others but it holds people accountable.
China has corruption but despite being a one-party state, it holds people to account.Earlier this year, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection announced that 210 thousand officials of the Communist party had been disciplined.
Amongst these were a former General and Sun Zhengcai, an official once touted as a future Premier. South Korea just removed a President for corruption. So, my fellow Africans, the problem is not corruption, it is how we deal with it.
The next big factor is violence and lack of peace. There are always wars going on. In the last half century, there have been the wars of liberation that were justified. But there have also been many senseless civil wars in Nigeria, Angola, Zaire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and South Sudan as we speak.
Even where there are no wars, there are violent elections, ethnic and chieftaincy disputes resulting in extra-judicial killings and suffering.
And most of the time, nobody is held accountable for the violence. After Kenya's 2007 elections, President Uhuru Kenyatta and Vice-president Ruto were accused of being involved in the deaths of over a thousand Kenyans.
The cases against them at the ICC collapsed due to "witness tampering" after they were elected. It is difficult to imagine candidates elsewhere winning elections under similar circumstances.
Indeed, many believe that for the ICC and the Europeans, Charles Taylor and Laurent Gagbo would still be sitting in West Africa, eating jollof and Acheke while basking in the adulation of their misguided supporters.
When violence ends, we just move on and in the words of the Akans, we "leave it to God". As a wag once said, "In Africa, you will be punished more for killing one or two than for killing thousands".
The millions of Africans carried off like sardines to build the Americas and Europe never got justice. The millions dehumanized in pursuit of our natural resources by our colonial masters never got justice.
The millions murdered by our murderous tyrants from Cape to Cairo never got justice. But even those who came to us with the bible never had qualms about righteous accountability and justice.
The Americans were not looking to hug Hitler and let bygones be bygones. They used the Nuremburg trials to admister justice to the Nazis. The Isrealis spent a lot of time and resources pursuing the Nazis who were responsible for the holocaust.
The last factor cited for our underdevelopment is incompetence and as one might expect, we do not hold anyone to account for incompetence.
A few years ago, in Ghana, there were floods and fires, leading to over a hundred and fifty deaths of innocent people. Despite glaring evidence that officials could have prevented many deaths, not one person lost his job!
My fellow Africans, AFRICA'S debilitating disease is not corruption; it is not violence; it is not incompetence. These are symptoms of our disease. Our disease is the absence of accountability.
We need a judicial system that will punish the corrupt and the violent, regardless of their station in life.
We need Presidents and Parliaments who will hold government appointees to account. Our leaders must know that holding people to account is not control; it is empowerment.
We need parties that will not shield wrong-doers because of party affiliations.
We need media who will be more committed to the principles of journalism than to parties.
We need NGO's who will speak truth to power.
Finally, we need voters who know that ultimately, elections are about accountability.
We cannot, as a continent, aspire to a developed continent and refuse to embrace accountability.
Let Africa move forward.