Summits or no summits, what’s Africa’s real problem?

The era of chiefdoms and chief hoods is back again to taunt and haunt the dot com generation. Africa that last had nationalists in the days of Nyerere, Mandela and Nkrumah are yet again to blame the colonists for all the suffering we see today.

Many have indeed emerged as darlings of the west, others as puppets. Others have ammased wealth well enough to feed their great great grandchildren to thrive on. The level of corruption has peaked, human rights is no longer a right, doom awaits those who agitate for freedom and poverty has reached alarming levels. The situation gets even worse when a section of some of the leaders fail to account for their economic failures. Some have resorted to politiking by agitating for compensation to the African population for what the colonists did 100 years ago.

Longevity is typical of chiefs and kings who are rulers and ‘statesmen’ by default. Like the days of Saul, the army that won most wars and not battles trampled over others turned out to be the leaders of the day, after all the leaders of the time were simply appointed by authority from above.

Chiefs are not to be voted! However for the sake of it, vote casting is just a show of who has ultimate power and enjoys most support. In bed with the donor community, chiefs are not to do any accountability but every one has to account to them. Chiefs do not make mistakes when in power but whoever was before him and will come after him is a big mistake, no wonder they hang one another after relinquishing power.

A chief will go for a meeting or summit and sleep off but he will call that resting while doing good thinking of how to make life better for his fellow country men.

The recently AU summit was a true reflection of the problems in this continent where the all powerful African leaders met to discuss those usual things of theirs. Sometimes I wonder why such meetings or summits really take place! More so the discussions that never address the real problems, they will go ahead to discuss how donors have not played their part in steering development in Africa. Does Africa need more money or better leaders with better management styles?

Some of our leaders resorted to frustrating journalists at the summit; others took the position of chief wipe in the hall, throwing out of people who were not of equal to them. A lavish summit that amounted to what I don’t know failed to produce a reasonable road map to the hopelessness we live in as Africans. While many were keen on aspiring their own political ambitions others had no interest at all for having the USA. With millions dying from wasteful wars, poverty, human rights abuse, political sabotage and gross mismanagement of resources like in health sector I wonder whether we really need these ‘political visits’ any more.