KEMBUJE, Gambia — When the U.S. called on African leaders, it was yet again another country calling on African leaders for a discussion about Africa and her future. Most of our 53 leaders packed up and answered to yet another single leader of another single country!
The first question that arose in the public sphere was, is the U.S. – like Japan, France, Turkey, China, India or Qatar before it – interested in the welfare of Africa? Why would the U.S. hold a summit outside Africa? Secondly, and more fundamentally, whose interests are served in such African summits?
In the run-up to these conferences, many called for the inclusion of the public in order to provide some transparency, accountability and objectivity to the issues discussed. The U.S., for example, heeded some calls and opened up the summit from August 4 – 6, 2015 to the public.
However, the U.S. was silent on the nature of the forum. A list of attendees and the topics discussed were not made available to the public prior. In fact, the duration of the whole forum was barely three hours. The only announcement before the forum was that the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry would address that meeting.
Before the next summit involving African leaders in a foreign country, it is necessary that voices in Africa are raised to analyze this newly emerging practice. We must understand the various factors that surround such calls for African leaders to meet elsewhere but in Africa.
Understanding Africa
This year marks the 58th year of the independence of Ghana as the first ‘Black African country’ to break off the colonial yoke. It also marks 52 years after the creation of the OAU/AU for the purpose of totally liberating and unifying Africa.
Most of the countries that attended the recent U.S. Summit for Africa had already attained 50 years of independence. Africa’s annual trade with the U.S. stands at some 85 billion dollars compared to trade between the U.S. and China of over 200 billion dollars. Africa’s combined GDP stands at 3.7 trillion dollars compared to more than 15.5 trillion dollars of the U.S.
The World Bank says Africa was the world’s fastest-growing continent at 5.6% a year, and that her GDP is expected to rise by an average of over 6% a year between 2013 and 2023. With over 600 million mobile phones, statistics indicate that the continent remains the fastest growing mobile market in the world. However today, Africa accounts for only 3% of global trade, while more than half of its people live below the poverty line.
While pundits from the IMF, World Bank and UNDP claim that Africa is rising, the fact is that socially, economically and governance-wise, indicators show that Africa is sliding into rising poverty and high costs of living. Add to this, social services which are largely unavailable are fast becoming erratic and expensive.
There is widespread and blatant corruption as public institutions and processes are inept and inefficient, amidst a more or less routine abuse of rights and freedoms. The increasing urge by the youth of Africa to take to the Sahara and the Mediterranean in order to cross over to Europe is a stark indication of the limited opportunities and hopes that Africa’s youth feel about their continent.
The growing spate of terrorism and political violence in most countries are indicative of the fragility and instability that permeates the African nation-state. These conditions have been further aggravated by the limited capacity of the state, either by design, thanks to the unchanged prevailing colonial systems and weak political leadership. All of which serve to make the nation-state utterly unable to design and implement effective and responsive public policies for the management of the resources of the states.
With an unsupportive globalization that is essentially controlled by stronger governments, institutions and businesses of the countries that organize African summits, the continent has therefore been unable to harness its incredible natural resources and human potential for any significant benefit to her people. Foreign governments and business through a web of global institutions and processes exert so much pressure and control over Africa and her resources that the continent has been reduced to a mere producer and exporter of raw materials.
Therefore, Africa goes to these summits in foreign countries in all already weak position. Socially, economically and politically the continent is underperforming. I rate these summits as significant failures for Africa because our leaders have failed the rest of us.
What could be done?
First, African states must gain respect. Just like any major country, African nations must respect themselves. Africa must refuse to answer to anyone’s call to meet outside of Africa to address African issues, problems, hopes and dreams. If the U.S. is indeed interested in peace, security, sustainable development and good governance in Africa, the U.S. must come over to Africa and discuss these issues at home.
Strategically, Africa’s leaders must insist that summits for Africa take place in Africa. By hosting these meetings at home, we show self-confidence and strength, while still harnessing a general comfort for our leaders to address issues freely.
Second, African leaders must convene for an in-house consultative meeting in preparation for meetings with foreign countries. If a group of nations is set to meet a single country, it is only sensible, strategic and empowering that the group consults one another first. In such meetings African leaders can define their issues, develop a collective message and identify the messengers who can deliver the message clearly.
This attitude will set the Africa on her objectives and her targets and position correctly so that she is not taken advantage of, especially by such nations as the U.S.! Without such pre-summits, African leaders only prepare the grounds for their own disempowerment in the face of an imperial United States and other mischievous economic blocks.
Shaping our demands
Africa received President Barrack Obama with the same level of enthusiasm that his fellow Americans felt in voting him into power in 2008. His 2009 statement in the Ghanaian Parliament that Africa needs strong institutions and not strong men resonated well with the aspirations and passions of the African public. But Africa has since become disappointed in U.S. efforts. Washington has pursued a selective American interest in Africa and has totally disregarded the concerns of the African masses.
What should African leaders demand at such summits? The U.S. White House in the last meeting said the African summit was intended to:
Build on the President’s [Barack Obama’s] trip to Africa in the summer of 2013 and it will strengthen ties between the United States and one of the world’s most dynamic and fastest growing regions. Specifically, the August 4-6 Summit will advance the Administration’s focus on trade and investment in Africa and highlight America’s commitment to Africa’s security, its democratic development, and its people. At the same time, it will highlight the depth and breadth of the United States’ commitment to the African continent, advance our shared priorities and enable discussion of concrete ideas to deepen the partnership. At its core, this Summit is about fostering stronger ties between the United States and Africa.
The theme of the summit was, “Investing in the Next Generation”.
From an African perspective, America has huge resources and capacity to spur sustainable development and good governance in Africa. For America to do this effectively and responsibly, it is necessary that the Obama Administration promote an African foreign policy that respects, in the true sense of the word, the very ideals that gave birth to the United States of America. These are the values and practices of human rights, freedoms and democracy.
If America sincerely believes that Colonialism and the Cold War are history, it must engage African governments on the basis of human rights and good governance as a sine qua non for the creation of sustainable development, ensuring peace and security, creation of jobs and opportunities for the youth, and the democratization of the overall socio-cultural landscape of the continent.
Can America be a beneficial partner for Africa?
In its entire history, the U.S. has not demonstrated that it is interested in the welfare of Africa. Records show that even when it promoted the creation of Liberia in 1847, the U.S. did not support that country in her efforts to develop independently. The U.S. also supported apartheid South Africa until the last day. Furthermore, the U.S. planned to poison Patrice Lumumba for seeking the self-determination of Congo in 1961. Washington was also heavily complicit in the overthrow of the democratically elected President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, in 1966 for pursuing a vigorous African agenda.
After the Cold War, the U.S. continued to run a foreign policy strategy in Africa which either supported or destroyed regimes at whim. Regime change continues to be the foreign policy of the U.S. in Africa and this attitude prevents the promotion and protection of human rights. The concern over U.S. involvement in Africa has become even more disturbing with the emergence of terrorism in Nigeria and around the world. Many Africans fear that U.S. interests almost always lead to further disregard for human rights and development.
In subsequent summits, African leaders must demand that policies pointed at Africa are purely human rights-based to ensure global security and peace. For example, the U.S. must remove trade barriers on African products and agricultural produce in the U.S. market. Washington can stop the incredibly high subsidies provided to U.S. farmers at the expense of African farmers and African products. The U.S. must also be ready to transfer – if they want African raw materials – knowledge and technology to African entrepreneurs, scientists, universities and think-tanks.
What Africa demands of Africa’s leaders
It is evident that a stable democratic Africa is in the interest of the whole world. Africa must concentrate on her vast amounts of natural and human resources. These resources should be harnessed for the benefit of the continent. African governments, civil society, universities, think-tanks and the private sector must take a keen interest in developing workable solutions for the cultivation and efficient distribution of resources.
African leaders can also bargain for the expertise we need in fields where we are obviously lacking. We must insist on a governance system that is transparent, accountable and responsive to our needs. We must introduce presidential term limits, ensure access to justice, protect independence of state institutions as well as strengthen, engage and respect opposition and civil society. We must urge our governments to create gender and ethnic quotas in politics, abolish pernicious socio-cultural ideas as well as promote and protect unfettered freedoms of speech, assembly and worship.
More seriously, social services in Africa must be enhanced and where absent, developed. We must eradicate urban poverty, rebuild infrastructure and provide employment opportunities for the youth. Africa needs stronger and well-informed political systems, institutions and leaders who are accountable and transparent.
Our abundance of natural resources must be used to affect the lives of half of Africa’s one billion people living in poverty. With the growing scarcity of natural resources and a concomitant growing scramble for resources, a strong Africa can protect her resources.
A tough but frank perspective about Globe-Trotting African Leaders. Everywhere outside of Africa, it seems that some country is organizing one African Summit after another. What’s in it for Africa, really? Madi Jobarteh does a very concise characterization of the policy issues involved and what we can do as Africans to hold our leaders responsible and make leadership on this continent transparent.
Brilliant article. We need to cap the globe trotting from politicians to civil society as well. Conferencing and per dieming 300 days of the year continues to attract the wrong people to these spheres.
I am yet to see any major resolutions affected through these summits,meetings etc except debt and further enslavement opportunities.
I could go on but the writer summed everything in these words: Africa respect yourself. ..period..
Per dieming 300 days, vacationing 50 days and 15 days for Christmas (plus you pick your festival). A quarter of a day for lazy work – all year. You already know!
I couldn’t agree more!
The entire public sector needs overhauling due to some of these inefficient practices handed down from colonial governments. Many obsolete institutions need to be merged and staff and all kinds of benefits cut down and one database built for population data that will be used from birth registrations to voters Ids to NHIS.
As for civil society I am even harsher on it because they are hell bent on being watchdogs over governments but are some of the worst perpetrators of all these.
Throw in all you described by way of per diems etc with a prado and field trips every 5 minutes to the same communities with very little sensitivity as to privacy intrusion of those people groups. Of course all for further per diems…..
It’s not like there aren’t nations to copy from. Public service is public service. I have no idea why it has turned into a fight to be the next Chief. Yes, it needs overhauling, but unfortunately we are learning from the Kings and Queens of corruption – America! When we should be learning from Norway or something! Not perfect, but they not America.
I agree that the Scandinavian way of governance is a far better system that we can seek to emulate. The reason is because it takes into account their culture, norms and traditions.
Currently our systems are divorced from our identities as Africans and refuses to take into account our unique tribal differences which we should celebrate and see as God given diversity.
Instead it has rather become the causes for ethnic cleansing propagated many times by powers that have never really cared about us and never will.
I weep.
You are absolutely right! Scandinavia offers some way forward. I have no idea why we are dilly-dallying. Frankly, our diversity is our strength. We need to promote us – ourselves – and build a formidable nation ourselves. We must shun the negative rhetoric of some of our leaders. We just have to allow them to die off.
I agree totally but remember that we are also a beaten people so a leadership that is radical and skilful at standing up to the powers that be and weaning us off this dependency through coherent strategies that puts the African and not their stomach at the centre is key.
At the same time due to the brokeness and inferiority complex we harbour, that leadership should also be able to nurture, heal and cause us to lift our heads. They should be bold enough to overhaul our education system and roll out one which enforces our identity.
At the same time it should be a leadership which leads by sacrificing and is also able to engage our dispersed brothers and sisters who were forcibly carried off. We cannot achieve anything without their healing, contributions, participation and resources.
Rather a tall order given that all the good people are killed off quick or have been brainwashed by churches and other religions that participating in politics and national leadership is wrong….leaving it to these riff raff who once they get on the seat behave as though it is a woman whom they cannot get out of bed with (the presidential seat I mean) and have no ability to inspire themselves not to talk of an entire nation. ..
Yeah, it true some of our good people are busy praying to God, Allah, or something. It will take one who has escaped the mighty grips of neo-colonialism and the spectacle of religion to lead us out of this mess. Some of our good leaders too are rotting away without proper education in our villages and such. You are absolutely right!
Our practice of religion is pointless if it does not provoke us to deal with the injustice meted out against us on a daily basis. As we speak thousands of our sons are falling to their death in the morocan desert or being thrown overboard as stowaways in their bid to seek greener pastures.
Why oh why Africa?
Yet our leaders across all spectrums do not see the need to clearly deal with this issues of forced migration. …They themselves are looking for a ticket to a conference anywhere and per diem.
We need selfless leaders who are willing to lay their lives down. ..
I guess John Dramani Mahama is doing new big things by cutting first class transport for government workers. I hope the trips themselves are cancelled or reduced to the barest minimums.
According to the Obama Administration at the recent U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit held in the nation’s capital, support of the homosexual agenda is the key to successful economic development for African nations — and the ticket for receiving billions of dollars in foreign aid. Should aid be tied to such an agenda? Should we shun aid altogether? Why is America always so paternalistic when it comes to Africa?
We should shun aid not because of the homosexuality agenda but because it keeps us a continent which is the richest in the world perpetually enslaved.
Aid should be reserved for large scale disaster relief which calls for emergency response and pockets like social protection where children could be at risk if severe cuts were made overnight.
If we had no other choices we might actually get round to reopening all those disused factories and we will find the ways and means to birth an industrial revolution.
It’s going to be happening in 2018 by the way as we have now been sufficiently drained and labelled a middle income country.
I am setting up a think tank to address economic sustainability because our true liberation as a people is tied to money/economics period.
When we fix that issue then we can get around to arguing about religion, natural hair versus weaves etc but until we slay that goliath of financial dependence all our brilliant rhetoric and advocacy does not succeed in moving us to the next level…
The economics, almost always, at the end of the day matters more than anythign else. Ask Kwame Nkrumah!