A Country can bounce ahead of others, if ….. – Oby Ezekwesili

Oby Ezekwesili, an economic policy expert, an advocate for transparency, accountability, good governance and human capital development, a humanitarian and an activist, and Former Minister of Solid Minerals of Nigeria has stated what a country can focus on if such country wants to bounce ahead of others.

She writes:

Most African countries gained independence from their ‘extractive, exploitative and unaccountable’ Colonizer-countries of Europe during the 1960s. So the 60s saw a wave of grant of Independence by European colonial powers- Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, etc to territories they had colonized following the Balkanization of Africa at the Berlin Conference.

Colonialism had a lethal effect on Africa and its vestiges remain even after the vacation of power by the colonialists. Most of the then Newly Independent African Countries held elections in the 60s and commenced their Self-rule as Democracies that are run and led by their own citizens. Some countries of Asia, like Malaysia and Singapore etc had similar colonial experience as African countries.

Most unfortunately, later on in those 60’s, many of those Democracies in Africa were wobbly and did not last long because of grand corruption and incompetence of public officials , authoritarian rule, ethnic rivalry and squabbling and such like. It is instructive to note that while our countries wobbled in Africa, a country like Singapore under the legendary leadership of Lee Kwan Yew, had a ‘Strong Start’ and thus went “From Third World to First” leaving all of Africa behind. Leadership Matters!

In sharp contrast, West African countries saw their “Democracies” wobble into Military takeovers in the 60s and 70s. In East and Central Africa, the situation was similar and although some had no coups, their Democracy became Civilian Dictatorships, that is, One-Party States or sham multiparty states. As a result of the ‘Poor Start’ in Self-Rule by Africa’s leaders which worsened the effect that Colonialism already had on their countries, the 70s turned out to be a dismal time in Governance for Africa and Africans.

It was therefore not surprising that by the 80s-90s, most of our countries in Africa were seriously struggling on all fronts- politically, economically and socially. This became the reason some Schools of Development Thought call the 80s- 90’s for Africa, “Africa’s Lost Decades” and some empirical data abound to evidence this.

The 2000s saw some tiny ray of light in the tunnel as most African countries commenced deep political and economic reforms leading to the era of above population rate GDP Growth that averaged 4-5% for almost a decade before the global economic crisis of 2008-2009 shot growth down back to below population growth levels of 1 to 3%. One ‘Bright Light’ of the 2000s to date in Africa is Information and Communications Technology – ICT- which followed from deep Policy Reforms of Telecommunications in African countries. Data evidence is strong on the impact of ICT on the economies of countries in Africa. I call ICT, Africa’s only economic Revolution so far, having not been part of Agrarian, Industrial and Knowledge Revolutions.

The quality of countries’ Political and Governance context is a strong determinant of the capacity of countries to bounce ahead of others. Contempt for the Rule of Law, Grand and Petty Corruption, incompetence in sound policymaking, poor institutions-building, conflicts and diverse forms of strife, absence of public accountability and State Capture have kept the quality of African countries’ Political and Governance contexts as the lowest in the world.

She concluded by emphasizing that “The quality of countries’ Political and Governance context is a strong determinant of the capacity of countries to bounce ahead of others.”

It follows from proven emphasis on quality of political and governance context that Citizens of any country live in a Fool’s Paradise if they don’t arise and fight for a Second Independence. This time, Independence from their Extractive, Exploitative and Unaccountable Political Class.