African Sovereignty: Oligarchs and Paradoxes

A paradox occurs when an element despite sounding or seeming true and logical also presents a logically acceptable feature or element which creates a contradiction and oligarchs are instances where only a small number of people have control over a country. Here I discuss the independence of post colonial systems. The true sovereignty of the nations is questionable, there is an expectation of freedom due to being rid of colonial rulers, yet an overwhelming sense of being trapped by the same systems they were allegedly liberated from. Here we assess the authenticity of that liberation.

Education

“The percentage of Africans living in absolute poverty fell from 58 to 41 percent between 2000 and 2016 and primary school enrolment had increased from 60 to 80 percent, most of the poorest economic performers in the UN’s human development index remained African countries.”

Education is supposed to be liberating, and oftentimes, used in the right way it can be. African countries have increased the rate at which their people are educated since the colonial era, yet still, continuing to feature on the index of the most poor countries and continue to face such heightened levels of corruption and debt. Quoting here from Adekeye Adebajo’s Pan-African Pantheon;

“It is unfortunate that we should be so educated, so liberated with regards to knowledge yet continue to be counted among the most suffering and even be placed bottom on a tier of world. Understandable considering that this system seeks to undo the impact of hundreds of years worth of damage. What is paradoxical is the use of educational systems and standards of those who caused that damage. Globalization has made the use of these a necessity particularly if one seeks to engage with the rest of the world, however globalization has effectively made the nature of educational sovereignty slightly more complex.”

Western education has remained consistently present since the colonial era with subtle changes to suit the African context. However it’s effect and ability to create a sense of superiority of the West remains.

Globalization may be praised for allowing people to reject the notion that the founding parties are doing their best when they can see that there is potential for improvement. The other side of this coin is that the difference in progress coupled with the consideration of the impacts of colonialism often create despair and results in a people despising their ‘underdevelopment’ rather than see opportunity in it, essentially one may learn that that true liberation exists by existing the in the way those in the first wold live.

One of the limitations counted that contribute to this may be the conditioning to revere the colonizers that comes with self-hate, and despite how it has been explored through movements such as Black Lives Matter and the #blackisbeautiful, in the face of skin lightening products and instances of colourism, it is still clear that the application and internalisation of these lessons is very gradual.

Another is the openly corrupt and overly bureaucratic systems that have been created in many African countries. Many of these systems have done very little to dispel the appeal of foreign-hood, especially if it can be an avenue to develop one’s home along with the home of that which accommodates them. One cannot be called home when the crocodiles that ravaged them before are still out, still menacing home. A lot of blame for this falls on leaders who have brutalized their countries so much that one cannot function within it or develop it without facing immense difficulties.

When one is taught of the great and wonderful things out there and shown how impossible it is to implement them at home, it creates a hunger for the life out there and an individual rather than societal pursuit of happiness.

Why not point out these failings in an educational rather than solely through social setting? Because it has been made difficult by the leaders who seek to maintain positions of power rather than improve their countries. All while making it impossible to hold them accountable without risking one’s life. Herein lies neo-colonialism and how the leaders who represent the people seek to benefit from it, much like African leaders of the colonial era who sold their people. The ZANU PF régime in Zimbabwe for example famously watered down the actual harm and issues in fear of being held accountable to their actions. In many African countries like this , where the founding parties impose themselves so much that change is inconcevable individuals often truly realize the harm of their leaders long after they have been conditioned to accept or function under the status quo.

Democracy

Democracy was meant to be a liberating tool following the colonial era, however it has become a means in which founding parties can maintain their paternalistic hold on their nations. It seems like they worry so much that any other party would shift the systems to suit their own desires the way they have been since the dawn of independence or an act fulfilling the aforementioned fear of being held accountable.

On the backdrop of colonially solidified elements such as tribalism, regionalism and colourism, democracy here functions in the manner it did for them during the apartheid era. Such that power is unequivocally in favour of the one who produced greater numbers.

Three elements which seemingly appear separate are consistently at play here. These are the social moral narrative, the traditional group with territorial dominance and the colonial history and liberation struggle. These often overlap in the sphere of politics and have often manifested as an emphasis on the colonial history and liberation struggle to justify the power hold of the founding party which often includes the ethnic majority wherein they ultimately drive their own social moral narrative. Essentially what is meant to be a democratic system, functions as an oligarchy that only benefits a few.

These factors when placed near the ever propagated value of community in deciding a leader, can make a lot of people make decisions based on community biases rather than on the political discourse. This cannot really help democracy to function fairly, especially because there are several cultural groups, each with varying population distributions, the vote of the majority usually ends up being a tool for the most dominant group to remain in power. Essentially the experience of sovereignty is something that can truly be experienced by those with oligarchal control over the states.

Gender Based Violence

 The University of Namibia much like many other African Universities has an increased number female graduates yet the uproar regarding gender based discrimination to young women is still prevalent in the country and was notably marked by the #Shutitalldown protests that occurred in 2020. Additionally, despite globalization and significant judicial activism in cases such as Chairperson of the immigration Selection Board v Frank and Another the country still operates what the World Bank has dubbed “the silent epidemic,” wherein gender based violence has greatly been directed towards members of the LGBTQ community, unfortunately rather than emphasize the need for greater attention in this area, there is often an attitude pf passive acceptance because it hapens so often it is simply taken to be normal. Cultural biases of heterosexual male dominance feed into this immensely and often result in the prevalence of such crimes.

A 2020 UN report titled “THE TIME IS NOW: ADDRESSING THE GENDER DIMENSIONS OF CORRUPTION,” it was revealed that corruption is mostly practised by men because they are less scrutinized for it. The same research revealed that women are less likely to get poitions of power because there is an overwhelming bias that women are corruptable. This is not a plea to let women comfortably be corrupt but merely highlighting how this exclusion has also limited the inclusion of women’s issues beyond a manner of passive political discourse. When those who are affected are not always part of the conversation it makes it difficult to prioritize their issues.

Oligrachal powers are yet again seen at the forefront of this seen in many African countries primarily prioritizing their own perspectives and as reflected in the consistant insances oof harm against women. Amnesty International found in its briefing,“Treated like furniture: Gender-based violence and COVID-19 response in Southern Africa”, that “women and girls who dare to report violence and abuse risk social rejection for failing to conform to gender roles — and when they do speak out, their complaints are not taken seriously by authorities.”

Production and Consumerism

While the sovereign African countries have had a great increase in the number of people who can make purchases such as homes, cars, even little delights like corn flakes cereal, no longer restricted by racial lines of who can own these things. Yet still while there has been liberation under the guise of glorious consumerism, this comes at the cost of development as Adebajo points out;

“African economies were thus structured – as the economies in the Caribbean and the Americas had been for two centuries- to produce crops to meet the European consumer needs. This both increased the dependence of African economies on metropolitan economies and in many cases, negatively impacted on the ability of African populations to produce their own food. Africans imbibed Western consumption patterns without acquiring Western production methods.”

While we were empowered as consumers, we were not yet sufficiently empowered as producers, the channels to such have been left to the hands of the western powers, in addition is America which has successfully incorporated Africa in its consumerist culture and China which has played a huge role in heading Neo-colonialism. These tools have left Africa unfortunately in debt and still at the mercy of other powers economically while still functioning as providers of the necessary materials for production; cocoa beans, gold, diamonds, etc…. In this way the goal of colonization to reduce Africa into a source of economic gain and sustenance for foreign powers continues to play out even after the poat-conflict idea that Africa was now free and independent.

At the forefront of this is the role of the oligarchs in Africa. In a report by the African Investigative Publishing Collective, it was stated that, “African oligarchs do a lot more than accepting bribes…what we have unearthed indicated that these elites have, to some extent morphed into the very colonialist plunder systems that they replaced.”

Conclusion

Obtaining true sovereignty in Africa is undoubtably a slow process due to the deeply embedded manner in which colonization occured. An important battle to face in this process is being rid of leaders who synonimize democracy and oligarchy as well as systems that make advancement more difficult that it has to be.