adminZIMBABWE is hosting the biggest continental inter-collegiate debate competition at Midlands State University in Gweru.
Prior to this, Lupane State University convened the participants at a preparatory session in Bulawayo for two days, where continental issues were openly discussed.
I enjoyed listening to people from different countries with their immaculate worldviews. Apart from foreign accents which were very fascinating to a language expert like me, I discovered that we have homogenous collage of shared experiences, prospects and challenges. Beyond distinct cultural and national geography confined backgrounds, our continental political culture reflects more of an ancestral political bind (Magubane 1987). We surely cannot run away from the fact that Africa’s problems are Zimbabwe’s burden, as a nation, we have a lead role in the African act. Our scenic political events are nothing new in the face of this land, we just need to stop shifting the blame to ourselves and look deeper. Are we really the cause of our plights? How about we go deep into this introspection of the condition of the “being” our nation?
After listening to the State of the Nation Address by His Excellency, President Mugabe on Tuesday, I was reminded that we are bigger than our problems; all we lack is identifying the cause and curtailing its longevity. We are systematic failures in identifying our real problems. I was reminded that we are our own enemies; we continuously blame ourselves and expect miracles to happen to our lives. Let us stop dreaming, Zimbabwe’s problems, Africa’s problems will not be solved when we become our own enemies. I decided to pen a series of where our problem lies: locating Zimbabwe in the scope of African quagmires-what is the real problem. Therefore, seen from the perspective of political instability and as a “drifting continent”, many questions come up, which demand more than just simple answers, or repeated mythical notions about Africa’s problems, as purely inherent in the African way of doing things.
That there are problems in Africa for several decades even after many countries in the continent went through transitions from colonialism to independence, is not a deniable fact. However, the African situation is not as bleak as portrayed in the media or by pessimistic Africanists. In terms of political instability in Africa, it is also undeniable that the continent has experienced some difficult moments during the last 50 years or so. But what is still unexplained in the many analyses that have been looking at events in Africa is the fact that in almost all the cases of political instability in Africa, it is evident that the major problem is continuous external interference. To date, almost every country in Africa is still haunted by historical injustices and neo colonial oppressive structures that were bequeathed to the post colonial leadership. President Mugabe has always spoken against such African “sissy” leaders who are scared to stand against their former and continuous oppressors.
This is an aspect which informs the weak institutions of the state, flawed legislative systems and constant struggles for political power to the detriment of the well being of many nations, which could have moved on a path of development as part of modern societies.
While the international community, whose geo-security and resource interests seem to benefit from the status quo in Africa, has not been pro- the establishment of functioning systems in Africa, instead, their involvement, continue to undermine Africa’s stability through the militarisation of conflicts for accumulative purposes. Political instability in Zimbabwe as much as in Africa may owe much of its cause to internal factors. However, the interpenetration of internal and external factors especially geo-political and economic interests of the international community constantly play a significant role in undermining the very processes and institutions that are expected to nurture democracy and to instil a sense of stability for societal development in Africa. In combination to such factors as unequal development, poverty, disease, violence and the manipulative tendencies of the anti-establishment local elite, political and economic stability in Africa is constantly under threat. This threat is, however, not emanating from within the continent but from external interests whose thirst for African resources, continue to shape the dynamics in areas related to governance.
Resources in Africa if well managed are capable of providing for its entire population; hence the potentials for a more stable environment, however, also problematic in the African context are the existing institutions of the state and how they function.
Despite the existence of institutional frameworks that are supposed to guide processes and delivery on essential services, the continued weakening of these institutions, through political mechanisation and predatory nature of African elites, working in cohorts with external interests also contributes further to the undermining of stability in Africa. This argument is reflective of the state of opposition in Zimbabwe that has been a resident of Chatham House, an ambassador of pseudo promises to imperialists should they assume power. The most proud thing a Zimbabwean has at the moment is a ideological stubborn President, one who refuses to serve interests of our oppressor. Unlike other countries, Zimbabwe is not affected by the Stockholm syndrome. (I am reminded of an interesting conversation on that subject with Ras Jacob). These tendencies exacerbate resources wars, ethnic rivalry, and more recently, the emergence of electoral violence as a characteristic of multi-party era elections in Africa.
Although many events and occurrences might give the impression that the African continent is still “drifting”, there are also positive things taking place in the continent and “the drift” needs to be analysed from several perspectives that capture both the positive and negative developments and what informs the direction of these developments. There are pull and push factors, which keep shaping the internal dynamics in Africa. However, African people have not remained static, even though there are some retrogressive tendencies. The majority, whose perspectives are hardly captured in Western media or academia, have made great leaps, in a number of areas, including their level of political awareness and popular participation in the political processes. The leadership dilemma and many other governance related malpractices are being challenged more and more from within, as people begin to understand the broader implications of bad politics and the consequences of governance structures that take us back to the colonial epoch.
In order to address the theme of peace and the relevance of peace day to Africa, there is a need to reflect on and critically analyse the view that Africa is “a continent on drift”. In the foregoing, I argue that the view that Africa is a continent on drift is a notion, which fails to recognise the positive developments in Africa, but also the complex mix of factors at local, national, regional and international levels that impact upon governance in Africa. This view also fails to recognise the major problem which underpins all the problems in Africa, that is, the leadership problem both in Africa and in the West. Furthermore the notion that Africa is a continent on drift is a view point that seems to confine Africa to a static position where it operates in a vacuum and is indulgently involved in its own self-destructive tendencies. Because the subject is too broad to receive a fair treatise in this column, focus will be given to a few political developments in Africa, in order to highlight examples of the complex mix of both internal and external factors in the overall political and economic developments in Africa. These are points that can also help explain the direction of the “drift” and what its major causes are.
In order to do so, the series will briefly look at the factors underpinning political stability in Africa, while using, the issue of leadership, Africa’s economy and political instability, political violence and emerging power sharing arrangements, as points of reference. The series also highlights some perspectives on conflict resolution and peace building initiatives, the relevance of the Diaspora input and the issue of peace building, migration and development.
Examples of external interests playing a significant role in either contributing to the positive developments in Africa or exacerbating the already worse situation can be seen in the electoral process. As the most advocated process that is supposed to usher in a democratic culture, holding free and fair elections in a competitive manner has been touted as a crucial step in that direction. However, the connivance of Western interests seem to contradict these principles time and again. For instance many external observers have been deployed during general elections in many African countries, Zimbabwe included in the recent past, and despite open knowledge of widespread violation of electoral laws, massive rigging and use of undemocratic means to tilt the electoral outcomes, “stability” of the concerned countries have been suggested as good reason enough to let the incumbent continue. This was the case in Nigeria in 2007, Kenya in 1992, 1997, and 2008. However, when Zimbabwe holds free and fair elections and their undesirable result emerges, they decide to claude them as orchestrated results, yet the world clearly knows that the master of electoral machination is the West.
The super nations, which often emphasise democracy as an absent way forward for Africa, are often the same forces that provide legitimacy to flawed processes. Most notable example was the congratulatory message by the US government to Mwai Kibaki after the 2007 elections in Kenya, just to turn round when the EU and other countries took a different position based on the facts on the ground and the verdict of the monitors. These contradictions often end up undermining the efforts and the resolve of many African who endure harsh political conditions, to express their democratic rights through the vote. Worse still, is the fact that after such flawed outcomes, negotiations through threats and arm twisting have been the main tools used to coerce wayward African leaders to toe the line. These kind of measures are rarely long lasting and their outcomes, often suspend the very transitional processes that majority of Africans have sacrificed their lives for, either in detention, prisons, through oppressive institutions such as Gonakudzingwa and Whawha.
Micheal Mhlanga is a research and strategic communication specialist and is currently serving Leaders for Africa Network (LAN) as the Programmes and Public Liaison Officer. He also administrates multiple youth public dialogue forums in Zimbabwe including the annual Reading Pan Africanism Symposium (REPS) and Back to Pan Africanism Conference.Feedback can be sent to [email protected]
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