AFRICA: A TRADITIONAL CONTINENT

Africa is the second largest continent in the world both in size and population, with more than 40 percent of the world’s natural resources. Naturally endowed with the most mineral deposits and least natural disasters. The home of the earliest civilization and the earliest man. Africa’s endowment amongst the continents can only be compared to the inheritance bequeathed a first son among many brothers. Despite all these, Africa has diligently emerged as the poorest continent with a well deserved lowest life expectancy and the most man-made disasters.
Civilization in Africa simply means concrete houses, vehicles, locomotive trains, banks, schools, hospitals, television, computers and suchlike. It selectively excludes true democracy, government transparency and accountability. Though we live in the twenty-first century, our working constitution is a modified version of that for a village setting with changes like substitution of president for king, ruling party leaders for kingmakers and masses for subjects. Under this constitution, it is the king and the kingmakers that determine the length of the reign of the king unless he is dethroned by traitors. Every rich man is given a national title and a man’s real identity is his tribe. The kingship must be rotated among the major tribes to avoid tribal wars (modified to civil wars). Currently, most kings look up to Robert Mugabe as their role model, except that they do not want their subjects to be overnight millionaires. Foreign exports like freedom of information and true democracy are not good for the kingdom and anyone trying to import them will be charged with treason. As for the suffering of the masses, arrangements will be made to appease the gods. Accountability and transparency are simply foreign propaganda with better local substitutes.
You can take a man out of the village but you just cannot take the village out of the man. Africa is still a long way off civilization and democracy in Africa is no more than ballot papers and pro forma debates.