Africa’s long search for meaning

Underlining the challenges, both political and economic, that Africa has had to contend with over the last 50 years is a search for meaning and relevance. The key terms and concepts that have shaped relational dynamics – both internal and external – all carry the complex task of reframing and restructuring how Africa sees itself and wants to be seen by the rest of the world. Terms such as decolonisation, Pan-Africanism, regional integration, democratic governance, etc., have all contributed to this important discourse. It has been rightly argued that if Africa is to become relevant and move from the periphery of the global political economy, it has to devise its own path.

Agreed. But now the question is this: How should the continent carve a path amidst the numerous self-inflicted problems it continues to grapple with? For example, some continue to argue that democracy is contextual and does not have to follow the Western neoliberal approach – but how then should we conceptualise the idea of freedom of citizens? Even if we were to make our democratic agenda conform to our socio-cultural realities, could we not find ways in which the voices of our people are not forcefully muted, and their lives not endangered by state apparatuses?

The debate in the early 1990s by African scholars was on how to draw the link between democracy and development. Some argued that if democracy did not bring development, then it was irrelevant to Africa. I still pitch my tent with the likes of Professor Thandika Mkandawire, who argued that the instrumentalist conception of democracy is problematic, as it has a way of condoning the activities of tyrants who push the ‘development before democracy’ agenda. Mkandawire argued that democracy need not be seen as instrumental but as an ideal on its own; an ideal that advances liberty and freedom.

China in Africa

Similarly, the idea of advancing regional integration and cooperation on the continent is hindered largely by our own political leaders. Although there has always been some form of consensus among African leaders on the centrality of regional cooperation to development, they exhibit an apparent lack of willingness to activate the fundamentals necessary for this. Routine disregard of regional development agendas has unfortunately become the moniker of regional integration in Africa and any success is an exception rather than the rule.

Africa’s engagement with the outside world is another aspect of its search for meaning. China’s role in Africa has now become one of the definitive features of this engagement. However, the question remains: Does Africa have a coherent and decisive plan of engagement? Beyond the high level meetings with Chinese officials, the rhetoric of ‘we are now looking east,’ and sweet deals that only benefit the politically connected, to what extent have our political elites crafted a national/regional development plan that ensures a sustainable, win-win partnership with China (or any other external partner for that matter)? Civil society is often left out of the loop and the average African has little or no idea about how China-Africa relations impact their condition. Yet we are often told that this partnership is our ticket out of the province of irrelevance.

It’s time to look inward

Through its Agenda 2063, the African Union has once again come up with a plan to move Africa into relevance. This 50-year plan, however, says nothing new and merely restates many of the ideas that have been included in previous plans. One suspects that, like other plans before it, Agenda 2063 will slowly fade into oblivion, only to be replaced by another buzzword.

The long walk to and search for meaning is often messy and fraught with any number of missteps. But one lesson from history is the importance of determination and seriousness. Africa will have to find its own path. It will have to be one driven by clearly thought-out plans and programmes, with concomitant level of willingness from our political leaders.

However, beyond things we can measure, such as the ubiquitous infrastructure development by China, which we can count as markers of advancement, the question remains: What of our own search for meaning? This is where we need to look in the mirror to understand the enormity of our problems.

It begins with understanding that our afflictions are more psychological than physical. The self-inflicted problems of not committing to regional and national development agendas, butchering and silencing real and imagined opposition, engendering xenophobic policies, calling France before ratifying or implementing regional programmes, endorsing the actions of tyrants (the ‘without him the country will collapse’ excuse), and ratifying electoral irregularities (in so doing failing to heed past lessons of how this easily snowballs into armed conflict) are some of the actions that ensure that our march towards the promised land of meaning remains locked in a sluggish ‘two steps backward, one step forward’ motion.