The government and leadership pattern in African countries is something that needs to be paused, re-strategized, or even replaced with another form of governance if need be, because things are simply not working. By now, African countries should have been boastful of great achievements, matching or even surpassing the records of the top countries in the world. But the reverse has been the case. What is most surprising is that Africa is more blessed with natural resources, one of the major factors making the top countries of the world stronger through the exploration and exportation of these resources. Meanwhile, we are supposed to be doing even better.
Democracy came with the intention of improving leadership and governance, but with the way things are going, it seems democracy, despite being the supposedly better option—has turned out to be the worst. People are now suggesting a return to authoritarian leadership, which is autocracy.
I once had a friend discuss this point with me, and though he channelled his energy towards condemning certain indecent acts among citizens such as cultism, armed robbery, and indecent dressing, we only briefly touched on the issue of corruption in the country.
In my opinion, autocratic leadership will not help the developmental situation in African countries, especially considering the direction the world is heading and the alarming level of corruption. Autocracy would only make it easier to promote corruption, benefiting only those in power, because no one(including the citizens) would be able to challenge the system.
Even in these democratic times, we've seen how difficult it is to hold leaders accountable. But at least with democracy, failed leaders can still be voted out of power (even though it feels like a miracle when it happens), and they can also be called out and dragged on social media.
In Nigeria, my country, although democracy is the system we claim to practice, it has elements of autocracy embedded within it. It is very hard to vote out a sitting leader unless the leader willingly steps down. This shows how corrupt and personalized the political system has become. With this setup, leaders do whatever they like because they know that the voice of the people can hardly harm them.
So, autocratic leadership will not work. What we need to do instead is to implement strict laws and ensure their enforcement within the framework of democracy. With this approach, a sitting governor or president will be motivated to perform well during their tenure so they can earn re-election, knowing that votes truly count and that the masses have the power to vote out any underperforming leader. It would also allow for the possibility of impeaching a serving leader or checkmating the mismanagement of the country’s resources and public funds, even going as far as jailing the leader if found guilty.
All these, however, will be difficult to implement because the world is becoming increasingly wild with corruption and the unrelenting struggle for power.
Thanks!