A Passionate Letter To His Excellency The President – 65th Edition: Defining Africa’s Fragile Democracy 

Your Excellency,

I do this piece with a heavy heart, yet full of a ray of hope and inspiration. A heavy heart because I see the continual exploitation of the African continent under the guise of western democracy that is mostly marred with bad and dictatorial governance, which has kept most countries of the continent in avoidable perennial abject poverty. This is currently causing a dilemma in the narrative of keeping the guise of western democracy (marred with perpetuating endemically corrupt governments that foster and forge the  selfish economic interests of multinational companies of western super powers and nations) – and on the other hand, the re-emergence of vibrant revolutionary intervention of young military leaders into African politics.

As a matter of fact, western democracy as practiced by western nations like America, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Holland Italy, Spain, Poland and other western nations have indeed led them into economic and political prosperity that is superficially the envy of the world. This, in my opinion is mostly because they have resolutely and systemically tried to rid their nations of endemic corruption with impunity and elevate the rule of law over and above personal interests, nepotism, cronyism and dynastic rule, for about an entire millennium now. While in absurd regrettable contrast, and in their bid to either intentionally perpetrate their neo-colonial governance or keep Africa in perpetual economic and political slavery, they support dictatorial and corrupt African leaders that keep their countries in perennial poverty while enriching themselves, their cronies and sinister western extortionists. This is a complete aberration to western democracy and liberal capitalist nations that pride themselves in being the “leaders of the ‘free world’.”

Don’t you observe that although the generality of the people and democrats in Africa do not inherently support military coups, objectively and realistically we support the “spirit of positive revolutionary change in the African governance space” that our “gallant African soldiers are displaying” to liberate the downtrodden peoples and nations in Africa from the economic slavery and political subjugation of the West. The repressed and struggling peoples of Africa in Burkina Faso, Niger Republic, Chad, Mali and other upcoming countries that have been “continually gang raped” by western slave, colonial and neo-colonial masters (and their local African contrivers) are now breathing a sigh of relief and hope of a better future and general prosperity. It is however our expectation that in the shortest and realistic foreseeable future, the military will return to their barracks and leave level playing fields for popular democracy to move on.

With this dilemma in mind, I do think and proffer that Africa needs a new rethink of forging a new or adaptably modified AFRICAN DEMOCRACY. It seems western democracy, as good as it really is, has not practically benefited Africa because of their double standards and bid to superimpose western democracy upon Africa, without critical thinking, examination and adaptability. That is, instead of subjugating Africa into adopting western democracy without adapting it rationally, given the fact that Africa has had its own positive governance systems, structures and popular viable progressive operations – regardless of its obnoxious patronage mentality and system of governance that had inherently been its undoing.

It is also imperative to consider that the adoption of the Presidential/Executive system of government, which gives so much visible and imaginary powers to the President and Executive arm of government, without strong institutional systems and structures that ensure formidable checks and balances, is one of the greatest disservice and undoing of western democracy in most of our African governance systems.

Therefore, in conclusion, I would like to retort that if ECOWAS, the AU and other regional and continental stakeholders really mean well for Africa, (instead of being part of the neo-colonial contrivers and western hegemony,) they need to urgently and compellingly rally and forge a new African Democracy and Governance narrative and conference. This would elevate a frantic, real and progressive debate to ensure that their platforms would help trigger a practical conversation towards Pan-Africanism and THE AFRICAN RENAISSANCE AND DREAM. And let me again propound that this is not an option to shelve for the future, but rather a practical desirable pathway to a viable and sustainable African democratic governance and popular prosperity. A downplay of this would inadvertently lead to the replication of an African version of the “Arab spree” or the proliferation of the on-going African military interventions and revolutionary movements. Then, the African Union and ECOWAS would completely lose their essence.

So let the relevant stakeholders in the African governance and democratic pedestals urgently and frantically ignite this crucial, exhilarating and interesting debate, in order to avoid a complete truncating of the African democratic space.

LONG LIVE THE AFRICAN DREAM AND DEMOCRACY! LONG LIVE PAN-AFRICANISM! GOD BLESS AFRICA!!!

Best Regards,

Dr. Abraham Williams

Int’l Rights Advocate/Pan-Africanist