Democracy and the Challenges of Leadership in Africa
ETTEUKO Dianabasi Effiong
Department of Philosophy, Akwa Ibom State University, Obio Akpa Campus
Abstract
This paper examines the Democratic rule and the challenges of leadership in Africa. It argues that Africa’s failures have come about largely as a result of frequent leadership change, lack of ideology, policy reversal and weak institutional patterns. The paper also examines the leadership selection process in Africa and that the leadership selection process in Africa takes the imposition pattern and that African leaders have frequently come to their position with limited experience. Hence, the decline in moral and discipline caused by bad policies, eroded professional standards and ethics and weakened the system of governance. The paper lay emphasis on leadership and governance in some selected African countries. The paper observes that for Africa to overcome the crises of leadership and governance in the continent, those on whom the burden of leadership will fall in the future must fully comprehend their responsibilities, duties and obligation. They must also be exposed and be prepared to face the challenges of leadership in developing society. Often times it appears that the African version of democracy differ from the led down principle which was first experience in Athenian society. Do we practice real democracy in Africa or a pseudo democracy owing to the leadership deficit in Africa. This paper adopts the analytic and expository method of finding so as to present the subject matter clearly. Since the long term salvation of developing countries depends on the quality of its future leaders. The paper concludes that only leadership that has maximum empathy for the people can be relevant to the qualitative movement of Africa.
Key Words: Leadership, Democracy, Imposition, Africa, Governance.