Africa's Curse of Eternal Slavery Inside the Box

By EMK

Blogger Mwarang'ethe has been raising here some thought-provoking questions relating the present and past POLITICONOMICS packaged in very apt historical contexts. Well, the response has been varied as the bloggers supporting and rebuking them.

No matter you take, one thing is clear and we have to give it to Bw Mwarang'ethe that he his posts raises level of discourse. Specifically, his posts demonstrate the essential validity of a systemic analysis, rooted in history, of the current African condition.

For example, Mwarang'ethe was spot on about Botswana and her relatively developed economy compared to the rest of Africa. Botswana went their own way and repudiated the neo-liberal/neo-colonial Washington Consensus and that is why they have done relatively well.

However, let us not forget that Botswana remains a poor country. They have done well relative to other African countries, but they have not done well relative to their resource and economic potential.

The truth be said those who keep talking about leaders as the problem, miss the point that you made. That our leaders will keep acting the way they do because of the historical and systemic straitjacket that we are in as neo-colonies of the west.

Granted, leadership is a problem. But it is not the fundamental problem facing Africans.

One should just ask themselves this question. How come Africa consistently produces bad leaders? Given about 50 African countries with and average of 3 post colonial presidents and probably a further dozen key leaders at lower levels each, gives a total of about 700 key African post colonial leaders.

Out of that large number how many can we say were or are good leaders? You can probably count them on just your fingers.

This should prove to anybody that what we have in Africa is a systemic problem. We have a systems of governance, politics, economics etc that consistently produce bad leaders.

To change the leaders, we must change the systems. We can't just hope that the next leader out of the same system is going to buck the trend of the previous fifty bad ones.

To change the system we must look to its fundamental underpinnings. It is an imperialist system and imperial systems consist of the subjugated and the subjugator. This is their essential nature. Just as for slavery to exist, there must be a slave and a master.

Our problem as Africans is that we are too weak both individually collectively to confront imperialism head on. Until we unite with a singular purpose, we stand no chance of breaking free of the present ruinous system. Any takers out there?

Bye Dinosaurs: Mubarak, Gbagbo, Who's Next?

By KK Blogger

Contempt and impunity are their first and middle names. They treat their countries like person fiefdoms and the resources therein as their birthright to plunder. Their citizens are nothing but a herd to be whipped into submission towards advancing selfish gain. Meet the fast-dying African despots.

Our fools we have for African presidents have never bothered to learn from a single chapter of the history of vanquished African political leaders.

Case in point,Pharaoh Mubarak scoffed at his counterpart in Tunisia by claiming that the Egyptian domestic situation was very different from the one that was falling apart in Tunisia.

So being the real Pharaoh of Egypt with a huge military under his command, Mubarak turned down so many alternative offers for a quiet life in exile with a guaranteed immunity against prosecution and confiscation of his family assets.

The Pharaoh was so sure of himself to point where he chose to spend the rest of life in the resort city of Sham el-Sheikh as a statement of defiance against all the Egyptian people who wanted him out of power and gone for good from Egyptian soil and waters.

What a difference several weeks can make in the life of a one time mighty ruler of Egypt, it now turns out that Pharaoh Mubarak's family is in hot waters because of the pharaonic arrogance, hot temper, a lack of diplomatic skills, and an obstinacy that bordered on mulishness of their patriarch.

The Pharaoh is now languishing in prison, alongside his two sons, Gamal Mubarak, and Alaa Mubarak awaiting trial for misuse of power, corruption and a slew of other charges.

All the family's assets have been frozen, the Egyptian Court has dissolved the Mubarak Party, and all of his cronies and allies have been purged from the military, national police and civil service.

Pharaoh Mubarak and his sons now wish that they had accepted the offers to flee to quite and dignified exile in Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Monaco or Australia.

The other arrogant former president is defeated Laurent Gbagbo, his wife, family and cronies who will be brought to justice.

While there is still hope that countless other Pavlovian fools like Robert Mugabe and others will face same fate that befell the Pharaoh of Egypt, his sons and cronies when the timing is right.

Ever wonder what causes mighty military organizations on the African continent to fall apart in the eye of the storm, when engaged with rebel forces?

Woe unto you the exported villager still enslaved in ethnic politics. The next candidate may as well be your tribal warlord. Good riddance to bigoted intellect.