I love my history. I think it’s because I like to see people’s lives changing as they react to events. Or it could be my innate curiosity and nosiness. Then again there are times when something insane happens and you go ‘how the hell did that happen?’
There is one history book I started to read and after 50 pages, I had to give up. A pattern was established, never to be broken. The book was about Post-Colonial Africa. The pattern went along the lines of: kick the colonisers out; discover a wealth of natural resources; have a first blooming of democracy; and then... a political elite becomes far too comfortable and, hey presto, the people are left behind as foreign bank accounts of the leadership class become bloated. Add in a succession of natural tragedies and the result is heartbreak.
Two events this week have thrown Africa back into our consciousness. Today sees South Africa go to the polls. The world will never forget the scenes from the 1994 elections where freedom did truly reign as Madiba led the whole of the country beyond Apartheid. It was a victory for democracy. Madiba had a moral authority to carry the whole country. When he retired, the same old rumours began.
We heard of money going to refurbish ministers’ homes, we had a serious growth in poverty and we had the incident of the dodgy signer at Madiba’s funeral. All this had the whiff of the all too familiar journey many African states seem cursed to follow. There is even a chance that a party who wants to follow Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe might gain seats and some power. It is a terrifying thought as Mugabe is a hateful figure who blames everybody else.
In writing this column, I am acutely aware that any criticism of governance in Africa will open me up to the charge of racism or having a colonial mindset. I am a human being. My first instinct is to care for fellow human beings. Isolationism, scapegoating and abusing human rights must be challenged wherever it occurs.
This brings us to the second and more dangerous story coming out of Africa – the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls four weeks ago. The reason why this happened: their family wanted them educated so they can get ahead in life – a normal human endeavour. The group who kidnapped the girls are using Islam as an excuse to gain power. Again, this must be challenged. It is not being racist or anti-Muslim. It is reacting to the abuse of fellow human beings.
Reaction. Now there’s a thing. The kidnapping was nearly one month ago but only in the past week has the Nigerian President appeared to be taking decisive action. Again on a human level, I have to ask why? What kind of leadership is that? Nearly 300 vulnerable young women were kidnapped. That is a major violation of human rights.
Globalisation has been given a very bad name in last decade. It has become associated with a particularly virulent form of capitalism. I would like to think globalisation can also mean having an interest in and caring about your fellow human beings wherever they live. Africa deserves our attention as much as the US or UK. If we can rant and rave about the Bushes or the Thatchers of the world we can rant about African leaders too.
