SOME MAJOR INHERENT PROBLEMS OF THE PATRONAGE SYSTEM IN AFRICA
Your Excellency,
I would like to wish you my profound compliments of the season and especially a blessed and prosperous 2025! The past year, as most of the other forgone ones, has been riddled with many political and perennial economic struggles. And as we have just entered into another year, I will like to draw your attention again to some major issues that have been the root causes of Africa’s paradoxical backwardness and continual lack of significant influence and impact in the global political, industrial and economic pedestals. Some of these issues I have discussed in some of my afore editions, either extensively or superficially. But because of their significance on Pan-Africanism and new hopes for an imminent African renaissance, as we approach the mid of the 21st century, it is imperative for me to delve into them again. So, bear with me if I seem to belabour on some issues – and this is crucial too because most of Africa does not seem to have negotiated the curve from neo-colonial economic slavery and formidable political governance.
I have often propounded that part of our major root problems is the inherent patronage mentality and system of governance in most of Africa. This system has always assumed, consciously or subconsciously that “leadership is not servant hood or meant for the leaders to place premium on first seeking to identify the plights and aspirations of the generality of people, ( masses) and given communities, thereby working relentlessly with them to alleviate those problems for their common good. ‘Rather, our patronage leaders think and operate as though, they are meant to be served by the people and to legitimately benefit selfishly and maximally from all the resources and other advantages of the nation and various designated communities.’” The only time most of our leaders in communities, national leadership and public service pretend to be humble and serve their peoples is during electoral processes and campaigns, or when trying to climb up the ladder of public service leadership. At those times they could go to any realistic or even extraneous extents to gain power. In fact they wouldn’t consider it strenuous or inconvenient to freely and often interact with the electorates, people and colleagues at work or even subordinates. But once they attain power, free interaction and putting the needs and aspirations of the people foremost on their agenda for progress and development, becomes secondary. They feel that “once one attains power, it is their given right to first benefit themselves, their families and cronies. To them, self-benefit above popular and national development is a given in leadership.” And they operate thus, in such a characteristic manner heartlessly, with impunity and gross insensitivity.
I would like to emphatically reiterate at this juncture that this patronage mentality/system is not suddenly developed once our leaders get into power, but has been either an innate or perennial problem that we all need to address and change, if meaningful, significant and rapid development, modernization, scientific enhancement and economic independence would take place in most of our African countries. We will all need to be very deliberate and resolute at this, especially those in national and public service leadership! Only the popular resolute decision to change this negative and unpopular leadership pattern and mode of operation that makes and keeps the masses always artificially poor by the minute few selfish and greedy ones, while continually enriching themselves, their relations and cronies, at the detriment of the masses and nation, can usher in a ray of hope for the general good.
I always remember the popular philosophical adage of the former first lady of the United States of America, Michelle Obama that says, “the presidency (leadership) does not change a man. It only reveals who he/she really is.” And I must hasten to say that this is very true of most of our African leaders, who, more often than not come to power broke and end up leaving so opulent and “richer than the countries” they promised to serve for the general good, and not for personal and selfish gain. Why do most of our African leaders and top so-called public servants choose to deliberately and heartlessly impoverish their peoples and nations, while living in absolute opulence, callousness and insensitive greed? They would rather choose to “sacrifice the prosperity of their peoples and nation on their dastardly altar of greed and avarice,” than to work decisively and relentlessly to seek the prosperity and general enhancement of the masses and nation. Otherwise, why so much poverty, under development and extreme backwardness in Africa, even in the midst of so much over abundance (“over-plus”) natural and mineral resources? It feels like one of my high school mariner’s poetry lines that read, “water, water everywhere, yet not a drop to drink.” (The Ancient Mariner) Oh what an aberration and paradox of an African Patronage Mentality and syndrome of governance!!
Even our paramount chiefs, clan leaders and other local community leaders are preoccupied with benefiting maximally from the monies and other corporate social responsibilities and benefits that are supposed to be accrued to their various concession and project areas –while neglecting empowering youths and meaningfully developing their peoples and communities.
My heart continually bleeds, in untold pain and anguish for Africans, because they consider the masses and nation always secondary for transformation and development. Such artificial pain, struggles and deprivation can be easily avoided, if our leaders and us could only put our nations and peoples first, in lieu of living in heartless insensitivity, greed, callousness and avarice. That is why, as this first quarter of the 21st century negotiates its turn, I write a biblical quote to remind our leaders and us that “the time is far spent”… and it is time that we negotiated this turn positively in the interest of popular and national development and enhancement agendas.
We have been so endued with so much wealth by the eternal benevolent creator that we have no reason to be poor and thus cannot continue to wallow in abject artificial poverty – with our leaders always parading the West with “cap-in-hand,” begging for pittances and crumbs, having no sense of self-realization and national dignity. This is extremely shameless and self-demeaning, when we have no business being so. Indeed, at a time when we should be leading donor countries in alleviating poverty and deprivation in truly impoverished nations across the globe, we still relegate ourselves to being “perpetual beggars in the midst of abundance.” What a shame!
I would however like to highlight that countries like Mauritius, Seychelles, Botswana, Egypt, South Africa and Rwanda have been making frantic efforts to chart their way out of this inherently non-progressive syndrome of mentality and governance deficit. While countries like Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger Republic and Guinea (Conakry) are still struggling to navigate their way out. Indeed, it is always better to make decisive efforts to move from this artificially impoverished state we wallow in, than keep giving dishonest excuses and finding scapegoats to hang our self-inflicted woes on. Wake up Africans! And realize that if we miss out on this century to navigate our way out of neo-colonialism, artificial impoverishment, deprivation, general backwardness and Western subjugation and manipulations, we will significantly miss out on this glorious opportunity of entering into the “the wind of Pan-Africanism and the glorious African Renaissance,” that is forming, and fanning its flames gradually across Africa; from 2050 onward.
At this juncture, let me conclude this arduous, emotive and heart-drenching piece by making deliberate reference two countries I have paternal and maternal nativity in. In Liberia for example, this patronage mentality and syndrome of governance has eaten so deep that our legislators work more in their own interests than their constituents and constituencies; they prefer and always justify their exorbitant salaries and fringe benefits in the midst of so much unemployment and extremely ludicrous low salaries and wages of low cadre civil servants, doctors, nurses and health professionals, the national joint security forces and auxiliary government workers/volunteers. Their gas slips, housing allowances and domestic workers’ salaries and wages can comfortably pay thousands of low-wage (underpaid) workers, for a whole year. What an unequal and extremely exploitative system!! In Sierra Leone, prices of basic commodities and services, such as gasoline, rice and other consumables keep sky-rocketing, while salaries and wages of public workers, civil servants, the joint security forces, cost of housing, health and essential services keep climbing up the roof. But our ministers, representatives and top government functionaries always have abundance to expend, even on their frivolous and opportunistic extra marital players.
These kinds of living always leave us in continual “fragile peace – noting that “peace is not just the end of active war or the silence of battle guns and cries, but the real elevation of ‘the rule of law,’ dealing with injustice impartially or without disparity and respect for one above another, the frantic efforts of bridging the social and economic gap, provision of the basic necessities of life, empowering the citizenry towards self-reliance and productivity, etc.”
May I end up by pleading with our leaders especially and the generality of the diverse peoples of Africa, to do a personal retrospection and introspection of this continually deadly cancerous system – and decisively resolve to changing our inherent patronage mentality and system of governance that has not helped us from pre-Atlantic Slave Trade period to date – and can certainly not help us moving forward.
As a way of proffering solution to this inherent “Herculean monster” (the patronage system of political and economic governance,) even responsible for acceding and making room for the monstrous Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and its attendant colonization and deliberate fragmentation of Africa, I would, in summation suggest that “an Exclusive Fast Track Court” against corruption and public/national economic crimes robustly, functionally and effectively be established. Such court should see former corrupt presidents, legislators and public functionaries, and their local and international contrivers prosecuted, without disparity and regard for former status, as national robbers and thieves – to be fairly and swiftly tried in impartial courts. Those who are found culpable, should be placed behind bars accordingly and their properties acquired by corrupt practices confiscated and used as state assets. This would serve as deterrent to would-be presidents, politicians and top cadre public servants, who think that ascending to those positions is a fast and sure means to amassing ill-gotten and swift generational wealth and enrichment – at the detriment and abject impoverishment of the masses and country.
Let us together, in lieu, embrace true patriotism, servant leadership, nationalism and Pan-Africanism with a 21st century 5G-type scientific and cutting edge innovation and development stride – we are centuries backward by our own design, vigorously and intriguingly maintained by the West and their neo-colonialist leaders. Retort that the Holy Scriptures say, “the night (of Africa) is far spent and the day (of Pan-Africanism and the Glorious African Renaissance) is at hand. So, let us put off the works of darkness, and put on instead the armour of light!”
The African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) should have championed such a move robustly ever since, if they are not ‘white-elephants and shrewd contrivers in keeping Africa and Africans impoverished, to maintain subjugation of the masses for their ulterior economic and political advantage.
May the good, merciful, just and benevolent LORD usher in his true spiritual revival in Africa and change our leaders and populace for the rising stardom of Africa. GOD BLESS AFRICA!!!
Best Regards,
Dr. Abrfaham Williams
(Clergyman/International Rights Advocate/Pan-Africanist/Anti-Corruption Campaigner)
