Is this the best we've got?

I just read a Time Magazine article about the African National Congress (ANC), the ruling party that has been in power since 1994 in South Africa. The article described the current condition of the once revered party; the activities described in the article are more in tune with the Mafia than a political party. Assassinations, intimidation, embezzlement seem to be pretty common in the ANC of today. In a nutshell, the Party has regressed shamefully from the Tambo-Mandela ideals of years gone by.   

The situation of politics and power in Nigeria is not any better; In Nigeria we have people totally lacking in integrity at the helm of affairs. Leadership is clueless except when it comes to stealing state funds, in this regard, Nigeria is second to none. Some Government apologists may decide to nitpick and correct me at this juncture and say “we are actually the 35^th most corrupt country in the world according to Transparency International” these are the kinds of distinctions that our government’s spokespersons make. 

I have chosen to use the two most important black democracies as examples because I am really worried about the black race…I am very worried about the quality of leadership in my country and in Africa as a whole. It disturbs me that the two countries that should be beacons of hope to the rest of black Africa are failing so woefully. I am dismayed that the ANC which hitherto fought “the good fight” against Apartheid has become a party where blacks assassinate other black people. It has become a party where people who dare to speak against the powers that be are afraid to put their names in print for fear of lethal consequences. It is ironic that not too long ago, it was reprisal from the “Apartheid oppressors” that was thus feared.

In Nigeria we railed against our military rulers, we accused them of corruption and intimidation and eventually we got ‘democracy’ and heaved a collective sigh of relief.  But now I look back on 13 years of uninterrupted democratic rule and apart from gaining some semblance of respectability in the comity of nations due to the ‘democratic nation’ label, I can’t really see what else we’ve gained as a people. In fact it’s more painful when I remember that democracy is supposed to be “government of the people for the people by the people” This government is certainly not for the people; any Nigerian can tell you that.  In Nigeria, the Presidency spends over a billion on feeding annually, N2.2bn is required to build an additional presidential banquet hall, the Presidential fleet of aircraft appropriates N9bn per annum for maintenance; The Vice President’s lodge is going to cost the mind blowing sum of N16bn to build due to the Veep’s ‘taste’ and our legislators (who are perennially on some kind of recess) earn stupendous amounts of money for little or no work. All these happening in a country where we have not been able to achieve 24 hour electricity supply; where there’s no coherent health care system; where quality education at all levels is for the highest bidder; where most of our major roads are riddled with pot holes and ditches; where teachers and doctors have to go on strike to get paid...well you don’t need to be Albert Einstein to figure out who this particular government is for.

These things make me wonder why it’s so difficult to catch a break when it comes to good leadership in this part of the world. I would have expected the ANC to be all about bridging the gap of development created by years of racial repression. Is it idealism to hope that a party with a history such as the ANC’s would be all about social justice and the rule of law? As for Nigeria, it’s as if political leadership exists to dash our collective hopes for the country.

I wonder if some South Africans are asking “what has happened to our beloved ANC” just as Nigerians ask one another “is this what we waited for all these years; is this the best we can hope for?”