HOW HAS POLITICS AFFECTED DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA

Politics and development almost go hard in hand and their interrelationship is two way

directional. They usually affect one another in very significant way. Politics is about policy

formulation, decision making offering direction and ensuring social order. It involves the making

of a common decision for a group of people and that should apply to all members of the group. It

is through Politics that power bestored no one person over a group of people to rule over them.

The ruler is given the mandate to guide people and make decisions on their behalf. Based on

this, politics has every direct effect on development in a nation or a religion.

Development is the sustained elevation of an entire society and social system towards a better

and more humane life. According to Todaro, development is a multi dimensional process that

not only involves economic growth but also a re-organization and re-orientation of the entire

system along the social, political and economic spheres. It must encompass more than the

material and financial side of peoples lives. The terms development and underdevelopment do

not just represent the statistical reflection of income levels, conditions of living ,employment

levels and mortality rates ,but also the state of mind,moral value and the respect of a people. The

core values of development should be to ensure respectable life sustenance of the people so that

they can live a worth life. Another objective is to ensure the rise of people self esteem such that

they have the sense of worth and self respect. Liberation should be other objective of

development. This is the freedom or emancipations alienating material conditions of life and

freedom from the social servitude of men to nature,ignorance,other men,misery ,insttitutions and

dogmatic beliefs. Therefore development should be conceived of as a mulit-dimesional process

involving change in structure,altitude and institutions as well as the accerelation of economic

growth,the reduction of inequalities and eradiction of absolute poverty. In essence development

groups within that system move away from unsasfactory condition of life, to a better life both

materialy and spiritually.

Africa development problems are inseparable from its politics.european colonization is one

event in african history that critically affected its development. Since the end of colonialism in

africa, there is no consensus on its legacy. With most African countries still walking on scraches

and many close to collapse, most peple are still not sure whether the problem is due to Africa’s

colonial experience or it’s inherent inadequacies. The apologists of colonialism argue that

whatever may have been the shortcomings of colonial rule, the overall effect was positive for

Africa. They agree that colonial powers exploited africa’s a natural resources but argue that on

the balance,it reduced the economic gap between Africa and the west by laying the seed of

interllectual and material development in Africa. Colonialist claim to have brought civilization

into the darker continent of Africa and in turn transformed the lifes of Africans. these was done

by the introduction of modern form of education, transport,communication,medicine

Industrial technology, political and economic organization. They defend there legacy by arguing

that Africa is in apolitical and economic turmoil today because it failed to take advantage of its

inheritance from colonial rule. It was they argue, africa’s inadequencies that made colonialism

necessary and the outcome of post-independence self –rule suggest that the withdrawal of

colonial rule was premature.

Critics of colonialism on their part argue that colonial rule left Africans poorer than they were

before. The colonialist not only super exploited African labour and resources but also

undermined the continent capacity to develop. They structured African economics in such away

that they would permanently be dependent on western nations. African economics were
consigned the role of producers of primary products for processing in the west. The west

controlled the international market and discriminated against African nations making them

unable to earn enough to develop their countries.

Colonialism also bred political crisis in Africa. It disrupted pre-colonial political systems that

worked for africanas and imposed alien models. By redrawing of the map of Africa, throwing

diverse people together without the consideration of established borders and ethinic conflicts,

only helped to nature distability in the continent. This also affected development in Africa.

Whateven may have been its pluses and minuses, colonialism was a dictatorial regime that

denied peoples right to self determination. It brought death, pain and humiliation to millions of

its victims. The notion that colonialism was a civilizing mission is a myth as the system was

propelled by Europe’s economic and political selfish interests. To meet their economic and

administrative needs, colonial powers built some infrastructure like the railway to carry export

commoditieas and they educated afew Africans to help them run the colonies. The whole process

was for selfish personal gains. They also caused an identity crisis in Africa that still affect us up

to now. Real development is almost impossible if someone cannot even identify whom she or he

really is.

Indepency for most African state brought high expectations to the people. There was an attitude

of optimism and expectancy in the continent. African nationalist movements enlisted the

sympathy and imagination of scholars who be believed that alien rule had completely failed to

legitimize itself on social ,economic and moral grounds and that substantal and rapid progrees

would occur once colonialism was removed. The post independence politics and progress of

most African states has called for the reassesment of this assumption. The continent has under

gone a series of military coups,recurrent patterns of civil strife, civilize dictatorship seemingly
insoluble economic difficulties. Post independence African states have failed to achieve their

main objective of development due to factor such as neo colonialism, political corruption,

political imnstaxbility and poor or unworkable political ideologies.

Neo colonialism is a ghost that is haunting many African states. The independence gained from

the withdrawing of colonial power was only partial liberation. Neo colonialism is thus a new

form of imperial rule stage managed by the colonial powers to give the colonialised the illusion

of freedom. Neo colonialism can thus be defined as the survival of the colonial stytem inspite of

the fomal recognition of political independence. The subject countiries are still victims of an

indirect and subtle forms of domination through political, economic, social, military or

technological means. The implication is that western powers still control African nations whose

rulers are either willing puppets or involuntary subordinate of these powers. In this countries the

means of production are owned by foreign corporations who employ various means to transfer

profits out of the country rather than invest them in the local economy. This is evident by large

and numerous multi-national companies in Africa that continue to exploit us. They have

structured the African economy and insured that it’s permanently dependent on Europe. It’s like

we have been doomed to producing primary products for processing in developed countries and

to be dependent on their products. In this way they continue to exploit us by buying our products

at low prices and selling them back to us making huge profits. They have also ensured that

African countries are permanently indebt to them. They purport to help us develop by lending us

money but such aid usually come with strict requirements that are always oppressive to us and

ensure that we remain slaves to them.

Political corruption has also ensured that we always remain backward in terms of development.
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate

private gain. This forms of corruption involve but not limited to bribery, extortion, cronyism,

nepotism, patronage, graft and embezzlement. This posses a serious development challenges in

Africa for it undermines democracy and good governance. Many African leaders misuse their

powers by favoring their supporters relatives or personal friends with government resources.

They also use their powers to finish off their critics and opponents. This undermining

development in the country as the allocation of government resource is based on political support

and personal gains. Areas that are not on the right side of the political devide always remain

neglected. They also embezzla public resources for development. As aresult most African

countries always remain behind in development.

Development always needs a peaceful and secure environment to be realized. Therefore political

stability is very essential to development in a country. The continent as a whole has had some

difficult moment over the past years. This range from military and civilian coups and civial wars.

This could be blamed on weak institutionas of the state, flawed legislative systems and the

constant struggle for political power.The international community geo-security and resource

interest seem to benefit from the status quo in Africa. They have not have been pro the

establishment of functioning systems in Africa and their involvement continue to undermine

Africa’s stability through the militarization of conflict for accumulative purposes. Also the

African politicians instability is aconsequence of its leadership problems. The greedy nature and

lack of norms and concern for others by African leaders has also played a big role to its

instability. This phenomena which is a sad reality in Africa has constantly been a hinderance to

development. Civil wars have only helped to turn back the clock of development.
Political ideologies always provide the guiding principle to a nation development. It gives the

path or direction for achieving its goals and objectives. Therefore political ideologies affect

development objectives directly.

At independence, most African leaders were caught at cross roads on what political ideology to

embrass and how relevant it will be to their countries situation. Also different leaders had various

view on the different leaders different ideologies. It in turn into a war like situation with different

leaders arguing for different political ideologies and trying to undermine the idea of others. They

was no real unity. When unity occured it was just a unity of conviniency. This disunity

undermined the focuss on national development. Also most leaders who took over power at

independence and their successors were mostly concerned only with economic development and

forgetting other aspects of development. This could be the reason why it was hard to move as a

block. And those with a good idea and vision where lone rangers. the country as a whole did not

share in their dream and were abandoned or their dreams and efforts frastrated. A good example

is Nyerere conception of socialsm as the way forward for Africa.

Internal and external political factors have been a huge hinderance to development in Africa.

Whatever Africa has experience in the name of development could best be termed as pseudo

development. It does not capture the full aspects of development. There is a real need for

restructuring of Africa development objectives and the means of attaining them. Most African

states are just living a lie and in need of redemption. Our political setting and context is lost on

the idea of development

1. Michael F. Lofchie. The State of the Nation: Constrains on development in Independent

Africa; University of Calfonia Press, London, 1971.

2. Harvey Glickman. The criss and challenge of african development; Greenwood press,

London, 1988.