Uganda and Africa as a whole have a duty to look back and adopt the old African traditional systems of governance because the so-called white man’s democracy has completely failed to bring development to most African countries. The prevalence of poverty, lack of access to health care, education, and pro-people ideologies, as well as the degradation of cultural values, are the results of the so-called white man’s democracy.
Way before the colonialists invaded our continent, our ancestors had traditional systems of governance that worked for them and promoted the wellbeing of our communities, and these African traditional systems were based on consensus building, honest accountability, and community involvement. They are not perfect, but they clearly resonate well with our African values and cultures. Whereas the so-called foreign democracy being practiced in Africa rarely enables leaders to involve their communities, the traditional African way of governance was entirely community-involved.
The foreign democracy being practiced in Africa is regarded by the West as a shoe that should fit everyone the same, especially in Africa, which I disagree with and view as another vehicle for neo-colonialism since African cultures are different.
Why do you think democracy has never worked in Arab countries, yet they have rapidly developed compared to African countries that practice it?
Whereas the African traditional systems of governance prioritize leadership by example, which involves electing leaders based on their track record of serving their communities and promoting the common good, the self-serving nature of the white man’s democracy, which is being practiced in most African countries, contradicts this.
Today, leaders are elected based on their popularity. For example, in Uganda, a local artist almost became president just because of his popularity in the music industry, instead of being elected based on their ability to lead.
Worse still, we have the issue of neo-colonialism, where the west continually involves itself in African politics, economics, and sovereignty under the guise of protecting the so-called democracy they introduced. We have yet to see a successful African democracy. Since most of our countries are classified as struggling states, this makes me not see any benefit of having the white man’s democracy in Africa. If it worked for the Americans and the white man, let them have it.
In my view, my country, Uganda, should forget about western democracy as it is. A better solution is something we can sit down and agree on that captures African cultures and the contemporary world. We have tried democracy, but it still hasn’t worked 60 years after independence. Let’s move on.
The increasing levels of violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, and South Sudan are the result of Africans being forced to adopt a foreign democratic system that does not befit them and being used by foreign powers such as France, the UK, and the USA to maintain their influence and pursue their own economic and security interests.
It is time for Africans to decide our fates and futures by kicking the white man’s ideals to the curb and follow our own path to the development we want.
