Africa: Paul Biya’s Embarrassing Video read full article at worldnews365.me

Throughout the USA-Africa summit in December final 12 months, President Paul Biya of Cameroon was videotaped in a extremely compromising scenario. Previous and senile at nearly 90, he entered the convention corridor unaware of the place he was and what he was presupposed to do. “Oh wow, so I have become a celebrity?”, he asks his aide, “Who are all these people present?” When the aide tells him that he’s supposed to offer a speech, he says, “Are there important personages among them.” It’s a very embarrassing second for the outdated man and one wonders why and the way he’s conserving in energy.

Final week, activist Godbar Tumushabe posted an article by somebody on Al Jazeera who was lambasting Biya. The writer, Tafi Mhaka, says Biya isn’t match for workplace – and I agree fully. However after that, in typical Africa-analysis style, Mhaka proceeds to moralise quite than analyse. He makes no effort to shade new mild into Africa’s assumed challenges or breathe recent air into the stale debate about our politics. As a substitute, the writer solely regurgitates the outdated and wornout prejudices which have dominated mental discourse about Africa for the final seventy years.

Due to this fact, the actual questions we needs to be asking are: how is energy in Cameroon organised? How is it distributed? How is it exercised? And the way is it reproduced?

First is that this concentrate on particular person leaders quite than the social constructions and forces behind them. After I watched Biya’s depressing show, I questioned how such a senile outdated man manages to maintain energy: win (or efficiently rig) elections, stave off army coups, civil wars, and many others. Are we not lacking one thing essential? We at all times complain in regards to the personalisation of energy in Africa and the dearth of sturdy techniques or establishments. Is not it potential that Biya has constructed such highly effective techniques that Cameroon does not want a lot of him to run the nation however solely as an emblem? Due to this fact, the actual questions we needs to be asking are: how is energy in Cameroon organised? How is it distributed? How is it exercised? And the way is it reproduced?

As an apart, what Biya did is nearly much like what President Joe Biden has been doing. Previous and senile, Biden can hardly learn his personal speeches or keep in mind issues. He retains making one massive goof after one other on tv. In case you watch Fox Information, they’ve a phase on his goofs each day, making enjoyable of him. CNN does not for apparent causes. But if the Biya video was starring Biden, the identical African “intellectuals” would argue that the USA has sturdy techniques and establishments and subsequently the senility of its president is of little consequence.

Portray the Cameroon story with a broad brush of bias and prejudice does not inform us something about that nation. Maybe that’s the reason we now have been complaining eternally about our leaders as a result of we’re intellectually lazy to interrogate these points. How can a senile outdated man who can not even know the place he’s run a rustic the place energy is personalised? There have to be many individuals in Cameroon, together with in his personal authorities, who would love to switch him. I can solely infer that energy in Cameroon is within the fingers of a gaggle of individuals or pursuits who use Biya solely as an emblem.

Second, Mhaka referenced his article with the instance of the prime minister of New Zealand who not too long ago resigned as a result of she felt she had misplaced power and motivation. Right here one sees the mental poverty with which we strategy debate about politics (and every part else) in Africa. So, an article about governance in Africa started with an instance of governance in New Zealand. However can methods of governance in poor Africa be the identical as that of a extremely superior nation like New Zealand? Why ought to finest follow in Africa be based mostly on finest follow within the Western world? Western international locations are at very completely different ranges of growth. Does the extent of growth form governance methods?

In reality, African international locations are ruled a lot better at this time than Western international locations

In reality, if we’re to make any comparability with the West in any respect, we should always ask how had been Western international locations ruled once they had been on the similar stage of growth as African international locations at this time. As an example, we will establish impartial indicators such because the rural-urban distribution of inhabitants, share of people that rely upon business/providers for a livelihood and people who rely upon agriculture, the extent of per capita earnings, per capita income and per capita spending, and the extent of grownup training.

As soon as we now have established these info, we will proceed to ask what governance methods ruling elites in Western societies employed to handle energy. Apparently, I’ve carried out such a research and one can be shocked how related our governance techniques are to these of the West when it was on the similar stage on all these indicators as we’re at this time. In reality, African international locations are ruled a lot better at this time than Western international locations once they had been at our present ranges of growth based mostly on the symptoms above.

Third, allow us to settle for, only for argument’s sake, that governance methods don’t rely upon ranges of growth. Then we will examine Cameroon with Africa international locations thought-about “democratic” as a result of they mimic West political techniques: Benin, Senegal, Malawi, Ghana, Zambia, Kenya. Right here leaders have time period limits that are “respected” and opposition wins elections in order that we now have witnessed change from a ruling get together to an opposition get together. We will establish impartial indicators (financial progress, well being and training, roads, life expectancy, electrical energy, clear water, and many others) and we see whether or not they’re any completely different from Cameroon or Uganda the place President Yoweri Museveni has been clinging to energy for 37 years.

Malawi and Benin are among the many world’s poorest international locations. Mali, Guinea Conakry and Burkina Faso had been democracies with peaceable change of presidency which have succumbed to army coups within the final three years. Ghana, Zambia and Kenya have declared (or are about to declare) chapter. In basic phrases what has their mimicry of western techniques given them? If we peeled beneath their democratic façade to look at extra carefully the inner organisation of energy, we’re prone to discover that the governance methods of Kenya and Cameroon could range in type however not substance.

There may be an pressing must attempt to take away western lenses when coping with politics in Africa. We have to strategy our politics based mostly on the specificities of our international locations. It’s potential individuals like Biya symbolize one thing basic about our stage of social and political evolution. And that “something” can not he wished away, besides at a excessive price, maybe a tragic one. I actually do not know however I do not assume they’re an aberration.