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A cursory look at current events on the African continent leads
one to scream like Graham Greene did many years ago “It’s a
battlefield!” The history of Africa seems to be an orgy of violence and
bloodshed. One only needs to take a walk down memory lane: the genocide
in Rwanda and Darfur, the bloodbath in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo and in Liberia, and the Saga in Côte d’Ivoire, to name but a few.
Many factors account for this state of affairs; the most patent of
which are international boundaries and bad governance. The irony with
Africa is that its political boundaries derived from externally
negotiated settlements, not to say brute European military force,
rather than any ethno-linguistic arrangement.
The trail of economic destruction and human suffering left on
the continent by civil wars is without precedence. Why civil wars
continue to be routine on our continent remains a moot point. One
reason may be that political oppression, racial subordination and
economic exploitation have condemned Africans to a common misfortune.
Another reason for recurrent civil strife in Africa is that aspirants
to power after decolonization have held different views as regards a
new politico-socio-economic dispensation on the continent. Sometimes a
civil war erupts as a result of the demise of a dictatorial political
order under a tyrannical president. The case of the Somali civil war
which erupted in the aftermath of the fall of the dictator, Siad Barre,
is still fresh in our minds. Ponder the civil war that engulfed Liberia
following the demise of Machiavellian Samuel Doe. The civil war in
Ethiopia ended after the fall of Mengistu Haile Mariam.
In the main, it makes sense to opine that the absence of a
firm constitutional blueprint in the majority of African nation states
has contributed to the outbreak of civil wars. A firm constitutional
blueprint would have a two-fold purpose. Firstly, it would provide for
political, civil and economic participation by different ethnic and
civic constituencies. Secondly, a blueprint would ensure that there is
legitimate and organized political succession, including the
formulation of conditions and terms of office (presidential,
ministerial and parliamentary). Nigeria embodies the political
difficulties that occur due to the absence of a constitutional
framework. Despite the proliferation of constituent federal units in
Nigeria, the conception of a firm constitutional and political order is
still problematic. In consequence, the military has monopolized power
in Nigeria since independence from Great Britain more than forty years
ago. In fact, Nigeria oscillates today between political chaos and
military autocracy!
It has to be noted that the constitutional issue is more than
simply drawing up a constitution. Africa’s constitutions must be
upheld in practical governance. At present, there is too much toying
around with national constitutions in Africa. There must be a way of
holding African leaders accountable for any breaches of the
constitution. The recent political fiasco in Togo is irrefutable
evidence that when the supreme law of the land is subjected to the
whims and caprices of dishonest politicians, the inevitable end product
is political chaos and civil strife. Social stability and economic
development are not chance occurrences. They are the result of sound
political decision-making. The fact of the matter is that Africans are
peace-lovers. They want a better place to live in. Sadly enough, If you
look at the history of Africa keenly, three levels of oppression stand
out clearly: blacks oppressing blacks, Arabs oppressing Blacks and
whites (neo-colonizers) oppressing both Blacks and Arabs. We cannot
allow this dismal status quo to go on forever. The onus is upon us to
devise ways and means to reverse the current trend.
PETER W.VAKUNTA
DEPARTMENT OF FRENCH AND ITALIAN
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MADISON
602 VAN HISE HALL
1220 LINDEN DRIVE
MADISON WI 53706-1525
U.S.A
Office 608 262 4067
Home 608 422 6089
Cell 608 381 0407
"The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of the wise man is
in his heart."
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
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