Africans must demand; not beg for their rights
By Nathan Emory Iron
It is now more than half a century since the first African country got her independence. Africa, however, continues to bleed. Several successive countries which followed have been embroiled in violent regime changes which have claimed the lives of nearly twenty million innocent people. The civil wars and coups have created tyrants, destroyed infrastructure, caused immense poverty, mass displacement, shattered national independence, divided people even more, brought uncontrollable corruption, unmanageable insecurity, intolerable under development, and immense social disenchantment.
All socio-political and economic institutions have crumbled in most of these countries. The social structures have become uninhabitable. Almost every day, popular conscience boils and rises up against massive injustices, authoritarianism, and the absence of equity and development. This is a common feature of minority regimes that came to power through the barrel of the gun.
The majority of Africans long for democracy, justice and human rights. Africans want to contribute to the development and spread of democratic ideals and values. Many are however beginning to realise that their democratic and developmental aspirations cannot take place in countries ruled by despots. Rwanda and Uganda are one of the best examples on the African continent today. Despots like Kagame and Museveni do not yield to challenge; let alone engage in dialogue with their opponents.
Today, African people are yearning for and in fact perceive the necessity of a revolutionary whirlwind that will sweep away all the notorious dictators and revive democracy. Africa needs its institutions and independence back.
All over Africa, these tyrants, their kinsmen, and a few sycophants, are engaged in a frenzied haste to acquire wealth. Their legacies will forever be tainted by the fraud and scandals that defined their reign. It is a sad reality in Africa today that economic institutions which control production are far from giving to society the prosperity which they are supposed to guarantee.
Weary of injustices caused by these brutal regimes and rulers; weary of rampant political persecution; weary of economic manipulation and mismanagement; weary of insecurity and civil wars bedevilling the continent; weary of the vexatious policies of these regimes; weary of the misery in Africa; Africans are abandoning their continent in search of a democratic dispensation elsewhere.
Many on the other hand are demanding credible and lasting democratic rule from within Africa. They want good governance. Tyranny has no place in the 21st century Africa. Africa must wake up to reality that it is the last continent in the world to tolerate dictatorship. As President Barrack Obama rightly said while in Ghana on the second leg of his State visit to Africa, “…the essential truth of democracy is that each nation determines its own destiny”.
Africans, wherever they are, should appreciate the fact that it is Africans who must take a holistic approach and demand the promotion of democracy, good governance, justice and accountability on the continent as whole. A democratic dispensation is a must. And the process of creating it must start now with Africans at the forefront of it. It is only with that approach will African leaders be responsive to the needs and will of the people they rule over. That process must start with an aggressive agitation by all for the following:
A demand by all for a responsible Executive whose tenure of office is limited; one that institutes policies that are geared towards promoting democracy, national harmony, equity in development, and above all, one that adheres to the rule of law.
A demand by all for a vibrant multi-party Parliament that legislates laws that serve all citizens equally without discrimination; one that checks abuses of power by the Executive and other organs of the State; one which tolerates voices from the opposition and minority stakeholders; one that recognises the crucial role played by civil society in democracy; one that stands up to roadblocks to advancement of good governance; and one that does not tolerated the enactment of Anti-Terrorism laws that greatly hinder the enjoyment of fundamental human rights.
A demand by all for a totally independent Judiciary that dispenses justice according to the laws of the land; and one that stands up to and rejects any form of control by the Executive.
A demand by all that the national Constitution be a legitimate instrument that reflects the aspirations of the people; and a demand and resolve by all that no leader should be allowed to change the constitution to suit their wild and monstrous egos as has been the case in Uganda.
A demand by all for independent and impartial Electoral Commissions and electoral laws; a demand by all that such electoral bodies be constituted with the input of all major stakeholders; that such electoral bodies must be credible and able to steer electoral processes including national civic education with integrity; and that such electoral bodies must be willing to speak out against erosions of democratic rights and freedoms whenever they occur without fear or prejudice.
The writer describes himself as a strong Pan-Africanist of Ugandan descent
