By: Kasirim Nwuke
The data are clear. Based on current trends, African countries are unlikely to meet the targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the end date of 2030, which is 5 years away.
To change this reality, Joseph Atta-Mensah, in an interesting Substack essay entitled “Rescuing Africa’s Development through Transformation” (https://josephattamensah.substack.com/) proposes a set of policies for the consideration of African intellectuals, “policy entrepreneurs” and governments that, if implemented, would catapult Africa to success on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Mr. Atta-Mensah writes that “to achieve the SDGs, Africa must pursue robust and inclusive growth, rooted in meaningful economic transformation.” Although he defined transformation as “the process by which an economy transitions from a predominantly rural and agrarian base to a middle-income, urbanized economy driven by industry and services”, he did not explain the modifier, “meaningful”.
Mr. Atta-Mensah’s essay should provoke deep and broad discussion or debate not only because his diagnosis of Africa’s condition may questionable but that the proposed solution, “meaningful transformation” may not be the prescription Africa needs. In this essay, which is a response to AttaMensah, I argue that Africa does not need transformation (meaningful or otherwise) because it is already transforming perhaps not at the rate most would like; what Africa needs in my view is focus. The ongoing transformation of African countries is largely without direction, without clearly stated goals. That must change. For change to happen, Africa must focus on a few things.
First, we must be clear about what Africa is being rescued from: From whom? From what? From itself? Or from some imperialists and neocolonialists? Or from her elite who have captured the state in country after country except perhaps Ethiopia, Rwanda (and interestingly, Somalia). If Africa is in a condition requiring it to be rescue, then it must rescue itself by, borrowing from Ngugi wa Thiongo, one of Africa’s most prominent writers and intellectuals, decolonizing her in every way, shape, manner or form.
The mind of the late 20th /early 21st century African: The biggest obstacle to Africa’s transformation/development is the mind. The minds of those who lead Africa, the minds of the followership, the minds of all of us are colonized. Colonialism when the colonial powers and their administrators were with us was relatively mild than this form of colonialism where they live permanently, without charge in our minds and in our heads. Africa does not need to be rescued.
What needs to be rescued are Africa’s intelligentsia whose minds have been colonized and are thus incapable of generating original ideas to address Africa’s development challenges. The colonized mind cannot produce the transformative leaders and leadership that Africa urgently needs. How should African countries go about decolonizing the African mind? There should be some degree of intellectual autarchy: The Soviet Union, China, Cuba have created leaders whose minds are not colonized. African countries may need to limit educational and cultural exchange with the west until they develop their mind to a degree that they can unabashedly and unapologetically defend their values and beliefs.
Leadership. The late Nigerian writer, Chinua Achebe in 1983 published a tiny book, “The Trouble with Nigeria” whose influence has grown over the years. In the book, Achebe boiled down Nigeria’s problem to one thing – leadership.
He wrote and I quote: “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership.”
This characterization applies to practically all of Africa, except perhaps the countries following the developmental state model where the leadership deficit is narrower.
Intriguingly, the leadership deficit was narrow in military-ruled African countries. Take Nigeria for example. Her military leaders were very focused on national development and nation-building.
Nigeria’s halcyon days were the years it was helmed by the military or a man with military background (Obasanjo 1999-2007). The military are trained to lead and succeed in wars. You cannot win a war with a bunch of cacophonous and unruly soldiers and officers. The general must have competent subordinates. Nigeria’s military rulers applied that concept in their administration of the country. Except for “civilian” Obasanjo 1999-2007, Nigeria’s military regimes were, on average more meritocratic than their successor democratic regimes. I am not, by making this observation, arguing for a return to military rule; I am only pointing out that Africa’s leadership problem is less acute, less debilitating, and more inspiring under military regimes (or quasimilitary regimes where the president is a former military person) than under democratic regimes.
Electrification of all of Africa. Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet state who wrote in his GOELRO Plan (the first of the Soviet Union’s plans) “Communism is Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country” for inspiration.
African countries should appropriate this slogan and write “The Transformation is fidelity to the rule of law plus the effective electrification of the whole of country.” The Soviets resolved then, at a time when conditions were very difficult for their country and people to “spare no effort and make all necessary sacrifices for the realization of the GOELRO Plan in Russia at all costs and in spite of all obstacles.” The science writer H.G Wells thought the plan to electrify the whole of Russia was a utopian dream.
He wrote: “Can one imagine a more courageous project in a vast land of forests and illiterate peasants with no water power, with no technical skills available, and with industry at the last gasp? I cannot see anything of the sort happening in this dark crystal of Russia, but this little man at the Kremlin can”. And so it came to pass.
Ethiopia appears to be following this policy. It is possible that Ethiopia’s late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, a voracious reader, and outstanding intellect, found in the Soviet experience, the inspiration to spare no effort in actualizing the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a project it was forced to finance largely through crowd-funding due to the reluctance (perhaps, refusal) of western financial institution to provide funding. This project, now 80% completed has given the Ethiopian Government the confidence to ban the importation of fossil fuel cars!
Electrify, electrify, electrify and everything else will follow.
Science, technology, and innovation: Getting the incentives right; emplacing the best IMF approved macro-economic framework; having a Williams College or Oxford or Lomonosov or Peking University or Harvard educated person as Finance or Planning Minister will not transform Africa. What Africa needs is unbridled, and outrageous investment in science, technology and innovation (STI). The experience of Russia, China, and many other countries illustrate how breakthroughs in science, technology and innovation can bring countries out of ruin and expand their possibilities.
Imagine for a moment what the fate of Russia would have been under current circumstances if it did not create a strong and independent STI base. Look at the Hermit Kingdom (North Korea). No one dares attack her because it has developed a scientific and technological base that has enabled it to become a nuclear power. Contrast Korea with Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon. Every country is as strong as it’s STI basis is relatively independent and strong.
Which is why I am shocked that many African intellectuals and academics are echoing the view out of Washington DC and Brussels that African countries have too many universities and should halt the building of new universities. No. Africa must build the engineering schools; must build the science schools; must build the technology schools; must build the science laboratories and research centres. Invest massively in research infrastructure.
There should be less talk about politics. We should reduce our love for democracy – the sort of transformative development that African countries need is impossible in an unbridled democracy; it is impossible without sacrifices, without a (hopingly) temporary worsening of the situation of the citizenry. Engineers and scientists should replace politicians, civil servants, garrulous and pompous lawyers, policy analysts/consultants, and intellectuals at public meetings where the will be given as much space as they need to explain to people the practical knots and bolts of what needs to be done and get it done.
Let us face and say the truth. With just 5 years to the end date of 2030, the SDGs cannot and will not be achieved not just by African countries but by a majority of countries in the Global South. I fail to understand why people are playing ostrich on this matter and are unwilling to accept or admit this reality. Why play ostrich? It may be better for African countries to focus on achieving the African Union’s Agenda 2063 instead of expending limited and scarce resources in a sprint to achieve the SDGs, with success highly unlikely. At least there is plenty of time to get it right on Agenda 2063.
Agenda 2063 assumes greater importance because there is a reasonable likelihood
that the US will not support a successor to the SDGs with Trump and his Republicans in charge in Washington DC.
Africa, if it needs to be rescued, will be rescued when her sons and daughters free themselves from intellectual slavery, when they stop trying to out-Milton Friedman Milton Friedman. Africa does not need to transform to achieve the SDGs (desirable though that objective is); it needs to transform to create a better life for her peoples; creating a better, more prosperous Africa is the debt Africa’s leaders, scientists, engineers, and thinkers owe to their people.