Redefining Africa's Liberation in the 21st Century: Breaking with DRC's Mobutuism and its Breed

by Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor

One of the fundamental problems of the Democratic Republic of Congo, like other African states, is the lack of responsible and responsive leadership. And it is quite depressing that while most leaders in other continents are preoccupied with how to improve the quality of life of their citizens by harnessing science, technology, innovation, information, and by developing human potentials, some African leaders continue to put their countries on the retrogressive pathway of conflict, tyranny, corruption, and political barbarism that have done nothing than dehumanize helpless Africans.

We need to make a break with this leadership style. But an understanding of the origin of the present African leadership paradigm is necessary if we are to make an efficacious break. The post colonial African political system and the leaders were not meant to serve Africans. The colonial and post colonial events that preceded the 1994 Rwanda genocide (as documented in Philip Gourevitch's book: "We Wish to inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families") speak volume about this.

In fact, the Congo is a classical example of this problem. The groundwork of the current Congolese leadership paradigm was laid by King Leopold II, who owned and ruled the Congo as a personal property from the late 19th century until his death in 1906. As recounted in Adam Hochschild's book: "King Leopold's Ghost," King Leopold II of Belgium disregarded the humanity of his Congolese subjects. He terrorized and killed 10 million of them, conscripted Africans into his Force Publique, which employed militarization, rape, masculinity, and barbarism to subdue and exploit Congolese and their natural resources. After the death of Leopold in 1906, Congo became a colony of Belgium. It was business as usual - King Leopold’s savage leadership style was still operational in the Congo.

Before independence in 1960, Belgium had trained what could be referred to as black Leopolds to protect their (Belgian and Western) interests in the Congo and replicate the Leopold pattern in post colonial Congo (then known as Zaire). When Patrice Lumumba made an attempt to break with the Leopold paradigm, his assassination was orchestrated.... And eventually, a black Leopold, Mobutu Sese Seko, became the president of the country. Mobutu further entrenched Leopoldism in the Congo during his over three decades of leadership. In fact his African version of Leopoldism became known as Mobutuism, whose elements include political savagery and totalitarianism, militarism, kleptocracy and corruption, economic pillaging, disregard for and the dehumanization of Congolese, and a mentality of deformed masculinity. The overthrow of Mobutu in 1997 did not end the leadership crisis in the rich Great Lakes country of the Congo. The centuries of Leopoldism combined with decades of Mobutuism continues to be a set back for the Congo. Leopoldism and Mobutuism are the reference points for the current Congolese leadership, which has employed similar apparatus of governance as its predecessors.

However, we cannot continue to dwell on the past while others are moving forward. We need to make a break. The political liberation of Africans in the 20th century, albeit its merits, has not liberated Africans in real 21st century terms. We need to redefine Africa's liberation in the 21st century, and this task cannot be left for the same leaders who use the rhetoric of liberation and ati-imperialism to dehumanize and kill Africans and mortgage the future of our continent. For example, if a leader like Robert Mugabe still proclaims himself a liberator while committing crimes against humanity and destroying the future of unborn Zimbabweans, then there is a problem with the conceptualization of liberation in Africa in this century (see Horace Campbell's "Reclaiming Zimbabwe: The Exhaustion of the Patriarchal Model of Liberation").

We need a different mindset and a new thinking to redefine leadership and liberation in Africa if the continent is to move forward. If there will be lasting peace and progress in the Congo, the Great Lakes region of Africa (which includes the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda) as well as in Africa as a whole, a new generation of African leaders will have to take the lead. These leaders will need to reconceptualize leadership and liberation. They should be ready to use a difference reference point than that established by the colonial state for the governance of Africans. Given the current state of affairs in Africa, such a leadership paradigm seems too idealistic. Obviously, we are not going to do this overnight. But if we can conceptualize the kind of Africa we would like to leave for our children and children's children; if we can connect like minds of young Africans, build a strategic framework and a strong movement, and harness the power of the Information Age, then we may be able to make a break with Africa’s acute leadership crisis.

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Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor is a student of International Relations. He is a Public Policy and International Affairs Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University. He could be reached at aiwudaho@gmail.com.

Engaging Africa beyond Disaster Pornography, Humanitarianism, and Afro-Pessimism

by Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor

A young girl was walking along a beach. To her amazement she came upon thousands of starfish. Washed ashore by a storm, they were dying in the sun. The girl began to toss starfish back into the sea, one by one. After a while, a man approached her. 'Little girl,' he asked, 'why are you doing this? There are thousands of starfish on the beach. You cannot possibly hope to make a difference!' The girl was discouraged…. But moments later, she bent down, picked up the starfish again and tossed it as far as she could into the sea. She turned back to the man. Smiling brightly, she said, 'I made a difference to that one!' Inspired, he joined her. A crowd gathered, and soon others joined in. Before long, there were hundreds of people tossing starfish Back into the sea and calling out, 'I made a difference to that one!' After a while, their calls subsided. The girl looked up, and to her amazement, she saw no starfish on the beach. Each one had been tossed back into the sea. *

Many people around the world see Africa through the lens of disaster pornography. Disaster pornography refers to the foreign media coverage, in Africa, of mainly disastrous incidents such as conflicts, wars, poverty, disease, political corruption/poor governance and underdevelopment. It is true that there are myriads of problems in Africa, but that is not all about the continent. Disaster pornography hardly shows the opportunities that exist and efforts that are being made on the continent to confront the root causes of Africa’s challenges. Responses to disaster pornography produce and perpetuate two major notions about Africa. First, there is the portrayal of Africa as an object of global humanitarianism. Second, there is a feeling of Afro-pessimism, which is related to the idea that nothing good can come out of Africa. As a counter to these notions, there is an understanding among some people, albeit few and unpopular, that in the midst of the challenges, there are realistic opportunities to sincerely engage Africa and its peoples for a continent-wide reconstruction and transformation. The question is: how do we strengthen the latter view and translate it into action for Africa’s rebirth in the 21st century?

To solve a problem, there has to be a considerable understanding of its primary causes and its manifestations. There also has to be knowledge of potentially workable options available. Disaster pornography bombards people with the raw manifestations of Africa’s problems, but leaves them in the dark about the root causes of the problems and credible options available for solving them. Consequently, many people join the bandwagon of those who want to “save Africa” through humanitarianism. Hence there is a deviation or rather distraction from the goal of attending to the underlying causes of the problems.

Predominantly, humanitarianism for Africa is like an industry of its own, an industry that has to stay in business. Most often than not, those in the African humanitarian industry work for their own interest, and even end up, through deliberate or indirect means, perpetuating the disastrous political and economic situation which they were supposed to alleviate. They prey on Africa’s problems for their own selfish ends (see The Road to Hell by Michael Maren). In this cycle, they are complicit in the perpetuation of disaster pornography because to gain empathy and raise funds, they have to portray the continent or their areas of operation in the bleakest light and make the case that their solutions are the way out, thus diverting popular attention from other options that could attend to the root causes of the problems. (However, I would like to acknowledge the fact that though few, there are some humanitarian organizations that are exceptions to this norm).

Another aspect of the notion of helping Africa is aid from multilateral institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This aspect deserves a separate analysis. But I would like to quickly add here that, as already observed by former insiders of these institutions, including the former director of World Bank, Joseph Stiglitz (see Globalization and its Discontents), aid and solutions from multilateral institutions have not been effective at solving the problems chiefly because they were not designed to do so. They have been designed to serve the interests of the donors and control Africa through the imposition of neo-imperialistic conditionality.

The monumental outlook of Africa’s political and socio-economic problems combined with the failure of the pseudo-solution of humanitarianism, among others, have made many to give up on the continent, believing that nothing good can come out of the “Dark Continent.” There are many implications of this view. First, those that belong to this school of thought knowingly or unknowingly internalize the view that has for more than five centuries portrayed the black personhood in terms of biological determinism. Biological determinism (in this context) is related to the idea that black people are innately intellectually inferior, anthropologically backward, and incapable of producing a harmonious and prosperous society. Unfortunately, this was the same ideology employed by the imperialist to morally and intellectually justify the reduction of the black person to sub-humans during such eras of exploitation and dehumanization as slavery, imperialism/colonialism, and apartheid. Many of Africa’s present problems have their roots in these eras and in the stranglehold of neo-imperialism. I make this assertion without, however, downplaying the fact that Africa’s leaders have also contributed to the woes of the continent. Essentially, by giving up on Africa, Afro-pessimists implicitly subscribe to the notion that Africans are incapable of making a break with the present forms of dehumanization that confront them.

One thing that must be made clear to the Afro-pessimist is that, since Africa’s problems accumulated over centuries, we cannot solve them overnight by mere act of humanitarianism. We must look beyond disaster pornography and this placebo called humanitarianism. There must be a sincere intention for sustained engagement to reconstruct the continent. And in this process, we must confront the internal leadership problems in Africa, as well as challenge current realities of globalization which make it increasingly difficult for Africa to solve its problems. We must look into Africa for opportunities and thriving initiatives. We also have to engage with civil society/grassroots and women and youth organizations. We cannot ignore a serious engagement with the governments to ensure that their citizens are empowered to claim ownership of governance. We must devise a strategy to confront leaders who oppress and dehumanize their citizens while hiding under the cloak of fighting neo-imperialism.

The problems are monumental, and yet must be solved. To confront them, we must understand them. Then we must have a strategic plan, a vision, and the resolve/will power like the young girl in the excerpt at opening of this essay. We must engage, engage, and engage the problems until we succeed.

*The short story in italics is an excerpt from Beverly Daniel Tatum’s Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?

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Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor is a student of International Relations. He is a Public Policy and International Affairs Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University. He could be reached at aiwudaho@gmail.com.

A Time to Dream. A Time to Act

We live in confusing times. Raging wars, corruption and greed, economic crises and yet there is an air of optimism, stirred by the ability of the human mind to reach for hope that outweighs even the direst of circumstances.

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January 20th, 2009 marked the beginning of something new and something different. The election of the first African American president of the United States. I remember back home in discussions with friends, commenting on how, yeah this would eventually happen, however not in our lifetime. But as man proposes and God disposes; it will be said about this time we live in that people gathered together, whether in the streets of Washington, around projectors in city centers and on college campuses or simply in front of their TVs at home all around the globe to share a moment. A moment that inspired a generation.
Sadly, I could not be in D.C. and envy those who could. I found myself walking around campus with a calm euphoria after the inaugural address. There was a silent energy around and curious smiles on faces of people who walked by. This euphoria is transient, it will blow over like all other such feelings; what must remain however is the resolution we each came to within that period of elation.

And so it is that finally, we witnessed the fulfillment of the dreams of Martin Luther King Jr. who in August 1963 rendered the scenery on which the portrait Obama’s presidency has now been painted. His story is not an inspiration to Americans alone, but to anyone on the face of the globe who dares to dream beyond their circumstances.

I recall a sentiment that proposed we as individuals need not dream of things too out of the ordinary. I differ from such a sentiment. Dream as far as your minds will carry you, but dream within the confines of what is achievable. As the words of Kipling state “Let not dreams be thy master.” Hence we must act, and there is no better or more opportune time than now.

Without getting too carried away by all the buzz, it was important to take away a message from the address. In this almost twenty minute address, Obama was able to touch on those things that mattered most in the world we live in today. He mentioned the problems of energy, the economy and addressed world leaders, urging them build up their nations rather than destroy. His address also exhibits a willingness to talk with and not talk to heads of other nations. This extends to leaders of Muslim nations to whom he expresses his resolve to forge a new relationship based on ‘mutual respect and mutual interest.’ A statement he has followed up with by granting his first interview as president to Muslim news channel al-Arabiya. Watch Interview

Also highly significant in Obama's speech was his note on service. He highlights the courage of servicemen and women in different parts of the world, and uses it as a symbol to exemplify the ‘spirit of service’ that must ‘now inhabit us all’.

As Dr. King stated “ an individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of humanity." Hence, it is our duty; to see beyond our personal concerns, to build something of benefit for those less opportune as well as a sustainable legacy for those that follow.

Granted Obama faces a daunting task, especially as his task is focused on humanity. The question however, is not whether he can execute the duties of his office unscathed by the criticisms of the ‘cynics’, but how he will rise above those moments and focus his attention on the things that matter without feeding the flames of negativity and how we as individuals and as groups work to make this possible. A chance, better still an opportunity, now presents itself for us to rally ourselves around the ideals of service. Whilst we dream of a better future, we must begin the process now of acting not only towards achieving our personal goals but as King notes, addressing the concerns of humanity.

This we can achieve individually as well as collectively. With this unified energy, great things are bound to happen. And so, while going about the daily routines of our lives, let us collectively engage in service initiatives that alleviate the conditions of those who may not be as fortunate as we are. For such things there is a reward, the best of which is intangible.