Presidents in designer suits, citizens in rags

"Unless Africans from all levels of society recognize and embrace the challenge of leadership, Africa will not move forward…Leadership is not simply a matter of filling the top positions in a government, institution, or private business. Indeed, not every person in a leadership position is truly a leader"[1] .

"Perspectives on political leadership in Africa vary from the ‘criminalisation’ of the state to political leadership as ‘dispensing patrimony’, the ‘recycling’ of elites and the use of state power and resources to consolidate political and economic power. [..."> African leaders rule failed states that have acquired tags such as ‘corruptocracies’, ‘chaosocracies’ and ‘terrorocracies.’"[2]

One thing that strikes whenever armed conflicts erupt in the Great Lakes Region (GLR) and the whole of Africa is the leadership crisis and struggle for power. What is happening in Burundi is not about president Nkuruziza maintaining power, but about the current crisis of leadership in Africa. This crisis is the root cause of the ongoing wars and conflicts in the region, and until addressed, peace and stability will remain elusive. In 1992, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda published, What is Africa’s problem? In chapter two, he highlights the ‘price of bad leadership’, which indicates that it is indeed the leadership crisis that is Africa’s problem. Who pays the price? When nations experience armed conflicts and wars, external efforts in peacebuilding rely on quick fixes such as signing peace accords; peacekeeping; rapid ‘democratic’ elections and/or power sharing; demilitarization, disarmament and reintegration; strengthening government institutions and markets. Little or no attention is given to the leadership crisis and the need to train leaders who respect the dignity and rights of others; whose goal is the betterment of all people and not personal aggrandizement, the interests of their cronies, or their ethnic group.

Equally, little or no effort is invested in ensuring integral development that includes healing the human heart or memory from the legacies of war. Witnessing the atrocities of war leaves an inerasable scar in the mind and heart of a person, and potentially to hardens the heart towards suffering. When this happens, the risk for further atrocities increases. Witnessing ones family being killed, being raped, jumping dead bodies while escaping the war, or being forced to kill, which is the case of many child soldiers, kills the soul. The end of war/armed conflict leaves individuals and societies ravaged. War affects real people. The gravity of the conflict is measured in terms of number. It is hardly remembered that behind every number is human life. The experience of war is hardly understood by someone who has never witnessed one.

THE CONFLICT TRAP IN THE GLR

The GLR has known war, is devastated more than the rest of Africa, and continues to feed the war industry while its citizens languish in poverty. Burundi, one of the world’s poorest nations, which according to the 2013 Global Human Development Index ranked 180 out of 187 countries, became famous because of the ethnic wars that have recurred since 1961 to the present. In the ethnic violence of 1972, thousands of lives were lost, while others went into exile. In1993, the Hutu-Tutsi protracted animosity saw the first democratically elected president Melchior Ndadaye assassinated and many people were killed, while many more sought refuge in other nations. In 1994, Cyprien Ntaryamira was also killed in a plane crash alongside the Rwandan president. The present power struggle may soon be ethnicized. It is a phenomenon common in Africa that indigenous elites politicize ethnicity for their personal interest. When will civilians learn that when the elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers? It baffles human understanding to note that as far as the presidential term limit is concerned, the national constitution holds only during the years prior to the election year. When their term is ending, presidents use dubious means to alter the constitution to maintain their power. Bribing parliamentarians and killing civilians are common, albeit unacceptable, strategies used by these leaders. If the leader does not respect the constitution, how can he or she be expected to rule a country respecting the rules of law, justice, and accountability? It then becomes questionable whether African rulers are ‘Presidents, Patrons or Profiteers?’[3]

Since 1885 when King Leopold II controlled Congo as his personal property, authoritarianism, terror, violence, exploitation and slavery have marked Congo’s history. During his reign, more than 10 million people died and countless women were raped. These atrocities continue but sadly the present day perpetrators are local African leaders, rebel groups, and governments of the neighbouring countries. Recent wars and conflicts (those since 1997) in the Congo have resulted not only in the rape of bodies and resources, but of the nation itself. More than 6 million people have died and it is estimated that 45,000 die monthly; thousands are raped while children and youth do not escape being recruited as child soldiers, porters and sex slaves. The suffering that the Congolese people experience, especially in the eastern part which is rich with minerals and other natural resources, is unimaginable. Congo is ranked among the poorest and most underdeveloped countries, yet it has the potential to become both an African and global power engine. The leadership crisis has weakened the Congolese state and its institutions, allowing the plundering of its resources and these atrocities to go on – so far, for 130 years.

In 1994 when the Rwandan genocide claimed more than 800,000 lives, power was a denominating factor disguised beneath ethnic polarization. President Kagame has been in power since 1994. As is the trend, the elections exposed the worst of African leaders. Prior to the 2010 presidential elections, opposition leaders, journalists, and dissident military officers were jailed. Jean-Leonard Rugambage, a journalist who criticized the pre-election crackdown, was assassinated in front of his house. Other opponents went into exile. Such a dictatorial and violent political machine implicitly forces civilians to dance and to smile even when they would have done otherwise. According to Reyntjens, stability and peace in the GLR is threatened by Rwanda, and by turning a blind eye to her “hegemonic claim in eastern Congo, the future stability of the region remains in doubt. Rwanda may once again, in the not too distant future, become the focal point of regional violence.”

Uganda, which became so famous during Idi Amin’s brutal rule, has experienced more than ten civil wars. The recent civil wars include conflict between the Lord’s Resistance Army, led by Joseph Kony, and the Ugandan government (1987-2007) during which around 100,000 people were killed, 2 million displaced and 70,000 children and youth abducted and forced to become soldiers, porters, or sex slaves. Kony is still at large. Before president Museveni came to power, he waged a bush war (1980-1986) that left thousands dead, especially in the Luwero triangle.

Kenya was stable until 2007, when a power struggle and manipulation of ethnic differences led to the post-election violence that claimed over 1000 lives, and about left 600,000 displaced. Tanzania remains the only country in the region that has not yet experienced a civil war. In all these nations, even where there are no outright gun exchanges, inequality and structural injustices abound; a general malaise best illustrated by the Animal Farm quote: ‘All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.’

The region is trapped in wars because power is constantly pursued by those who would acquire the role of a political leader, even when they donot have leadership qualities. In 1918, Max Weber pointed out that politics should be a vocation. I fear that the prevailing trend of viewing politics as a business for personal aggrandizement has blinded us to the idea of politics as a vocation, to the role of power in politics, and subsequently to the essential role of leadership. Leadership and power are key issues that the region must grapple with. It is crucial to address the root causes and not just the symptoms. Thus the key issue in Burundi is not about having president Nkunziza in or out of power, or ethnic differences; rather, it is about addressing the systems of power and leadership. It is a common phenomenon that before a leader comes to power they promise heaven, only to turn out as tyrants, profiteers, and power thirsty plunderers of their nations. Watching Burundians escaping for their lives, one is taken aback by the impoverishment manifest in their bodies, and the poverty levels gauged by what they wear and carry. Yet the leaders are in suits, and driven in posh cars and planes. This phenomenon is not alien to other nations in the region. What type of leadership is this? We are faced with a high level of moral decadency where people with blood on their hands, those who empty national coffers, and use national resources for personal aggrandizement, hold leadership positions.

LEGACIES OF WAR

Another underestimated issue in peacebuilding efforts is the inerasable mark left by taking part in war, as a perpetrator or witness of war atrocities. In post conflict societies, efforts are normally put on political-structural reconstruction and rarely on rehabilitating people. Armed conflicts affect the human psyche enormously. Those who witnessed the Rwandan genocide bear it out in books such as ‘Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda’ by Romeo Dallaire, and ‘We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda’ by Philip Gourevitch. The movie ‘American Sniper’ illustrates a soldier’s experience of Post Traumatic Disorder (PSTD). If solders experience PSTD, what of the civilians who witness war atrocities? What about former child soldiers, children (and now adults) who have witnessed their parents hacked to pieces? In the GLR there are villages full of the skulls, mass graves, and bones that are found in forests, farms and bushes. How do the residues of incessant wars affect civilians? Could it be a contributing factor to the protracted conflicts, that people are becoming immune to violence? How can people be healed from what they have witnessed?

The long-term impact of war is unimaginable and it carries on for generations. A child born to a woman who was raped during war remains a legacy of war to the mother, to him or herself, and to the entire society. Rape exposes the vulnerability of a society. They live with that legacy all the way through life. The soldiers who kill will hardly have peace. They suffer from PTSD which affects them, their families and their entire society. People who are witness to the atrocities of war are susceptible to trauma. The psychological trauma of people affected by war is not often talked about, documented or tackled in efforts towards post-conflict social reconstruction. If the wars in the region have lasted for over 130 years, or happened after independence, then generations of civilians who have either witnessed or are directly or indirectly traumatized by war are the majority. This is a legacy to society, with the potential to engulf societies and the entire region in further conflicts. The GLR remains a ticking time bomb unless measures are devised to heal societies. We are liable to see more wars. Any leader who encourages any form of violence is destroying societies, and poses grave dangers.

BREAKING THE CONFLICT TRAP & BUILDING SECURE SOCIETIES: THE WAY FORWARD

Leadership training, especially of the young, and education for peace and conflict resolution in order to establish a culture of peace must become major components of the education curricula. The young need to de-learn violence and relearn respect and love for the dignity of the human person. They need to know from an early age that gun culture destroys us, and is liable to make African nations poorer, if not creating more villages of skulls.

Leaders in the GLR need to follow the rule of law and be accountable to the people. The onus is also on the African Union to organize leadership training for African leaders. It is only by strengthening leadership that Africa will develop. With the current leadership crisis, the region is enriching war industries in the developed nations while impoverishing and killing innocent civilians.

It is also crucial to revisit the outlook on politics and power. African politics should not be perceived as a source of personal enrichment, but as a service for the common good. The rule of law must be upheld at all costs, including presidential term limits. No one must be above the law. The judiciary should be impartial and not controlled by the executive.

The minds of leaders - especially those with military backgrounds (as held by four heads of state in the GLR) - need to be demilitarized. The region needs peaceful leadership, and not war constructors. Peacebuilding efforts need to integrate healing for those who have witnessed war atrocities.

Faced by all the protracted conflicts and endemic violence in the region, it is crucial to extend the analysis, establish the root causes, and treat not only the symptoms but the cause. In the final analysis, without discrediting the role of the international community, solutions to the region’s wars and instability lie in internal transformation, and not in externally devised solutions.

* Namakula E. Mayanja is Ph D candidate, University of Manitoba, Canada.

END NOTES
[1] Maathai, Wangari (2009) The challenge for Africa. New York: Pantheon Books. P. 111
[2] Van Wyk, Jo-Ansie (2007) Political Leaders in Africa: presidents, patrons or profiteers? ACCORD P. 3
[3] Ibid.
[4] Reyntjens, Filip (2009) The great African war : Congo and regional geopolitics, 1996-2006. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press, p. 286.

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