One of my favourite books of 2024 was “Purposeful Leadership for Africa in the 21st Century: Where It Was, Where It Is, Where It Needs to Be” by Prof. Lumkile Wiseman Nkuhlu, published by Tracey McDonald Publishers, 2024.
In the book, he explores Africa’s pre-colonial political and governance systems, such as the kingdom of Axum of Ethiopia, the Kingdom of Benin, the Oyo Empire, the Asante Empire, the Rozvi State, and many others. he also focuses on the impacts of colonialism on Africa’s pre-colonial governance and political systems, and how these impacts have led Africa to where it is today. He notes that Africa is not the only colonized continent, citing Asia as an example. Yet Asia embraced technological advancement and industrialisation, lifting a significant population out of poverty, something Africa has failed to do post-independence. One of the factors that enabled Asian countries to industrialise is that they took best practices from the West, and integrated them with their own cultures and traditions, which gave them unique and locally engineered political and governance systems. A critical factor in this has been the quality of leadership and how attuned it is to the needs of the citizens.
Here are my key takeaways from the book:
1. Discovery of Ignorance: How the “discovery of ignorance” was critical in propelling the Western world into exploration, science, technology, industrialisation, and developing new knowledge through research. This was based on accepting that they did not know everything they needed to know to progress. This is a foundational factor that African leaders need to accept leapfrogging and catching up with the rest of the developed world. History and politics are not enough. There is a need to increase investments in science and research.
2. Impact of Christianity: The introduction of Christianity had both positive and negative impacts. The most positive was its advocacy for the end of slavery, and the spread of education. The long-lasting negative impact of missionaries’ work in Africa was the demonisation of African cultures which were viewed as inconsistent with Christianity.
3. Lessons from other colonised regions: Continents like Asia were also colonised. Still, they managed to extricate themselves from the colonial effects in ways that Africa failed to, especially by embracing industrialisation and the use of science and technology, coupled with a “purposeful, competent, and trustworthy leadership.”
4. On Governance: Unlike Africa, Asian countries’ governance architectures successfully integrated their traditions, indigenous cultural practices and beliefs. Africa has adopted a wholistically Western model of governance, which has alienated the elite from the majority of citizens.
5. On leadership: There is a need for leadership that focuses on improving the quality of life of the people. Referring to China’s leadership, he says: “They are deeply rooted in the Chinese tradition of appreciating that legitimacy comes from the success of the leader in bringing about improvements in the living conditions of the people.” The statistics on people lifted out of poverty speak for themselves.
6. Living with the wounds: Africa has suffered many historical and current injustices-economic, social, and political which still need to be fought. However, Africans should not let the past derail their fight for a better future. African leaders and their citizens should take responsibility and accountability for developing the continent and meeting the aspirations of all Africans.
7. Developing a Purposeful Strategy for Economic Transformation: Even though Agenda 2063 exists at the continental level, there is also a need to develop and implement medium to long-term national development plans that will lead to economic transformation.
9: Key leadership traits: In order for Africa to claim the 21st century: Of all the leadership characteristics highlighted for Africa, “Personal Mastery” is my favourite. The others include: having a scientific mindset; the ability to implement an identified vision; leading by exemplary leadership; consciousness of the threats of recolonisation and abuse; and re-engaging with the continent’s Renaissance agenda.
10: The South African Example: South Africa was the last country to gain independence from apartheid and colonialism in 1994. Before 1994, the South African leadership had ample opportunity to learn from the failures of the rest of Africa. The current South African situation demonstrates how the country missed the opportunity to be “exceptional” to the rest of Africa’s development experience post-independence.
There is a lot to learn from this book. I recommend the book to all those interested in Africa’s past, current, and future development trajectory.