The nearly universal acceptance of democracy as a perfect organizing principle of government among nation states across the world has led to the embrace of this concept both in theory and practice by all and sundry.
History has it that democracy originated in ancient Greece and since then, it has undergone several modifications, from “direct” democracy, where the people directly involved with governance to “indirect” democracy where people elect those to govern on their behalf. The centrality and importance which democracy places on the ordinary people, as reflected in the freedom of the people to freely choose those to govern them either through direct voting or indirect voting has further led to the popularity of democracy particularly since the end of the cold war which led to the balkanization of the former soviet union.
Much as democracy has continued to triumph in different parts of the globe, the history of democracy in the African continent right from the 1960’s when most African nations gained independence till this present moment leaves much to be desired. It may be an understatement to say that democracy in Africa has witnessed much travail. Except for a few exceptional cases, the story in most parts of Africa has been similar. Is it the Zimbabwean experience, or the Ivorian case, or the recent post election violence in Nigeria, the Libyan debacle, the Somalian state of anomie, the Ugandan saga and so on. The list seem quit endless.
The question to be asked is why does democracy flourish in other parts of the world but doesn’t in Africa? A cursory look at the places where democracy is fully operational in the real sense of the word particularly in Europe, America and parts of Asia reveals that the critical “middle class” [ie a class of people with adequate education, and sufficient economic power] exists. In most of these places, it is the middle class that sets the tone for political activities as they are fully aware of their rights, obligations, problems and limitations. They are also fully aware and conscious of ways in which these micro problems [personal] and macro [national] problems could be solved. Hence this critical mass of people provides an essential bulwark between the minority upper class people and majority lower class people.
It is this essential economic group of middle class citizens that have been wiped out of most countries in Africa where democracy has been transmogrified or stifled. If democracy in its true form is to thrive in Africa, it is essential that the middle class is brought back. It is also noteworthy to point out that the extinction of the middle class in most parts of Africa has been a deliberate effort by most leaders in Africa who got to power through the democratic process, and thereafter proceeded to destroy the foundations of the democratic lever through which they came to power in order to tighten their grip on power.
A second imperative for the survival of democracy in Africa is for African scholars and political theorists to begin to develop indigenous political thoughts and theories that will seek to integrate traditional African leadership systems and norms with popular democratic culture. As we cannot continue to deny that democracy still remains essentially a Western concept and not an indigenous system. This has been successfully done in most parts of Asia; hence it is not surprising that some countries in that part of the world continue to bask in the euphoria as the “largest democracies in the world”.
In conclusion, for democracy to survive in Africa, there must be a concerted effort on the part of its intelligentsia, political elites, intellectuals, traditional institutions and masses to work selflessly together in order to enthrone an enduring democratic culture upon which democracy can grow.
different governing systems work for different cultures. It is important for african intellectuals and political scientist to brainstorm and define what is really best for continent, instead of trying to model everything after the west