There is an ongoing discussion on the effectiveness of foreign aid
in helping the economic development of Africa. One thing is obvious: the
results are not exactly what Africa’s development partners have
expected, and the reasons are not far-fetched. Dambisa Moyo, global
economist and author, contends in her book Dead Aid that while
foreign aid that addresses humanitarian needs caused by drought and
conflict is helpful, most of the aid given to African countries is
rather harmful. The OECD provides comprehensive statistics
on the kinds and volume of aid received by the continent up until 2015.
Moyo lists the problems enhanced by aid to include corruption, civil
conflict, shrinking of the middle class, and the instilling of a culture
of dependency. All of these combine to make Africa unattractive to
global investors.
It has become obvious that it is politics that drives the economies
of nations. Acemoglu and Robinson assert in their seminal book Why Nations Fai’
that the major difference between developed countries and developing
countries is in their political evolution. Developed countries have
political and economic systems that are inclusive and offer
opportunities for most people to create wealth.
However, most developing economies have political and economic
systems that are extractive. Those in the ruling class have a strong
hold on political power, and use it to channel economic resources to
benefit themselves and those close to them. Foreign aid, when channelled
through such extractive systems, almost never reaches the most
vulnerable in society. We need to rethink the form of aid Africa needs
and the platforms for distributing or offering it.
Also, globalization is the reality of our day and age. There is
increasing economic, social, technical, cultural and political
interdependence between nations. People are more inter-connected now
than ever before. The availability of worldwide communication systems
through rapid improvements in communication technology and the internet
has led to more international trade and cultural exchange. But
globalization does not appear to be hastening Africa’s development. The
problem is also rooted in the political structure and the leadership
culture prevalent in Africa.
The problem is leadership
Some years ago, I had a discussion with Donald Duke, former
governor of Cross River State in Nigeria. I commended his vision for a
plan to attract large numbers of tourists from around the world,
impacting positively on the economy of the state and the nation. I
observed that a large number of leaders in Nigeria can’t envision
Nigeria as a developed nation, and talk more of mobilizing citizens to
actualize the vision. He replied with an illustration: Nigeria, he said,
is like an aircraft that is being flown by pilots that did not go to
flying school. He added that when the plane crashes, everyone blames the
pilot. The question therefore is: where are Africa’s leadership “flying
schools?” How and where do Africans acquire sophistication in the
leadership skills required to guide the continent into development?
The cultivation of leaders with exceptional character and skills is
critical to Africa’s development. Africa’s development partners should
recognize that it is too late to teach someone who occupies a high
position in government how to lead during side talks at global events.
They should also bear in mind that there has to be alignment between the
sense of identity of the leader and that of the followers for
leadership to work.
Incompetence in leadership in most African countries is not only
the problem of people who occupy positions in government; it is a
reflection of the leadership culture. We’ve had different leaders with
the same results for decades. The power distance that exists between
leaders in government and citizens is also reflected in organizations
and families. In such a structure, leaders don’t serve; they are served,
because occupying leadership positions make leaders superior and
unaccountable to the people they lead. Africa needs leadership
development systems, and it is incumbent on development partners and
global leaders to understand how cultural differences affect these.
Wanted: effective leadership development systems
Opportunities for developing leaders have never been greater in our increasingly complex world. Diagnosing leadership development needs, especially in Africa, requires an assessment of the entire leadership culture. For example, the GLOBE project, conceived of by Robert J. House of the Wharton Business School and conducted on organizations and middle-level managers around the world, describe countries in sub-Saharan Africa as scoring high in power distance and in-group collectivism, but low in performance orientation. Leaders do whatever it takes to produce results in such a leadership culture, and they usually position themselves and their cronies above the law. Most of the citizens have leadership potential, but several factors inhibit their leadership development, such as bad governance, poverty, corruption and religious bias. Most young people in Africa are hungry to learn and to realize their potential. They seek respected mentors and resources to help them navigate the complex life challenges they face. However, there is a dearth of institutions and curricula to help them realize such desires.
A broader view of leadership development provides insights into why
some initiatives are more successful than others at generating change
in individual behaviour. To have an impact, the capabilities being
developed in the individual need to mesh with the leadership culture in
which the leader is embedded. Most of the leadership development
curriculum developed in Western countries may not particularly address
individual situations, especially youth in developing parts of the
world, who have little education as a foundation, and who are distracted
by the struggle for survival occasioned by rampant poverty.
According to the GLOBE studies, emerging leaders in some developing
countries approach foreigners cautiously; that’s because they’re not
used to participative styles of leadership, and prefer bold, assertive
styles of leadership. The notion of fear is high due to the
conservativeness in the culture, and most people have not been trained
to be independent thinkers that are willing to step outside their
‘boxes’ unless directed to do so by leaders. They have developed a
learned state of helplessness, with the overwhelming feeling that they
cannot change their circumstances. The culture is permission seeking.
Unfortunately, the ruling class is not interested in granting permission
for the mass of the people to be admitted into its cadre. In such a
culture, the community dominates the individual, and women are hardly
empowered.
Change is possible
Africa’s large youth population presents a great opportunity to
influence the emergence of a new generation of leaders. The reality,
though, is that the elite class on the continent tends to appropriate
the existing curriculum for leadership development in expensive
executive education programmes in business schools, whose fees are
beyond the capabilities of the major part of the population. There is a
need to democratize the leadership development process in the developing
world. The high rate of infusion of mobile technology could be an
advantage. This will make formal and informal leadership development an
inclusive process that will reach people at all levels of society.
Have you read?
Africa needs cultural change agents that will leverage both
business and non-profit platforms to offer leadership development
training to a large proportion of the population. Such agents must have
experienced a change in their own mind-sets. Development partners around
the globe who genuinely seek Africa’s transformation should appreciate
that the extractive leadership structures in that part of the world will
not allow the intellectual, material and financial resources they
distribute to create any meaningful and lasting change on the continent.
They should cut down on the volume of financial aid, while partnering
with cultural change agents who are democratizing the development of
leaders at all levels, enhancing the evolution of inclusive political
and economic structures.
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