This article traces the triumphant,
treacherous and turbulent tale of leadership in Africa through centuries past
to the present day and creates a foundation for the development of leaders and
the practice of leadership into the 21st Century.
For a
thousand years Africa existed in harmony with the rest of the Earth. Each
continent content in relative isolation managed its own affairs as best as each
knew how. Africa was a kingdom of communities where culture was the instrument
of government and goevrnance. Village setups provided essential infrastructure
for social organization. Communities were bound and bonded by common heritage,
history and homage. In these circumstances leadership facilitated the common
good and regulated social interaction, justice and peace managed through
communal objectives, events and activities. Though survival may have been an
occupying engagement there is plenty of evidence to show that industry, mathematics,
architecture, enterprise, education and innovation were not neglected.
Africa
was first a nation of communities and it would take another thousand years to
make the transition to a community of nations. In the beginning the intricate
web of race, relatives & respect made up the core of social order and
organization. Strong community bonds ensured that interaction between
communities was minimal, as kingdoms remained essentially ethnic. Though
leaders in each community were chosen by different systems, leadership remained
a social function. In a closed cultural system there is a practical and direct relationship
between age, experience and therefore wisdom. Leadership was a developmental
function often marked by initiation or certification rites and graduation
through social ranks. However, while culture thrives in isolation it becomes
open to question when compared to other cultures or is removed from its “home”
context.
What
is not commonly appreciated is that culture is a creation and tool of
leadership. It is a condition of organization that can be addressed. It can be
both learned and communicated. It is not a permanent feature of people and
organization it is a created or formed element of organization. It can
therefore be influenced and directed by leadership.
SECOND
MILLENIUM
All
this was to change forever at the turn of the first millennium. Three
intrusions would distort the face of Africa and disperse the kingdoms therein:
Slave Trade, Global religions and Colonialism. In between would flow the exploitative
trader. Africa was dragged into the global arena through the humiliating door of
slavery. This trade de-capacitated leadership development across the continent
and exported its leadership potential. The capacity to organize the kind of
resistance necessary to put an end to this evil was disjointed. As slave trade
in earnest was winding up leadership in Africa was sent reeling from the
effects of global religious campaigns that swept and crept across the North, East
and Southern mainland. Before leadership in Africa could prepare a frame of
reference to address this new incursion in came the colonialists who formalized
their stay by carving out geographical boundaries to bring multiple indigenous communities
under one government for the first time in history.
1900…the turning point
The
turn of the 19th century marked an intensification of leadership
activity in Africa. Leadership in Africa had now come into contact with the
wider world and was now facing a dilemma as to how to associate with it. The
fact that Africa suffered perhaps irreparably from its misadventure on the
world stage up until 1900 is recorded history. The leadership loss incurred
through the slave trade may never be quantified; neither will the cost of
setbacks to the preparation of Africa to participate effectively in world
affairs ever be determined. One could say that this misadventure continued well
into the 20th century. However, this was to be so with some major
differences.
Much
as the slave trade threw leadership out of its cultural cocoons, it also opened
leadership’s eyes to its neighbors and friends. The carving up of Africa
introduced the continent to matters of globalization, governance,
administration corporate institutions and bureaucracy. Kingdoms began to
establish networks, communication structures and cooperation strategies.
Leadership in Africa moved from isolation to consolidation of its capacity. The
seeds of national leadership were planted in association, cooperation,
education and organization. Leadership in Africa began to use informal order to
organize resistance and outright rebellion with rising success. During this
time leadership in Africa entered a period of intense development on a scale
not witnessed before outside the cultural context. Politics presented the
platform for new leadership in Africa.
Many of
these movements were led by the formally educated in society at the time. This
is probably why later leadership in Africa was strongly associated with formal
education. It was believed that education would empower one to understand the
colonial structures and systems and return power to the people. The goal was
therefore to take over the existing administration. This could be achieved
through a popular informal movement disrupting colonial governance. And so
Africa launched its first corporate effort to self-determination under the
banner of political leadership. Political leaders harnessed the support of
people power, available in ethnic blocks, into the freedom struggle. They took
power from the colonialist who had so far succeeded in keeping them divided.
This strategy much as it was successful in deposing the colonialist has cost
Africa dearly in nationhood - the ghost of ethnicity refused to go away.
Political
leadership is still considered as leadership in many different spheres of
Africa’s existence today. Politics pervades leadership in business, social
life, science, education almost everything is politicized where leadership is
required. But leadership is not politics and politics is not leadership.
Leadership influences the quality of politics. In fact leadership influences
the quality of any endeavor. Events of the last 50 years have shown that though
politics is a powerful force in informal organization, it is often inadequate
to drive development in formal environments. Africa needs to develop other
forms of leadership to drive its development agenda in the 21st
century. Institutional leaders need to be visionary and transformational change
agents who give balance, support and substructure to development and growth
initiatives across the continent. Nonetheless leaders also need to learn how to
manage the new forms of institutions that regulate social interaction outside
cultural frames such as schools, banks and business institutions that provide
social services at a fee. The social template of mass education (schools,
universities); mass healing (hospitals); mass money lenders (banks) … are all
foreign. Thus leadership in Africa did not go through a ‘natural’ transformation
process to prepare them to handle leadership of modern social institutions.
LEADERSHIP IN AFRICA
Leadership
development in Africa was a corporate social responsibility. While social leadership
positions existed leadership was a social duty. In other words Leadership is
the sum total shared responsibility of all those in authority and control of
institutional resources or charged with organizational responsibility to
achieve corporate goals. A group of people beyond an individual leader was charged
with leadership responsibility. This approach to leadership extends the
responsibility of achievement beyond the leader to the team. Alongside the
modern requirements of vision, teamwork and technical competencies this
approach needs two important ingredients to success; EXPRESSION and
PARTICIPATION. These two ingredients draw on the strength of engagement and irrepressible
spirit of the people to participate in social and economic affairs. Leaders in
the 21st century will need to use more inclusive strategies to
harness this vibrant social energy.
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