Mogae instructs Africa on how to get it right

HENRY CHUKWURAH | Tuesday February 22, 2011 00:00

 

Speaking as guest lecturer at the memorial lecture of Professor Claude Ake, the former president, in his paper, entitled, 'Doom to Boom: Re-engineering the Political Economy of Rivers State for Citizens Prosperity: Lessons from Botswana, bemoaned 'the high level of corruption', which he saw as 'the biggest challenge confronting African development.'

Mogae said those seeking to lead nations of the continent, including Nigeria, should be driven by 'a burning desire' to enhance the collective good.

He said; 'Participation in politics must be driven by a burning desire to contribute to change and a leadership that is transformational in intent.

'We need strong democratic institutions, which cannot be violated by rulers; strong and legitimate constitutions with entrenched provisions that can only be amended with the participation of people through referenda.'

Mogae noted that 'People want rulers who uphold the rule of law; who adhere to legitimate constitutions; who respect and promote broad based participation of the people in the way they are governed. 'We may not be there yet, but that should be our ultimate goal. We must learn to appreciate that part of the rights we canvass is the right to lawful dissent.

'An important indicator of a vibrant democracy is an existence of opposition groups and civil society. We must tolerate critical and divergent views.'

Speaking on the failure of past African governments to lead their people to prosperity, given the abundant natural resources, the former president predicted that by 2015, 13 percent of global oil production would take place in the continent, 'with at least 19 African countries becoming significant producers.'

He regretted that the quantum of natural resources endowment on the continent has not been able to make development happen.

Rather, many African citizens wallow in what is most often seen to be an indescribable and indeed, embarrassing level of poverty.