Does Ghana and Africa as a whole really need Democracy as the ultimate form of governance?

After a hard day of organic chemistry, a friend and I were reflecting back on Hamas winning the Palestinian elections in 2006 hence legitimizing their existence. Aaron (the friend) argued against democracy as the universal form of governance and that it wouldn’t necessarily work everywhere. As always a very heated argument ensued as I argued for this imperfect flawed system we can’t afford to let go. Think of it this way, democracy is like a woman lot of pains to deal with but it’s all worth it. (hope I don’t sound chauvinistic) The argument shifted to Ghana the so called epicenter of Africa’s thriving democracy. Throughout this argument dozens of questions arose but few answers for them. At what tipping point can one cross the line in the name of democracy? Does a former president have the right to speak his mind without him risking his dignity or been labeled the “boom” speech? What measures the success of a democratic government? Are expectations any different from what citizens expect from Castroland? (Cuba). Is calling into hundreds of radio stations calling people names the benchmark of our democratic success? As William Fulbright once said “in democracy, dissent is an art of faith”. My big headache is, what does democracy mean in Africa? Emerging from decades of oppressive and lawless regimes, our first intuitive answer will be our fundamental right to be vociferous about our feelings without looking over our shoulders. That’s it? Is that all the four victims of “kumi preko” died for? Were they not demanding more than just free speech?

Let’s be realistic, democracy is a very endangered and fragile species throughout Africa. There is no illusion that, unlike America, we don’t have a political culture that exists to defend and promote democratic institutions. Regime transfers in Africa are usually achieved after intense struggles between incumbents and opposition elites whose interests in self-enrichment is sometimes more palpable than their commitment to true democracy. Democracy on paper looks way better than in practice. There is no doubt the popularity of democracy and its preference as the form of governance all over Africa. Are we therefore prepared to accept the costs that come with it? Are we prepared to spend millions of dollars over second round elections when kids can’t afford school uniforms? As a U.S. president once said, democracy is not the perfect form of governance but that is the best we have. There might be some reservations with this view but in wholesale, I agree with it. A rule by the people and for the people. Hmnn really? If this is the definition for democracy my question is do we practice it? Rule by the people? Which people? The rich elites whose kids are all over the world attending the most expensive private schools one can think of. Are these the people ruling the people? Confused yet? Don’t be just think for a second. These so called leaders are not like us. Their families don’t stay on lines to board a moving killing machines (tro tro). They are detached from the everyday struggle we witness in our lives. The idea of democracy is to bridge the ever widening gap between the super elite and the common folk struggling under the scorching burning sun on the streets of Accra. How far are we advancing on that front?

Ghanaians seem to be pretty satisfied with our so called democracy. If our society does not contain entrenched pockets of generational based resistance to democratization, then our prospects of consolidating true democratic regimes would be slightly better than its thought. Every regimes legitimacy in Africa depends upon popular appraisals of government’s performance. I don’t really care for anyone’s political affiliation but we need to admit former President Rawlings was as popular as they came. Was it his persona or policies? Answer that. We support democracy not just because we can speak what’s on our minds but the hope of endless possibilities. The chance to be what you want to be and acquire what you can without big brother punishing you for it. We support democracy when the citizens of the land feels the government is making efforts in addressing their day to day issues. What we need not to do is support stupid regimes out of “knee-jerk” loyalty to ruling parties. Rather we should give democratic governments the legitimacy they seek out of rational calculation of how effective their policies are. On the upside, popular demand for government performance increases the likelihood of citizens making use of democratic governance to hold their leaders accountable. We should fully participate in all the tenets of democracy. I know how most Ghanaian youth are so much revved up on political issues facing our nation. Almost every Ghanaian youth in the Diaspora talks of going back home to change our political process. Ask how much time and resources they have invested in knowing about our leaders and why they act in certain ways and you won’t get much. As the late Bill Vaughn once wrote, “A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy but won’t cross the street to vote in a national election.”

There is a downside however, measuring democratic success with government performance. Faced with government mismanagement by ineffective leaders, Africans might throw the baby out with the bath water. By punishing governments for underperforming, we might inadvertently punish democracy. Before Ghanaians can be champions of democracy, we need to orient ourselves with our political process which is pretty ill. Many Ghanaians who are predisposed by their interest in politics to become active players in democracy are “turned off” from democracy by what they see as the illicit machinations of the brand name politicians. Same old elites: the families of Obetsebis, Akuffo Addos, Busias and Kuffours amongst others. If democracy is the rule of the people by the people, can a young military man, say a flight lieutenant take over the nation with the peoples support claim that, he is exercising democracy by taking the nation back from the super powerful and giving it back to the rightful owners, the common guy you and I. How naïve can I be? Don’t I know democracy comes at a cost? Couldn’t Rawlings have waited for his turn through the ballot box? What if? What if Rawlings had been executed when his first coup attempt failed? What if Rawlings had gone for a third term in 2000? Trapped in their vacuum of ideas, opposition parties come into power and start acting like children in an amusement park ignorant of the issues an how to resolve them. They tend to forget all about the citizens right to a quality of life enjoyed by these leaders and their folks. In a nation where a good amount of the populace is uneducated, people resort to whatever means to reclaim their nation back. Relating to opposition to Barrack Obama’s policies by less educated and ill informed senior citizens, one can argue that belligerence is the currency of the intellectually bankrupt. If folks in America where democracy is their bread and butter will resort to violence to protest policies, God have mercy on young democracies like what we have. Brothers and Sisters, let’s be realistic. The idea of true democracy is farfetched. Let’s be honest to ourselves, believing in our freedom and justice whilst holding our leaders accountable for their decisions. With these practices, I believe we will be fine as a progressive nation. To conclude, I quote the late American journalist H.L. Mencken, “Democracy is only a dream: it should be put in the same category as arcadia, Santa Claus and heaven”.

All insults and disses are welcome.

Authored by: E.K. Oduro (state university at Albany NY) ekoduro1@hotmail.com