The "African Patriotism"- Redefining The Concept Of Patriotism From An African Perspective


Africa is a continent where government officials who happen to be politicians make a lot of noise and demand Patriotism from their citizenry. One is tempted to wonder if these leaders understand the word they abuse most often

The term "patriotism" has been defined by many scholars and politicians in different ways. According to Mark Twain, there are two kinds of patriotism; monarchical patriotism and republican patriotism. In the first case, the government and the king may rightfully furnish the citizens their notions of patriotism but in the other, neither the government nor the entire nation is privilege to dictate to any individual what the form of his/her patriotism shall be. The gospel of the monarchical patriotism is the "king can do no wrong" and the citizens must stand by the country whether right or wrong. With regards to republican patriotism, the individual has the right to oppose both flag and country when he/she believed them to be in the wrong.

According to Theodore Roosevelt, "patriotism means to stand by the country; it does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country; it is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth whether about the president or anyone else".

Africa is endowed with most of the natural resources yet the poorest and underdeveloped and this is largely as a result of poor leadership and misappropriation of state funds by politicians. What is fascinating is the fact that eighteen (18) out of twenty (20) poor countries in the world are from Africa. Most of these nations in Africa do not have effective central governments due to instability and civil war. In our part of the world Corruption is the norm rather than the exception and corrupt officials at all levels" bleed "money from the economy and redirect funds to be used for developmental projects into their personal accounts and for these reasons most African citizens have lost confidence and have little or no hope in the political system as well as its institutions.

In these times of modern political dispensation where democracy and republicanism is the norm, one would have expect that African leaders will accept and allow for the practice of republican patriotism in their countries but what we see is the direct contrast- they still cling on to the monarchical patriotism because of their power inebriety and parochial interests. Some of these leaders and their cohort suppress dissenting views and even go to the extent of employing people (guards) who are always on 'commando gear' to maltreat citizens who do not subscribe to the leaders way of thinking or doing things. These same leaders consistently prevaricate and paint a picture of "heaven" even in times of severe economic turbulence where the reality shows otherwise and are keen in just making promises and doing no or little to ensure their fulfilment. Most of these leaders tell their citizens to endure for the time being in anticipation for a better future which never comes. Whiles they drive around in the most luxurious and latest automobiles, drink the best of wines as well as reside in 5 star mansions, their people wallop in abject poverty. These leaders are preoccupied with how to win the next election and are prepared to spend huge sums of money.

Yet we see these same leaders portray themselves as patriotic in their speech and go on to demand a high level of patriotism from the same citizens they brutalize. I am tempted to wonder if these leaders expect their citizens to be proud of a country with a system and government that has proven ineffective and inefficient for so many decades.

Our leaders are fond of "romancing" our continent and describing it as one with a rich culture but of what good is it if this rich culture does not bring about development?

Surprisingly, they often make comparisons of their citizens' level of patriotism with that of advanced countries like the United States, Britain and others. Perhaps what they forget to do is to compare the rate of development, living conditions and the political systems operating in their countries and that of the advanced countries as well as how productive, effective and efficient theirs are in relation to those countries. The truth is that an American is not proud of America for the mere reason that he/she hails from there but for the very reason that they have an effective and efficient political system working judiciously to bring about development and justice. For example, you cannot but be proud of a country that will spend millions of dollars just to rescue a citizen who is caught up in a war torn zone.

One may argue that they are able to do all these because they have a better economy than ours. But what we should not lose sight of is the fact that no nation is immune to political, social and economic challenges. What separates one nation from another is how effective and efficient it's able to manage and allocate resources as well as address issues amicably.

In the same vein, if African leaders want us to be patriotic, they should give us something to pride ourselves with-"our plight is nothing to be proud of and we cannot be patriotic about nothing". The level of patriotism they expect from the citizens can only be achieved when the citizens who are also the lifeblood of the state feel important, are treated with utmost respect as well as realize that there are frantic efforts and stringent measures being put in place to address their concerns and improve their conditions. We are tired living on a continent where there's always cheap talk by our politicians and no action or even if there is action, it lacks direction.

The "True patriots" are the African citizens who have always sought and fought for the right thing to be done and have employed several mechanisms to achieve this aim and not politicians who are self-scented. These true patriots have always been loyal to their respective countries, not to its institutions or officeholders because they know that the country is the "essential thing" which is to be watched over, cared for and be loyal to and that its institutions and officeholders are its mere clothing that can wear out.

The picture most often painted by African leaders of dissidents as anti-developmental is not entirely true. They are more likely those who have their country at heart and thus disturbed when they see it debauched. It is true that sometimes they go overboard in showing their resentment to the extent of vandalizing state property but even in this state, they can worse be described as good citizens driven to despair and not anti-developmental

It is about time African leaders sought the welfare of their citizens and implement policies that will at least improve their conditions by giving them access to basic necessities of life. In the absence of these factors, African leaders should least expect their citizens to be patriotic. It is imperative that African leaders move away from the notion of "strong man" rule and strengthen institutions which serve as the crux for contemporary democracy and development.

I end with Mark Twain's definition of patriotism 'standing by your country and not your government'.



Akuamoah Ernest Mensah

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