Dictatorial Problems in Africa
PROBLEMS WITH DICTATORIAL LEADERSHIP IN AFRICA
Have you heard that some of the world’s most brutal leaders are from Africa? After the colonial leadership, many African countries have come under the control of dictators. Some of them are the most notable ones worldwide, such as; Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, Idi Amini, Mobutu Sese Seko, and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe. Countries like Zimbabwe, Uganda, Libya and Sudan have all experienced dictatorial or single party regimes. Citizens and opposition political leaders suffer most from this kind of leadership. These leaders practice corruption. They violate human rights of their citizens. Apart from that, they also ill-treat their political rivals.
To begin with, these leaders have the tendency of doing corruption. Alowosika (2008) argues, “The politicians are corrupt for the sake of enriching themselves at everybody’s expense”. According to this statement, it is just showing the selfishness of these politicians. Instead of using government funds for developmental projects, they use it in buying personal property. These leaders use the funds to build magnificent mansions and to buy luxurious cars, which has nothing to do with the civilians. Even though they may be highly paid, they may not be satisfied with their pay. Instead, some of them are used to transfer government money into their personal bank accounts. For example, Collier (2010) wrote that Sani Abacha, former Nigerian dictator, after only five years in office, reportedly succeeded in amassing some $4 billion into his private bank account. That money could have been used in stabilizing his country’s economy; rather he used it with the aim of enriching himself. In addition to these, other dictators practice nepotism. They put their relatives or their close friends into senior government offices. In Libya, during Gaddafi’s regime he put his sons in senior positions, of which some of them were also involved in this practice of corruption. Due to these practices, these
Have you heard that some of the world’s most brutal leaders are from Africa? After the colonial leadership, many African countries have come under the control of dictators. Some of them are the most notable ones worldwide, such as; Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, Idi Amini, Mobutu Sese Seko, and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe. Countries like Zimbabwe, Uganda, Libya and Sudan have all experienced dictatorial or single party regimes. Citizens and opposition political leaders suffer most from this kind of leadership. These leaders practice corruption. They violate human rights of their citizens. Apart from that, they also ill-treat their political rivals.
To begin with, these leaders have the tendency of doing corruption. Alowosika (2008) argues, “The politicians are corrupt for the sake of enriching themselves at everybody’s expense”. According to this statement, it is just showing the selfishness of these politicians. Instead of using government funds for developmental projects, they use it in buying personal property. These leaders use the funds to build magnificent mansions and to buy luxurious cars, which has nothing to do with the civilians. Even though they may be highly paid, they may not be satisfied with their pay. Instead, some of them are used to transfer government money into their personal bank accounts. For example, Collier (2010) wrote that Sani Abacha, former Nigerian dictator, after only five years in office, reportedly succeeded in amassing some $4 billion into his private bank account. That money could have been used in stabilizing his country’s economy; rather he used it with the aim of enriching himself. In addition to these, other dictators practice nepotism. They put their relatives or their close friends into senior government offices. In Libya, during Gaddafi’s regime he put his sons in senior positions, of which some of them were also involved in this practice of corruption. Due to these practices, these
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