Strong Men Vs Strong Institutions: Strengthening Democracy In Africa By Olufunmbi Kehinde

Preamble

The former President of the United States of America, Barack
Obama, while addressing the Ghanaian Parliament during a courtesy
visit to Ghana in 2009, remarked as follows: “No country is
going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich
themselves, or police can be bought off by drug traffickers. No
business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20
per cent off the top, or the head of the Port Authority is corrupt.
No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives
way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy,
that is tyranny, and now is the time for it to end. Africa doesn’t
need strong men; it needs strong institutions.[1]

The above excerpt describes the socio-political climate
prevalent in Africa. This article discusses the impact of strong
men and strong institutions in the society and goes further to
determine which one would help strengthen democracy in Africa.

The Concept of Democracy

Democracy has been defined as a government by the people, either
directly or through representatives elected by the people.^[2] Abraham Lincoln also described
democracy as government of the people, by the people and for the
people. Precisely stated, democracy is rulership by the people.

The elements of a functional democracy should therefore include
the following: participation of the people either directly or
indirectly, independence of the judiciary, separation of powers,
the rule of law, the respect for fundamental rights, free and fair
elections, multi-party system, freedom of the press,
accountability, transparency of government officials, to name a
few.

Democracy in modern Africa

According to the 2018 democracy index compiled by
the Economist Intelligence
Unit,^[3] based on the following democratic
factors: electoral process and pluralism, the functioning of
government, political participation, political culture and civil
liberties; Mauritius is the only African country that qualifies as
a full democracy. According to the index, full democratic countries
are nations where civil rights and basic political freedoms are not
only respected, but also reinforced by a political culture
conducive to the thriving of democratic principles. Such societies
have a sound system of governmental checks and balances, an
independent judiciary whose decisions are enforced, governments
that function adequately, and diverse and independent media. These
nations have only limited problems in democratic
functioning.[4]^[1]

Still using the index, the second tier of democracies following
the full democracies are the flawed democracies. African countries
listed in this category include South Africa, Botswana and Cape
Verde. The flawed democratic nations are nations where elections
are free and fair; fundamental civil liberties are honoured, but,
there is limited freedom of the press. These nations have
significant faults in other democratic aspects, including an
underdeveloped political culture, low levels of participation in
politics and problems in the functioning of governance.

The third tier of the index are hybrid regimes. Countries such
as Nigeria, Benin, Liberia, Uganda, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Burkina
Faso, Gambia, Ivory Coast, and Niger fall under this category.
Hybrid regimes are nations where consequential irregularities
exist during elections, thereby preventing elections from being
free and fair. These nations commonly have governments that apply
immense pressure on political opponents, have non-independent
judiciaries, widespread corruption, constant harassment of the
press and an anemic rule of law. These countries possess more
pronounced vices than flawed democracies in the realms of
underdeveloped political cultures, low levels of participation in
politics, and issues in the functioning of governance.[5]

According to the democracy index, the Sub Saharan Africa region
is categorised as a hybrid regime while the Middle East and North
Africa regions are described as authoritarian regimes.
Authoritarian regimes are countries where political pluralism has
vanished or is extremely limited. These nations are often absolute
monarchies or dictatorships. They may have some conventional
institutions of democracy but with meagre significance.
Infringements and abuse of civil liberties are commonplace.
Elections, if they do take place, are not free and fair, the media
is often state-owned or controlled by groups associated with the
ruling regime, the judiciary is not independent, and there are
omnipresent censorship and suppression of governmental
criticism.[6]

From the analysis provided by the democracy Index, we see that
democracy in Africa is still a long way off mark. African
democracies are currently characterised and threatened mainly by
electoral abuse, ethnic divisions, corruption, poor management of
natural resources and the collective effects of poverty, apathy,
and economic insecurity.

What is the way forward for democracy in Africa:
strong men or strong
institutions?

Strong Institutions

The importance of strong institutions in a democracy cannot be
over-emphasised. Institutions are the governmental systems
entrusted with making and enforcing the rules of a society, as well
as regulating relations with other societies. Democratic
institutions are in essence, a set of arrangements for
organising political competition, legitimating rulers and
implementing rule.  Institutions in a democratic government
are necessarily the entities that will fulfil the elements of
democracy that is: participation of the people either directly or
indirectly, independence of the judiciary, separation of powers,
rule of law, entrenchment of fundamental human rights, free and
fair elections, enable freedom of the press, ensure accountability
as well as transparency of government officials.

Strong institutions are the cornerstone of stable governments. A
democracy with strong institutions would be able to produce the
essential elements of a fully democratic government through proper
separation of powers thereby enabling a system which allows for
checks and balances of the various arms of government. For example,
in a presidential system of democracy, it is essential that the
judicial, legislative and executive arms of government work hand in
hand. Furthermore, these three arms of government must be
independent and function separately at all times. As a matter of
fact, the stronger the judiciary and its inability to be influenced
by the executive arm, the better the democracy. A credible instance
is the South African example where the Constitutional Court of
South Africa gave judgment against President Jacob Zuma, and the
President accepted the judgment. The Court ruled that the National
Assembly of Parliament had failed in its constitutional obligation
to hold President Jacob Zuma accountable. The Court also ordered
the erstwhile President and the National Assembly to pay the legal
costs concerning the matter.^[7] This judgment was a
laudable achievement for African democracy primarily because of the
independence of the judiciary. With strong institutions, it is
easier for the press to be free because they can challenge any
attempt of the executive to whittle down their freedom in the
Courts of Law. South Africa’s institutions were also strong enough
to investigate and indict the erstwhile President, who was put on
trial for the allegations of corruption leveled against him, where
he was accused of using public funds to finance non-security
upgrades to his ancestral home. The Constitutional Court therefore
ordered the erstwhile President Jacob Zuma to return the funds.

Having strong institutions in Africa would help to deliver free
and fair elections, because the electoral commission and the
monitoring bodies would be independent, and they would not be
subject to the whims and caprices of the executive. A strong and
independent electoral commission would enable the citizenry trust
in the government and enthusiastically participate in the political
process, at the pre-election, election and post-election stages of
the political process. Likewise, the rule of law thrives in a
society with strong independent institutions.

Strong Men

Strong men have been ruling Africa since the departure of the
colonial masters and individual countries have varied results to
show for it. An example of a popular strong man and the effects of
his “strength” in ruling a nation would be the former president of
Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, who strongly held on to power for almost
four decades. The aftermath of his dictatorship included gross
economic mismanagement leading to the country attaining two world
records for hyperinflation.[8] The regime was further
characterised by several human rights violations as well as
anti-white racism. Some may argue that there can be no strong
institutions without strong men, but the above example shows that
strong men are capable of stifling democracy. Rather than strong
men, Africa needs visionary leaders.

Democratic institutions that would outlast generations can only
be built by visionary leaders and not strong men. Africa is where
it is today because strong men ruled its weak institutions,
allocated unchecked power to themselves and largely depleted its
resources. However, if, Africa has leaders who build strong
institutions, the democratic system will be strengthened and
improve in spite of the weakness or strength of the person in
authority.

A case for strong institutions

In closing, Africa requires capable, reliable, and transparent
institutions; strong and viable legislature; honest police forces;
independent judges; an independent press; a vibrant private
sector and a civil society to give life to our democracy. A quick
observation shows that the economic prosperity and obedience to
rule of law that exists in western countries can be attributed to
functional strong institutions.

Huguette Labelle,[9] former chair of the board of the
anti-corruption outfit  – Transparency International, notes
that two of the biggest threats to democracy in Africa are poor
management of natural resources and electoral abuse. These twin
threats, she said, can only be overcome by having strong state
institutions, a well-functioning justice system and a rule of law
that works for everyone. It is therefore essential that African
leaders implement legal instruments and standards that outlast
them. Africa also needs leaders that would responsibly develop its
resources and focus on poverty reduction.

[1] http://www.sundaytimes.lk/090712/International/sundaytimesinternational-03.html^[2]
accessed on 19th June 2019

[2] Black’s Law Dictionary 9^th
Edition

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index
accessed on 19th June 2019^[3]

[4] Democracy Index 2015: Democracy in an age of
anxiety”^[4] (PDF). The
Economist Intelligence Unit. accessed on 19th June 2019.

[5] ibid

[6] ibid

[7] https://theconversation.com/important-lessons-for-africa-as-strong-institutions-win-out-over-a-strong-man-57182
accessed on 19th June 2019 ^[5]

[8] ^{https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevehanke/2017/10/28/zimbabwe-hyperinflates-again-entering-the-record-books-for-a-second-time-in-less-than-a-decade/#7917037e3eed}[6] accessed on 19th
June 2019.

[9] ^{Former chair of the board at Berlin-based
anti-corruption outfit Transparency International}[7]accessed on 19th
June 2019

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