Africa has gone through a great number of coups d’état within the sixty years and more of independence from colonial rule; and this is the picture from Northern Africa to Sub-Saharan Africa. Democratic elections and democratic governance have periodically been cast aside by coups d’état. The question that needs to be put is whether democracy will be sustainable in Africa despite the periodic democratic rule in the countries of the continent? 

This question cannot be answered in any clear terms because the level of uncertainly in African politics is so high to the extent that making a forecast of the continent’s political and development future is very tenuous.  The uncertainty in the sustainability of democracy in Africa arises mainly from the cultures of the continent; from the differences in the attitudes, thinking and culture of the older generation against the present and future generations of the youth; from institutional instability and inefficiency; from corruption, and from human greed. 

Most of the present generation of adults from 60 years and above has gone through a life of struggle, a period of life where there was no personal telephone, no libraries, no internet, no mobile phones, no modern restaurants and no water closets. The culture of their society was built on a life of deprivation or a life of privilege for the few nobles of the land.  On the other hand, most of the present and the coming generations of youth are inheritors of a life of opportunities for anyone who will dare to seek education and training and personally advance their lives by constant pursuit of change; constant criticism of the status quo, and constant  advancement in their lives. It is this element of constant criticism that ultimately signals the clash between the older generation and the new youthful generation. The youth generation of the continent is about 35% or close to 500 million people. 

Change, has from time immemorial resulted in the clash of ideas and processes. Most of the changes in history have started sometimes with violent clashes between the old and the young; and most of these clashes have resulted in the overthrow of older ideas and cultures for new and more convenient ways of life. A few examples of such clashes in history will be useful. 

In the year 1517, Martin Luther, born in 1483 was at the youthful age of 34 when he launched the Protestant Reformation with his 95 theses protesting the central role of the Catholic Church as the one and only church in matters of religion. By his protest, Martin Luther broke the power of the Catholic Church, a church that had existed for 1,500 years from the time of Christ, paving the way for Protestant Churches to emerge. The Protestant Churches that emerged in the sixteenth century, following the lead set by Martin Luther were mostly initiated by youthful Christians. 

John Calvin, born in 1509, was at the youth age of 27 in1536, when he wrote the “Institutes of the Christian religion,” a treatise on “Godliness” which became a major contribution to the Protestant Movement that had started in many parts of Europe in the sixteenth century. 

In 1534, King Henry VIII left the Catholic Church, subsequently forming the Church of England, also called the Anglican Church. Henry VIII dared to break from the Catholic Church given the background of the Protestant Movement which stoutly encouraged the establishment of new Protestant Churches. 

John Wesley, born in 1703, was 25years old in 1728 when he and his brother, Charles Wesley and a group of colleagues launched the “Methodism Spirit” which eventually led to the formation of the Methodist Church in 1799. 

The Wright Brothers, born around 1871, were just about 32 years when they launched the invention of the airplane in 1903, and the commercially viable airplane in 1905. 

A whole lot of changes and developments have emerged in the world as the result of the restlessness, inquisitiveness and critical outlook of people in their youthful ages. It is this critical outlook of the youth that has kept changing the cultures of the world. 

Youth criticisms, when these affect matters of traditional positions and positions in government and authority, can be very irritating. The youth will certainly raise criticisms against the authoritarian governance system adopted by some persons who come to power as presidents of their countries in Africa, either through the ballot box or through the gun. President Eyadéma of Togo came by way of the gun and stayed for 38 years as president (1967-2005). President Mugabe of Zimbabwe had to be removed from power after 30 years as president (1987-2017) with initial position as Prime Minister from 1980-1987. And there are presidents who would wish to change the constitution of their countries to allow them stay for ten years or more.  The longer African presidents stay in power, the more comfortable they become and the poorer their countries become. 

The history of democracy in Africa does not indicate that democracy will be sustainable in the continent. And yet, that is the only form of government that will bring peace and development to the continent. The older generation would certainly wish to be in power to control the traditional ways of life that is generally authoritarian and undemocratic. To avoid conflicts between the old and the young in matters of tradition and forms of government, it may be suggested that countries of the continent could create an Upper Chamber in addition to current parliamentary system. 

The Upper Chamber could consist of the following: 

A body of this nature will help to contain arguments between traditionalists and members of the younger generation before coming to agreements without breaking the democratic spirit needed for development. 

Members of the Upper Chamber could have tenure of five and up to seven years. In countries where Councils of State exist, the councils could be merged with the Upper Chamber. 

Ethnicity or tribalism is still rife in Africa, unfortunately.  It is not by coincidence that the power base of presidents in Africa is generally their ethnic groups. The strongholds of presidents and political parties are generally the ethnic groups of the leadership of political parties. This is a continuing situation that will continue to mar the democratic colour of the continent. Ethnicity is a mindless phenomenon, unable to be critical, and unable to keep a balanced view of events in society. The power base of the two longest serving presidents in Africa’s political history was their ethnic groups and also members of their political parties: Rally of the Togolese people in Togo, and Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) which became ZANU-PF or ZANU Patriotic Front from 1980-2017. 

Only two major factors can change the influence of ethnicity in African politics. These are increased education of the citizenry imparting the ability to read and understand issues; and the capacity to relate with and listen to opposing views. This capacity comes mainly as societies grow larger, as happens in cities. Opinions and views tend to persist for longer time in smaller societies and in rural areas.  While most of the continent is rural, the capacity to engage dispassionately with opposing views will not grow for a long time to come. In effect, ethnicity will continue to be a factor that will continue to destroy democracy on the continent for the next thirty years and more.  

Both negative factors could be resolved by the boarding-house system in secondary schools; bringing together students from different ethnic groups in the same school, sharing dormitories, bathrooms, sports grounds and generally influencing the development of friendships across ethnic groups of their countries.   It is this factor of friendship and colleagueship across ethnic groups developed in the secondary school boarding system that will break the current ethnicity levels and ensure the sustainability of democracy on the continent. 

Institutional instability and inefficiency is another factor that undermines democracy in Africa. Two public institutions are mentioned for discussion: The Electoral Commissioner and the Special Prosecutor. Persons to these positions are appointed by the president of the country and are expected to be impartial in the discharge of their duties. It is however, difficult to imagine a public officer who is directly appointed by the president of the country to be completely impartial in their duties. The appointment is not apolitical; but the appointment has political implications. 

To ensure institutional stability in the appointment of the Electoral Commissioner and two or three top officers of the Commission, the following suggestions that will need constitutional amendments are made. 

Some thoughts on possible changes on the appointment of the Auditor General, who is also appointed by the President of Ghana, were shared on TV in the first week of September 2022 by the Deputy Opposition party leader in an interview. His view and also the view of a committee of which he is the chairperson, is that the position of the Auditor General should be advertised by parliament for qualified persons to apply, interviewed by a parliamentary committee and the successful person appointed to the position. 

Where the President of a country appoints the Auditor General, appoints the Electoral Commissioner (EC) and the Special Prosecutor, the President is immediately put in a position of total control of the country. Those three appointments are critical for maintaining the sustainability of democracy in any country. By the power to appoint persons favourable to the President to such positions certainly skews the power structure, giving too much power to the President. 

Although not foolproof, the suggested changes in the appointment of the Auditor General should be extended to the appointment of the Electoral Commissioner and the appointment of the Special Prosecutor. This suggestion will prevent or minimize accusations of electoral fraud during and after general elections, where no such fraud may have occurred; and will also minimize and provide a good measure of independence to the EC, the Special Prosecutor  and the Auditor General to perform their duties for their country without possible influence from the President of the country. The impartiality in the appointment of the EC, the Special Prosecutor and the Auditor General by the suggested changes will consequently bring high level trust in the reports and outcomes from the offices of the three personalities. 

The three public positions of Electoral Commissioner, the Special Prosecutor and the Auditor General are constitutionally independent and should be seen to be independent. Toward this purpose, the comments made above under institutional instability must equally apply in the selection and appointments to the three positions, as already indicated above.  With a corruption level of US$140 billion in Africa presently, all attempts to neutralize possible loop holes in the constitution and organization structures must be taken to attack, eliminate of minimize corruption on this continent. 

Francis Fukuyama’s article on “Trust” published in Real Business Information Inc., 1996, states that “Low-trust societies are those that are characterized by tyranny, thievery, dishonesty and corruption. Such societies are without exception, undemocratic and poor.” We may add that it is human greed that underlies tyranny, dishonesty and corruption. Greed is insatiable. Greed has no end.  Greed is a personal vice but can also be cultural if allowed to be part of the way of life in a country over a long period of time. Greed and corruption are twin brothers and they are both linked to political connections. In Africa, most corruption incidents are linked to people in politics or people who hold positions of power in public institutions. 

Greed can be detected and stopped only by a system of accountability and legal punishment. To go farther to minimize greed in society, children from the early age should be taught the Christian virtue of “Love thy neighbour as thyself;” a virtue that could help curb greed and corruption in society. 

Without attention to such changes in governance and in democracy as suggested, it is not likely that democracy, the bedrock of development, will ever be sustainable on the African continent.