My Beauty Best Teacher

In Feint & Margin Kate Nkansa writes:

I have come to a few of my own conclusions as to why we cannot even get the basics right on the African continent. We have no pride, accountability, sense of responsibility and ownership. This includes politicians, citizens and civil society in our continent. We are mediocre and accept mediocrity instead of demanding excellence. We have no benchmark to measure ourselves against. Let's stop blaming: slavery, apartheid and colonisation for our mediocrity. We have nobody but ourselves to blame. It is 2010 and many African countries are celebrating more than 40 years of independence. We have, however failed to achieve anything tangible in this time. Let us foster some pride and take responsibility for the poverty, hunger, corruption that prevails in our countries. Our continent’s success solely rests on every African’s shoulders. We as Africans need to create the standards we deem acceptable for Africa. Africans should hold politicians who plunder our resources for self-enrichment accountable. If someone tried to steal or take advantage of your family, you would be outraged. This is the same principle we need to cultivate as Africans. This continent has so much potential, we all need to start believing and actively striving for excellence starting from the way we treat each other as Africans, our work ethic and how we use state and public resources.

Ali A. Mazrui writes

Institutions were inaugurated without reference to cultural compatibilities, and new processes were introduced without respect for continuities. Ancestral standards of property, propriety and legitimacy were ignored.When writing up a new constitution for African countries, the elites would ask themselves: “How does the US House of Representatives structure its agenda?”; “How do the Swiss cantons handle their referendum?”; Or even wonder how the Canadian federation would handle such an issue.On the other hand, these elites almost never asked, “How did the Banyoro, the Wolof, the Igbo or the Kikuyu govern themselves before colonisation?” In the words of Irish philosopher, Edmund Burke’s words: “People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors.”