Freedom Day is the commemoration of the first democratic elections held in South Africa on 27 April 1994. These were the first post-apartheid national elections to be held in South African where anyone could vote regardless of race. Sadly, in Africa generally, leaders are SELECTED based more on sentiments than ideals. As such, I dare say, that the day we rise above ethno religious sentiments is the day we become FREE.
Today, as we join millions of our compatriot’s home and abroad in celebration of freedom with the good people of Southern Africa. Much as, I have always been an ideologue of ‘African Solutions for African Problems’, yet I wouldn’t be so quaint-headed enough as to throw the baby out with the bath water; we ought to borrow a leaf from what works for our cultural disposition and abjure what doesn’t. We are, like the rest of the world, not totally unique in our existential reality.
Sub-Saharan Africa (also referred to as SSA or just Africa) leads in several rankings: it is the world’s poorest region, it has the fastest-growing population, and it has the worst health outcomes. Data by the World Bank show that average GDP per capita (PPP-adjusted, in constant 2011 international $) in Africa was about 30% of the world average in 1990 (when the earliest data are available). This share has constantly decreased to only 22% in 2018.
Therefore, as governments across the continent become, with some exceptions, more authoritarian, Africans will be increasingly alienated from those claiming to represent them. Political instability can manifest itself in severe episodes of violence, as is already being seen in Ethiopia, Mozambique, and, particularly in Nigeria. Such turmoil will grow as elites compete for power and citizens resist oppressive regimes, and will, in turn, inhibit social and economic development, to the disadvantage of the continent’s rapidly growing population.
Specifically, the symbol of FREEDOM: Nelson Mandela a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and political leader who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994-1999. Madiba was an exceptional leader. He spent 27 years in prison and served one term in office. “His legacy is unprecedented. If politics is about winning people over, Mandela, as numerous other politicians have attested, was the master of the game and a symbol of FREEDOM.
Madiba had at his command an irresistibly seductive cocktail that combined boundless charm born of a vast self-confidence with inflexible principle, strategic vision and the canniest pragmatism. He once said; “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the FREEDOM of others.”
Interestingly, I have also been quite motivated by varying perspectives on the nature of FREEDOM. Followers of African trajectory may have read one or all of the following pieces I have written on FREEDOM. It would be fair to say that I am very preoccupied with the idea of FREEDOM, what it entails. When we know we have got it. What it means. How we define FREEDOM. The thing is that we often think of FREEDOM as an absolute – We are either free or we are not. I do not agree with this. Which is why I describe freedom as a necessity.
In conclusion, permit me to project a few recipes for FREEDOM which relies on the subject of human rights and complete intolerance to inconsequential lawlessness. Effective education – formal or informal as recipe for freedom – Human Rights and Democracy: An Incompatible or Complementary Relationship.
FREEDOM from Totalitarianism which is also a recipe for corruption. Corruption is a complex phenomenon. Its roots lie deep in bureaucratic and political institutions, and its effect on development varies with country conditions. But while costs may vary and systemic corruption may coexist with strong economic performance, experience suggests that corruption is bad for development. It leads governments to intervene where they need not, and it undermines their ability to enact and implement policies in areas in which government intervention is clearly needed.
Lastly, overbearing tendencies either through executive recklessness or emasculation of the the system. Constitutionally, legislatures are separate, co-equal branches (indeed, the legislature is the first branch of government and the executive the second) that share governmental power. So it follows that legislatures must balance the power of governors and the executive branch. A good legislature, accordingly, has to be relatively independent of the EXECUTIVE (President or Governor). It must insist on participating in the initiation of policy and refuse to rubber-stamp executive proposals.
FREEDOM IS OUR GOAL.
