Five ways democracy is hurting and crippling Africa

On Feb 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping returned the Asian country to the one-person-rule. As expected, the US and her puppets were ready to condemn this new development, claiming it was bad for China. But is it right?

The abolition of presidential term limits in China is not a new thing. The Asian economic giant is historically known for its one-man-rule, and it has worked for them in the past. What could go wrong now?

This development made me reflect on Africa, a continent so engrossed in ensuring strong pillars of democracy. But at what cost? From my viewpoint, democracy is really draining Africa -- it's actually like an addiction.

Well, here are my reasons why democracy is REALLY bad.

1. It's Exceedingly Costly

In 2017, Kenya election campaign projects hit an all-time high of $500m; that's about $25.4 per voter. In the same year, Papua New Guienea took the lead with a cost of $63 per voter. These numbers are undeniably costly for a developing African country.

All these in the name of democracy, ungrateful monster that has for many years beset African countries. Inasmuch as some people might want to justify the cost, the value of the elected leaders has never exceeded or even came close to the overall cost of democracy.

Instead, we could channel this money to development projects and revenue-generating activities that could benefit our fragile African economies.

2. She's Corruption's Better Half

In Africa, where there's democracy, there's is corruption. These two lifelong partners can never part ways. All efforts and resources put in fighting corruption in Africa have always resulted in an epic fail. Why? Because of democracy.

You're welcome to refute that by the way.

Nigeria's oil industry is riddled with corruption. Kenya can flex her corruption muscles with NYS sagas. Former South Africa's president Jacob Zuma has his own once-upon-a-time corruption tale.

It's endless, contagious, and deep-rooted. You can't fathom the depth of corruption's fangs and roots in African democracies. It's like every elected government official has a story!

3. It's Violent

We don't need to talk about this, right? Violence seems to have a way with democracy. I can't definitely explain their mutual friendship, but they seem to get along quite well.

Kenya fell into a violence pit during the 2007 elections. Over 1,000 people lost their lives. Over 400,000 were displaced. Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Gabon, and Nigeria can share their own horrific and heartbreaking tales of post-election violence.

In most cases, violence occurs due to disputed election results. One party claims the elections were rigged and not fair. The other says you guys are lying, and you should accept defeat. Then it's a blast! Bloodshed, street violence, looting, police gunshots, tear gas... A sad story!

4. Never Hits the Mark in Leadership

Take a look around. Imagine. Breath in, and then out. You can do Yoga, too. Then meditate. Breathe in, hold your breath for a few seconds, and the release it.

Then look at your leaders, wonderful poll-elected products of democracy. How amazing!

First, there's nothing like Gog-given leaders. God never chooses leaders or bestows leadership authority on a few selected individuals. That thing you call "VOTE" does. Your electoral process, too. And sometimes rigging aids, too.

Democracy has and will always fall short of leadership in Africa. The quality of leaders it produces is still questionable given the amount of money African countries spend on sustaining democracy.

In this context, leadership is an action of objectivity, integrity, and relevancy. Most African democracies lack most of these elements, so leadership is a continuous and rude cycle of our mistakes. Never stopping!

5. All-Time Liar

"It's your democratic and constitutional right." But then they rig.

"I will give your children laptops." Ooh! Wait, let's see what we have here...

"Roads, jobs, healthcare, education, and security will be [CHOOSE YOUR WORD]." Can I put you on hold? I will call you later. Maybe the next election time.

Lies lies lies. Democracy has for years honed the art of lying. Of course, it has always worked most of the time. What's a better way to get lots of votes if not shooting a few lies and empty promises?

The sad part is not the lies; it's those that get wooed and netted into this web of lies. For them, the promise is something yet to come, only to wallow in a long and sad wait. And it doesn’t get much worse than this because more pack of lies awaits the next time THEY come. -- LIES. FLIES. --

Rethink - It's Up to You

Well, this is one of those articles you will encounter on the web. Of course, it's composed of some human being's thoughts. Whatever your ideas and perceptions, it helps to rethink about democracy in Africa.

It's been around for long. But it has taken much away from us that it has offered. It's like that cute little monster we love.

It's democracy!