Leadership Challenge in Africa

Leadership Challenge in Africa

By Kurai Chitima

Leadership has taken the center stage in discussions on societal development in Africa. Leadership is inherent in the traditional African culture. Traditionally, Africa had leadership structures that worked in their time. Traditional leadership structures have now been disrupted and permanently deformed. A good example relates to chieftainships where chiefs in Zimbabwe (and elsewhere in Africa) where marginalized from significant role as leaders and representatives of their people. Even in independent Africa, pressure for them to conform to government demands, remain (Michael Bourdillon 118; Lloyd 63).

Further, against great odds Africa effectively led its own colonial emancipation. In addition, progress has been made in areas of psychological benefit, religious freedom, economic management, and regional collaboration. Strong signs of improvement in finding suitable and internationally recognizable judicial and governance structures have been observed; also, peace and order, which reflects the presence of leadership. This effort is commendable given the limited means and harsh conditions of historical social dislocations and unfavorable global perception, unfair trade, debt burden, global recession, and complex global political forces. Kanyoro notes that Africa exports more money than it receives in aid or remuneration for commodities (25, 80). Also, Laurenti Magesa reminds that though some problems are magnified in Africa they are characteristic of today’s world. He observes that because of human irresponsibility and selfishness the world is not looking good. Political instability is on the increase, peace is elusive, human suffering and poverty is on the rise and justice is being disregarded (284). A view that broad swipes Africa with bad leadership is therefore as fallacious as one that claims Africa has no leadership failure. Leadership has not always been poor and it has not been poor in every respect and instance. That granted, much more progress in overcoming problems of dependence on consumption aid, negative image, famine, poverty, and socio-political divisions and conflicts in order to secure the future is needed. This section presents some of the leadership issues Africa faces and some ways to deal with them decisively.

Challenge of Development

The positive African leadership legacy now needs refocusing towards peace and economic development. Africa has lagged behind most other continents in transforming itself to a peaceful and prosperous place. Africa has been viewed as a continent trapped in crisis. It has the largest number of least developed countries, of displaced people, of people who go hungry, of people who are illiterate and suffer from preventable diseases. The answers are as elusive as a consensus on what the problem causes are. Magesa highlights the importance of maintaining hope. He observes the fatalistic tendency to accept the status quo as being a given that is unalterable (288-89). This tendency is similar to the view that Africa is cursed, which Adeyemo dismisses in Is Africa Cursed? Africa cannot justifiably constantly shift all blame to historical or prevailing drawbacks. While outside factors may have contributed to the problems, they are often outside Africa’s control. Therefore, the issue is what Africa has done in the areas in which it has control. This question calls for greater attention. Ayittey calls for serious introspection and remedial action (44). He breaks sympathy with what he calls the internalist school of thought that blames external and colonial legacies rather than admitting managerial and leadership deficiencies. He makes an important diagnostic observation that interventions are bound to fail until Africa addresses internal defects, such as inflation, instability, corruption, and bad governance.

Leaders are not lacking, and in many cases educated ones abound. Ayyittey lists some of the wealth Africa has and observes that Africa is not poor but has poor managers:

[Africa boasts a portion, 40 percent,] of the world’s hydroelectric power supply; the bulk of the world’s diamonds (11% in Angola) and chromium; 30% of the uranium in the non communist world; 50% of the world’s gold; 90% of its cobalt; 50% of its phosphates; 40% of its platinum; 7.5% of its coal; 8% of its known petroleum reserves; 12% of its natural gas; 3% of its iron ore; millions and millions of acres of fertile untilled land; 64% of manganese; 13% of its copper. Vast resources of bauxite, nickel and lead. Unrivaled wild life, scenic grandeur; 50% of its palm oil, 70% of its cocoa, 60% of its coffee. (20)

A need is for more effective leadership that translate vision and hopes to reality. True leadership, as defined by J. Work, leads to change that translates into social betterment and moves people from selfish concerns to serving the common good (75). Leadership is inexorably proven by the results it produces. Leaders cannot escape responsibility for the results of their leadership. Leadership is the ability to fully accept the responsibility for solving problems and influence and guide others to accomplish challenging goals. Abigail Johnson defines leadership as “the ability to read and navigate the currents” (ix). The pursuit of a vision will always meet things that stand in the way to be overcome. Challenges are therefore not an excuse for failure but an opportunity to prove leadership. Africa needs more leaders who are accountable for the effects of their leadership towards the dream of a peaceful and prosperous continent. The continent must foster more performance based leadership where leadership potential and effects are rated, followed with bold remedial action when ineffectiveness is clearly proven. Areas that are already receiving attention but require better performance include governance, education, health, livelihood, management, stewardship, production, integrity, and succession.

            Africa needs more strategic leadership that transforms or develops individuals and communities. Strategic leadership recovers from the losses and consolidates the gains of the past while being pragmatic and forward looking. It formulates ways to deal with potential problems before they occur. Critical scrutiny of the past brings out important lessons and identifies millstones that ought to be discarded. The future demands originality since it comes with new challenges. The past can no longer be used as a reliable standard or excuse in looking at the future. Post modern times require leaders with adaptive capacity. Effective leaders must, therefore, be able to manage change and lead across cultures. Further, they must be able to adapt to the growing diversity, complexity, and dynamism of cultures, markets, and market environments.

Challenge of Localization

Advanced technological developments in areas such as commerce, communication, transportation, and information processing are driving globalization forces that are making the world increasingly smaller. This easiness of interaction has increased global socio-economic integration and increased susceptibility to economic crisis contagion. The challenge in Africa is not so much the globalization as the localization. The globalization is a given and is being externally driven. The challenge is how to localize, come up with African initiatives, for Africa and beyond, that are relevant and competitive in a globalized world. Issues such as when to embrace western models and how to contextualize them or invent new ones have become current.

The yearning for a local identity cannot be suppressed or swept away by globalization. Despite the strong globalization forces, William C. Lewellen contends that traditional ethnical boundaries are not being completely erased and that peasant and tribe categories remain useful. He defines contemporary globalization as the increasing flow of goods, capital, culture, ideas, and people that has resulted in increased homogenization of culture to the extent that localized cultures have adapted to it while at the same time strengthening the local cultures to the extent that they are resisting it (7). The view is that the stronger the globalization effect, the more localization is being strengthened and revived. To the extent localization has been strengthened, it is resisting the globalization forces even though it has adapted to it to some extent. Local cultures therefore have adapted to globalization but also are resisting it.

Lloyd attributes some of the resurgence of ethnic loyalties to democratic processes that render such loyalties a political tool to fan fears of ethnic domination to legitimize one’s rule. Such ethnic loyalties have been aroused to levels higher than prior to independence (270, 301). Also, such ethnic cultures provide a sense of uniqueness which no one contests as opposed to borrowed western lifestyles which come with inferiority because one cannot fully attain them. The ethnic cultures are viewed as a true original rather than a cheap copy. The aspirations that gave rise to African nationalism were not only to reclaim resources, but the African mind and identity. It may not be in its classical form, but African it should be. J. N. K. Mugambi argues that “the recognition of diversity in Africa, however, must not be used to overlook the reality of and aspiration for a commonality and homogeneity in the African experience.”(5). A Christian formation program relevant to the African context is therefore one that sympathizes and is in sync with pan African values and promotes the location of Africa interdependently with the unfolding globalized landscape.

Taking full responsibility does not require wholesale indigenization or localization and isolation from the rest of the world. Responsibility is to manage productive relations with the rest of the world, delimiting external participation but not excluding it. Africa’s responsibility is to accept or reject such external input, or even better, to initiate and direct where and how the input is engaged and integrated into an African solution. Leaders with a good understanding of African history, needs and priorities, as well as global trends, are better able to engage the rest of the world in a way that best works to the advantage of the continent. Gifford shares the view that localization must not be allowed to eclipse interdependence. External links bring alternative ideas, partnerships, and resources (308). External links have become more important than ever before because of the prevailing strong globalization forces and the high sensitivity of tourism and flow of foreign capital to poor management of external sentiment.

Challenge of Institutions and Systems

Transformation of character and style is the ideal that Christian formation offers to the development of leaders.

Africa needs leaders of integrity and competence rather than leaders who are immoral and who misuse or abuse power. Empowered, properly trained and conscientious Christian leadership (both clerical and lay) can make an enormous difference in addressing the wide range of personal, family and social needs in Africa. (Kretzschmar 46)

Without Christian or similar transformation, vices such as power abuse, nepotism, selfishness, and corruption will always be there. They are a part of human fallen nature. They even can be where there has been Christian formation because Christian formation is not perfect and does not override human choice. That is why constitutions, institutions, and systems are needed to curb the selfish tendency. Magesa points out that Christians should not only denunciate political blunders and corruption because that is an excuse, which does not get to the root problem. He argues that the cure is to “call forth and build institutions and infrastructure, in Church and State, that curb this ailment radically” (290). Kretzschmar also questions why insufficient social and/or institutional mechanisms exist to challenge incompetence and abuses of power (45). The main issue is not occurrence of abuses but failure to deter them. The church’s task is to influence the creation of such mechanisms so that they are founded on biblical values. Institutions reflect paradigms and perhaps Africa needs new paradigms and mechanisms that are effective, and empower people to be confident and free to criticize and be creative as well as know how to do it effectively. Moral courage comes when freedom as well as protection from victimization are present. Also very importantly, mechanisms are ineffective unless close attention is paid not only to their design but also their enforcement.

Challenge of Christian Formation

Christians constitute a large proportion of the population in many African countries. They are in virtually every sphere of society and often in influential positions. Adeyemo argues that “only a faithful obedient Church can bring change to Africa” (54). This change will happen when Africa leadership issues, as well as factors that determine the church’s attitude and behavior towards the issues, are addressed in Christian formation programs. Christian formation of Christian leadership must reach theological, missiological, ecclesiological, and leadership levels. The determinant theological factors have to do with what Christians understand God to be in relation to creation and society in general and the implications of that understanding. The other factor is missiological, relating to beliefs on what God has assigned, or mandated, the Church to do on earth. Ecclessiologically the issue of what forms church should take need to be addressed.

Appropriate leadership is needed in every sector and at every level. Since leadership development is a lifelong process, leadership development and training that will match the challenges in Africa and the twenty-first century best practices must begin very early in the development of young people and be sustained throughout a lifetime. Christian formation starts at home (Eph. 6:4; Deut. 4:9; 6:6-9; 11:19). The challenges of failed early up bringing and of growing nominalism can be addressed through effective Christian formation processes and demonstration of the love and power of the gospel and transformed lives. Nominal and other religious people want not just to hear, but to see the gospel with conviction in order to be motivated to greater commitment.

Ralph Winter (chapter eighteen) observes three eras in the history of modern day cross cultural missions. The first era, from 1792-1910 was spear headed by William Carey and was dominated by Europe. The primary mission frontiers at that time were coastlands of unreached lands. The second era 1865-1980 was led by Hudson Taylor and was dominated by America. The mission frontier thrust was to move from coastlands to inland.

The third era, beginning in the 1930s to the present day, is seeing rapidly increasing dominance of the third world. Philip Jenkins in his book, The Next Christendom, also makes the case that in the twentieth century the center of gravity for Christianity shifted southwards from Europe and European derived civilization (north) to Africa, Asia, and Latin America (south). The mission frontiers in the third era are more complex. They include progression from inland, to pioneering missions, to unreached inland ethnic people groups (nations): that is, nations within countries and saturation of the nations with Christ’s influence. Another mission frontier of increasing importance in the third era is taking the gospel back to the western countries where the church is on decline. Further, globalization has also created hybrid cultures through, for example, migration of people across former people-group geographic boundaries. This migration has given rise to transnationals, diasporas, and deterritorialized ethnicities. These will also be a challenge the third era missions will need to overcome.

The questions of missional, national, and vocational needs must invariably be integrated into the definition of Christian formation because such formation does not happen in a vacuum but in a context and for a purpose. Africa is no longer just  a mission field but a mission force. Presently, evidence of the misconception that mission work is for people from Western rich nations is still existent. The church in Africa needs to intentionally raise and send cross cultural missionaries. They need to accelerate current efforts by extensively cultivating a heart for world missions in Africa.

Aunthentic leadership can only be meaningfully defined within a social context (Work 75). Christian formation, Christian leadership, and theology are directional and should be qualified. Christian formation is for Africa, for India, for twenty-first century, and for public leadership. It must deal with what to do with Christian truths to promote hope, human life and dignity, address issues and alleviate the problems in one’s social context. Christian leaders answer the question of what it means to be a Christian leader in their situation. The Church’s theology, vision and practice have over time been recast to increasingly favor whole society transformation. With the rapid growth of Christianity in Africa, a rising concern is what difference the growth is making. The church in Africa can demonstrate more relevance in word and deed to issues the continent faces by widening and deepening the scope of its influence and social engagement. As observed by Pobee and Ositelu excluding religion from social institutions and community life is unlike the traditional African approach to religion.

Although much has been said about the outstanding growth of Christianity in Africa, also to be noted is that many who are not Christian have nominal Christian commitment. The current evangelism approaches are evidently drawing near their limit in terms of marginal contribution to further growth. Judging by declining effectiveness, it seems most Christians who respond to current approaches are already in churches. Christian formation therefore needs to include the aspect of innovation in the way outreach and ministry is done.

Challenge of Theological Relevance

            A historical background is helpful in exposing the need for theological relevance. The advent of colonization of Africa had both positive and negative effects on missions to Africa. On the positive side, where the colonialists went the missionaries would go because of the protection they now had from hostile indigenous peoples. This collaboration was so albeit that the motives and ideologies of the missionaries and the colonialists were by and large different (M. Bourdillon 269). Many missionaries gave up comforts and wealth at home to come and educate many nationalist leaders. Mugambi acknowledges that the role of religion in the struggle for civil rights has been ambivalent. Sometimes religion is used to support the denial of rights and sometimes to stimulate people to rise up for what is rightfully theirs (60). Kanyoro agrees and writes that “the United Methodist church in Zimbabwe accepted the challenge that nationalism presented in the 1950s and 1960s. It moved beyond education for the Church to education for the nation and world” (116).

On the negative side, because of the seeming alliance between the missionaries and the colonialists, missionaries were inextricably identified with the colonialists in the minds of most locals thus marring their image. Also, many locals felt that the missionary was an instrument of colonialism to annihilate the indigenous people’s history and cultural identity. This sentiment was aggravated by the insensitivity and intolerance the missionaries displayed to local cultures which they perceived as primitive and demonic. The impact of the disgruntlement was later felt when a strong resurgence of African traditional and new indigenous religious movements in the rise of African Nationalism and the attaining of national independence from colonial masters was present. Since the spread of Christianity to the south largely coincided with imperial expansion, it seemed certain that Christianity would fall with the colonial empires in the 1950s and 1960s. The church, however, continued to flourish and even experience accelerated growth proving that the institution was not colonialist driven.

The rise of African nationalism and the drive to indigenization has made the need for contextualization of the gospel greater than at any other time in the history of missions. Contextualization of the gospel is to communicate it in cultural forms that are relevant to the people one is trying to reach for Christ. Culture, which is shared patterns of learned behavior, plays a critical role in the process of communicating the gospel. Culture plays a critical role in being the means for conveying meaning. Better understanding of worldviews underlie the world’s major cultures than was the case when William Carey set out on his mission expedition in the eighteenth century:

Much weakness in evangelical mission work and mission churches is due to he fact that the missionaries have not been able or willing to make such cultural adaptation, social integration, psychological penetration and spiritual identifications to make spiritual fellowship deep, lasting, contagious and vital. (Peters 23)

Every culture has positive aspects and negative ones. The risk in contextualization is absorbing the negative aspects which results in syncretism—the mixing of unbiblical cultural meaning with the biblical so that the essential meaning of both is lost. Content is unchanging but cultural forms should be allowed to vary. Principles are the same but methods can vary. Richard Twiss advocates sanctification of local forms by setting them apart for God’s intended purpose (77). He argues that where cultural practices do not violate God’s word they do not need to be abandoned, but to be redeemed and transformed into valid Christian usage. One of the scriptures that supports this view is Judges 6:26. God instructed Gideon to use wood from the asherah poles of the destroyed altar of Baal to build an altar to God.

The church in Africa has noted the need for local theologizing and has made much progress towards a theology for Africa different from the colonial past. “[One that] takes note of Africa’s culture, religion, and civilization [and] advocates the right of African Christians to ponder Christianity and its truth in their own terms” (Appiah-Kubi and Torres 27). Gabriel M. Setiloane (article in Appiah-Kubi and Torres) states the need for theologizing strongly when he said, “We can be truly Christian only to the degree that we are truly African”(61).

Appiah-Kubi and Torres argue that no neutral or universal theology exists. The theology that exists is responding to historical situations linked to the dominant class of Europe but not speaking on behalf of the poor and oppressed (4). He is of the view that theology must be relevant to the poor, victims of oppression, and other realities of our time (5). Kanyoro views African theologizing as finding a way by which the church in Africa relates the Christian faith to the African situation. It impacts on styles of worship to make them authentic expressions of the African (171). Often, rejection of the gospel is not because of the message but the messenger and the approach he uses.

Two challenges exist in theologizing. One of relative meaning of terms is stated by John S. Pobee when he asks, “How indigenous is indigenous. How traditional is traditional. How African is African. So when we use african, we refer to the African people’s religiousness in the flux and turmoil of the modern world” (18). This calls for a religion rooted in the past but unlike in the past. The other challenge is considering the checks and balances that will ensure that the exercise does not degenerate to theological relativism. Pobee suggests that Christian theology should be concerned with a gospel and not a religion. The starting point should be the “Christ event” and its implications for those who see the world in a particular way (28). Paul G. Hiebert suggests that theologizing be done in the context of an international hermeneutical community that can examine cultural biases and take the process through checks and balances.

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