…why have democracy and development eluded most, if not all, of Africa, despite its immense rich natural resources, predictable climate, plentiful and vibrant labour, ancient history, and flourishing cultures?… The answer, as Yusuf Bangura rightly argued, lies deeply rooted in the dynamics of capital accumulation. Though Bangura identified four types of accumulations – monopolistic accumulation, primitive accumulation of capital…I will focus on the first, which is the issue here.
Democracy is the negation of all monopoly of power and enthronement of people in the affairs of the state and society. It is the modernisation and liberalisation of governance, and, most importantly, the humanisation of the entire political arena.
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Conversely, development is the sustainable improvement in the material, welfare and spiritual conditions of the people. It is the advancement in the conditions in which they live and work. Development is ensuring that the people live in a secured, better, peaceful environment and guaranteeing the future of the young ones and unborn generations.
Therefore, democracy and development, in concrete reality, and in their truest forms, are politics and economics. Both are organically connected and dialectically related. One without the other becomes inorganic, mechanical, artificial, and unsustainable.
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Hence, democracy and development are against the monopolisation of politics and economics. They are for the humanisation of society and humanity. While democracy is the development (improvement) and humanisation of the political arena, development is the democratisation and humanisation of the economic arena. Both, additionally, aim at bringing about discipline, orderliness, predictability, and humanism in the affairs of the state, the economy and the society.
But why have democracy and development eluded most, if not all, of Africa, despite its immense rich natural resources, predictable climate, plentiful and vibrant labour, ancient history, and flourishing cultures?
The answer, as Yusuf Bangura rightly argued, lies deeply rooted in the dynamics of capital accumulation. Though Bangura identified four types of accumulations – monopolistic accumulation, primitive accumulation of capital, simple commodity production, and competitive industries – that instigate and propel authoritarianism and underdevelopment, I will focus on the first, which is the issue here.
The practices of monopoly companies – Transnational companies (TNCs), amongst others – in the accumulation process does not lead to the flowering of democracy and development. They corner the markets to themselves, manipulate prices, withhold information on scientific and technological knowledge, eliminate competitors, and massively repatriate super-monopoly profits.
They also dominate the mass media, sponsor and bribe politicians, top military officers, bureaucrats, technocrats, diplomats, journalists, labour unionists and other groups, to defend and promote their interests. They also blackmail, intimidate, harass and trigger political and economic crises, while equally eliminating opponents.
… privatisation deepens the integration of Africa into the world capitalist economy, but on a subordinate basis, as the interests of monopoly capital and the African ruling classes increasingly converge. Thus, solidifying their alliances, and strengthening the power of Western forces to dictate, exploit and dominate Africa; and smash any home-driven development that promotes Western interests.
With the support of their home governments, monopolies equally give moral, material, political, diplomatic, and economic support to autocratic and fascist governments. They destabilise and even overthrow popular governments, using internal reactionary and pro-imperialist forces, especially top military officers.
In 1973, for instance, the United States (US) monopolies – International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT) and Konnecott Copper Corporation – in alliance with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) overthrew Chile’s Popular Unity government, led by President Salvador Allende of Chile.
Anthony Sampson in his book, The Sovereign: The Secret History of ITT, wrote that the then President and Chief Executive Officer of ITT, Harold Green, “advocated without question, the deposing of Allende.” He said, “everything should be done quietly but effectively to see Allende does not go through the next crucial six months.”
The plan was for the White House to establish a special task force that would put pressure on Chile and arrange for all loans to be stopped, whether from American or foreign banks. There was also the plan to foment discontent within the Chile military, disrupt Allende’s diplomatic plans and discuss with the CIA how to assist in ensuring the ‘six-month squeeze.’”
International financial institutions like International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB), amongst others, subvert democracy and development through their policies and activities. Their privatisation policy, for instance, diverts state resources and wealth from the collective into private hands, leading to drastic cuts in government spending on basic needs like education, food, healthcare, utility services and pensions, amongst others. This, in turn, weakens the ability of the working and other vulnerable peoples to assert their interests in the state and society.
Also, privatisation weakens state capacity, as the staff trainings and materials needed to execute state services are reduced. Staff salaries, welfare benefits, pensions, and other entitlements are curtailed. The African ruling classes are economically and politically empowered, as they can – and do – dictate to officials to implement policies that are injurious to the state and society, but beneficial to them. They, thereby, weaken the ability of the state to instil discipline on the powerful classes, and negate their powers.
Similarly, privatisation deepens the integration of Africa into the world capitalist economy, but on a subordinate basis, as the interests of monopoly capital and the African ruling classes increasingly converge. Thus, solidifying their alliances, and strengthening the power of Western forces to dictate, exploit and dominate Africa; and smash any home-driven development that promotes Western interests.
… it is not in the interest of the West to see democracy and development germinate and flourish in Africa. This is because such democracy and development will deny the West the desperate need to control Africa and its natural resources.
Devaluation of the national currency drastically devalues labour, undervalues the prices of export commodities, increases the cost of imported commodities, sparks inflation, degrades the incomes of working peoples, and reduces their consumption. It phenomenally weakens the power of trade unions, their capacities to defend and promote the interests of workers, and check the excesses of the state and capital. Thereby, weakening the capacity of working classes and other vulnerable peoples to protect their human, civil and democratic rights, as well as expand the democratic space.
As I argued elsewhere, the “IMF and WB…promote and exacerbate hellish debts, reduce working peoples’ consumption, promote debt slavery, deepen underdevelopment, and worsen poverty in the underdeveloped countries (UDCs). IMF and WB, therefore, are continuing, “non-violently”, with their owners’ traditions of looting and plundering UDCs.”
IMF and WB policies have led to the mass exodus of African academics, professionals, and youth to the West, resulting in the further underdevelopment of Africa and the development of the West.
Therefore, it is not in the interest of the West to see democracy and development germinate and flourish in Africa. This is because such democracy and development will deny the West the desperate need to control Africa and its natural resources.
As former French President, Jacques Chirac, observed, “Without Africa, France will slide down into the rank of a third world power.” A former CIA agent, Philip Agee underscored this, “In the CIA, we didn’t give a hoot about democracy. I meant, it was fine if a government was elected and would cooperate with us; but if it didn’t, then democracy didn’t mean a thing to us.”
Economist Howard Nicholas seriously warned that, “…sub-Saharan Africa has been fundamental to global prosperity of the advanced countries and Africa had a role to play. It has a role as a raw material producer. We will not allow sub-Saharan Africa to escape that, okay. We do everything to keep sub-Saharan Africa where it is, also impoverished. It’s absolutely vital for the prosperity of everyone else. So let’s get that clear about that, okay; and this means all the economic structures, all the global institutions, and the economics we teach everyone is all designed to keep Africa exactly where it is. And whether it is Europe or US or now China, it’s always the same. We need Africa to be impoverished because we need those raw materials and we need them dirt cheap, okay so that’s the message.”
Conclusively, if Africa must practice democracy and develop, then, the democracy and development must be rooted in its history, culture, values, and the humanism of humanity.
Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf worked as deputy director, Cabinet Affairs Office, The Presidency, and retired as General Manager (Administration), Nigerian Meteorological Agency, (NiMet). Email: [email protected]
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