Africa betrayed - Hardcover

George B.N. Ayittey

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312080581 ISBN 13: 9780312080587

Publisher: St Martin's Press, 1993

Synopsis

Africans are angry - 30 years of independence have brought nothing but economic misery, famine, senseless civil wars, wanton destruction, flagrant violations of human rights and brutal repression. At independence from colonial rule, Africans had hoped for liberty, prosperity and a new beginning. They have been cruelly disappointed. This study is an attack on the dictators who have ruined an entire continent. Almost all the nationalists who took power after independence have proven worse than the colonialists they replaced. Declaring their countries one-party states and themselves "presidents for life", they have banned the opposition and gagged the press. Any word of dissent is rewarded with jail or death, and under the guise of "socialism", these leaders and a phalanx of kleptocrats have settled down to loot Africa's wealth. Each violent coup has simply replaced the nationalists with military juntas who have then applied a soldierly rigour to the same plundering operation - a 2nd betrayal. The author writes about the horrors of black neocolonialism, arguing that it is just not good enough for commentators always to blame external factors for Africa's misery: African leaders have betrayed both the just aspirations of their countrymen and Africa's indigenous political systems, which in no way endorse tyranny. Dr Ayittey sees a 2nd liberation struggle building up throughout the continent - one that will sweep away the kleptocracy and rediscover the African traditions that have endured throughout the horrors of both white colonialism and black neocolonialism. By the author of "Indigenous African Institutions" and has written articles for "The Wall Street Journal", "The New York Times", "The Washington Post", "The Washington Times", "The Globe and Mail", "International Herald Tribune" and the London "Times". George B.N. Ayittey has also written for African newspapers, including "Ghana Drum", "The Christian Messenger", "The Sowetan" and "The Continent".

About this title

From the Back Cover

'Africa Betrayed' is a powerful attack on the dictators who have ruined an entire continent. Almost all the nationalists who took power after independence and the military despots who in turn overthrew them have proven even worse than the colonialists they replaced. Dr. Ayittey writes devastatingly on the black neo-colonialism, arguing that commentators are naive to blame Africa's misery on external factors.

Review

"As a black African, Ayittey brings a personal, passionate commitment to his analysis. He develops a comprehensive prescription for addressing the continent's lack of representative, responsible government."--Christian Science Monitor

"Mr Ayittey's bitter reading is an appropriate first therapy to the malaise American politics have helped to breed."--Wall Street Journal

"This vigorous attack on corruption and mismanagement by post-colonial African leaders is bolstered by the author's experience as a dissident in his native Ghana. Ayittey, who teaches economics at the American University in Washington, D.C., blames African elites, foreign powers and even black Americans for aiding and abetting black dictators. Surveying indigenous political institutions--but neglecting the treatment of women--he argues that current leaders distort history when they claim their heritage supports not democracy but one-party and/or military rule. He ranges through the colonial and independence periods before cataloguing depredations in places like authoritarian Zimbabwe and Zaire, the "epitome of African kleptocracy." Ayittey proposes decentralized, democratic government based on indigenous principles to counter tribalism, a problem examined too briefly. Arguing that the West can best help Africa by promoting freedom of expression, Ayittey calls upon Africans to author their own intellectual, political and economic reforms."--Publishers Weekly

Edition details

• Publisher: St Martin's Press
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0312080581
• ISBN 13: 9780312080587
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368