Political Leadership and the Quest for Unity and Development in Africa

Africa's history is not the stuff of which fairy tales are made of. Slavery, colonialism, and neocolonialism left a bitter legacy in Africa. But it is also true that Africa was failed by her leadership. Today, the challenge for Africa?s leadership is to escape from the grips of the past and create the conditions that will allow her people a life of dignity. And there has never been a better opportunity to do so. These are the challenges of modern days. These are the defining challenges of political leadership. The battle for political and economic emancipation could only be won with a mind resolutely turned towards the future. Thus, a new contract is needed between the people and the leadership in Africa. When African leaders met at Kananaski in June 2002 and at Durban in July of the same year to create the African Union, this is what they were signing: a pledge to the people of Africa to promote sound economic management, democracy, peace, security and development within the framework of a united Africa. At the end of the day, this exciting road to unity and development promises to be not an easy one. More than anything else, it promises to be a test of leadership.

Dr. Thierno Thiam, a citizen of Senegal (West Africa), is a Research Fellow at the Purdue Terrestrial Observatory at Purdue University (USA). Thierno Thiam defended his PhD thesis in Political Science on November 6th, 2008 on The Paradigmatic Logic of the Emergence of International and Security Communities in Africa.