Is Africa ready to copy the European model?

TSHEPISO MMEREKI | Wednesday August 8, 2007 00:00

 

Some argued that the baby cannot be thrown away with the bath water and others argued that now Africa was being led in the right direction after a long period of exploitation. Whether that is true or not shall not be the main focus of this contribution.
It is the argument position held by the Nigerian state under the leadership of Umaru Yar'Adua that raised such writing.

The Nigerian State believes and remains adamant that the European Union is the right model to follow towards achieving a federation of African governments. Whilst it is evident that there is much to emulate from the EU, there remains the nagging question: 'Do conditions in the African political environs allow the continent to follow that path, or do they allow for a federation of such a nature at all?

 
It might be of some assistance to refer to the book titled 'Regionalisation in a Globalising World' by Michael Schulz and others, specifically Chapter 2 by Bjorn Hettne. The chapter discusses the formation of the EU at length.

 
Do the same ingredients exist in Africa that were there in Europe to foster the regional integration? Do those factors that made the EU a success exist in Africa?
In geopolitical terms Hettne argues that Europe took shape after the division of the Roman Empire and became a consolidated cultural area based on Latin Christiandom, expanding through trade and most importantly people here shared a number of cultural practices, and their leaders had a common experience of higher education received from France and Oxford.

 
Putting the impacts of colonialism aside, the question becomes:  What is it that Africans have in common in terms of cultural practices that can unite the continent after colonialism like Europeans?

 
What does the Motswana have in common with a Nigerian? What does a Darod in Somalia share in common with a Ndebele in Zimbabwe? What does a Tutsi in DRC have in common with a Xhosa in South Africa?

 
The question requires looking deeper than tribe, perhaps extending to culture and values. If there is something that these peoples share, do they themselves recognise them as a uniting force to reckon with?

What do the leaders share in common? What did Banda, a medical doctor of Malawi and Seretse Khama, a lawyer; Mobuto of DRC and Idi Amin, Habiaramanana and Kaunda, Nkrumah and De Klerk have in common? Did these leaders have anything in common in terms of their thoughts, ideologies and vision?

An important aspect to consider is religion. North Africa is mostly Muslim and Southern Africa, Christian. Given the religious conflicts in Africa, can the South and the North unite?

 
It failed in Sudan and Nigeria. Now can it work for a large continent when it failed for one state and a few people? Logic suggests that the chances are slim. What Muslims value is not what Christian's value?

Hettne also discusses converging regimes which took place in the EU formation. This involved reducing political differences by eliminating Mediterranean dictatorships to remove impediments in the way of the formation of the EU.

This was meant to create a homogeneous political system with the same economic and social policies.  Africa wants a single currency as reflected in the African bank idea.  The second aim is to create a single defense system of security and lastly create a political identity with a single destiny.

 
Another question, is regime convergence in Africa possible? How do you unite a rebel in DRC with the rest of Africa when he fails to unite with his own people?
How do you make a single currency with other countries having 1,000% inflation and the leaders of such countries do not care?

The other examples are economic and social policy; a headmaster in South Africa would be arraigned before a court of law for throwing out a student who did not pay school fees but in Botswana, Education Minister, Jacob Nkate can strongly defend such an act.
The EU managed to eliminate Mediterranean dictatorships before thinking of a union. African leaders have failed to condemn undemocratic acts in Zimbabwe.

 
If Botswana leaders fail to reprimand a relatively weak, Mugabe what are the chances of creating order with armed rebels in Uganda, Sudan and Cote d'Ivoire? It appears that Africa is torn up in so many conflicts that a federation of the continent looks like a distant possibility.

The very leader who is spearheading the idea has been described as a dictator in Libya. If we get rid of him can we find a better person to spearhead the issue?
According to the Copenhagen Summit of 1993, as cited by Hettne, there were pre-conditions to membership of the EU.

 
Amongst those are;
l  Stable democracy
l  A market economy
l  Acceptable minority rights
l  Rights to voting by the people and to ascent to power through free and fair elections.

Out of the 53 African countries, how many would pass the test? Would the champions of the idea in Nigeria pass?

General Olusegun Obasanjo, asked about elections being not free and fair after he left answered that ' elections have never been free and fair in any country, it is all human nature'.

What about corruption? Do we have consistent continental standards to deal with the problem?

 
Before the continent attempts to follow the EU model, it might be worth asking the pertinent questions:

Do Africans on the ground know about this issue? Do they understand it if at all they know? And do they know the consequences and benefits if they are any?
Lastly, do the current African leaders know what they are talking about?
Is it not true that in order to get the economics right, one has to get the politics correct?  Is Africa there yet?