African States: We Become Arrogant Too Soon

Ever wondered why all the once “promising” African states have ended up either failing or settling at a very low plateau.

Personally I think that African leaders become arrogant and consequently complacent too soon. A country would win its independence, which brings with it a lot of hope and positive coverage and standing from the rest of the world. This boosts confidence and motivates our leaders to work very hard.

However as years go by we face a number of problems. We suddenly realize that our late start probably makes it that much more difficult for us to achieve quick success. We are faced with issues that most of the developed world does not face today, such as lack of infrastructure, poverty, uncontrollable crime, unemployment, land etc. As a result we encounter difficulty after difficulty, and consequently (and inevitably) a succession of failures.

At some point we break out of this chain of failures and score one rare success. We celebrate like lunatics. The world congratulates us for our success. In our minds we become world beaters. Arrogance seeps in. We forget about the fact that we have only achieved one victory out of a thousand more challenges that we still need to face. Our rare victory and premature sense of achievement lead to us losing our sober minds. We become complacent.

We lose the sense of urgency. We focus on this one rare victory. Nobody loves negative stories. All the challenges and failures that remain are forced out of the priority hierarchy, and soon become do-later activities. After all we need to celebrate. We have arrived to the league of the big boys.

This premature sense of victory has always been a big problem with African states. The arrogance that goes with it is unbelievable. We become complacent and ultimately die young as a nation.

(Do you agree with my sentiments? Add your comments)