Africa is going through a really tough time. After decades of hope in democracy, in the establishment of the rule of law, in peace, in the realization of the importance of continental unity, and in the reduction of poverty, all the elements of catastrophic decades are now showing up:
In too many countries on the continent, all so different, the principles of democracy are criticized as a disgraceful contribution of European colonization, thus providing ideological support for all the apprentice dictators, mostly military and putschist, who surf on the exasperation of the people.
Yet history has shown that, everywhere, totalitarian regimes are less effective, more corrupt and more unjust than democratic ones, particularly in Russia and China, which are trying to gain a foothold on the African continent. I am here thinking about real democratic regimes, not those which only have the appearance of democracy and which, as in so many countries, African or otherwise, are nothing more than a cover for a personal dictatorship, as in Congo-Brazzaville or Rwanda, or a dynastic one, as in Gabon.
In too many countries on the continent, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan, civil war, very often tribal, is spreading, claiming hundreds of thousands of victims, especially women and children.
In too many countries, such as the DRC, Mozambique and Ethiopia, nature is being abused more than ever, accelerating the disappearance of a unique biodiversity, a common treasure of humanity.
In too many countries, such as the DRC, we are seeing an acceleration in the plundering of natural resources, some of them unique, such as cobalt and rare earths, for the benefit of traffickers and cynical foreign powers such as China and Russia.
In too many countries, such as Nigeria and the DRC, the most populous on the continent, very few children, and even fewer and fewer, have serious access to secular, vocational schools.
In too many countries, particularly in French-speaking Africa, but also in Nigeria and Kenya, the best-educated and most motivated young people are leaving for Europe, often under dramatic conditions, thus depriving these countries of much-needed manpower and skills.
If we carry on like this, replacing corrupt civilian dictators with their equally corrupt colonial cousins, we will be turning Africa into a living hell. Over a billion Africans will return to illiteracy, to the great benefit of ideologues, religious or secular, local or foreign.
Europeans have no interest in this disaster. They must not doubt their own values, which they have taken so long to build up, and which they still violate so often at home and elsewhere, particularly in Africa. They must cease all colonial-style behavior. They must not give up their support for the talented, creative young people of Africa, who dream of making their continent a place of freedom and harmony – between Africans, with nature, and with the rest of the world. They must not give in to the fear of being accused of interference or neo-colonialism by those who dream only of plundering and manipulating them in turn, for their own personal gain.
The Africans who vote with their feet, risking their lives to seek refuge on the old continent, provide the best proof yet that the European model of society, its political institutions, its ability to resist arbitrariness and organize life in society, are the best in the world. It is in the freest regions of the Western world that most of the innovations that make up the world’s daily life were invented; and those who want its standard of living will have to understand that it derives from its values.
Of course, our societies have a thousand and one faults. Of course, they still produce far too many injustices. Of course, they don’t take long-term issues sufficiently into account. Of course, they should beware, when they see what’s happening in Africa, of what the exasperation of peoples can lead to.
But the fact remains. We all have everything to gain from helping Africans overcome this difficult hurdle. And it’s up to Africans to achieve in a few decades what took Europeans centuries. After all, they switched to cell phones without using landlines. Perhaps they could be the first to make the transition to democracy without spending too long under dictatorship.
j@attali.com
Image : Demonstration in support of the putschists on a street in Libreville, Gabon/Gaetan M-Antchouwet for Reuters.