African countries are said to be still developing, at different rates and different stages, of course, although most are at the lower end of the process. This in spite of, or perhaps because of, abundant natural resources the continent is endowed with. Indeed, some of the most gifted in this sense are at the bottom of the pile. And we wonder why and all manner of explanation are offered. One such is that some of them are blighted by the very abundance they have. It is called the resource curse. Why here and not elsewhere? Curse it may be but it cannot be by local spirits. Those would have been appeased or exorcised. It must be from alien ghosts with which there is no communication or knowledge of what they want is usually done to placate them. Local or foreign, the curse, by removing agency from them, is an indirect way of pointing at corrupt and incompetent governments and also making them feel less guilty. It does not, of course, erase the guilt. Some of them are dazzled by the amount of wealth they find themselves controlling and the power that gives them, and all greed in them is awakened and good judgement goes to sleep. Another is to blame history, especially the colonial period. That used to be most people’s favourite: to put all countries’ ills at the door of former colonial rulers and the west in general. In many cases, this was justified. The colonial rulers had tied us to their economies and dictated terms. That has not changed much. In French=speaking west Africa, for instance, their common currency is still controlled by France. Colonial economies were largely extractive and developed transport systems and other forms of communications to serve this purpose. That meant large parts of countries were left unconnected if they did not have the resources they needed. They got us hooked to their culture through religion, education and popular culture. We inherited their political systems and administrative structures and corresponding ideologies. But that was not enough. They kept telling us how we should run them even when we had a better and locally responsive way of doing so. But the relationship is more complex than a simple blame game. It is not uncommon for African leaders to rush to the west for help and solutions. A government that falls foul of its citizens either seeks their assistance against its own people or blames them for the problems. Politicians unable to convince their electorate about their programme turn to the west for support to get elected. There are other times, however, when colonial history and post-colonial relations with the west have been a scapegoat for inefficient and incompetent governments. Finding someone to blame has always been a convenient method to deflect responsibility. In recent times, however, the tendency to blame others for one’s shortcomings has decreased. The talk now is about finding African solutions to African problems. But that shift seems to remain at the level of rhetoric. There are some Africans who actually compound African problems and are unwilling to do anything about it. And because they are fellow Africans we do not criticise them. It is considered bad manners to call out your own. Take the example of the masterminds and perpetrators of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994 who fled the country when the genocide was stopped and live in many countries across the world. Many have been indicted for their crimes and the Government of Rwanda has requested their trial or extradition, but little has been done. Europe and North America have done better here. Some countries have arrested genocide suspects, tried them and repatriated others for trial in Rwanda. But many more remain free. Others have refused to do any of this and even shield them. But you can say at least there is some movement. In Africa, it has been a different story. Known and indicted genocidaires live and work in countries in the eastern and southern African regions. They are present in central and western Africa. Governments in these countries have shown little inclination to arrest, try or repatriate them to be tried at home. It is not because they cannot find them. Their whereabouts are known. It is simply refusal. But you do not hear this condemned. In other instances, genocidaires in their various reincarnations have been facilitated by individuals or officials in some of these countries to carry out anti-Rwanda activities. Again, you don’t hear any condemnation. There are other cases where politicians in very senior positions and other influential individuals have protected them and prevented their arrest. Such was the case of Felicien Kabuga who for many years evaded arrest in this manner. Some of these countries have made the support of genocidaires and other anti-Rwanda elements part of their national policy. It is probably not the smartest choice and could prove costly. Yet more could be achieved through cooperation and at no cost. It is now 28 years since the genocide against the Tutsi was committed. Enough time for these countries to have rethought their policies. They should do the right and neighbourly thing and have these people answer for their crimes. The views expressed in this article are of the writer.
