How to go about bringing African solutions to Africa’s problems?

Bringing African solutions to Africa’s problems has been one of the issues that the African leaders have been grappling with for the past decades. The idea comes from the growing dissatisfaction of western solutions which are imposed on Africans which often act as quick fixes and also are not all that well thought through. We are all very familiar with the concepts of free markets, democracy, globalization to end up in a cycle of quick starts and lengthy stagnations. Very often the problems lie with the fact that when Africa imports concepts from the west and elsewhere little attention is given towards adapting these ideas into the social fabric of Africa. We cannot wholeheartedly believe that something that had worked elsewhere can work here, in Africa as our socio-economic facets of society are unique to the continent.

The concept of bringing African solutions to African problems is not entirely new, in fact we have all been doing it for centuries- the OAU and later the AU championed this idea so did every community for the most inaccessible village to those in African metropolises spanning across the continent. But, somewhere in between, African leaders and their Western counterparts started looking to the Western world for solutions to Africa’s problems. This has come about because of the colonization of Africa has created a mindset in Africa that everything western surely is progressive. This then led to a long series of failed economic strategies and doomed development paradigms imposed on Africa.

Faced with failed imposed initiatives one after another African elites and their Western counterparts started looking at a new paradigm that incorporates African values within initiatives. A case in point here is the concept of Ubuntu, which has become a popular parlance in regards to people’s allegiances and relations with each other. The word has its origin in the Bantu languages of Southern Africa. Ubuntu is seen as a traditional African concept. Simply put ubuntu is, ‘the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity,’ one wonders if any other civilization can come up with a better concept of community solidarity?

Another is the use of popular personalities to help ease tensions in regards to conflict and even help in bringing lasting peace. The Panel of The Wise which was launched by the AU is a product of the concept of bringing African solutions to Africa’s problems. The process involves using influential personalities from the continent to act as peace conduits to help bring stability back to the continent. It is a measure that needs applauding and in fact can revolutionize the way Africa looks at conflict management, resolution and transformation. The Panel of the Wise would help the AU to help reduce tensions in Africa’s hot spots and would not be affected with political lash backs and limited mandates which affect peace envoys and diplomats today in Africa. In fact, the AU should build on this jewel of an idea on some of its other initiatives incorporating the rank and file of the African societies. If we use these people from a wider pool of the society, the council of the wise can very easily be a benchmark where other AU commissions and departments have met with limited success- gender disparity, respect to human rights, economic empowerment and health could be areas where work could be made.

African solutions to African problems should be encouraged and in fact should be the rallying cause of all Africans. Increasing the use of African values and experiences in solving Africa’s problems can help fast track Africa’s development as well as safeguard African ideals which for decades have been seen as archaic and anti-development.

It is with this phenomenon that Africans should start focusing on initiatives that can harmonize western concepts into the greater African fabric. It is a challenge promoting change in societies that are deeply rooted in age-old practices but it is a path that we should all go together with. Introducing African ideals into processes are important tools that we need to bring political will toward practical moves on the ground.

March 9, 2007