Owusu on Africa: Africa needs leaders who are ‘comfortable’ among their people

By Fidel Amakye Owusu

I came across this video a while ago and was encouraged by it. This is the immediate past first couple of Namibia, First Lady Monica Geingos and her late husband President Hage Gottfried Geingob.

In the video they are seen taking a walk through the streets and interacting with the regular citizens of Namibia. Yes, they are chatting with the people who matter most.

While this often happens elsewhere, in Africa these are rare. Leaders are often detached from reality on the ground and live in their worlds. In their speeches, the people see how the comfort of leaders blinds them to their suffering.

Their aides and assistants, to protect themselves and keep taking fat salaries, enable the situation by telling these leaders what they want to hear.

Until African leaders genuinely come out from behind their presidential walls and feel what the people feel or at least see what they go through, they may find it difficult to be consequential in their lives.

It is common to find long presidential convoy that escorts leaders with floor-touching acceleration. In most countries, presidential privileges are so extensive that leaders live in entirely distinct systems within their own countries.

Yes, the security of leaders is paramount. However, responsive and responsible leadership could lessen crime. When you are not implementing smart policies that reduce unemployment, you will not be comfortable mingling with unemployed youth.

When you use divide and rule to perpetuate inter-ethnic tensions, you will be scared to take a walk in the streets. When you do not take care of the general environment, you will feel unsafe walking through it.

In all, responsible and accountable leadership mostly make the leadership and the governed comfortable and safe.

Africa deserves better.

Fidel Amakye Owusu is an International Relations and Security Analyst. He is an Associate at the Conflict Research Consortium for Africa and has previously hosted an International Affairs program with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC). He is passionate about Diplomacy and realizing Africa’s global potential and how the continent should be viewed as part of the global collective.