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ON GROOMING GOOD GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA:
A Scrutiny on Good Governance in the African Family
Uchendu Eugene Chigbu
Fellow, African Good Governance Network (AGGN). Doctoral researcher, Chair of Land Management, Faculty of Civil Geo and Environmental Engineering,
Technische Universität München, Germany.
Abstract
Good governance is being embraced by all, at least in theory. Over the past
decades, African states have been particularly bugged with pressures to live up
to its ideals –as a process, strategy and culture of gaining balanced
development. The implication is that even the most dictatorial of African
governments labours to lay claims to good governance. This is not surprising,
since support for the idea of good governance is tantamount to their being good
and admissible into the committee of nations as opposed to the isolation meted
out to regimes considered to be against it. However, good governance remains a
big challenge in Africa. So, are African governments particularly disinterested in
adopting the conventional sense and practice of good governance?
This study, from an insider-outsider perspective, argues that the absence of good
governance principles at the basic level of the African social system may be one
of the core factors working against its institutionalization in most states of the
continent. It scrutinizes the presence of good governance principles within the
rubrics of the traditional African family. This is done by profiling a hierarchy of
governance domains in Africa and identifying its basic unit –the individual in the
family. Using a matrix that is based on UNEP’s eight basic principles of good
governance, it ascertains the level of applicability of these principles within the
family. The result –what is seen at the top is a reflection of what lies at the
bottom.
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1.0 Introduction
Over the past five decades, African states have been bugged with
pressures to live up to the ideals of democratic governance in their search
for economic development. Even with the poor state of democracy in the
continent, it is becoming evident that democracy is the most popular form
of government, judging by its wide social acceptance and political
pretensions to it by those who in reality are against its tenets. Also, even
the worst of African dictators have always put the promise of democracy
down as bait to consolidate power in their various states – Mr. Yoweri
Museveni of Uganda is just one example. This probably lies in the fact that
being democratic today “signifies being good and admissible into the
committee of nations as opposed to the isolation meted out to regimes
considered to be despotic”.1 Such is the elasticity of the meaning of
democracy, at least in Africa.
To some of these dictators, democracy is a tool (an excuse) to hang unto
power. In this case, such dictators promised the transition to a democracy
and spend a lifetime working towards it –thereby enjoying the goodies of
power for as long as they are able to deceive their people. To some
others, it is a strategy to acquire political power and authority. In this
case, such individuals ride on pro-democracy activism to power.
However, there are few genuine clamourers for democracy and democratic
leaders. Of course, it is worth mentioning that the external agents of
democracy in Africa (largely from the west and sparsely from the east)
bring in other dimensions to the general scenario – in positive and
negative ways.
The complex mix-up between these ideologies has created a web of
political platform that has left Africa in a confused state. “In an age where
1 Oyekan, A. O (2009). Democracy and Africa’s Search for Development. The Journal of Pan African Studies,
Vol. 3 (1), pp.214 - 226.
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public morality gets more Machiavellian and pragmatic in spite of spirited
pretension to the contrary, laying claim to democracy becomes
prudential”.2
Judging from the above, this study, from an insider-outsider perspective,
argues that the absence of good governance principles at the basic level
of African social system may be one of the core factors working against
the institutionalization of good governance in most states of the continent.
In pushing this argument, the paper recognizes that Africa is a make-up of
various diversities integrated within a continental land mass of peoples
and cultures, and hopes that readers are careful in generalizing issues
about the continent.
2.0 Concept of Africa
The definition of an African is very simple; however, the social and cultural
implications of that definition are complex.3 In the context of this study,
Africa is described as a term for identifying all indigenous ethnicities living
in the second biggest continent in the world –and all their descendents in
the Diaspora. Hence, a person of any of the indigenous ethnic groups or
countries located within this identified space and all their offsprings within
and outside this space are referred to as Africans.
2.1 Land, People and Economy of Africa
With a size of 30,065,000 sq km, constituting of nearly 26,000 km
coastline, the African land makes up about 20% of Earth's surface.
Covering about 37 of its countries (about 15% of its land surface) is a
massive rainforest. Although the continent covers about one-fifth of the
earth’s surface, it is barely 14% of the global population. This implies that
2 Oyekan, A. O (2009). Democracy and Africa’s Search for Development. The Journal of Pan African Studies 3
(1), pp.214 - 226. 3 Shahada, O (2010). Who Are Africans?
www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/articles.php?article=5292 accessed on 1st January 2011.
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each African (in principle) could be entitled to more than 30 sq meter of
land, which is more than the world average of 35 persons per sq km.
As Mbonu Ojike4 put it, “you could roll up China, India, and the United
States and spread them like a carpet over Africa and still have enough
space to accommodate the whole of Europe minus Russia. Yet the total
population of Africa… is not even as large as that of India alone”. This
ordinarily should be an advantage to the continent. Unfortunately, African
states are yet to live up to exploiting this advantage. Land inaccessibility
remains one of the greatest problems in the continent.
Also, with a population of approximately one billion people, the continent
constitutes about 10% of the world’s population. This population is a
product of an exponential growth in the past hundred years –presently
made up of mainly youths. More than 43 % are under the age of 15, and
62 % are under the age of 25.5 There are thousands of ethnic groups and
different races of people in the continent. Each of these different people
across the continent contributes their unique culture into the continent’s
basket of human and cultural diversities. This ordinarily should be another
advantage to the continent. Unfortunately, many of the ethnic groups are
busy fighting each other, rather than cooperate in ways that could be
beneficial to their different countries in the continent.
There also exist Euro-Africans6 and Asian-Africans.7 So, Africa is much
more than the various thousands of ethnic people who are ancestrally
native to the continent. For instance, of the projected one billion
population of Africa, Euro-Africans (e.g. the Afrikaners)8 are an integral
4 Ojike, M. (1946). My Africa. New York: The John day Company.
5 2009 Annual Report of the Africa Progress Panel. See www.africaprogresspanel.org/en/pressroom/press-
kits/annual-report-2009/ accessed on the 29th
December 2010. 6 Africans of European origins. See Clark, D (2008). South Africa the People: Lands, Peoples, and Cultures.
Crabtree Publishing Company. 7 Africans of Asian origins, ibid
8 Mainly from western European descent (of Dutch, British, Portuguese, German and French, Italian, Austrian,
Belgian, Swiss, and Irish ancestry) and their native language is Afrikaans. See Shillington, K. (2005).
Encyclopaedia of African History, vols. 1-3. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishing.
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part of African people and the cultural identity of the continent. They
constitute about 1% of Africa's population. Asian-Africans (e.g. Malays,
Indians, etc.) mainly found in the Eastern and Southern part of Africa; and
within most of the coastal and island countries in the Indian Ocean.
With this wealth of population diversity, there is basically no cultural
monotony within Africa. The cultural outlook of the continent is extremely
diverse in terms of languages, peoples and ways of living.
In terms of economy, one of the greatest contrasting issues about Africa
is that its financial poverty is easy to quantify while its vast natural wealth
and resources are nearly impossible to quantify. The continent’s natural
mineral resources help a lot in wheeling the global economy, yet do the
opposite in the various African countries in which they are mined. Africa’s
land is its greatest and most valuable natural resource.
Many of Africa’s ecosystems are its main resource contribution to the
world, although they are never quantified in monetary terms. In
recognition of this silent contribution to the world from Africa, “Joseph
Stieglitz, the Nobel prize-winning economist, estimates that the carbon
sequestration or ‘carbon-soaking’ value of tropical forests – such as those
in the Congo River Basin – probably equals or exceeds the current level of
international aid being provided to developing countries.”9
In general, South Africa is the largest economy in the continent. Egypt,
Algeria and Nigeria are other large economies within the continent. A
combination of South Africa and Nigeria’s economy makes up about half of
the economy of the Sub-Saharan Africa. This is why these countries are
very relevant to the economic development of the continent.
Unfortunately, a country like Nigeria has failed to transform its robust
economic development into general development for its own people. 9 Steiner, A. (2008). Africa’s natural resources key to powering prosperity. Environment and Poverty Time. A
periodic publication by United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP.
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3.0 Overview of Governance and Good Governance
Governance as a concept is not new. The problem with the term is that it
means different things to different people. So whatever one understands
by “governance” usually depends on ones thematic focus –and may very
well depend on factors such as “the level of governance we are talking
about, the goals to be achieved and the approach being followed”.10 The
concept has been around in both political and academic discourse for a
long time, referring in a generic sense to the task of running a
government, or any other appropriate entity for that matter.11
In general, the term is viewed and accepted to have a broader meaning
than government and other related concepts such as state, good
government and regime. "Governance involves interaction between the
formal institutions and those in civil society. Governance refers to a
process whereby elements in society wield power, authority and influence
and enact policies and decisions concerning public life and social
upliftment."12 The term simply means “the process of decision-making and
the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented).
Governance can be used in several contexts such as corporate
governance, international governance, national governance and local
governance”.13
Following this explanation, governance (in practice may) has the
potentials to lead to different results. This must have lead to the birth of
judgmental and normative terms such as good, bad, weak and strong
10
From Understanding the Concept of Good governance. See www.gdrc.org/u-gov/governance-understand.html
accessed on 1st January 2011
11 ibid
12 ibid
13 The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). See What Is Good
Governance? www.unescap.org/pdd/prs/ProjectActivities/Ongoing/gg/governance.asp accessed on 1st January
2011
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being applied to the concept in different contexts. The qualification of
governance with good has led to a whole new concept –good governance.
As a concept on its own, good governance has been dealt with by different
scholars. African scholars and leaders (such as Claude Ake, Wole Soyinka,
Ali Mazrui, Nelson Mandela, etc.) have dealt with the concept from an
African context. According to the African Good Governance Network,14
although it is popularly asserted that the term was initially articulated in
1989 World Bank Report, it was African scholars in the likes of Claude
Ake, Waheed Oshikoya, and Gladson Kayira who coined the term in that
report.15 In fact, Thandika Mkandawire16 is of the opinion that the
“concept of good governance originated among these African scholars in
relation to state-society relations in Africa, expressing the concern that
these be developmental, democratic, and socially inclusive.”17
The international development business (like the World Bank), according
to Thandika Mkandawire, took it up “as a new label for aid conditionality,
in particular structural adjustment in all its various manifestations.” So,
what does good governance mean? "Good governance is epitomized by
predictable, open and enlightened policy-making, a bureaucracy imbued
with professional ethos acting in furtherance of the public good, the rule of
law, transparent processes, and a strong civil society participating in
public affairs.
Poor governance (on the other hand) is characterized by arbitrary policy
making, unaccountable bureaucracies, unenforced or unjust legal systems,
the abuse of executive power, a civil society unengaged in public life, and
14
A group comprising of African scholars who are championing the values of good governance in Africa 15
African Good Governance Network (2010). Addressing Good Governance in Africa, p.6. 16
Former director of United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, UNRISD (from 1998) 17
African Good Governance Network (2010), Addressing Good Governance in Africa, p.6.
http://www.aggn.org/cms/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=64&Itemid=88 accessed 16th
December 2010
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widespread corruption."18 Of course, the concept of good governance (just
like governance) means different things to different people.
However, in this paper, a socio-political dimension is taken because the
main unit of investigation (i.e. the family) lies at the base of political and
social development. Therefore, taking this approach, as a working
definition, this study totally adopts the African Good Governance
Network’s explanation that:
“Governance in the context of today’s Africa can be said
to be good when power relations between those who
govern and those who are governed are strongly
cemented by the interest to promote sustainable human
development. It could further be considered good when
it effectively facilitates the generation and utilization of
public resources in a manner that secures the human
development imperatives of a particular African society.
In fact, governance could be deemed good if those
tasked with the responsibility to manage public
resources and affairs exercise capability and willingness
to account to the people on whose behalf they govern.
At the same time, the governed must have adequate
rights to participate in demanding for that accountability.
Good governance is the whole set of crises-crossing and
webs of human-development oriented engagements
between the governed and those governing –so far its
result is geared towards a benefit of all”.19
The above explanation of good governance captures African realities and
has been adopted as a working definition for this paper. The perception
has a political background. It is important to note that the political context 18
World Bank (1989). Sub-Saharan Africa: From Crisis to Sustainable Growth. Official report. 19
African Good Governance Network (2010). Addressing Good Governance in Africa, pp.6-7
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of good governance is mandatory for instituting and sustaining good
governance at all levels. "Efforts to create an enabling environment and to
build capacities will be wasted if the political context is not favourable.
Ultimately, better governance requires political renewal. This means a
concerted attack on corruption from the highest to lowest level. This can
be done by setting a good example, by strengthening accountability, by
encouraging public debate, and by nurturing a free press. It also means...
fostering grassroots and non-governmental organisations such as farmers'
associations, co-operatives, and women's groups".20 Figure 1 provides the
typical characteristics of good governance and many of these have been
found lacking in African states.
Figure 1: Characteristics of Good Governance21
From the above list of good governance characteristics, it is quite
discernable that good governance is an ideal which is difficult to achieve in
its entirety. Not many countries have the possibilities of achieving it. But
“to ensure sustainable human development, actions must be taken to
work towards this ideal with the aim of making it a reality”.22 It is based
20
ibid 21
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). See What Is
Good Governance? www.unescap.org/pdd/prs/ProjectActivities/Ongoing/gg/governance.asp accessed on 1st
January 22
ibid
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on these characteristics that this article evaluates African families to
ascertain their state of good governance structures.
4.0 Current Realities: Good Governance in Africa
Judging from the profile of Africa as provided above, common sense
demands that the continent should be successful in terms of economic and
human development. However, reality shows that it is not. The lack of
good governance has been vigorously blamed for this.
The United States’ president, Barrack Obama, pointed fingers to lack of
good governance as the reason for Africa’s malady.23 The World Bank has
consistently called for better governance in the continent. The European
Union and other world bodies have been and are still doing the same –
calling for the institutionalization of good governance principles in African
states.
Due to this, and many other factors, the concept of good governance has
emerged as one of the major principles for judging the performance of
African countries. The Mo Ibrahim index24 is based on it. The Bertelsmann
Transformation Index25 relies on it. Corruption Perceptions Index26
depends on its tenets. These indexes have comparative progresses and
retrogression of African countries in terms of good governance
performances.
23
In his official speech during his visit to Ghana in 2009. See The Huffington Post,
www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/11/obama-ghana-speech-full-t_n_230009.html accessed on 1st January
24 An index that measures the delivery of public goods and services to citizens by government and non-state
actors –by using indicators across four main categories: Safety and Rule of Law; Participation and Human
Rights; Sustainable Economic Opportunity; and Human Development as proxies for the quality of the processes
and outcomes of governance 25
An index that provides the framework for an exchange of best practices among agents of reform through
advocacy for reforms targeting the goal of a constitutional democracy and socially responsible market economy 26
The Corruption Perceptions Index (from transparency international) measures the perceived level of public-
sector corruption through a "survey of surveys", based on 13 different expert and business surveys.
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Available data shows, that it is not all bad news, especially as
improvements are usually recorded in some quarters. However, it is
important to note that yearly evaluations of the African governance
system may not necessarily result to the entrenchment of sustainable
good governance within such a system.
While it may introduce positive competitiveness for good governance
progresses, what may entrench sustainable good governance in such a
system could be a cultural revolution that adopts good governance as its
core ideology. Achieving this calls for the entrenchment of the core values
of good governance into the family system of Africa.
The search for good governance for Africa, demands that one must first
identify the core problem of governance in the continent. As many have
probably written, the trouble with Africa is not the wars. The wars and
poverty are simply a reflection of bad, poor or weak governance systems.
Undoubtedly, "the root of the African problem is not economic under-
development but… ideological underdevelopment".27 This has a direct link
to the governance system –because good governance is an ideology. The
African system is a system that in most cases have given birth to bad
leadership, as well as bad followership. Bad leadership is a disaster to a
people, but the twosome of bad leadership and bad followership
constitutes a higher-level of social calamity to a nation. This is the case
with most African countries. However, “Democracy, good governance and
modernity cannot be imported or imposed from outside…”28
It is no more news that at the heart of the myriad of Africa’s development
problems is a fundamental crisis of governance. It can be accounted for by
the history of poor governance characterized by a chain of political
instability, corruption and social injustice in several African countries. 27
Statement by Ahmed Sekou Toure, he was an African political leader and former President of Guinea 28
Statement by Emile Lahud, he was a former President of Lebanon
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Reversing this current trend of poor, bad or weak governance is the only
solution to African development.
Proactive, coactive and courageous followership; and transparent and
accountable leadership, must be made the central point of governance for
a good governance to emerge in most African countries. Leadership may
have misruled the followers, but only courageous followership can oust
bad leadership. Leadership has never and can never oust followership,
because no leadership exists without followership –and democratic
followership never condones, tolerates or accommodates bad leadership.
The trouble with Africa is boldly the failure of both leadership and
followership.
There is something squarely wrong with the African character towards
good governance. The leaders are dancing in folly; and the people are
wallowing in inaction. The African problem is the unwillingness or inability
of its leaders and followers to rise to their different responsibilities, to the
challenges of good governance, which is the hallmark of nation building,
sustainable natural resource management and development. In general,
good leadership has squarely failed and good followership has rarely
succeeded in most African countries. Those are what need to be sorted
out in the continent –and only Africans can. Scrutinizing the current trend
of cultural family values may provide answers to forging a way forward.
4.1 The African Family and its Position in the Governance
System
The family is universally recognized as the fundamental unit of the
society. Although Africa is a highly diverse place, one thing the African
continent tends to share together is the family culture. The family is
viewed as the basic unit of African life. For instance, the extended family
culture is practiced in all parts of Africa, though at different degrees.
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The argument here is that, the family must play a strong role in achieving
good governance in the continent, since it is the basic unit of African
existence –with regards to living and politicking. If it is made the basic
unit of good governance in the continent, then achieving good governance
in the continent will be more realistic and sustainable. The reason is that,
in Africa, “due to its multiple roles and functions, the centrality,
uniqueness and indispensability of the family in the society is
unquestionable. For generations, the family has been a source of strength
for guidance and support, thus providing members with wide circle of
relatives on whom they can fall back. In times of crisis, unemployment,
sickness, poverty, old age, and bereavement, most people rely on the
family as the main source of material, social and emotional support and
social security”.29
So, the African family network is the prime mechanism for coping with
social, economic and political adversity in the continent. “It is the principal
focus for socialization and education of children and is central to the
process of human rights education”.30 Why then is it so disheartening for
African families or individuals to accept some level of responsibility for the
bad governance ravaging the continent today?
It is common to see that dictators in Africa are surrounded by their family
and kins' groups (and supported by friends and ethnic people). It is
therefore difficult to argue against the fact that the level of moral
governance that exists within such leader and his/her inner group, affects
the way general leadership goes. Granted leadership is the known evil in
Africa, the role of followership in the continent is an ignored concept in
studies on good governance in African.
29
Loveless, S. and Holman, T. (2007). The Family in the New Millennium: Strengthening the family: World
Voices Supporting the natural Clan. Vol. 3, p.397 30
ibid
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Taking a look at the concept of followership in African polity exhumes the
reality that the family has a great role to play. Since the rationale behind
upholding good followership is in order to check bad leadership, one can
argue that when a people do not carry out their civic duties as followers in
the state, they become accomplice to the vices caused by bad leadership.
Followership complements leadership and where bad leadership exists, it
is the job of good followership to redress it; but where bad leadership
exists alongside bad followership, the case becomes exceptionally bad.
Followership needs to be seen from outside the walls of leadership in
order to grasp the huge impact it has on a state and leadership itself.
Ignoring the effect of followership is tantamount to ignoring the power of
the people –and within this power of the people in Africa lies the power of
the family. Leadership is expected to account to its followership, and when
this is not being done, the followership demands for it.
With the African family positioned at the centre of the African social,
political and economic dynamics –and at the same time, it laying the basis
for governance, it is important that their structure be scrutinized in
accordance to good governance principles.
As can be seen from figure 2, the family constitutes a major domain for
the enshrinement of good governance in the societies.
Figure 2: Hierarchy of Governance Domains31
31
Figure is original formulation of the author and may vary in few societies in Africa. However, in all cases, the
family form the base of socio-political life of the people
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Village
Municipality
Region
Centre
Individual
Family
The above figure highlights the typical structure of governance in most
African societies. In all cases, the family lies at the base of governance
while the government stays at the top (i.e. centre). Their relationships
show that the family is the manufacturer of all individuals that carry out
responsibilities at every level of the governance domain. These individuals
always work with their family or at least always return to the family at the
end of their responsibility.
With this, the importance of the family is invaluable and very influential to
government, which affects overall governance. In most cases, bad or
weak governance exists from the family level to the top. The top (centre)
has influence on all intermediary levels of the governance domain while
the bottom (family through the individual) exercises similar influences on
all those levels as well.
The excessive focus on leadership in Africa has taken the spotlight off the
value of followership. This may be why African societies have failed in
followership, as much as their leaders have failed in leadership. The
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traditional Igbo32 and Bakiga33 societies of Nigeria and Uganda relied more
on followership than leadership in their traditional development. They did
not need to rely on leadership alone; their basic orientation was hinged on
the power of the people. For them, where the people go is where
leadership goes. Strong people-power always prevailed in cautioning
individuals or groups that showcase despotic norms in their traditional
nation-states. This strong awareness of the people of their own powers
served as the rallying point against despotism. African countries are
mainly corrupt because their people are part of the corruption. This may
sound harsh but it is the reality in most cases.
The belief that followers must always honour leaders is a “misconception”
and no leader can be successful in his execution of power unless they are
able to “establish a base of loyal, capable, and knowledgeable followers.”
This is where the family, kins groups, friends and ethnic denominations in
Africa have been a betrayal. Most have played into the corrupt lines of
leadership, rather than demand for change.
5.0 Scrutinizing Good Governance in the African Family
A scrutiny of the family based on the principles or characteristics of good
governance as shown in figure 1 could provide grounds for establishing
the role of African families in good governance. In carrying out this
analysis, the eight basic principles of good governance (as provided by
UNEP) is used to weigh a typical African family –on the scale of
participation, rule of law, transparency, Responsiveness, consensus
oriented, equity and inclusiveness, effectiveness and efficiency, and
accountability. See the matrix of good governance in African families in
table 1 below:
32
An ethnic group found mainly in Nigeria 33
An ethnic group found mainly in Uganda
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Table 1: Matrix of the Presence of Good Principles in African the
Family34
Scale
Principles of Good Governance
A B C D E F G H
Weak
Middle
High
A: Participation; B: Rule of law; C: Transparency; D: Responsiveness;
E: Consensus oriented; F: Equity and inclusiveness; G: Effectiveness
and efficiency; H: Accountability
Judging from the above matrix, it is obvious that there is no high score
made in any aspect of the principles by the family. In general the matrix is
interpreted as follows:
5.1 Participation
The level of participation in the African family is weak. This is evidenced in
the fact that up till today, there is a big gap between men and women
with regards to participation in family or community affairs. The women
and girl children are in most cases denied the freedom of participation.
So, from the family level, full potentials is not being used. Most times, the
fathers of the family (and uncles) have superior say in matters concerning
the family. This is reflected in the wider African society.
5.2 Rule of Law
Good governance in the family requires fairness that is enforced
impartially. With participation denied women and girl children, the full
34
The matrix is developed by the author, from interview responses gained from few Africans, and may not be
representative of few African communities. However, it reflects the majority of most African cultural societies.
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protection of human rights are already denied. The traditional customs
favour the men and fathers, resulting to impartial enforcement of family
norms and village laws. So the application of rule of law becomes weak in
the family.
5.3 Transparency
There is a relatively better level of transparency in the family. The only
problem is that since participation and rule of law work against certain
members of the family, it reduces its importance. However, decisions are
taken and their enforcement is done in a manner that follows rules and
regulations established within the custom of the people. Information is
usually made available or accessible to those whom decisions may affect.
Since some decisions are not gender-sensitive, they are best described as
opaque and not really transparent.
5.4 Responsiveness
Good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all
stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe.35 This is weak at the family
level in Africa.
5.5 Consensus Oriented
Unlike in the case of transparency, this is relatively weak. Fathers exercise
dictatorial powers in the African family. This is an acceptable norm in most
societies since fatherhood bestows one with responsibility over his family.
The father ignores mediation of the different interests in the family, in
most cases. Broad consensuses are not reached on critical issues
concerning the family. This is due to the power fatherhood wields in the
family. It also applies to motherhood, seniority within siblings and in the
35
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, UNESCAP
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extended family lineage. This is due to the cultural and social contexts of
African societies.
5.6 Equity and Inclusiveness
Considering gender issues in Africa, this principle is expected to be low
within the family circle. However, while equity may be very low, there
seems to be a higher level of inclusiveness. For instance, even though
women are not given equal opportunities, most still feel included in
defending family values. This is why it is rated in the mid-point between
weak and high.
5.7 Effectiveness and Efficiency
Processes within the family institutions, although produce results that
meet some of the needs of society, it does not fully make the best use of
resources at its disposal –this again is due to gender inequalities, etc.
Also, since the “concept of efficiency in the context of good governance
also covers the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of
the environment”, the African family can be said to be failing in this area
today. Hence, effectiveness and efficiency is weak.
5.8 Accountability
Accountability is a major criterion in achieving good governance. Since
“accountability cannot be enforced without transparency and the rule of
law” the African family is weak in this.
In most African societies, it appears that building open government is a
challenge as much as in building open families.36 This is evidenced in the
usual type of family feuds found in African villages. Good Governance in 36
Family is viewed here in the context of extended family system. This does not in any way imply that African
nuclear families are not open
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African families would serve as one of the central requirements for
achieving sustainable development and good governance within the
continent’s societies.
Many African families’ cultures have failed to contribute to the overall
good governance structure of their societies because the basic family
make-up of these societies is tied around dictatorial leadership (from the
father, mother or elder ones). The implication being that clan system lacks
a good level of direct transparency37 on the long run. For African citizens
to sustainably become agents of good governance and the engine for
change in their countries, good governance must be enshrined in the
traditional living style experienced in their homes.
6.0 Conclusion
Over the past five or six decades, African countries have introduced an
array of concrete political and policy reforms to enhance their
governments for African development. Some dictatorial governments have
been toppled, revolted against and disgraced out for democracy. However,
it is still possible to find democracies in the continent that are not fully
aligned to good governance. This brings to fore the fact that democracy
may not necessarily be tantamount to good governance.
Good governance is completely about openness in every aspect of the
state, hence it demands for openness within a government. Open
government is increasingly recognized as an essential ingredient for
democratic governance, social stability and economic development.
Building open government in African states demands for open cultural
ways of life at the family level. This paper therefore concludes that the
37
The term, direct transparency, is used here as an acknowledgement that a level of transparency does exists
within the systems in these societies, however, they are usually indirect. In most cases, one has to attain a
certain age or social level before he/she is exposed to gain certain knowledge about the society in which he lives
in –a sort of initiatory approach or conditional transparency.
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family in Africa should be subjected to a social reform that accommodates
fully the principles of good governance. It is through this means that good
governance as an ideology can be adequately groomed within the African
societies. In addressing this issue, efforts have been made to adopt a
critical, but neutral outlook of the scenario within good governance
contexts only. It must be noted that the matrix used is highly generalized
and would naturally differ from one traditional African society to the other.
However, in most cases, the result would not hugely differ.