Is it fair to argue that the continent "Africa" is cursed and doomed to failure? Or is it just a coincidence that true democracy has remained elusive to most countries in Africa? Why did we struggle to gain independence from our respective colonial leaders, and on the other hand, struggle everyday, to perpetually enslave our dear citizens in abject poverty and misery? Isn't it time we understood and practiced the concept of true democracy?

Let us examine what true democracy entails - And maybe, we'll be able to justify the barbaric actions of most of our so-called leaders.

"Democracy is about the people and their power"
      -Laura Dawn Lewis

"Democracy by definition means the government by the people. That means that all the people should be
  able to have their say in one way or another in everything that affects their lives"
      -Miroslav Kolar

"True democracy is when the People of the society rule themselves; each person deciding what he believes
  is the path to his own happiness. Each day, you decide...you VOTE through your decisions...on everything
  that's important to you. And you don't get over-ruled"
      -Kaz

"Unless Africans are willing and able to curb abuses of power, Africa will never have peace and stability,
  end poverty or find its rightful place in a globalizing world"
      -Former president Nelson Mandela

Well, we can go on and on, but it is quite evident that true democracy is about the people. Most of the African leaders are actually just elected dictators, who use their respective positions to enrich themselves at the detriment of the citizens and after tasting power (driven by greed), fail to relinquish it to someone else, even in the face of difficulties and unpopularity. We have seen this, time and time again, exemplified by the presidents of Zimbabwe ( Robert Mugabe claiming victory in a run-off election), Democratic Republic of Congo (late Mobutu Sese Seko - whose name is synonymous with kleptocracy - tried very hard to make himself president for life), Gabon (El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba - changing the constitution to eliminate restrictions on the number of terms a president could serve, thereby attempting to stay in power for life. He is also one of the wealthiest heads of state in the world, because of corruption). These are just a few examples of corrupt leadership in Africa. Virtually all African countries are guilty of poor governance.  The leaders often use their political office to misappropriate economic resources.

It is very obvious that colonization brought along plagues of difficult challenges, but, most of the problems that we currently face can be linked to personal greed, quest for power and personal enrichment. It is very easy to blame the western world for all of our problems, while dismissing these inherent tendencies.  James Baldwin ( an African American writer) said "The past is what makes the present coherent" - while this statement is true to large extent, the question is how long will we continue to blame the past for the current problems?

Africa is richly blessed with human and natural resources that should make it the most powerful continent, yet, the people continue to suffer. We need to make rigorous efforts at educating the new generation of leaders about the importance of true democracy.

Africa needs to move forward!

And, you can contribute your quota, by educating everyone that you come in contact with ( about the relevance of  transparent leadership).