Tom on African History

 It's another day in what seems to be an unending torrent of depressing stories, and the story at the head of the list involves the situation in Sudan, where the death toll is up to 74 the last time I looked. I don't agree with Donald Trump on most things, but his crude assessment of Africa as a 'shithole' was spot on. I am well aware that it is unfair to paint the entire continent as such, but significant portions of the continent are not success stories by any stretch of the imagination. For the most part, the people are just just trying to get along and the vast majority are adaptable in ways that North Americans and Western Europeans will never be. Most Africans enjoy the same things that folks everywhere enjoy. There's a vibrant music scene in many African regions, and many African cuisines are as sophisticated as anything you'll find in the West. Many Africans are religious in a way that Europeans and North Americans ceased being a long time ago. From what I've read the Catholic Church is experiencing its most dynamic growth on the African continent and it's only a matter of time before we have a Black Pope .

But Africa's curse is bad governance, coupled with unending civil conflict. The origins of the civil conflict can be traced back to the colonial era, during which the European powers divided the continent amongst themselves without regard to the realities on the ground. Ethnic groups that had been mortal enemies for hundreds of years were thrown together for the convenience of the colonial powers, rather than the needs and desires of the indigenous population. If you put two scorpions in a bottle they're going to fight; that's just the way it is. As long as the various colonial powers maintained suzerainty over the continent, these mutual dislikes among the natives stayed largely in the background, but during the post-colonial era, these various conflicts came to the fore. And in the patriarchal societies common in Africa, tough times demand a "Big Man'. The trouble with big men is that they often operate as if the entire nation is their personal property and they act accordingly. Most large African countries are generally corrupt, some spectacularly so. Money that should go toward making the lives of a nation's citizens and mitigating the effects of climate change, is instead squandered on shopping trips to the fashion boutiques of Europe by the big man's Wife or concubine, or used to purchase Lamborghinis for the big man's son and heir, with much of the rest being diverted to a numbered bank account in some Caribbean hideaway. 

But all of these are relatively young counties, and the hope is that in time they will mature and develop proper oversight of the national exchequer and develop a robust rule of law. One can only hope. Clean and fair elections would help as well....