Wave after wave
Is it not intriguing that despite diverse histories of oppression, uncoordinated nationalist struggles, and different colonizers, more than half of all African countries achieved independence within a brief 5-year period spanning from 1960 to 1964?
Certainly, unless one places faith in significant coincidences, there must be broader structural explanations, transcending the liberation struggles of any single country, to account for such rapid and extensive changes on the continent.
It is reasonable that post-colonial African governments would prefer school history lessons to emphasize the contributions of their own nationalist leaders to the fight for independence. However, such an approach tends to downplay the substantial external influences that significantly shape the course of African politics.
Consider the early 90s.
A Kenyan history class will teach that after years of struggle, that peaked with the ‘SabaSaba’ riots by the second liberation heroes, President Moi yielded to demands for multiparty democracy in 1991.
Interestingly, a parallel narrative was unfolding in Cotonou, Benin, where after endless unrest, Mathieu Kérékou had finally agreed to the demands of multiparty democracy and lost the ensuing election to world bank economist Nicéphore Soglo.
The wave of multiparty democracy, just as with the independence wave, was spreading through the continent, sweeping away years decades of political norms and order.
Long time leaders such as Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia also lost in the 1991 elections while others such as Jeremy Rawlings in Ghana, who had grudgingly agreed to multiparty elections too, somehow still managed to win the ensuing 1992 elections just like Daniel Moi in Kenya.
In fact, before 1990, only Botswana, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and Senegal had experienced regular multiparty elections. However, by 1994, no single one-party state remained on the continent, with waves of elections everywhere, highlighting a remarkable shift in the political landscape across Africa.
A considerable portion of African politics unfolds in waves, suggesting influences extending beyond national events and individual figures. However, our educational system tends to compartmentalize our comprehension of these political dynamics, keeping us isolated from the broader perspective — the narrative of a collective Pan-African struggle.
