DEMOCRACY IN AFRICA: A PHILOSOPHICAL INVESTIGATION

Abstract

Democracy is a system of government that claims to allow power to reside in the hands of the people. Majority rule, thus becomes the hallmark of every democratic system of government. What this means is that what matters most in a democracy is the majority interest. The leaders strive to represent only the interests of the masses as evidenced in the majority. How true is this regarding the African experience of democracy? This essay reflects on the practice of democracy in Africa. Effort is made to expose the pitfalls of democracy in Africa. The method of analysis is employed in the discourse. The claim in this essay is that, largely, democracy has failed in Africa due to the presence of bad leaders in the continent who constitute the minority. The minority political elitist class in Africa from whom leaders emerge have a wrong disposition to governance. Governance for them is basically a means for the service of their selfish insatiable interests allowing the interests of the majority that constitute the masses to suffer. This is why democracy continues to fail in Africa. The essay therefore calls on Africans to become more active and involved in politics, and by so doing, learn to hold their leaders accountable. With such massive active participation in politics, Africa will be freed from the greedy political elites that have kept the continent backward.