Africa’s Cactus Is Its Leadership

THE comments of a prominent French television presenter, Pascal Sevran, that “what lies at the root of Africa’s problems is the black male organ” created furore amongst Africans in France.

As an African living in Paris, I couldn’t escape such a discussion during dinner conversations with friends. With a passenger view of things, such a statement, crude and misplaced, cut a deep reflection about the future of the continent.And to think about the future of Africa, personal histories and experiences, provides interesting inlets and significance about broader contexts and events.For the past two months, I had the infrequent privilege of attending the doctoral defences of three African friends.First, the thesis defence of Rostand, a Gabonese who had to explain and convince for two and a half hours the worth of his work of legal philosophy in front of a hostile panel, drawn from the best in the profession.After deliberation and rigorous, at times frightening questioning, Rostand ultimately left the hall with a Doctorate of Philosophy, not only with approbation from the panel, but also with the highest distinction, the right to publish his thesis! During the oral defence, one of the professors posed what was in my view a rather anodyne question to Rostand: what do you plan to do with this outstanding piece of work on Chaïm Perelman about legal rhetoric and argumentation? Surprisingly, Rostand didn’t provide any response.In fact, such a question appealed to the kind of career choices this fellow wanted to make and how he could contribute with his excellent thesis in the area of legal decision-making.After the defence and once we had cracked the champagne at a rather elegant hotel aptly titled “Hôtel des Grands Hommes” around the Panthéon (where great Frenchmen and women are mostly posthumously buried, Emile Zola, Marie Curie, Jean-Jacques Rousseau etc), I took the issue up with Rostand around his future plans.Second, I attended the doctoral defence in tax law of Alex from Paul Biya’s Cameroon, now a French citizen.He left a forward-looking Cameroon in the eighties and since his visit in 2003, he doesn’t want to hear anything about the country, until, according to him, it has exploded and has gone through some rebuilding process.Again, it all went well for Alex, with a good pass and the PhD in tax law is part of his collection.Alex took us for his celebration to a Cameroonian restaurant and I and others once again posed questions as to what his plans were.And most recently was Koffi from Eyadema’s Togo, whose thesis defence was in the field of mechanical-mathematics at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, one of the best science universities in the world.Since the field of mechanical-mathematics is in many ways arcane to a social scientist, my presence was more a show of moral support and not one of looking critically at what Koffi has been up to for the past few years of his life.Nonetheless his expose was chic, solid and even as the eight-member jury posed and probed his work, his responses were effortless.Again after deliberation, Koffi was given his doctorate and we had a modest celebration around one of the halls at the Grande Ecole des Mines, in line with Koffi’s self-effacing way of going about things.Koffi and I discussed at length his future project.Rostand and Alex, despite my protestations that they could work in Namibia or South Africa because of our economic stability, have both enrolled at the Paris School of Advocates, after which they plan to practice law in Paris.As for Koffi, despite offers that he received from research institutions in France and my undiluted appeal that he could do well in South Africa, is going to MIT in the United States, with Africa being a distant consideration.With reflection I asked my friends what they were planning to do since I took it naturally that Africa would be morally a natural point of call.And I now understand Rostand’s silence on that banal question from a member of the panel even better.The point being made here is not the personal histories of these educated Africans, but it is to underscore Africa’s neglect of such Africans.In particular, the lack of initiative on the part of African governments to attract these brains back to the continent.The story of Koffi, Rostand and Alex (with quality PhDs), who are forced out of condition and not choice to make foreign lands their home, are just some small examples of how many skilled Africans can’t return home because African leaders have failed their countries.* Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari is a PhD fellow in political science at the University of Paris- Panthéon Sorbonne, France.With a passenger view of things, such a statement, crude and misplaced, cut a deep reflection about the future of the continent.And to think about the future of Africa, personal histories and experiences, provides interesting inlets and significance about broader contexts and events.For the past two months, I had the infrequent privilege of attending the doctoral defences of three African friends.First, the thesis defence of Rostand, a Gabonese who had to explain and convince for two and a half hours the worth of his work of legal philosophy in front of a hostile panel, drawn from the best in the profession.After deliberation and rigorous, at times frightening questioning, Rostand ultimately left the hall with a Doctorate of Philosophy, not only with approbation from the panel, but also with the highest distinction, the right to publish his thesis! During the oral defence, one of the professors posed what was in my view a rather anodyne question to Rostand: what do you plan to do with this outstanding piece of work on Chaïm Perelman about legal rhetoric and argumentation? Surprisingly, Rostand didn’t provide any response.In fact, such a question appealed to the kind of career choices this fellow wanted to make and how he could contribute with his excellent thesis in the area of legal decision-making.After the defence and once we had cracked the champagne at a rather elegant hotel aptly titled “Hôtel des Grands Hommes” around the Panthéon (where great Frenchmen and women are mostly posthumously buried, Emile Zola, Marie Curie, Jean-Jacques Rousseau etc), I took the issue up with Rostand around his future plans.Second, I attended the doctoral defence in tax law of Alex from Paul Biya’s Cameroon, now a French citizen.He left a forward-looking Cameroon in the eighties and since his visit in 2003, he doesn’t want to hear anything about the country, until, according to him, it has exploded and has gone through some rebuilding process.Again, it all went well for Alex, with a good pass and the PhD in tax law is part of his collection.Alex took us for his celebration to a Cameroonian restaurant and I and others once again posed questions as to what his plans were.And most recently was Koffi from Eyadema’s Togo, whose thesis defence was in the field of mechanical-mathematics at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, one of the best science universities in the world.Since the field of mechanical-mathematics is in many ways arcane to a social scientist, my presence was more a show of moral support and not one of looking critically at what Koffi has been up to for the past few years of his life.Nonetheless his expose was chic, solid and even as the eight-member jury posed and probed his work, his responses were effortless.Again after deliberation, Koffi was given his doctorate and we had a modest celebration around one of the halls at the Grande Ecole des Mines, in line with Koffi’s self-effacing way of going about things.Koffi and I discussed at length his future project.Rostand and Alex, despite my protestations that they could work in Namibia or South Africa because of our economic stability, have both enrolled at the Paris School of Advocates, after which they plan to practice law in Paris.As for Koffi, despite offers that he received from research institutions in France and my undiluted appeal that he could do well in South Africa, is going to MIT in the United States, with Africa b
eing a distant consideration.With reflection I asked my friends what they were planning to do since I took it naturally that Africa would be morally a natural point of call.And I now understand Rostand’s silence on that banal question from a member of the panel even better.The point being made here is not the personal histories of these educated Africans, but it is to underscore Africa’s neglect of such Africans.In particular, the lack of initiative on the part of African governments to attract these brains back to the continent.The story of Koffi, Rostand and Alex (with quality PhDs), who are forced out of condition and not choice to make foreign lands their home, are just some small examples of how many skilled Africans can’t return home because African leaders have failed their countries. * Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari is a PhD fellow in political science at the University of Paris- Panthéon Sorbonne, France.