This is a
review of The Rift - A New Africa Breaks
Free by Alex Perry, Little Brown and Company, NY, 2015.
The premise
of this book is that Africa has changed. Duh! Is that enough to write a book
about? Apparently so. Author Perry makes a good case, at least for
those whose heads have been stuck in the sand for the last twenty years that
the Africa they knew has indeed changed.
The title indicates that Africa has broken free of past constraints and
is now master of its own fate. The author
observes that nations like Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe are no longer bound by
colonial ties, and western visions of economies, but are forging their own ways
with their own independent minded leaders. Some leaders like Kagame and Museveni are
politically astute and running their own show, others like Mugabe are lost in
the past and rely on thuggish brutality to stay in power. Perry underlines his views on Zimbabwe with
an anecdote wherein he was imprisoned for several days by the regime’s minions.
That’s his technique, he reports personal encounters with activists, observers,
perpetrators and victims, then extrapolates his points from there. It is an effective journalistic approach to
writing.
Economically, Perry makes the point that the
colonial paradigm of western exploitation of African resources no longer governs. Others, like China, are involved, but the
biggest current obstacles to economic progress are Africans themselves. The portraits painted of South Africa and Nigeria
where corruption is rife are insightful, especially the observation that South
Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress, is intrinsically corrupt
because as a freedom fighter organization it was anti- state and anti-law. Ergo, its officials have inculcated an ethos to
consider public assets fruit of the struggle.
Sadly, Nigerians cannot claim such a distinction, but Perry argues that
British colonial favoring of the resource poor north contributed to the
northern predilection to loot the oil rich south.
Perry
devotes quite a bit of space to conflict, especially violence with connections
to global terrorism. He (correctly) states
that in three cases - Somalia (Al Shabab), Nigeria (Boko Harum) and Mali (Al Qaeda in the Maghreb - AQIM) the
roots of the terrorist organizations lie in indigenous nationalist
movements. Furthermore these movements
expanded and grew in strength because the west, particularly the United States,
saw fit to consider, treat and attack these movements as part of a global Al
Qaeda network. Perry argues that in part
because of such pressures the groups did, in fact, align themselves with global
networks. Whatever the background,
violence continues to be exacerbated by western, and western proxy intervention,
i.e. Ethiopia and Uganda in Somalia, UN forces in Mali. Perry has harsh words for U.S. renditions and
interrogations of suspected Al Shabab operatives in East African prisons. On the other hand he luridly describes videos
of awful violence perpetrated by Boko Harum operatives in Nigeria, but offers
little confidence that the inept Nigerian military can cope with the problem.
Beyond the
negativism of much of the book, the author does find some reasons for
optimism. African politics are
increasingly bereft of external string pulling.
Economic bright spots revolve around capitalizing on Africa’s enormous
agriculture potential. Reforming land
tenure policies to permit individual ownership is key to investment that will
lead to surplus production. This is
happening in Ethiopia. There and elsewhere in East Africa, modern cell phone
communications make market prices available.
Unconstrained communications promote widespread freedoms of all sorts -
information, political, economic and security.
Kenya’s mpesa electronic money system is setting a global precedent for
a new type of financial system.
Innovative local leaders in urban areas, like the mayor of Lagos, are
forging ahead with infrastructure and social projects that may make Africa’s
sprawling cities more livable. Finally, Perry has found throughout the
continent people of integrity who are determined to battle for justice, equity
and progress. He puts faith in them.
