Former Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen, has criticized African leaders, blaming them for the continent’s persistent underdevelopment and dysfunctional institutions.
Speaking in an interview with Okay FM on July 3, 2023, about the state of governance in Africa, he highlighted the disparity between the continent and the rest of the world.
According to him, out of five long-serving presidents worldwide, three are from Africa, which raises concerns about leadership quality and the continent’s ability to progress.
He further questioned the divine origin of such leaders, posing a question of whether they were created in such a manner by God or influenced by negative forces.
“Talking about non-functioning institutions, everyone who is listening to me and has traveled before will know that because the institutions are working there, things are right… in Africa, to a larger extent, the institutions are not working and every day I have been saying this which I am not blaspheming but when it is time for God to judge us before he will judge me, I will also ask God, that did He create the African leaders Himself or were they created by Satan?
“…do you know that in this world, the longest-serving presidents, if you take five from all over the world, three of them are African leaders? How, God why do we have leaders like this? So, we can’t make it, Africans can’t make it…Africa can’t get better,” he stated.
Despite Africa’s immense potential and abundant resources, socioeconomic progress has often been hampered by issues of inadequate infrastructure, and socioeconomic disparities.
