Constitutional Politics in West African Countries

Constitutional Politics in West African Countries

by E. Stanley Ukeni

My sense is that most of the leaders of West African Countries would find agreeable the fact that constitutional politics is necessary, and indeed essential, for the establishment of the framework for a sustained economic and infrastructure development in their various countries.

It has to be obvious to most of the political leadership of West African States that investor confidence in their various economies can only be sustained in an investment friendly and conducive rule-based society that is stable, adaptive to global changes and open—with a government that is accountable to, and representative of, the governed.

However, there are powerful and entrenched sociopolitical factors that militate against the effective implementation of constitutional politics in most West African countries.

It is a fact that practically all the countries that make up the West African sub-region have written constitutions , but having a constitution does not necessarily mean that a country practices constitutional politics, or that its leaders have any intentions of upholding the constitutional mandates of the rule of law.

In almost all of West African politics there are entrenched and intractable ethno-religious factors that seem to supersede the needful adherence to constitutional norms in the internal and regional politics of West African countries. These intractable social factors are what give rise to the struggle for ethnic or sectarian dominance within the politics of the nation-states of the West African sub-regions.

This is largely because; in West African countries political power translates into the control of the nation’s natural resources and the vast wealth that is generated from their exploitation. This State control of wealth derived from the exploitation of national resources maintains the politics of patronage, which is practiced in much of African countries. The politics of patronage, as opposed to the free market system, means that the executive branch of government often decides who gets rich—a decision that should be left market fundamentals.  

This singular desire for political dominance compels contending power blocs to disregard constitutional norms when it serves their goal of gaining or maintaining political power at all cost. The unfortunate consequence of this is an unmitigated and festering corrupt practice amongst the political leadership of West African countries.

Sadly, corruption has become the primary denominator amongst the political elites in most West African countries, in the absence of clear and defined national cohesive ideals, or an articulated progressive national vision, to sustain a functional constitutional democracy. A major casualty of this inept and visionless political leadership is unfortunately the practice of true constitutional politics within West African countries.

However, there are glimmers of hope for an African political renaissance on the horizon. I believe this because there are emerging, a new crop of African political leaders who are driven by a selfless passion to serve their nation in the sole interest of the governed.  These emerging political mavericks represent the hope of a new vision for a truly representative democratic leadership that is anchored firmly on the core principles of constitutional politics.

The sustenance and future progress of democracy in West African States is dependent on empowering and supporting these new crops of leaders—whose character have demonstrated proven integrity.

Copyright © 2014-2015, E. Stanley Ukeni. All Rights Reserved

Photo courtesy of 24^th African Union Summit

Photo courtesy of US Government’s Young African Leaders Initiative