African leaders only interested in next elections – Kenyan lawyer
A Kenyan lawyer and activist, Patrick Lumumba, has decried the politics of self-interest ravaging African politicians.
Lumumba, who is the former Director and CEO of the Kenya School of Law, said this on Friday in an interview with News Central.
He lamented that African politicians do not prioritise the development of the continent but focus instead on their personal advancement.
“I think our problem particularly the political class in Africa, they are so obsessed with occupation of office for its own sake. So, your typical African politician is interested in the next elections, longevity in office and he parks that go with that office.
“The love for this continent must be a pan-Africanism that is felt in the hearts and minds and in the lives of people, so that if I’m in Nigeria and I’m in Kaduna or I’m in Bayelsa, I can associate with Pan-Africanism, otherwise it becomes hollow. It becomes a slogan.
“Another problem is this nationality, this sovereignty – we are Kenyans, we are Nigerians, we are Ghanaians – stops us from thinking big. If only we could think differently, we would discover that intra-African trade would easily make Nigeria a two trillion economy, and the impact of that would be evident in every household.
“Our young men and women who want to go to Europe and America would not want to. The Nigerian professional, the Ghanaian professionals, the Zambian professionals, who are now being humiliated in the United States and other places, would come back to the continent,” he said.
African leaders only interested in next elections – Kenyan lawyer
