Fwd: Leadership and Governance in Africa
Emmanuel Udogu
From: E Udogu <udo...@sc.rr.com>
Date: Fri, Oct 23, 2026, 1:53 PM
Subject: Leadership and Governance in Africa
To: <eiu...@gmail.com>
UN/AU’s Mombasa Declaration on Leadership, Good and Bad Governance
Leadership and bad governance are instrumental in part for the precipitation of conflicts in a community, and conflicts impact on the development trajectory in Africa.
Good Governance
Attributes of good governance, according to the United Nations, include but not limited to the following: 1. [citizens] participation; 2. [respect for] the rule of law; 3. Transparency; 4. responsiveness; 5. consensus oriented; 6. equity and inclusiveness; 7. effectiveness and efficiency; and 8. accountability. It also notes that any government or leadership that lacks transparency, accountability, credibility, justice, selflessness, and fair play is an example of bad governance.
Additionally, the March 2004 Mombasa Declaration and Code of African Leadership offer the following recommendations for exemplary leadership:
Good leaders globally guide governments of nation-states to perform effectively for their citizens. They deliver high security for the state and the person; a functioning rule of law, education; health; and a framework conducive to economic growth. They ensure effective arteries of commerce and enshrine personal and human freedoms. They empower civil society and protect the environmental commons. Crucially, good leaders also provide their citizens with a sense of belonging to a national enterprise which everyone can be proud of. They knit rather than unravel their nations and seek to be [recalled] for how they have bettered the real lives of the [citizens] rather than the fortunes of the few.
Bad Governance
On bad governance and leaders, the Mombasa Declaration proclaims:
Less benevolent, even malevolent leaders deliver far less by way of performance. Under their stewardship, roads fall into disrepair, currencies depreciate and real prices inflate, health services weaken, life expectancies slump, people go hungry, schooling standards fall, civil society becomes more beleaguered, the quest for personal and national prosperity slows, crime rate escalates, and overall security becomes more tenuous. Corruption grows. Funds flow out of the country into hidden bank accounts. Discrimination against minorities becomes prevalent, civil wars begin...
The issue of leadership failures in implementing the declarations outlined in the African Union’s pleas to African leaders and their governments produce conflicts that stifle development projects in Africa. Consequently, leaders have had to re-direct resources, which should assist the development projects, to tackle insecurity problems in the continent. It is therefore imperative for Africa to produce good leaders for the advancement of development in this century within the context of AU’s Agenda 2063—The Africa We Want!
Ike Udogu