Leadership and governance issues in the regional economic communities of the African Continent

Abstract

Most of the best-known models of leadership have been developed in the Western industrial contexts, particularly in the United State where the dictum that there is one best way has influenced the thinking around leadership issues across the world. The implicit philosophy that assumes that leadership competencies reside in individuals is not relevant in context to issues of leadership in the African continent. African leadership has always been built around partnership. The issues of leadership in Africa have often been marred by negative publicity from both Africans and non-Africans mainly because of the contemporary views of leadership that are entwined with notions of heroism. The society has often seen leadership as an inherently individual phenomenon. Western countries present themselves to Africans as all-knowing, when in fact their perspectives on issues of leadership in Africa are influenced by the often distorted views of Africa as a place of death, disaster, disease and despair, the so called four Ds of the African apocalypse (Hunter- Gault 2006:107). This article contends that Eurocentric models of leadership that facilitated the establishment of organisations such as the European Union (EU) cannot be replicated in the African Union (AU) and all the sub-regional economic communities (RECs) in the continent. This is because of the unique conditions in Africa. These conditions call for the leaders who see themselves as part of the shared trusteeship in partnership. This article is built around the notion of collective leadership that characterise true African leadership.