Leadership is the single Biggest Failure for Africa.

Africa is blessed with lots of natural resources. There are lots of oil and commodities that are being discovered in Africa. For example, the whole East African coast is reputed to be rich in gas fields. Equally, the coast of Angola, known as the Kwanza basin, is reputed to be rich in oil reserves all the way to the coast of Brazil. Even as there are more mineral resources in Africa, the continent is also blessed with a human capital that is increasingly becoming assertive, and taking its rightful place in the world. According to the late great management guru Peter Drucker, ideas will be the new capital, and African countries that position themselves to increase their level of innovative human capital shall be at the forefront of economic growth and development.
The single biggest impediment for success then is not the lack of resources, but rather the lack of leadership in the continent. Effective leadership will ensure that the continent is on a path to sustained good governance
and stability. It is a well known fact that election disputes usually occur at the time of elections, and many investors flee at this crucial time. Zambia is heading to the polls today, and one would expect that the polls be peaceful. Nigeria too is heading to the polls in mid February, and this time the elections could be close, leading to chaos if no clear winner is found. How then can the continent ensure that it has a leadership structure that is able to inspire, and even lead it through tumultous time?

The process of choosing leaders itself is broken. Too often, leaders come from well connected families, and the rightful leaders who may not have the resources to campaign usually do not head anywhere. Parties are along tribal lines, and there is no continuity in the parties. This presents a very bad picture for continuity and stability in the continent.