Elections are a matter of life and death in Africa often because they pit one tribe against another. In Nigeria, it's always the northern Muslim tribes versus the majority Christian South. In Zimbabwe, it's the Ndembele versus the Shona. In Kenya, it's the Luo against the kikuyu. In Rwanda, before the genocide, it was always the Hutu versus the Tutsis.
Isn't this why elections in Africa are always a mess? What if we could just form two or three parties that were ideologically based. A left wing liberal party and a right wing conservative ideological one. A left wing liberal party would advocate for more government involvement in our lives, effectively creating a kind of African socialism. More like what former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere attempted, though failing miserably.
Alternatively, we could have a right wing conservative party that advocates more for individual rights, and a form of capitalism akin to what America practices.
By having parties based on ideology rather than tribe, we would have stable democracies that would ensure a stable, peaceful, and prosperous Africa.
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