Endless Conflicts: Source of Unsustainabile Development in Africa

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue VI, June 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186

Endless Conflicts: Source of Unsustainabile Development in Africa

NDAGIJIMANA Ibrahim

Doctoral Candidate, Governance and Leadership, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya

Abstract:-“The colonialists care nothing for Africa for her own sake. They are attracted by African riches and their actions are guided by the desire to preserve their interests in Africa against the wishes of the African people. For the colonialists all means are good if they help them to possess these riches”. Speech at the All-African Conference in Leopoldville August 1960. Patrice Lumumba, A Pan-Africanist and iconic revolutionary, Lumumba
In my free time, I read books, publish articles, read national, regional and international journals, and found that, there is a common image that is attributed to Africa continent, “Africa is a continent of the most disputed regions of the globe”. My questions were: Why Africa? How Africa can sustain its own social, economic and political development? What Africa is lacking (Politically and Economically? And when Africa will be mature enough? These questions motivated me to research and share my findings to all concerned while I contributing to my continent development. It is therefore worth it to note that Africa has no monopoly of conflict. In every corner of other regions of the world are also affected and associate with considerable forms of mass atrocities, violence’s and conflicts. For matter of facts, Libya, South Sudan and Sudan, RCA, Afghanistan, Syrian, Iraq, India-Pakistan, Palestine-Israel… to mention but a few, are among the trouble parts of non-African continent.
It has been experienced with an instable in various sectors including Politico-social economic, a number of civil wars, armed conflicts, racial, ethnics disputes, recently genocide perpetrated against Tutsi in 1994 in Rwanda, religious radicalism where in it catches the attention of most developed nations as well as both regional organisations, Humanitarians organisations and UN for their own strategic interest over the region other ways. All these issues would ended years and years ago if there was a good intention to Africa but first of all, good will, commitment and vision of leaders. Accordingly, this paper attempted to identify and critically analyse the due reasons for an endless aforementioned challenges throughout the region.
The secondary data from different reliable and verifiable sources have been collected and the data were analysed with a combination of both constructivism and interpretivism to guide the quality of qualitative method of this research. Hence, the unification of African continent is far, though one continent, but diversified intra-state and inter-state conflict among the neighbouring countries. A big number of them were rooting to conflicts, racial, ethnic and religious polarization towards boarder and territorial. Thus, identity based on racial, ethnics, civil war, conflicts, and clan or religious are the instruments of politicians to remain on power through their political parties which provoking the peaceful society to get in to violence for their personal interests at the expense of the community which result, here then is the source of both dictatorial, unsustainable development, corruption, Inept Leadership, illegal migration of Africans and bad governance which drives multifaceted dispute with in a African Community due to mainly of lack of willingness and vision of our African Leaders, own interests rather than people’s interests, lack of self-confidence and self-reliance.
Though the continent of Africa has been highly susceptible to intra and inter- state wars and conflicts which, has prompted the insinuation that Africa is the home of wars and instability but there is hope that, Africa can manage at own their issues against stable and sustainable peace and it has power and capacity to prevent the above mentioned issues while anticipating possible conflicts to early warn them, strategic intervention and necessary action by the African Organisations such as EAC, AU, SADC, ECOWAS, IGAD…or partnering with other Africa regional and international organizations. It is worth it, to use cultural conflict resolution, management and transformation methods by initiating Africanism or Pan Africanism approach as case of Rwanda to hamper conflicts escalations.
To end, let me share with readers, the H.E Paul Kagame’s inspirational quote “Transformational leadership that will lead to Africa’s prosperity must be confident, assertive, innovative”

Keywords: Conflicts, Ethnic polarization and Unsustainable development.

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