AFRODEMOKRASIA English version

"AFRODEMOKRASIA" is a concept created by Salem M. AYENAN, a young Beninese, Ambassador of the State of the African Diaspora. Through this concept, he develops some utopian orientations for a democratic system according to African values ​​and realities.

Discover his very first article on Afrodemokrasia, which is only a small part of a whole work that will be made officially available at the appropriate time.

The next article you will read won him the 6th prize in the Writing Competition on Utopias of Political Systems in Africa, a competition organized by PLACE FOR AFRICA (Political Laboratory of African Communities in Europe) which selected the 10 best productions  internationally.

Since their accession to independence, African countries continue to languish in terms of development. The real problem that justifies this state of affairs lies in the choice of the appropriate political systems. The majority of African countries have opted for the regime of democracy from the 1990s. Benin is known to be one of the first countries to adopt this political system. More than four decades later, the results are disastrous, not only for the case of Benin, but several other African countries including the Ivory Coast, Togo, Congo, Guinea, to name a few.

In view of all this, we must dare to say it loud and clear: Africa has not yet defined its own model of democracy. The question then arises: which political systems should be opted for and for which purposes? We are going through this reflection to propose axes on which both the rulers and the citizens should look for an African-style democracy, according to the standards and realities of the continent: hence the concept Afrodemokrasia, a combined word "Afro to say “Africans” and “Demokrasia” which comes from the shwahili and which means “Democracy”.

Popularization and respect for human rights according to African realities

"Democracy inevitably passes through the respect of human rights", underlined Miguèle HOUETO, activist and defender of human rights, during the round table of "Utopias of political systems in Africa", held on September 15, 2021 in Benin on the occasion of the International Day of Democracy. Sticking to these words leads us to confirm that it is necessary to start from the popularization of the texts and laws of the constitution, so that each citizen enjoys his rights, and that he is able to seize the competent courts when his rights are violated.

We believe that human rights would be respected in Africa if our constitutions were developed according to African norms and cultures; written in the most widely spoken local languages ​​in each country; and available in audio version for the visually impaired.

On the citizen watch of the African peoples

It is true that we elect for most African countries, deputies to carry our voices in parliaments. But is it enough? The responsibility of citizens is not limited to this level. African citizens must now take ownership of the legal instruments at their disposal to say "NO" when necessary.

Also, they must be united to bring the will of the people with one voice. To be silent is to submit at will, and no one will come to your defense when your rights are illegally violated and you take it without saying a word. This is in no way an incitement to violence, but it is precisely the interpretation of the right to freedom of expression.

On the involvement of Traditional Chiefdoms for Participatory Governance

The realities on the African continent are not the same as those in Europe or America. For a long time, well before colonization and its aftermath, the African peoples were constituted in kingdoms, empires, and were governed according to norms, which until today exist in our societies.

It would be in good taste for the traditional chiefdoms, which are very much listened to by the majority of citizens, to now be involved in community governance. It is a serious mistake to put them aside, because they are the guarantors of our lands, our rites, our cultures and our values. We therefore call for an intellectual and cultural decolonization for an African-style democracy.

On the creation of an influential continental judicial body to reframe African leaders in the event of non-respect of the oath

Taking the oath is a traditional act that should lead African rulers to respect their word as soon as they take power. The Head of State or the President of the Republic is above all an ordinary citizen, who is designated to lead the people. Unfortunately, we are witnessing more and more offensive events in African countries since independence: it is obviously about the greediness of power.

The power belongs to the people. It is therefore quite normal for African leaders to lay down the apron as the constitution stipulates once at the end of their term of office. This is what justifies our proposal for the creation of a fairly influential continental judicial body, headed by reputable African judges, who would give its voice in the event of non-respect of the oath. Unfortunately, the African Union and ECOWAS have so far failed to resolve this situation.

Deconcentration of the powers of the President of the Republic

In most African countries, the Head of State has a parcel of power which gives him superpower and political hegemony. For example, we believe that the army in its role of preserving democracy should be a body in its own right, which is not controlled by politicians, but which defends the interests of the people.

From civic and patriotic education of African peoples towards Participatory Democracy

A good civic and patriotic education is necessary for the construction of a participatory democracy in Africa. It is time for every daughter and son of the continent to commit and participate in the management of the city, no matter in what form, whether through activism in associations, in trade union movements or in the Organizations of the Society. Civil.

Breaking down barriers for the unity of African peoples

The project of the United States of Africa is a utopia which will be a reality one fine day. Let us work for the moment to build a new Africa based on typically African ideologies which advocate living together. An African proverb says it doesn't just happen to others. We must therefore stick together among African countries for the development of our dear continent.

Like Marcus Garvey, Cheikh Anta Diop, Aimé Césaire, Achille Mbembe, Valentin Mudimbe and many others, it is time to rethink Africa. We remain optimistic and convinced that a good civic and patriotic education; that the popularization of the texts and laws of the constitution in local African languages; the involvement of traditional chiefdoms in local governance; that the creation of an autonomous, independent and influential judiciary; as the deconcentration of powers of African Heads of State; than citizen monitoring; and the cultivation of the notion of the Republic will lead to the development of the African peoples. We believe in Afrodemokrasia.

Copyright: salemayenan@2021

Link to PLACE for AFRICA page: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=482859560119002&id=104059141332381