Benue State University, Makurdi

AFRICAN POLITICAL IDEOLOGY: AN INTERROGATION OF THE IDEOLOGICAL FUNCTION OF POLITICAL LEADERSHIP IN AFRICA

TENONG, Francis John^*
UDOCHUKWU, Njoku^*

Abstract

African Political Thought has survived the test of time dating back to the precolonial period. But there were changes in this line of thought over the years especially in the post-colonial period which saw African thinkers tilting either in favour of capitalism or socialism. However, the continued interaction of the African continent with the western world particularly in post-colonial Africa, seem to have pushed the African political ideologies into oblivion which of course raises the question of the functionality of African Political thought. This paper therefore, interrogates the presence of these ideologies in the political leadership in Africa. In other words, the ideological function of political leadership in Africa. The underdevelopment and development theory is the tool of analysis here, and the Multidisciplinary research method is deployed for this work. This paper argues that there has been the absence of Ideology guiding political leadership in Africa especially in the post-Cold War era, and a few factors are accountable for it. These includes: lack of dynamism; political imperialism as evident in neo-colonialism; and the misconception of the notion of development. So the political Ideologies in Africa ended up dying with the various regimes/leaders that came with it. Again, there has been the lack of cognizance of the existing indigenous structure in Africa by some of these ideologies which has also resulted to it fading away. If political leadership in Africa would stand up to the task before it, and consider the interest of the generality of Africans, without interference from the west as represented in neo-colonialism, then these ideologies which are African made, that put the interest of Africans first, would be functional again. The ideological function of political leadership is primarily to formulate and articulate guidelines for political and social behavior and to translate them into concrete plans and goals for state and society. To be reasonably effective, to release popular energies and direct them towards specific social objectives, the idea must be manageable in practice, must be articulate, consistent, and socially relevant, and must be perceived by the opinion and action of leaders throughout the state in approximately the sense intended.

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