5. African Leadership Process in the Development of Globalisation

The African leadership journey was reviewed under two periods, namely, the precolonial and postcolonial era. The postcolonial era was further divided into pro-independence and post-independence era. Although, the precolonial era had leaders who were autocratic and wielded great power, there were checks and balances created by culture or rituals which moderated the excesses of leaders. The effectiveness of the precolonial leaders formed the basis for their inclusion in the administration of the colonial masters. The pre-independence era had leaders who worked hard to gain independence for the continent. Unfortunately, their performance after independence did not reflect the zeal and drive they had during the struggle for independence. The post-independence era is characterised by leaders who are mostly despots and dictatorial and wielded much power. They subverted institutions that could provide checks and balances and were able to stay in office longer than required. It was established that the post-independence African leaders have internal/fixed mind-sets and that their leadership styles are mainly autocratic. These are responsible for the poor leadership performance during this period of African history.