Political Leadership in Sub-Saharan Africa: From Giants to Dwarfs

Abstract

National liberation struggles and the subsequent activity of nation-building have dominated the political development of sub-Saharan African states. However, only the former process has produced first-rate political leaders, amongst whom Kwame Nkrumah and Sékou Touré are the best examples. In the nation-building stage, leaders most often failed, in terms both of low effectiveness and instability of office-holders. Reasons for this failure can be seen partly in the distinction between the sharply focused objective of national independence and the vagueness of the concept of post-independence development.