Francis Nyamnjoh: Chieftaincy and Democracy in Contemporary Africa

About Francis Nyamnjoh

Francis B. Nyamnjoh is Professor of anthropology at the University of Cape Town in South Africa
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Chieftaincy and Democracy in Contemporary Africa

By Francis B. Nyamnjoh

Theorizing democracy and accountability in Africa ought to emphasise networking and creative domestication of encounters with others.

Hail_the_chief
Bakweri Chiefs in Cameroon (© Makuna Tande)

This focus should check the application of misleading labels, and draw attention to the various pressures exerted on the state and private corporate entities by various groups in various ways for various reasons of empowerment. As people increasingly distrust states, markets and NGOs to accommodate their needs, they will continue to explore other avenues of fulfilling their expectations.

In certain cases and situations functions usually served by civil society as voluntary organisations have been performed by non-voluntary groups and lobbies such as ethnic elite associations and development unions, often under unelected leadership.

Walking the corridors of power and resources seeking political and economic empowerment and representation for their regions or peoples as cultural units, such ethnic associations or their representatives have often been more active and fruitful in the name of ordinary citizens and subjects than most formal voluntary associations in many an African country.

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November 14, 2004 in Africa, Democracy & Democratization | Permalink

Tags: accountability, Africa, Botswana, Cameroon, chieftaincy, democracy, local government