‘Africa 2.0’: Myth or reality?

In recent weeks, there have been a series of conferences in Africa and Europe that focused on the role of technology, specifically social media, in promoting development and good governance in Africa. These have spun a number of discussions about the real impact of social media in Africa:

FrontlineSMS provides a synopsis of the recent Africa Gathering summit in London which focused on social media in Africa:

‘Many of the participants at the conference agreed that IT literacy, and indeed infrastructure, are not yet at a level for new forms of social media to overtake other existing communications tools. The consensus was that there continues to be an important place for traditional media. Some discussion was dedicated to the continuing conflicts in North Africa, for instance, as it was recognised that while the rise in use of new, internet based tools such as Facebook and Twitter have facilitated communications channels for social mobilisation to increasing numbers of people; there is a danger of creating new forms of inequality. In many contexts, new media does not have the same pervasiveness or reach as mediums such as newspapers, radios and mobile phones. At the local level, the tools required for change are often already in people’s hands; the challenge is making them work effectively to meet the needs of the context.

‘It was argued that change must be bottom-up, and begin by supporting grass roots initiatives to acquire the tools which suit their needs. If kept simple, social media devices such as the traditional radio combined with simple, cheap low-spec devices, like a mobile phone, can enhance the interactivity of radio to produce better intra-community experiences. By removing barriers of communication between community members and leaders, it becomes easier to foster a strong and engaged civil society.’

Strange Attractor’s Suw Charman-Anderson, a participant at the Africa Gathering conference, argues that rather than focusing too much on social media and digital tools, Africans should spend time developing a ‘social experience’ irrespective of the type of media:

‘There has been a lot of talk today about social media as if it is only Twitter and Facebook, and often the response has been that this is representative of only a small sections of voices in Africa and old, but valid, concerns about creating a digital divide. I also think that when we talk about social media, we need to think about how we can create social experience using whatever media is available to people…
‘It’s about building a social experience, not about getting jiggy with the technology. The world’s largest circulation English language newspaper isn’t in the US, UK or Australia. It’s in India, Newspapers in Asia, Africa and Latin America are seeing double digit growth. There are huge opportunities in socialising ‘old media’...
People want to communicate. They want their voices heard. It’s often said that FM radio is to Africa what satellite television is to the Middle East. When we think about social media, there is a lot of ways that we can engage people socially regardless of the technology.’

Tony Ballu argues that new technologies are creating a more assertive and independent generation of Africans who are very critical of their leaders:

‘The anger amongst Africans in the Diaspora and even young Africans on the continent at their leaders is very palpable, people feel let down by their leadership and it’s rare to hear anybody say a good word about an African President or Prime Minister. Most Africans it seems now blame their leaders for their plight not Colonialism or Slavery or any other made-up reasons that African leaders like to parrot. This anger can be felt on Twitter, Facebook and numerous blogs springing up all over the web. This generation of Africans is not going to make the mistakes of their parents who accepted wholeheartedly the assertion of African leaders of the time, that all their problems could be traced to the Whiteman. There is an element of armchair-revolutionarism about all of this, however the revolution has to start somewhere...the problems facing the continent will not and cannot be solved by Aid or money from the West but a radical reform in the way Africa is governed. This new state of mind bodes well for the development of the Continent, and with the help of Technology, Mobiles and Social Media, a growing mass of Africans are making huge strides towards a successful future.’

A similar view is shared by Tolu Ogunlesi who believes that ‘Africa 2.0’ will created and championed by a new type of ‘strongmen’ totally different from the strongmen of the past who plunged Africa in ignominy:

‘In truth, Africa 2.0 needs strong men and women, in addition to strong institutions, and Mr. Obama’s words could do with some redefining. When he says “Africa doesn’t need strongmen”, it is evident that he means the kind of strongmen that have led it to where it is today – the Mobutus and Does and Abachas and Mugabes...The expansion of a class of strongmen - entrepreneurs, scientists, news media, etc - who do not owe their wealth (or its expansion) to easy access to oil blocs and diamond mines and political office, alongside the inevitable expansion of the middle class, will reduce the prospects of the kind of totalitarian control that once defined and destroyed the African continent.

‘The point is this: in the emerging Africa it is harder for the government to carry on as though the people didn’t exist, or as though they existed to be deceived, because the citizens are losing the fear that once held them down. And then again, yes, people do get sick and tired of suffering, and less and less patient with lying, thieving, murderous tyrants.

‘The term “Africa 2.0” has been used to describe this new face of Africa. In my mind I see Africa 2.0 as a giant construction site. So much is going on simultaneously: sketching, assembling, pulling down, and dredging; and arguments and debates, some threatening to turn violent. Architectural plans are emerging and disappearing and changing as construction is going on, and accidents happen every now and then.’

Global Dashboard’s Claire Melamed argues that Africa’s mobile phone revolution will lead to another digital divide without the active participation of government:

‘The areas where most people live are covered [by mobile phones">, but large swathes of every country, so a significant number of the most excluded, remote communities, still don’t have a signal. Expanding coverage is going to be expensive, and the most remote areas are going to be the most expensive. But it’s got to happen if we’re interested in equitable access to the huge benefits that mobile communications can bring. Governments have a role of course, in providing incentives for the private sector to make those investments.

‘The literacy divide. I’ve blogged here before about the fact that slowly growing rates of literacy and rapidly growing rates of mobile internet access might mean that inability to read, rather than lack of access to the technology, will soon become the key barrier to accessing the internet. There are lots of great examples of how mobile communications can be used to promote literacy, but the point still stands. And again, it’s largely up to governments to make sure that literacy expands fast enough to keep up…

‘My conclusion: the mobile revolution might have been driven by the private sector, but governments have to get involved and start seeing mobile communications as a service like any other, with the same issues of equity, coverage and affordability, to prevent new inequalities from emerging. Or in other words: the usual public policy problem updated for the mobile age.’

George Ngwane riles against Western duplicity in Libya:

‘In February 2010, I was in the company of students studying Conflict Prevention and Resolution in the UK whose field trip to The Hague took us to the trial of Charles Taylor in the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands. Before watching the trial, we were given lectures on the concepts of “crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes” and the fact that part of the reason why Charles Taylor was in the dock was his alleged sponsorship of rebels in the Sierra Leonean war (blood diamond) which took place between 1993-2004. What are the Western Allied Forces doing adorning Libyan rebels with diplomatic garbs, collecting a war chest for the rebels, opening offices and recognizing a rebel outfit as well as encouraging the oil for arms trade with the rebels (blood oil)?

‘I sometimes wonder how useful the Chevening Fellowship Certificate offered me by the British Government at the end of my course on Conflict Prevention is when the same Government defies the logic of peaceful settlement in preference to a large scale orgy of state violence. And international human rights organisations, Eurocentric scholars and their African lackeys, the International Criminal Court and all the international moral crusaders are keeping mute waiting to raise their ominous voices each time Robert Mugabe kills a fly. Brazen double standards and outright hypocrisy…

‘After fifty years of nominal Independence, Africa’s malign or benign despotism cannot be replaced by Western malevolent or benevolent imperialism. The endgame of any malign African despot shall in the short or the long term be engendered by genuine homegrown people power which fortunately is now witnessing a groundswell from the anti- one man rule to the anti-monarchy stance.’

Mideast Soccer’s James Dorsey writes about the challenges that a post-Qadaffi Libya will have to confront:

‘The problems include restoring and maintaining law and order; securing basic services such as food, water and energy; achieving international recognition of a post-Qaddafi government; resuming oil exports to ensure funding for the new government; and kick starting Libya’s stagnating economy.

‘All of this has to happen in a country that lacks institutions as a result of Mr. Qaddafi’s reliance on traditional tribal structures.

‘The pitfalls are equally challenging. A major conclusion of the experts is to incorporate existing structures and forces. The experts are drawing on the fact that a decision by the than US administration of Iraq to disband former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s military and police forces fuelled the bloody insurgency that savaged Iraq for years.

‘The need to rely on remnants of Mr. Qaddafi’s regime is reinforced by the fact that the untrained and inexperienced rebel forces are likely to be unable to maintain security on their own. Privately, Libyans in rebel-held territory concede that their most competent force consists of Islamists steeled by years of fighting in the 1990s against Mr. Qaddafi’s regime.

‘Ensuring the integration of remnants of the old regime into a new Libya may also pay political dividends. It would serve as a reassurance for those in Mr. Qaddafi’s camp who might still be willing to jump ship or even stage an effective coup against Mr. Qaddafi to remove him from power and pave the way for regime change. That reassurance takes on added importance following this week’s arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court in The Hague against Mr. Qaddafi, his son, Saif al-Islam al-Qaddafi and Abdullah Senoussi, the head of Libyan intelligence.’

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* Dibussi Tande blogs at Scribbles from the Den.
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