African development demands return to indigenous ruling systems, Gambari, others insist

A call for Africa to embrace self-rediscovery and return to its indigenous ruling systems is gaining traction among leaders and experts, who argue that decades of reliance on imported political and economic models have hindered the continent's progress.

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The external cannot love us more than we love ourselves. And we are the ones who know where the shoe pinches because we wear it. We are the ones who need to show that we care about life.

Speaking at the launch of "Renegade Africa: All it Takes to Be African" by Moudjib Djinadou, former UN official and founder of the Itumo Institute, speakers including former Chief of Staff to late President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, urged African leaders and citizens to look inward.

Gambari stated that sustainable development can only be achieved when policies and institutions are rooted in the continent's historical realities, cultural heritage, and collective aspirations. "The external cannot love us more than we love ourselves," he asserted, emphasizing that Africans are best positioned to understand and address their own challenges.

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And if you don’t define yourself, if you don’t promote your own narrative, other people will not do it for you. And if you don’t blow your own trumpet, nobody else will blow it for you because they are very busy blowing their own trumpets.

The speakers highlighted that Africa faces numerous economic, security, and social challenges despite its vast resources. They argued that mimicking external values and policies has led to alienation and an undervaluation of indigenous governance systems, economic philosophies, and languages. "We practice democracy without African characteristics, and then we are surprised that sometimes it does not work," one speaker noted.

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We practice democracy without African characteristics, and then we are surprised that sometimes it does not work.

The book's central argument, as presented by the speakers, is that Africa's weaknesses stem not from geography or history, but from an alienation that causes it to undervalue its own heritage. To move forward, the continent must unearth its pre-colonial past and reclaim its unique identity, fostering a sense of self before engaging with the world.

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So the author points out, furthermore, that in order to open up to the world and make a contribution to it, one must first be oneself. And for that, we must unearth our pre-colonial heritage, which is our true pat