Togo attempts to foster social cohesion through political inclusion
The row in Togo over whether Togolese opposition groups should accept the offer to join the ruling Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), of President Faure Gnassingbe, in a coalition government; an offer extended not by virtue of the outcome of the recent general elections but in the spirit of national reconciliation, further demonstrates Africa's growing democracy.
Togolese democratic disputes are not new, but the recent offer by Faure Gnassingbe marks a complete departure from how political dissent has been handled in that country. Goodwill gestures, such as demonstrated by the ruling government help to build bridges, and strengthen the democratic processes in a country.
Mauritius has a wealth of experience to share with the rest of Africa on how strategic compromises and bridge-building of this kind can help to sustain democracy and provide a fertile environment for economic development.
Some section of the opposition in Togo think the country's general elections held in March, were so badly rigged in favour of the RPT that it is not worth joining hands with the party. This group argues that, to do so will give today's Africa's budding democracy a bad name and keep Togo mired in the pretense of multiparty democracy instituted in the early 1990s by Faure's father, the late President Eyadema, whose government ruthlessly dominated Togolese politics and maintained power for almost 40 years.
In such twisted democracy, as Africans have come to experience in the past 50 years, the grounds aren't different from the anarchic, one-party and self-serving military junta years, where the rule of law, human rights, accountability, and freedoms were ineffective.
Some opposition groups (there are over ten groups) contend that some of their colleagues have not learnt from the painful past, especially the likes of Gilchrist Olympio, whose father, Sylvanus, was violently overthrown by Eyadema and saw Togo's then promising democracy destroyed.
For entering into a deal with the RPT, Togo's largest opposition party has suspended its long-serving leader, Gilchrist Olympio. The opposition's bad feelings are understandable, since the much disputed March election have not been resolved, but the fact that the RPT has warmed up to a coalition is a welcome note in Africa's democratic growth.
Yes, there are impediments along the democratic path, considering Togo's and Africa's history of political mistrust worsened by Africa's 'Big Man' syndrome (of which President Eyadema is one of the best examples), but to join or not to join hands, will be a function of how sincere the overtures being thrown the way of the opposition will prove to be.
It is, of course, important for the opposition to see a coalition as a way of working to resolve not only Togo's electoral reforms and closed politics but also its development and security, as Nigerians are attempting to do under President Goodluck Jonathan, and then use it as a springboard to further fertilize Togo's democracy and much needed progress.
While Togolese opposition could learn from the new British coalition government, Mauritius, an African home-grown case, could teach them one or two lessons. David Carment and Yiagadeesen Samy (both at Canada's Carleton University) explain that since its independence from Britain in 1968, "Mauritius," with one of the best development indicators in Africa, "has always been governed by coalition governments made up of at least two political parties."
With a population of 1.2 million, the Mauritian leadership, reflecting the African traditional leadership concept of consensus and participation, and the Mauritian reality, "adapted extremely well to its religious and ethnic diversity by promoting the concept of "unity in diversity," through regular consultations with religious organizations, government subsidies to religious groups, and the (more controversial) "best-loser system" that guarantees seats in parliament for under-represented minorities."
In a country of 6 million people and ranked 159th among 180 countries in the 2009 United Nations Human Development Index (HDI), that measure the well-being of nations, Togo is among the states with "low human development".
Pretty much of the reason is lack of credible democracy and political pliability. On the other hand, Mauritius, where its coalition governments have fostered political stability, resilience and good leadership, relatively high levels of human capital, the rule of law, democracy, human rights, and freedoms, especially press freedom, is ranked 81st in the HDI.
Some sections of the Togolese opposition may disagree with the wisdom of Gilchrist Olympio in his coalition quest, but added to "human development," a criteria that judges humanity's well-being such as life expectancy, infant mortality, health, literacy rates and the like, is how civilized a country is - and sometimes a simple vignette of a credible, trustful democratic coalition, as Mauritius demonstrates, captures this essence.
Source: Kofi Akosah-Sarpong/Public Agenda