They are commonly corrupt and clueless. Too many serious-minded people, they are mere caricatures who parade as leaders of their countries.
When world leaders gathered to mourn and pay their last respects to a great son of the continent, they were there in their numbers but in the shadows, and who cares for corrupt despots and beggars? Some of them would have even used the occasion to beg for alms, which is their stock-in-trade.
The thunderous hooting and booing which welcomed their host, when he entered the arena of thousands of international and local mourners epitomises the misfortune of Africa, which continues to search for credible, honest and dedicated leaders to marshal its huge human and material resources for its development.
The contrast was just too great. Here was a great statesman being eulogised, an icon who became the embodiment of the struggle against racial prejudice, political, social and economic oppression of the masses. Then entered the host, and suddenly the dead was momentarily forgotten.
It was like the crowd saying, let's deal with this new element first before continuing with our celebration of the noble Nelson Mandela, someone all Africa leaders pretend to love but fail to take inspiration from.
African leaders should, under normal circumstances be the ones hosting the rest of the world at the funeral of Mandela. Unfortunately, most of them were lost in the crowd unnoticed.
Who said their own people cared? Who cares for leaders who have lost touch with reality? Who cares about leaders who have placed their own interests and those of their cronies far above those of their countries and people? Who cares for leaders who have stuffed their pockets with the monies generated from the toil and sweat of their people and turn round junketing the globe begging for funds to meet their numerous development challenges?
In the past, it was easy to take refuge in slavery and colonialism. Later, it was neo-colonialism and then military dictatorship. Are these still relevant today? Can we still blame the past for our problems today?
The rest of the world is making giant strides while we are crawling, that is if we are making any forward movement at all. Typical of failures, we have many excuses without looking at ourselves.
When they mention the Group of Eight (G8), we do not come close. Not even the Group of Twenty-three (G23), which comprises mostly the emerging economies of Asia and Latin America.
South Africa, which is seen as the torch-bearer of Africa's economic emancipation may soon catch the plague if people such as Jacob Zuma, who could spend over US$20 million of public money to renovate his private property, remain at the helm of affairs.
The rest of the world would have forgotten this continent long ago, but for the fact that we are producing the raw materials that are feeding their industries.
This time, it is not the so-called colonial powers who are interested in our resources. Others, including those who were in the same trench with, the newly-emerged independent countries, have joined the invasion.
You can name Brazil, China, Turkey, India, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines, in addition to the traditional masters that are euphemistically described as development partners when the right word is MASTERS.
On November 5, 2013, India launched a spacecraft — the Mangalyan — to orbit Mars. The spacecraft is expected to reach Mars in September 2014. This would make India the fourth space programme after the United States of America, Russia and the EU Space Agency, to visit Mars, also known as the Red Planet.
On December 1, 2013, China also launched its first lunar rover mission — a major step in China's ambitious space programme — which as expected, landed on the moon on Saturday, December 14. China also has long-term plans to establish a permanent space station in earth's orbit. It is also planning a manned mission to the moon in future with the ultimate objective of using the moon as a springboard for deep space exploration.
These things do not happen by accident. They are the fruits of long-term vision and planning.
In Ghana, do we have any national development agenda? Do we have any long-term ambitions? Do we have any plans in time to abandon the exportation of our raw materials and instead process them ourselves? Do we have any idea where we shall be as a nation in the next 10, 20, 50 or even 100 years?
Will our leaders spare a few moments to think about the future of this nation instead of the endless plots to siphon our resources for their personal aggrandisement?
Many African leaders, may surround themselves with the most vocal cheerleaders and sycophants today but they cannot ultimately escape the fate of Jacob Zuma, who was humiliated before the whole world for betraying the vision and ideals of the anti-apartheid fighters such as Nelson Mandela, who wrote history with their blood, sweat and tears so that the rest would live in freedom and dignity.
It is the prayer of some of us that our President's trip to Soweto to bury Mandela would bear fruit in the form of better programmes and policies, more transparent and open government and a steadfast and committed decision to use our huge national resources to free our people from disease, poverty, illiteracy, ignorance, economic and social bondage.
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