WHY NATIONS FAIL—Daron Acemoglu & James Robinson
Today marks the second anniversary of the election of President Bio into office. What a coincidence to share with readers my perspectives on my third monthly reading. Why Nations Fail will for a long time remain one of my all time favorite governance readers. As a democracy enthusiast and rule of law practitioner, it has tremendously expanded my horizon on nation building or destruction, statehood or state failure and leadership or dictatorship. This book debunks with both historical references and demonstrably credible evidence that history and geography do not determine the destiny of any nation. The authors chronicle the development path of Sierra Leone since independence and narrate how colonial leadership laid the foundation stones for extractive political institutions which the indigenes who took over from the colonialists constructed. The social scientists, economists explain why America, Britain and Botswana are developing every second while Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, North Korea and much of Sub-Saharan Africa are pathetically descending into new levels of impoverishment. They posit that extractive political institutions are largely responsible for the woes of poverty-stricken nations while inclusive political institutions sustain both political and economic successes of leading nations. This is so good a read that I’d recommend that (even if just the portion that relates to Sierra Leone) it be a mandatory read by every young person in school.
Personally, I have always held the view that our leaderships since independence have done very little to erect strong institutions on which the edifice of nationhood can be erected. Regime after regime has been focused on filling their pockets, giving jobs to their cronies, expanding their political bases and sidelining opposition groups, critical voices and shrinking the space for political pluralism. We are still wondering why we are so poor despite being on top of a ground which holds mineral resources enough to transform us and earn us a spot in the league of first nations? It is simply because we have lacked the right leadership. And by leadership, I do not mean the Head of State, in an exclusive sense. We have folks who occupy offices without any vision, folks whose only desire is to cut a huge slice of the national cake for themselves, court their constituents with lavish spending and pander to the desires of their political masters. Since independence our leaders have either killed our best minds (not really literally) or driven them away to foreign nations by their over-indulgence in corruption, nepotism and sheer wanton vandalism of any component of institutionalism and replacing them with only the rituals and paraphernalia of government. Political parties can’t fix a nation, only strong institutions can. Democracy is much more than regular or periodic elections, it is about inclusive governance, building and regulating institutions by the rule of law to inspire investor confidence and stimulate creative destruction, innovation and engender rapid social mobility. In essence, where there is a dearth of strong institutions, meritocracy is put to flight. This is why, hardly would one hear about disruptive inventions or ground-breaking innovations of global scale in societies with weak institutions or repressive regimes. This is because in those places, creativity and innovation, fair competition and fundamental rights including proprietary rights are suppressed or rebuffed or violated with impunity.
In Sierra Leone, what we need more than anything are institutions stronger than our political parties—which are regulated by law and are not subject to the whims and caprices of any political group. That is the only way our development can be sustainable and successive regimes cannot succeed in reversing the gains made by the institutions of government.
I agree with the authors that radical change in any society does not emerge from the skies, it is a product of dedicated activism, unyielding agitation, persistent demands by either the elites or the masses or a synergy of both.