It is a known fact that the current problem of the African countries is that of leadership. We should not put a blanket cover over the entire continent. We have leaders like Nelson Mandela- world renowned leader of the modern South Africa who led South Africa out of apartheid regime, became the president, did one term and handed the reigns of power over to his deputy Thabow Mbeki, who shares the same ideological opinion with him, claiming that he wanted to go and rest and enjoy the rest of his life. Then there is Thabow Mbeki himself who declared that even though his party controls the majority in the parliament yet, he was not going to change the constitution to favor himself for whatever reason. These were leaders from South Africa. So, we cannot put a blanket cover over leadership vacuum created in all the African states. Then there is also John Kuffour in Ghana. His leadership qualities have helped Ghanaians retain their earlier developed doggedness to resist official flamboyance, excessive use of power by government officials and have provided a significant level of leadership worthy of emulation in that part of the continent. Moreover, the Liberians just elected a female president to govern them for the period before the next general election.Gender balancing had never been a priority issue in leadership formation of the entire African countries because there was no chance for women in the male dominated political field. But all of a sudden, a woman was elected by popular votes, appointed and anointed by the gods of the land. Then not to forget the indefatigable (former General) Olusegun Obasanjo, whose leadership of the most populous African country was before now, without rival. His popularity was unprecedented and his leadership style was without rival in the African continent. The only comma to his name was his recent total obsession of power and enormous display of Machiavellian description; power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

So the continent as a whole is not without quality leadership. What has been lacking is continued sustenance of the spirit of sustained leadership and permanent democratic dividend.

Basic Principles of Liberalism

Before we proceed further, let us agree on some fundamental assertions which will be the pivot upon which the other arguments will be premised. It is very essential that we establish this because it will place us all on the same page of thinking. The idea of free market enterprise is based on other dependant assumptions and that is the basic principles of liberalism. Free market already presupposes that a liberal political policy is in place. And by liberal one does not refer to the common usage of the word to mean, generosity; not placing restrictions on things, giving freely or open mindedness. By liberalism here, one refers to political/institutional policy reform. This policy reform connotes that there must be:

a.fundamental human right;

b.rule of law;

c.market economy policies; and

d.the type of governance must be democratic.

These are strong tenets and cannot be substituted for another. They are crucial and in a peculiar polity such as Africa where almost not

hing works, these values must be adhered to. Similarly, Obasanjo’s regime is been applauded for its introduction of deregulations and policy of market economy. His pass marks are resting on these assumptions. But once we can establish that the other variables mentioned above are as momentous as market economic policy, then we can better assess whether the sustenance of such policy in Nigeria and indeed Africa is a myth or reality.

I argued elsewhere that as an ideology, liberalism is the belief in and a movement to celebrate the freedom and responsibilities of the individual. It is predicated upon the belief that human beings have rights, both natural and inalienable, which cannot be negotiated but recognized and respected. These common assumptions on the right of the individual gave rise to the much acclaimed documentation of the fundamental human rights. Part of that recognition of right is the individual’s right to acquire and own property. This part is the key reference for us because it is the sum total of the individual’s yearnings and aspirations. The concept of “mine-ness” of a property is a good understanding of man’s quest for possession and sustenance of what is possessed. A thing or property is able to have ownership that prided in such. Whether we agree or disagree with Hobbes and Locke in their descriptions of state of nature or state of war, such description was made possible because man wants to acquire and attribute “mine-ness” to property for which he will lay down his life or defend the glory of such life. He is able to say, “…this is mine!” for that he will fight, defend and extend that “mine-ness”.

If the individual has right to acquire and own property, then he must be able to acquire and own such under a system that is devoid of conflict in the manner of the Hobbesian State of Nature or the Lockean State of War. The individual must be able to engage in enterprise that will earn him some income that makes him have what to save to acquire and own property. So he has a fundamental right to have means of engaging in acquiring properties if he so wishes. But this right has not been seen as a necessity in the first instance when African leaders speak of reforms. They only think that once they refer to the opportunity to make a few jobs available, they have satisfied their political responsibilities. Property rights must set the pace of economic policies; those policies are set to meet one of the basic and essential rights of citizens under them. Suffice it to say that market economic policy is premised upon the inalienable rights of human being.

Another variable in our consideration of market policy is something that is basic and typical and that is the concept of rule of law. Rule of law is the bedrock of sustenance of human rights and the law that bounds everyone under the operations of those laws. It is that sole inheritance of government to use as level playing field for market structures to operate on without frictions.

For market economy to make more sense, there must be a high premium placed on the concept and practice of rule of law. This is inseparable from the zeal to create jobs through the dynamic of market economic structures. By rule of law, leaders must help create the atmosphere where the laws of the land rule supreme and everyone is under the structures and dictates of this challenging concept. Government has no business in business other than creating enabling legal structures that brings order and fair play.