It would not be spoton to think that the kind of leadership in present day Africa has no bearing on the past. This applies to both political and religious kind of leadership and inclusive of various levels of leaderships. Regardless of the kind of leadership (political or religious) or the level of leadership, e.g., head of state or head of a family, there are indications that primary notion of leadership in Africa is still prevalent in present day notion of leadership. In this report the goal is to identify the leadership notion in Africa during the primitive years of the development of the continent. In the process it will also be shown how the population developed this concept. As a case study, special concentration will be given to Sierra Leone because of her uniqueness in being an African country founded by Western powers.
Hunter College
Indigenous notion Of Leadership In Africa
In his seminar on early civilization, F. K. Buah in his book, 'Ancient World', made this observation; "After a while men saw that it was not safe to have their homes scattered about and began to build them near each other in the same place. This is how community life began. Where there are more than two families staying in the area, there must be person who will look after the coarse good of the people. The headman is generally the first person who had settled in the village, or he was the bravest of the population who lived there. He was to rule these population by a council made up of the oldest and wisest men in the village." From these words of F. K. Buah, a background to the development of leadership is brought into focus. It can be observed that whilst Western countries have developed greatly into cosmopolitan cities, a much larger part of Africa portrayed early and typical community settings. Two things can be pointed out from the passage above regarding the way leaders were recognized in the past: first, they were recognized in terms of age or the time period one has been in a singular area; second, they were recognized because of some personal qualities or achievements.
In his book, 'The History of Sierra Leone' Magbaily Fyle discussed more about this early forms of leadership in the continent. Agreeing to him, villages and towns may group together in a section, which is referred to as a state. All of the towns may have their own immediate rulers. The head of the main town in that section, usually the oldest town, was the Chief of that section. This head would be recognized as the King, because he belonged to the family, which founded the town that became the center of the state.
Magbaily Fyle pointed out that in the founding of most states, warfare had been involved. He said that if a person is a great hunter or warrior or even as in Mende country, being a favorite "moriman", it is easy for that person to be brought the leadership of a prominent town and ultimately becoming the King of a state. Like F. K. Buah, Magbaily Fyle agreed that special good qualities were essentials for the recognition of leaders.
Warfare was the most prominent factor involved in recognizing a leader. But as Fyle observed, later considerations were given to population whose forefathers have been great warriors, though the person has to prove himself. F.K. Buah in his book, 'West Africa and Europe', throws more light on Fyle's observation made above when he said that population moved from one place to an additional one to make new community as a consequent of bad climate, infertile land, famine, floods, or war with stronger people. In cases where new settlements developed as a consequent of any of the reasons stated above, other than war, considerations of a person's forefathers are taken into catalogue in recognizing a leader. In the case of war, the stronger becomes the leader. F. K. Buah brought this to light as he discussed the history of the Denykyira and Asante population of Ghana around 1695 A.D. The Denkyiras were ruling the Asante population by then. Agreeing to Buah, the Asante realized that, in order to come to be a noteworthy nation, they must have direct sense with the Europeans. Under the Dekyiras this could not happen, so they looked for an opening to fight the Denkyiras in order to free themselves. This opening came when the Denkyira King asked for more taxes in gold. They took benefit of it and freed themselves. The Asante then built up a noteworthy kingdom. F. K. Buah added observed, "from what we read about the Asante in books, we get the impression that they spent most of their time in warfare. It is true in the course of expanding their empire, the Asante King had to fight and subdue other Kingdoms".
The King or the Chiefs were not the only leaders recognized during the early stages in the development of Africa. Councils of elders, to help Kings or Chiefs in their duties have long been recognized in Africa. The concern at this point is how these elders were recognized. Magbaily Fyle noted that there were no written records of the names of those elder during those times. These societies did minuscule or no writing. However, he said every person knew who the elders were. If a man was becoming important, he became an elder. He became fully recognized once his absence in a meeting raised comments among the other elders.8
Fyle also noted that an additional one class of leaders recognized in primary Africa was those of various secret societies. In reference to the male societies, he stated that these leaders taught young men activities of manhood such as, fighting, hunting, the use of various herbs to cure ailments, recognition of rank order in community and other matters. The point here is that these leaders, who were not necessarily the political leaders of the community or state, were also given recognition.9
The Western notion Of Acknowledging Leadership In primary Affrica
The primary notion of leadership in Africa has also been influenced by western concept. In most African countries, this influence became inevitable during the period that led to independence. However, Sierra Leone is unique in the sense that the country has a direct influence of western powers in her preparing as a nation. F.K. Buah in his book, 'Africa and Europe', briefly described how the country was founded. He said that freed slaves who come to be communal problems in London, Nova Scotia and Jamaica were brought by the British to a coastal area in the west coast of Africa and resettled. The British directly governed these resettled slaves.10 Arthur Porter, in his book "Creoledom", revealed the western influence in the leadership during the development of the nation in the following quote: "religious originations in Freetown did not have to wait for missionaries from Europe. Many of the Nova Scotian settlers had been Christians in Canada and on arrival had set up chapels for themselves". It can be seen from the quote that westerners had already influenced these settlers before they came back. They set up chapels, a copy of western practices quite separate from the indigenes. Porter added observed. "The churches were not organizations devoted only to service and worship; they were also centers of communal life in the community, providing a field of operation in which the freed Negroes could get status and exercise leadership. The church provided an easy opening for status enhancement to those with aspiration for leadership. Thus many with great ability and force of personality, if not scholastic distinction, soon broke away and collected their own following".11 Like the indigenous people, leadership for these African settlers involved a fight although it was not physical. Also personal ability and qualification counts. Unlike the indigenes one is not noteworthy to lead because of age or because he has been around the longest. F.K. Buah, in his book, "West Africa and Europe" noted that the Christian missionaries who came shortly after the founding of Sierra Leone were very much concerned in education. They built schools and later a college. As the settlers and indigenes became one people, the separate leaderships concepts blend into one. Leadership positions became more of an appointment or determination rather than a show of force.12
Conclusion
Africans had a notion of leadership from the primitive stages of the development of the continent. The indigenous population of the continent determined population who could protect them physically and at times spiritually, such as a warrior, hunter, moriman, etc, as noteworthy to lead. Old age is also determined as wisdom and qualifies the personel to lead or to be in the ruling council.
Since most African countries were colonized by western powers and they founded others, an additional one dimension of primary leadership was developed in the continent. Leaders were recognized by educational qualification. Agee was given minuscule consideration. Leaders were appointed or elected. The way the leaders were recognized or acknowledged gives one partial knowledge of their leadership concept. It has been appointed or elected. The way the leaders were recognized or acknowledged gives one partial knowledge of their leadership concept. It has been seen that it a blend of indigenous and western approaches.
A Historical Reflection: Leadership in Primitive Africa
It would not be spoton to think that the kind of leadership in present day Africa has no bearing on the past. This applies to both political and religious kind of leadership and inclusive of various levels of leaderships. Regardless of the kind of leadership (political or religious) or the level of leadership, e.g., head of state or head of a family, there are indications that primary notion of leadership in Africa is still prevalent in present day notion of leadership. In this report the goal is to identify the leadership notion in Africa during the primitive years of the development of the continent. In the process it will also be shown how the population developed this concept. As a case study, special concentration will be given to Sierra Leone because of her uniqueness in being an African country founded by Western powers.
Indigenous notion Of Leadership In Africa
In his seminar on early civilization, F. K. Buah in his book, 'Ancient World', made this observation; "After a while men saw that it was not safe to have their homes scattered about and began to build them near each other in the same place. This is how community life began. Where there are more than two families staying in the area, there must be person who will look after the coarse good of the people. The headman is generally the first person who had settled in the village, or he was the bravest of the population who lived there. He was to rule these population by a council made up of the oldest and wisest men in the village." From these words of F. K. Buah, a background to the development of leadership is brought into focus. It can be observed that whilst Western countries have developed greatly into cosmopolitan cities, a much larger part of Africa portrayed early and typical community settings. Two things can be pointed out from the passage above regarding the way leaders were recognized in the past: first, they were recognized in terms of age or the time period one has been in a singular area; second, they were recognized because of some personal qualities or achievements.
In his book, 'The History of Sierra Leone' Magbaily Fyle discussed more about this early forms of leadership in the continent. Agreeing to him, villages and towns may group together in a section, which is referred to as a state. All of the towns may have their own immediate rulers. The head of the main town in that section, usually the oldest town, was the Chief of that section. This head would be recognized as the King, because he belonged to the family, which founded the town that became the center of the state.
Magbaily Fyle pointed out that in the founding of most states, warfare had been involved. He said that if a person is a great hunter or warrior or even as in Mende country, being a favorite "moriman", it is easy for that person to be brought the leadership of a prominent town and ultimately becoming the King of a state. Like F. K. Buah, Magbaily Fyle agreed that special good qualities were essentials for the recognition of leaders.
Warfare was the most prominent factor involved in recognizing a leader. But as Fyle observed, later considerations were given to population whose forefathers have been great warriors, though the person has to prove himself. F.K. Buah in his book, 'West Africa and Europe', throws more light on Fyle's observation made above when he said that population moved from one place to an additional one to make new community as a consequent of bad climate, infertile land, famine, floods, or war with stronger people. In cases where new settlements developed as a consequent of any of the reasons stated above, other than war, considerations of a person's forefathers are taken into catalogue in recognizing a leader. In the case of war, the stronger becomes the leader. F. K. Buah brought this to light as he discussed the history of the Denykyira and Asante population of Ghana around 1695 A.D. The Denkyiras were ruling the Asante population by then. Agreeing to Buah, the Asante realized that, in order to come to be a noteworthy nation, they must have direct sense with the Europeans. Under the Dekyiras this could not happen, so they looked for an opening to fight the Denkyiras in order to free themselves. This opening came when the Denkyira King asked for more taxes in gold. They took benefit of it and freed themselves. The Asante then built up a noteworthy kingdom. F. K. Buah added observed, "from what we read about the Asante in books, we get the impression that they spent most of their time in warfare. It is true in the course of expanding their empire, the Asante King had to fight and subdue other Kingdoms".
The King or the Chiefs were not the only leaders recognized during the early stages in the development of Africa. Councils of elders, to help Kings or Chiefs in their duties have long been recognized in Africa. The concern at this point is how these elders were recognized. Magbaily Fyle noted that there were no written records of the names of those elder during those times. These societies did minuscule or no writing. However, he said every person knew who the elders were. If a man was becoming important, he became an elder. He became fully recognized once his absence in a meeting raised comments among the other elders.8
Fyle also noted that an additional one class of leaders recognized in primary Africa was those of various secret societies. In reference to the male societies, he stated that these leaders taught young men activities of manhood such as, fighting, hunting, the use of various herbs to cure ailments, recognition of rank order in community and other matters. The point here is that these leaders, who were not necessarily the political leaders of the community or state, were also given recognition.9
The Western notion Of Acknowledging Leadership In primary Affrica
The primary notion of leadership in Africa has also been influenced by western concept. In most African countries, this influence became inevitable during the period that led to independence. However, Sierra Leone is unique in the sense that the country has a direct influence of western powers in her preparing as a nation. F.K. Buah in his book, 'Africa and Europe', briefly described how the country was founded. He said that freed slaves who come to be communal problems in London, Nova Scotia and Jamaica were brought by the British to a coastal area in the west coast of Africa and resettled. The British directly governed these resettled slaves.10 Arthur Porter, in his book "Creoledom", revealed the western influence in the leadership during the development of the nation in the following quote: "religious originations in Freetown did not have to wait for missionaries from Europe. Many of the Nova Scotian settlers had been Christians in Canada and on arrival had set up chapels for themselves". It can be seen from the quote that westerners had already influenced these settlers before they came back. They set up chapels, a copy of western practices quite separate from the indigenes. Porter added observed. "The churches were not organizations devoted only to service and worship; they were also centers of communal life in the community, providing a field of operation in which the freed Negroes could get status and exercise leadership. The church provided an easy opening for status enhancement to those with aspiration for leadership. Thus many with great ability and force of personality, if not scholastic distinction, soon broke away and collected their own following".11 Like the indigenous people, leadership for these African settlers involved a fight although it was not physical. Also personal ability and qualification counts. Unlike the indigenes one is not noteworthy to lead because of age or because he has been around the longest. F.K. Buah, in his book, "West Africa and Europe" noted that the Christian missionaries who came shortly after the founding of Sierra Leone were very much concerned in education. They built schools and later a college. As the settlers and indigenes became one people, the separate leaderships concepts blend into one. Leadership positions became more of an appointment or determination rather than a show of force.12
Conclusion
Africans had a notion of leadership from the primitive stages of the development of the continent. The indigenous population of the continent determined population who could protect them physically and at times spiritually, such as a warrior, hunter, moriman, etc, as noteworthy to lead. Old age is also determined as wisdom and qualifies the personel to lead or to be in the ruling council.
Since most African countries were colonized by western powers and they founded others, an additional one dimension of primary leadership was developed in the continent. Leaders were recognized by educational qualification. Agee was given minuscule consideration. Leaders were appointed or elected. The way the leaders were recognized or acknowledged gives one partial knowledge of their leadership concept. It has been appointed or elected. The way the leaders were recognized or acknowledged gives one partial knowledge of their leadership concept. It has been seen that it a blend of indigenous and western approaches.
Endnotes:
1.F. K. Buah, West Africa and Europe (London: Macmillan Publishers, 19), p. 56.
2.Magbaily Fyle, The History of Sierra Leone (London: Evans Brothers Limited, 1981), p. 56.
3.Ibid, p.57.
4.Ibid, p. 57.
5.F. K. Buah, West Africa and Europe (London: Macmillan Publishers, 1960), p. 96.
6.Ibid, pp.112-3.
7.Ibid, p. 116
8 Magbaily Fyle, The History of Sierra Leone (London: Evans Brothers Limited, 1981), p. 59.
9 Ibid, p 66.
10 F.K. Buah, West Africa and Europe (London: Macmillan Publishers, 1960), P158/9
11 Arthur Porter, Creoledom (London: Oxford University Press, 1963), p. 78/9
12 F.K. Buah, West Africa and Europe (London: Macmillan Publishers, 1960), p 161.
A Historical Reflection - Leadership in Primitive Africa
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