The Wonderful African Oz

For the past few hundred years or so there’s been two dominant trends when it comes to Africa. The “I’m going to save Africa from itself” approach or “I’m going to show Africa how X is done“. The first statement can be argued to be what lead to the first vestiges of western colonialism, the second has lead to foreign groups dominating what goes on in politics here from apartheid in South Africa to the British and the U.S. ‘anointing’ political leaders sympathetic to their national interests. Rarely are people coming to Africa to do more than the same old ‘get in and get out’ dance. You know, to do things like live and build long-term grassroots initiatives that support local people first.

“There, I did my time in Africa. Now let’s get back to the rest of the world,” I’ve never heard anyone actually say it but I know plenty of NGO people who live that statement.

To use somewhat of a universally appealing example, people look at Africa like it’s the land from THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ (1939). It’s a strange land, in some far away place; far away from Auntie Em’s farm in Kansas. There are many oppressed people, people who need a brain (an metaphor for better education), people who need courage and confidence, and people who need a little love. There’s plenty of evil witches to slay in Africa (pick your poison, actually) and often plenty of ‘men behind the curtain’ (The Wizards) who dictate what the politics of the continent really are.

And then there’s Dorothy.   

But Dorothy Doesn’t Live Here

Dorothy always has the best intentions. When she arrives in Oz her house promptly lands on The Wicked Witch of the East; an authoritarian dictator of a sovereign land, who oppressed her people (the munchkins), who then welcome Dorothy as their liberator. Dorothy is a rockstar in Oz, because she can actually change things. According to Dorothy, this was an accident. For her sake, let’s not call it what it looks like…a conveniently targeted political assassination.

Dorothy proceeds to make friends with the natives, singing their songs and enjoying their customs, while plotting the assassination of another political enemy, the Wicked Witch of the West. After completing her mission, Dorothy returns to Kansas. She returns to Oz a few years later only to discover that the friendly ruler she helped put in place (The Scarecrow) has been removed from power and the Nome King now rules Oz…and he’s worst than the first two witches! But Dorothy doesn’t live in Oz and she can come an goes as she pleases. Unfortunately, the Munchkins and everyone else in Oz have to deal with her cluelessness and indecisiveness over the course of nearly forty books!

Now, Before you completely write this article off as just my own acerbic ramblings, I suggest you read the actual Wikipedia entry on L. Frank Baum himself for insight on other allegories Oz is often used to represent. Quentin P. Taylor’s “Money and Politics in the Land of Oz” is a similarly fascinating read. Even the Washington Post published a story that portrayed it this way:

The “Good Witch Glinda” used an innocent, ignorant patsy (Dorothy) to overthrow both her own sister (The Wicked Witch of the West) and the Wizard of Oz, leaving herself the undisputed master of all four corners of Oz: North, East, West and (presumably Oz being) South.

Too Many Dorothys in Africa’s Oz

My point (and yes, you should be chuckling by now) is that our actions often have unanticipated and unwanted results. In an article called “The Drawbacks of New Technology“, BBC freelance writer Bill Thompson interviews several innovators and tech entrepreneurs that are creating tools and applications for Africans. They often leave, and come back a few years later to discover that Africans didn’t really have a use for these inventions as they were intended, instead they come up with new uses that are practical for how they live and see the world. He gives the example of a big screen monitor called ‘The Big Board’, a centralized computer that allowed locals to transfer pictures between PCs, mobile devices and the unit itself. Both the creator of the product, Gary Marsden, and the local stakeholders were surprised when some members of the community began using the device to look at pornography. Really? In ‘developed’ nations like the US, people surfing, downloading or streaming porn account for a third of ALL internet traffic! Surely, in a village community, it’s going to happen at least a few times. These are things donors and entrepreneurs have to think through early on.

This statement bothered me the most was this:

“These are not exclusively issues that affect development projects, of course. And I doubt that many of the technology entrepreneurs at Digital Mission will sit down and consider the wider social impact of their new products or services even when, like the microprocessor or the mobile phone, they threaten to overthrow the established order.”

Here’s the story of Africa repeating itself all over again. People coming with an agenda, ignoring the actual needs of people and failing to empower the locals who might one day make such projects truly sustainable.

Bill’s piece does a good job of explaining this scenario, warning about many of the pitfalls of irresponsible or poorly conceived social entrepreneurship. Just remember, nothing happens in a vacuum and we should be careful of where we drop our houses.