1. Expectations of citizens
2. Love of Complexity
3. Culture of respect
Expectations of citizens
In Nigeria and Ghana for instance, people EXPECT government officials to steal. One who doesn't would be a laughing stock. (No joke)
Love of COMPLEXITY
Rural dwellers prefer politicians who speak using big words that often make no sense. Here's an example Patrick Obahiagbon. (Unfortunately, his words make sense grammatically. However there are those that throw out meaningless words.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1bt-GyxiYI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSddKH1ZO-U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozxY6V-vx-0
City dwellers are not exempt. Big sounding agendas like vision 20/20, revolutionary council... fool the populace. Moneies are spent but the people are left the same
The Culture
Many African countries have an undue, almost irrational culture of respect for elders. For instance, there are differences in verbs and adjectives used when speaking to someone older than yourself in Yoruba language. Ghana and Nigeria frown upon the use of left hand for waving, writing, handshake, eating, even raising of hand for answering a question.
Many have active traditional rulers and kings. Elders typically should not be questioned, at least not without going the roundabout way of hinting and finally acquiescing to the the choice of the leader.
This respect for authority extends to the University - which should be a place for questioning of ideas. I've got lots of painful memories as someone who prefers practicality over tradition.
Here's a well documented example of the effect of cultural deference to authorities http://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/2008/12/04/malcolm-gladwell-...
Many of the inefficiencies of the US government were deliberate trade-offs made to avoid examples of this pattern that fell under the general name of the "spoils system".
I would think HN readers were a bit more enlightened that this, no? Such absolutist pronouncements remind me of Yahoo news
Nice people are routinely walked over and preyed upon. On the other hand, people whose only care about you stops after collecting your money are the successful ones.
You may have found genuinely successful nice people. But I haven't.
For instance, my mum's business remained very unprofitable until my dad... One who fits the psych group above took over money matters.
I lost my own life's savings at one point and owed some more after running a joint business with some friends. The business was very successful in my point of view.
I set out to make sure that the customer experience was superb. And that our customers were always satisfied. I achieved that. The partners on the other hand were emptying the company coffers.
For foreign investors, having an audience with the government is an unwritten requirement. If not, they run the risk of their businesses being nationalized by a new government, or their funds frozen for frivolous reasons.
However for "democratic" African countries, having too close ties with a particular ruling party could pose problems. The next government could give one hell for being for the "other party."
Recently, the Buhari administration in Nigeria restricted all funds leaving the country. Theoretically, no funds were seized. And companies could still wire out their funds but only after lengthy approval processes and were often subject to insane exchange rates.
A common question on everyone's lips is - why won't the looters invest in their countries? That's because the next government makes the seizure of money, property, and businesses the first order of business for the first half of their tenure.
In my experience, Africa metaphorically is a jungle. Only psychopath and predator minded individuals thrive there.