Elite Influence on the Governance Project in Africa

Abstract

Elite is a small group of influential people who often have great wealth, privilege, political power or ability in society. The elite are those people or organizations that are usually considered more prominent in society compared to others usually in similar categories. Elites can also be defined as simply organized, more compact, more homogenous and therefore capable of keeping their grip on society. Elites play an important role in the political, economic, intellectual and social development processes of African societies. The advancement of society requires a certain caliber of people with an elevated level of responsibility, to provide guidance on the aspiration of its members in line with improving their living conditions and elevating their overall output in terms of different forms of work. While elites may fall into several interrelated categories, this paper, focuses on three major interrelated categories of elites; political elites, business elites and intellectual elites. It aims at examining the role played by these various categories of elites in advancing governance in Africa. It highlights the contextual nuances of governance in Africa whilst drawing connections to how elites have either enabled or hindered such processes.