AH Challenge: An African Lee Kuan Yew

[euromellows]

For those of you who do not know of him, Lee Kuan Yew was the leader of Singapore from independence to 1990. He is widely credited as having transformed a third world state into the modern first world country of Singapore. Although admittedly Lee Kuan Yew was a dictator, he was undoubtedly a very competent ruler (he is often called a classic Paternal Autocrat). Singapore is one of the most economically successful nations in the world, but even on other indicators it has high levels of health care, education and low levels of corruption and crime. A Singaporean colleague of mine remembers the early days before independence where race riots and disruptive strikes were very common - both of these are no longer an issue (a remarkable feat given Singapore's very different demographics and that there is no traditional 'Singaporean' identity). I remember reading his memoirs a few years back and the amount of challenges he faced was astounding. I remember being struck by his firm insistence on rooting out corruption (his party all wore white shirts at the swearing in to symbolise a clean and transparent government).

So how do we get such a ruler for Africa? The very sad state of Africa today is a human tragedy. While of course we would all love democracy to be widespread and mature there, my analysis of that continent's history leads me to believe that democracy is probably unattainable at least in the early years of de-colonisation. However that is not to suggest that Africa couldn't succeed with a sufficiently strong enough leader like Singapore had and transform the country into a prosperous, stable and judicious nation as possible.

So the challenge is for us to find such a candidate and such a country with a POD after 1945.

 

[Iori]

The thing is Singapore did'nt simply do well because of Lee, it did well because it sat on one of the single most important and heavily used trade routes in the wrold and was a prime target to become a Trade Hub; it also helped that Singapore was both territorially small and did'nt have a huge population.

Now, when we look at Africa really only has one place that compares in importance, that being Egypt, which is both large in terms of territory as well as having a massive population.

 

[Thoresby]

The thing is Singapore did'nt simply do well because of Lee, it did well because it sat on one of the single most important and heavily used trade routes in the wrold and was a prime target to become a Trade Hub; it also helped that Singapore was both territorially small and did'nt have a huge population.

Now, when we look at Africa really only has one place that compares in importance, that being Egypt, which is both large in terms of territory as well as having a massive population.

I agree Singapore is geographically much better placed than anywhere in Africa apart from Egypt and South Africa but there was no reason the main entrepot in the region had to be Singapore. If he had done a less fantastic job it could easily have been KL, Batam or Malacca. I think Lee Kuan Yew's main advantage was that Singaporeans were much better educated at the start and already had a culture that placed a very high value on education. That coupled with the fact that Singapore is a geographically small city state it was much less of an uphill struggle than somewhere like Kenya where at independence you have basically zero literacy and a vast country with basically no infrastructure.

 

[MarshalBraginsky]

Unfortunately, Somalia won't exactly count as a country with a good Lee Kuan Yew analogue.

 

[Incognito]

The thing is Singapore did'nt simply do well because of Lee, it did well because it sat on one of the single most important and heavily used trade routes in the wrold and was a prime target to become a Trade Hub; it also helped that Singapore was both territorially small and did'nt have a huge population.

Now, when we look at Africa really only has one place that compares in importance, that being Egypt, which is both large in terms of territory as well as having a massive population.

You could try to create a situation where a small Singapore-like nation emerges/is created in Africa. The nation of Suez? (no idea how it could come about). I also recall a challenge on this site proposing an independant Singapore like Zanzibar city-state.

Or what about an ATL Libya? A lot of oil, close to Europe, small population. Not sure who can be the enlightened despot that makes it on-par with Sngapore. Maybe an ATL Gaddaffi that becomes aligned to the West and dies before he becomes too crazy?

 

[King Helü of Wu]

I wonder what would a WP or SDP Singaporean say about this post.

 

[Julius Vogel]

You would probably need an entrepôt that has a need to have a large, long standing British /French/other naval or military base that provides income, stability and protection; whilst being near a large hinterland to trade and feed-off.

Maybe try and carve off a Freetown or Dakar from the hinterland provinces and turn it into a city state?

 

[Alamo]

As 037771 points out, Botswana already had that happen. Good early leadership combined with other factors made Botswana one of the wealthiest and most stable African nations.

 

[HeavyWeaponsGuy]

The thing is Singapore did'nt simply do well because of Lee, it did well because it sat on one of the single most important and heavily used trade routes in the wrold and was a prime target to become a Trade Hub; it also helped that Singapore was both territorially small and did'nt have a huge population.

Now, when we look at Africa really only has one place that compares in importance, that being Egypt, which is both large in terms of territory as well as having a massive population.

Eh, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Lee Kuan Yew's achievements either. Dijibouti is in a fairly similar position with regards to its strategic location and small territorial size, but it's an extremely poor country for the majority of its citizenry, the average Singaporean is head-over-heels in a better economic position than the average Djiboutian.

So yeah, my proposal for the nation that would be the African Singapore is Dijibouti, it pretty much fits the basic standards, it just needs to avoid the corruption and mismanagement that plagued it, and still plague it, of OTL.

 

[Blackfox5]

Singapore had a population that was largely literate and educated. It was linked with the worldwide Chinese diaspora with lots of experience at building stuff and selling things. So not only was it in a geographically good position and had good leadership, the ordinary people themselves were capable of doing value added work.

Most countries in Africa, particularly sub-Saharan, did not have a largely literate and educated population. University graduates were relatively few, and they had almost no experience with international commerce, manufacturing, and finance. All of that has to be built from scratch.

Zanzibar has certain characteristics that would make it a very good East African entreport, but I don't think it could coalesce into a Singapore like state.

The only place that really has the opportunity might be the Tangier International Zone. Morocco has been relatively well governed compared to other North African and Middle Eastern states. Tangier could serve in the same role to Morocco as Singapore did to Malaysia. If the governing powers of Tangier do not decided to abolish the International Zone and turn it back over to Morocco, and if it had a leader with the capability and vision like Lee Kuan Yew, it might turn into a Singapore like state. I don't know of any real candidates though.