Africa in need of Opponents

In countries where political culture is a disease, or at the very least lacking, the roles of one side and the other are blurred. Here, it's hard to tell who's in power and who's on the opposing side. The practice in these countries is to turn one's back on politics if one feels that one's interests are at risk.What do we really call an opponent? What should their role be in Africa's new democracies? Their status? Are we heading for a confusion of roles and political classes?