Pat Utomi on Medical Treatment Abroad by African Politicians

Pat Utomi writes:

Recently I advocated that if we are really serious at making our political office holders more sensitive to the people we have to enact laws that make it MANDATORY for ALL political office holders to receive medical services ONLY in Nigerian hospitals and for their children to attend ONLY Nigerian schools. I argued that the reason they do not care about the decay in Nigeria’s infrastructure and social services is because they do not access them and how can you advocate for something you do not use. Imagine my surprise when I received emails from a few Nigerians complaining that my idea was unconstitutional and will affect people’s liberty. To those who said that, I ask what they understand by the term government. Isn’t government meant to guarantee the welfare of the poeple?

More here

Decorative Democracies

Michael Hendrix in CIPE:

A new generation of authoritarians is creating “decorative democracies,” where pre-determined elections allow the state to co-opt the legitimacy of liberty without the substance to support it. At the grassroots, democracy holds little meaning. People are told that they are living in a democracy, but everything around them belies the trappings of fairness and liberty. This result is often achieved by touting economic success, as well as belittling civic institutions and the disaggregated nature of democracy...The greatest response to decorative democracy lies in nurturing local civil societies from the ground up, laying the foundation for institutions responsive to the voice of reform. CIPE helps local private sector organizations across the globe to institutionalize the democratic process – supporting the very characteristics that set true democracies apart from the merely decorative ones...[continue reading]

Commercialising Religion

Christopher Frey writes about the commercialization of global Christianity in Africa Files:

“Are you writing your prayer request?” I looked up from my scribbling to take in the pretty, grinning young woman in camouflage trucker hat, reflective sunglasses, rolled-up jeans, and canvas trainers. Most everyone around her was either writing on scraps of paper, or, having already done so, was now standing in place, arms pitched heavenward, hips swaying, shuddering to a junior pastor who stamped the concrete and shouted, “Die! Die! Die, demons!” Some of the congregants jitterbugged vigorously, as though trying to shake off a shroud of dust. A few stood solemn, waiting for a breeze to lift them. “No, I’m just taking some notes,” I told the woman. “Well, please enjoy the service. May I have a piece of paper?”...[continue reading]

A Parasite-Switzerland

Lord Aikins Adusei in Wikileaks:

However, of all the victims of Swiss banking secrecy laws and her shady banking practices, developing countries and Africa in particular seem to have suffered the most. The global infrastructure of international financial secrecy with headquarters in Switzerland has helped bleed trillions of dollars in illicitly generated money out of Africa and the rest of the developing world. The activities of Swiss banking institutions and real estate companies have plunged third world nations into debts, poverty, misery, malnutrition, diseases, economic meltdown, infrastructure decay and political instabilities through the help they give to corrupt politicians, civil servants, the business elite and corrupt multinational corporations who collude and connive with the corrupt entities to loot and hide the proceeds of their ill-gotton gains.

More here.

Architects of Poverty by Moeletsi Mbeki

Moeletsi Mbeki author of the recently published Architects of Poverty discusses the flawed capitalism practiced in the continent.Regarding the elite:

They have no capital like a typical bourgeoisie. They don't create wealth; they are a parasitic elite that lives off the existing assets which they didn't create.It is the same with the BEE tycoons in South Africa. They are living off the assets handed to them by existing companies. They are not a bourgeoisie; yes, they are wealthy but they are not capitalists.

More here.
Watch panel which includes Moeletsi Mbeki discuss the topic on CNBC:

via Annansi Chronicles

Kinshasa Symphony Orchestra

A delightful display of art amidst adversity the Kinshasa Symphony Orchestra:

Le seul Orchestre Symphonique de RDC à Kinshasa
by pollux91

via Congo Resources Hat Tip Ory

Its more than just Elections

In the Economist:

...for all the alterations in personnel and the changes in rhetoric when a new party or a new faction of the old party takes power, many core elements of governance seem to remain the same. In particular, Africa's new political elites, regardless of professed ideological orientation, have in the main continued down the same rent-seeking paths as their predecessors.

More here.

The 'Dubai Women' of East Africa

In Africa Files Elinami Veraeli Swai & Maurice N. Amutabi write about the East African equivalents of 'Cash Madams' & 'Mama Benz':

In Nairobi, Kenya, these women operate from Eastleigh’s Garissa Lodge (named after the popular lodging and eating house from which they initially operated), Sarit Centre, Village Market near Gigiri and Westlands shopping center. Over the years, their activities have spread to other leading urban centers in Kenya. In Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania, these women operate at Namanga and Kariakoo market centers. Spurred by trade liberalism, these women travelled extensively to places such as Dubai, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and South Africa from where they got their merchandize. Because most of their merchandise came from Dubai, they came to be known as "Dubai women". The name has lingered on, even after Dubai has ceased to be the principal source of their commodities.

More here.

“Distinguished” Mediocrities and a call for a Nigerian Mzalendo

The roll-call of incompetence continues, Okey Ndibe in 234Next on Nigeria's legislators:

A week ago, two reporters at this newspaper, Idris Akinbajo and Elor Nkereuwem, wrote an investigative report that unmasked Nigeria’s current crop of senators for the mediocrities they are. The report, simply captioned “The Senate’s scorecard,” revealed that the Senate had passed only 15 bills in more than two years. This paltry output represents what the reporters aptly described as “a miserable five percent” of the 284 Bills that came before the legislative body. I don’t care what your line of work is: any employee who completes a mere five percent of his or her assigned tasks is a failure. Such an employee would be an eminent candidate for rustication. Not, however, if you happen to be a Nigerian senator. In the perverted logic of the Senate, five percent performance is a mark of distinction!

More here.
The need for a Nigerian Mzalendo becomes all the more urgent.

Eden Campus

"...Eden Campus is a tertiary education facility which has been established to provide low cost education and business skills to previously marginalized South Africans in the region, with a view to replicating the campus at other locations throughout southern Africa...",Watch related video here.

Combating Cultism

In Pambazuka Kola Ibrahim and Ayo Ademiluyi offer solutions for fighting cults in Nigerian Universities:

What is needed to tame the monster of cultism across the campuses is to build a genuine mass based student movement that will be a counterweight to cultism. In this regard, the ban and proscription of student unions on many campuses is a deliberate attempt by the authorities of the tertiary institutions to give a free hand to cult groups which are controlled by them to strafe off genuine student activists. This is why campaign against attack on democratic student unionism must be championed by students across campuses...[continue reading]

Françafrique and Dicatorship

Khadija Sharife in FPIF writes:

The portrayal of Africa's strong-arm leaders as lone rangers obscures the system underpinning the dictatorships and delinks dictators from their primary source of sustenance. The rhetoric of French-controlled development endorsed by Bongo is a subset of France's postcolonial Africa policy — Françafrique — designed to create structural dependence and domination by reasserting geostrategic control over natural resources through the use of black "governors." The pulse of the Françafrique ideology — fric is slang for cash — is rooted in shadow economies sustaining respectable corporations, various intersecting shadow networks, secret services, private lobbies, and political and diplomatic relationships between the official and unofficial political elite. These forces are individually and collectively able to mobilize substantial economic, political, and military support.

More here
via Pambazuka

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Obama on Africa

Excerpts from an AllAfrica interview with Barack Obama:

...you're not going to get investment without good governance. So that's part of the reason why we emphasize it. Again, this is a very practical, hard-headed approach to how we're going to see improvements in the daily lives of the peoples of Africa. If government officials are asking for 10, 15, 25 percent off the top, businesses don't want to invest there.

On taking responsibility

I think part of what's hampered advancement in Africa is that for many years we've made excuses about corruption or poor governance; that this was somehow the consequence of neo-colonialism, or the West has been oppressive, or racism. I'm not a believer in excuses.

More here.
Watch interview here:

Part 2

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Touring Nigeria-Nigeria Field Society

From the NFS website:

Nigerian Field Society (NFS) is a national organization founded in 1930 with Branches in several cities across the country. There have been active Branches in as many as 20 cities over the years bu, as the NFS is entirely a voluntary organization.The Mission of the NFS is:

• To encourage interest in and knowledge of the fauna, flora, history, legends and customs, arts and crafts, sciences, sports and pastimes of West Africa in general and Nigeria in particular;

• To support their conservation;

• To co-operate with organizations with similar interests

Image:Gurara falls

Support Open Spectrum

From 'What Google Should Do In Africa':

The single biggest barrier to pervasive affordable communication infrastructure in Africa is the policy and regulatory environments that inhibit the entry of new market competitors and fail to curb the excesses of existing operators with significant market power.

More here

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Sanusi Speaks

Nigeria's new central bank governor Lamido Sanusi, interviewed in the FT:

FT: There’s a huge crisis of credibility in the Nigerian banking sector, in the opinion of many analysts. It seems to many of the people I speak to that your fundamental task is to restore that credibility. How are you going to that?
Lamido Sanusi: In addition to the standard central bank duties of monetary policy and financial stability, I’ve set myself two primary tasks. The first one is restoring confidence in the financial system. The second one is slightly less conventional but it is actually playing an important role as an agent for development...[continue reading]

Africa Must Rethink its Development Model

James Shikwati writes

Development is the Ability to interpret/understand the World and creatively/efficiently respond to the challenges that confront humanity in order to increase the levels of human comfort on earth. The current development model sustains Africans on the "scratch the soil" level while they (G8 and re/emerging economies) import raw materials and add value to them. Adding value to African raw materials enables importing countries to grow their industries, financial and knowledge sectors while the African is left with hoe in hand scratching the soils for minerals and crop. Please note that even chicken in Western Kenya scratch the soil. Little ingenuity is needed in the scratch the soil model!

More here.

Rural Entrepreneurs as a Political Constituency

From the CIPE Blog:

In Ghana, rural entrepreneurs are gaining presence as a political constituency...With a greater political voice for rural entrepreneurs, the people in poverty can lead the charge to eradicate poverty.The Private Enterprise Foundation (PEF)has several programs designed to bring rural entrepreneurs into the political process.

• With proper resources and training, farmer-based associations can become an effective voice for rural entrepreneurs.
• Engaging the private sector in the legislative advisory process provides a vital opportunity for dialogue on reform issues with policymakers.
• Private sector associations are important for improving Ghana’s business climate and making the broader business community a part of democratic decision-making.

...[continue reading]

Extremophile Journalism

From a 2007 Seed Magazine piece:

...in many cases science journalists from the developing world face a series of hurdles that I, comfortably ensconced in Washington, D.C., simply never encounter. For some of these writers, basic research resources like cheap and reliable telephone service, libraries, and even dictionaries can be scarce. And while the physical act of researching and writing can present dramatic logistical challenges, science correspondents in some parts of the world are also faced with the worry that offending despotic or corrupt governments will result in retribution. The number of journalists imprisoned and killed worldwide every year is testament to the dangers implicit in the trade.

More here.

Uganda Rural Development and Training-Achieving lasting Development

Patricia B. Seybold writes:

URDT provides an integrated approach based on the concept that to achieve lasting development, people must become empowered in all areas of their lives, including education, health,economic self-reliance, human rights, and civic participation...URDT’s training of local people, especially women, to become leaders and creators, is changing the way rural communities work.

More here.
See related coverage at CS Monitor

"Constitutional rule over Autocracy"-Obama

Excerpt from President Barack Obama's address to the Ghanaian Parliament:

Time and again, Ghanaians have chosen Constitutional rule over autocracy, and shown a democratic spirit that allows the energy of your people to break through. We see that in leaders who accept defeat graciously, and victors who resist calls to wield power against the opposition. We see that spirit in courageous journalists like Anas Aremeyaw Anas, who risked his life to report the truth. We see it in police like Patience Quaye, who helped prosecute the first human trafficker in Ghana. We see it in the young people who are speaking up against patronage, and participating in the political process.

Read complete speech here.
Obama preaches tough love.
Related coverage here.
A snub for Nigeria
Photo courtesy of Huffington Post

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Radio & Video: Tools for Agricultural Innovation

Africa News reports:

“Farmers innovations are often shaped by capital limitations and mainly rely on locally available resources, of which knowledge is a key one,” said Paul Van Mele, a scientist at the Africa Rice Center. “Video proved a powerful, low-cost medium for farmer-to-farmer extension and to expose rural communities to new ideas and practices.”...Innovation levels of 72 percent were recorded in villages where women were introduced to improved rice processing techniques by videos compared to 19 percent among farmers who had attended training workshops. When women who had attended training workshops watched the videos, the innovations recorded shot up to 92 percent.

More here.

The Karatara Project

From the The Karatara Project website "...Handouts and charity are NOT the solution for poverty and other problems in Africa - that’s been proven over and over.What Africa really needs is education and enterprise that transforms communities so that they believe in themselves and thrive through trade; not merely survive from aid. This project is all about teaching smart, ‘green’ sustainable wealth creation and profitable business.Africa’s wealth is already here, and we need to unlock it by bringing new thought leadership and truly sustainable enterprise to the people of Africa..."

Non-Existent Ivory Towers

Salisu Suleiman's searing indictment of Nigeria's Universities:

I interact with students who know everything about soccer, nothing about Socrates; all about Arsenal, nothing about Aristotle; all about Maradona, nothing about Michelangelo; all about Pele, nothing about Plato. I see the mast of memories misted by the fog of foiled, failed folios; I see the sunlight of education supplanted by hollow halogens, fanning the flames of familial frames into frayed fringes. Next time you tell me I can’t speak, read or write English, I will tell you that I speak better English than my teachers. Next time you say youths today are without creativity nor intellect, I will reply that I am taught by professors who have published nothing in a dozen years...[continue reading]

Nigeria's Maladjusted Middle Class

Babatunde Ahonsi in 234Next writes about Nigeria's defective middle class:

Too many of its members are bogged down with devising and pursuing private or individual solutions to macro and collective problems. The resultant strong sense of insecurity about its future well-being is therefore undermining its capacity to think trough what it needs to do to address the root causes of the situation. It is a class that seems to be unable to see that it is in its medium-to-long term interest to begin to collectively work for the building up of sustained pressure on the ruling class for the enthronement of good governance.

More here.

Bisi Silver's Centre for Contemporary Art

In 234Next Obidike Okafor reports on Bisi Silva's Art Place

In trying to break uncharted areas in the art world, the curator felt that there were few avenues for critical discourse. So, like a scientist experiments, discovers and develops, Silva set out to create a space that like a laboratory will allow artists to develop themselves, experiment on new ideas and interact with colleagues from different parts of the world and the African Continent."There was nobody out there for the teeming population of artists who needed to keep abreast of what is happening in other parts of the world," she said. Thus, the CCA was born.

More here

Gambia's Donor Supported Dictator Strengthens His Grip

The latest on Yahya Jammeh in the Economist:

The arrest of nine journalists on sedition charges appears to constitute an attempt to eradicate the last vestiges of resistance to the president's rule in Gambia. There are other threats, however...

Meanwhile...

Donors have some leverage over the administration and, along with public pressure, the withholding of aid is reported to have been a factor in the previous release of arrested journalists. However, donors have been reluctant to use this leverage and, ironically, the EU, World Bank and African Development Bank have this year given direct budget support to The Gambia—rather than funds earmarked for specific projects—for the first time.

More here.

The PanAfrican Cultural Festival

Via the VOA:

Algeria is preparing to host the second Pan-African Culture Festival, and the first in 40 years. The event hopes to draw hundreds of thousands of people to Algiers this July to celebrate Africa's artistic renaissance...[continue reading]

Bande annonce du festival panafricain 2009 version anglaise
by eljazairpanaf

Obama in Africa

G Pascal Zachary in the Guardian:

Obama's tendency to view Africa through an American lens is thus both understandable and inevitable. Yet his African roots give him a unique capacity to transform American relations with Africa, elevating the importance of African self-reliance and achievement, while striving to make American aid more intelligent and effective.

More here.

Interviewing Paul Sika

Scarlett Lion interviews Paul Sika covered earlier:

On the technical side of things, can you tell me a bit about how you create the sort of Technicolor dream space that your photos occupy? How much of the work happens during the snapping and how much during postproduction?

Well I am a digital technology advocate. In fact when I was considering starting photography, I investigated the type of technology around and trust me if digital did not exist, I would not have entered the field. I wanted quick and accurate results. I love immediate feedback so I can orientate my choices. I love to move at the speed of thought.

More here:

Women will be Steering

In CS Monitor:

The English Restoration poet John Dryden observed that "Mighty things from small beginnings grow." Today, if you poke around in Nigeria, you'll find small beginnings that offer tentative hope. And much of that hope is being generated by women.On a recent trip to Nigeria's capital, Abuja, some friends and I taught a group of close to 100 university graduates. For the sake of convenience, we divided them into eight small groups. The quiet shocker was that although the men heavily outnumbered women in each group, half the groups elected women as their class leaders.

More here
via Maxsiollun

The Beautiful Tree

Liam Julian reviews James Tooley's The Beautiful Tree:

In slums around the world, from Lagos, Nigeria and Nairobi, Kenya to rural villages in Ghana and China and places in between, Tooley has discovered poor people opening small private schools that offer alternatives to dismal or inaccessible public education. The schools charge only pennies a day, and most also provide scholarships to orphans or children of the indigent. One in five students in the Hyderabad slums, for example, attends a private school on some kind of need-based scholarship. Whether in Kibera (Kenya) or Gansu (China), these schools all seem to boast committed and punctual teachers, efficient and attentive owners, and satisfied parents...[continue reading]

New rules for Rebuilding a Broken Nation

Paul Collier at TED@State:

Nigerian Returnees vs India's

Jeremy Weate writes:

...it might be an idea to begin to compare what the recent influx of diasporic Nigerians has done for the country's corporations. Compare and contrast with India.Ten years ago, Indians with Californian technology experience started to return home during the dot com consolidation that began in late 1999/early 2000.On the back of this migration, India's IT services sector began to boom from Bangalore to Pune, with the incumbent early-starters such as Infosys the tip of a large iceberg.What have diasporic Nigerians brought to Nigeria?

More here

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