Happy 50th Birthday Nigeria!!!

LAGOS @ Night

As Nigeria celebrates 50 years from colonial rule she receives mixed results from citizens and neighbors. This is partly because there is a tendency to compare a 50 year old to the likes of Britain which has always been independent and America which is 234 years old. I remember growing up when all  I heard was the single story of Nigeria, that of rampant corruption and political instability.
There is another story of Nigeria though, one of resilience and the Nigerian entrepreneur which has been an inspiration to many Africans across the continent. Today Nigeria boasts of having a Nigerian on the Forbes List Aliko Dangote who is worth 2.1 billion and made his money from sugar, flour milling, salt processing, cement manufacturing, textiles, real estate, and oil and gas. Last year another Nigerian oilman Femi Otedola was also on the list.
You cannot go to any American intuition of higher learning and not find a Nigerian walking the halls of these institutions, not just as janitors but professors, educating young minds and engaging in the education discourse not only in Nigeria, but across Europe the Americas and well think of any place in the world and you will probably find a Nigerian there.
Bloomberg News reported

Nigeria’s economy, the second-biggest on the continent after South Africa, is expected to grow 7.78 percent in 2010
Most world economies are growing extremely slowly yet the sun seems to be rising over Nigeria.

CNN reports

 Some Nigerians who have made their mark on the world stage include Wole Soyinka, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986, Ben Okri, winner of the 1991 Booker Prize, Chinua Achebe, nominated for the 1987 Booker Prize.

The Houston Chronicle in 2008 published the following

Nigerian immigrants have the highest levels of education in this city and the nation, surpassing whites and Asians, according to Census data bolstered by an analysis of 13 annual Houston-area surveys conducted by Rice University.
Although they make up a tiny portion of the U.S. population, a whopping 17 percent of all Nigerians in this country held master's degrees while 4 percent had a doctorate, according to the 2006 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. In addition, 37 percent had bachelor's degrees.
To put those numbers in perspective, 8 percent of the white population in the U.S. had master's degrees, according to the Census survey. And 1 percent held doctorates. About 19 percent of white residents had bachelor's degrees. Asians come closer to the Nigerians with 12 percent holding master's degrees and 3 percent having doctorates.

The Time Magazine Friday, Sep. 17, 1965 edition ran the headline story Africa: The Nigerian Millionaires where they wrote

Now, however, more of Africa's new businessmen are not only university-trained and experienced but surprisingly sophisticated in trade and finance.”

Years later Nigerians continue to “surprise” as they own their own image with Nollywood the third largest producer of movies in the world. This may be just entertainment but what makes it so powerful is that these are Nigerians writing their own stories and giving voice to their own experiences producing rather than looking west to Hollywood or east to Bollywood.
It’s sunrise in Nigeria, happy birthday the only way is up. Thank you for showing the world that Africa does indeed belong to the entrepreneurs.
http://wp.me/pMo8T-3h

Sanctions on Zimbabwe will not be removed...at least for now

There is an ark that bends towards justice and the United States has shown that she is indeed standing up as the hegemon and giving voice to the many voiceless people who are being victimized by the Mugabe regime simply because they want to excercise their democratic right to participate in their own democracy.

Ms. Susan D. Page, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs echoed the following sentiment on behalf of the US Department

But frankly, as long as these violations of human rights, the lack of respect for civil and political rights of the people of Zimbabwe, as long as they continue, we really can’t lift the sanctions at this time, because people are looking to us as if we are the problem. And we are encouraging the Zimbabweans to look at themselves and address the problems that they’ve brought upon themselves.

She went on further to explain

So – but again, we stress the fact that as long as these violations of human rights, these arbitrary arrests, continued violence and brutality continue, we’re not in a position to lift our sanctions despite how they want to characterize them. And the sanctions that we have, as I mentioned, are very specific. They’re travel bans and asset freezes. And they affect 244 individuals and institutions, companies. That’s it.

We were advocating that sanctions not be removed until free and fair elections that ensure that there is no violence in Zimbabwe.

What is the reaction from Senator Inhofe's office since he declared

Under this new government, the Zimbabwe economy is starting to recover and democratic freedoms are reemerging

This is a victory for all the Zimbabweans living in Zimbabwe when the world says we will not be blinded by diamonds and we will stand up for democracy. More importantly it is the voice of the Zimbabwean that refuses to be quiet and stand up to fight for Zimbabwe. Finally Zimbabweans are demanding that they participate in the affairs of their own country and that they will not be silenced by violence or the prospect of diamond sales. Democracy is priceless,Zimbabweans must be heard.
 The violence that has ensued since the constitutional process began was all in an effort to silence the people into submission. The world did not stay silent and watch violence take place. Now we will see who really stands up for democracy.
In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, "In the end we remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.'

Diamondgate: Belgian Queen accepts diamonds from Congo's Joseph Kabila - CSMonitor.com

Diamonds are still a girl's best friend.

Diamondgate: Belgian Queen accepts diamonds from Congo's Joseph Kabila - CSMonitor.com

Bloomberg News in Hiring in Africa

Since the future is in emerging economies and the piece of the Asian market is already being divided up there remains one untapped market and of course entrepreneurs know its Africa!Inthat light then Bloomberg, the U.S. financial news agency, is seeking journalists with ability to file breaking news in the following cities/countries:Maseru,   DRC  Brazzaville, Congo RepublicMalabo, Eq. Guinea Bangui, Cent. African Republic Abidjan, Ivory Coast Bissau, Guinea-Bissau Banjul, Gambia Nouakchott, Mauritania Bamako, Mali N'Djamena, Chad Asmara, Eritrea Nairobi, Kenya Victoria, Seychelles Moroni, Comoros Sao Tome, Sao Tome&Prinicpe Praia, Cape Verde
Interested???
Please send a CV directly to ebowers1@bloomberg.net detailing yourjournalism experience, if you are located in one of these countries and are interested. Please check out http://www.bloomberg.com/ for the kinds of reporting they do and they prefer basic English proficiency as a minimum where possible. Please re-distribute widely.
Give the world the African's voice and tell Africa's story @ Bloomberg!!

When diamonds shine democracy fades in Zimbabwe

It used to be that diamonds were a girl’s best friend now it seems they are a guy’s best friend too. Senator Inhofe (R) Oklahoma wants the sanctions removed because he says that the people have suffered enough. For most Zimbabweans it is not really an issue of whether or not they should be removed it is a matter of the timing. The thought process is remove sanctions after free and fair elections to provide an incentive for Mugabe to ensure that there is no intimidation and that democracy prevails. Removing the sanctions will only weaken the hand of MDC as Mugabe will have not an incentive to honor the GNU (Government of National Unity). Senator Inhofe’s proposal will give Mugabe an opportunity to fund his militia groups through funds obtained from the sale of blood diamonds from Chiadzwa. The removal of sanctions will signal to Mugabe machinery that the America has become weakened by his resilience and will not stand by its principle of democracy, since Mr. Mugabe has not demonstrated real behavior change which brought the sanctions in the first place.
This will be a victory for Mugabe, and who can blame him for thinking this way? Removing sanctions without free and fair elections first will do nothing to promote democracy in Zimbabwe. A government of national unity is not a demonstration of democracy in action but a compromise. Where does that word consensus or comprise come from in a democracy? Is it premature to talk about sanctions removal? Or are the diamonds in Chiadzawa that are now clouding the Senator’s judgment and his values in democracy? When the bling starts blinging democracy starts trembling. Is the idea of sanction removal abandoning democracy to save democracy? Send a message to Senator Inhofe that you believe in democracy and tell him to stand for democracy in Zimbabwe just as he says he stands for it in America and remove sanctions only after free and fair elections. If you are pro-life then stand up for life in Zimbabwe, if you don’t then the blood of the Zimbabwean people is on your hands. Stop blood diamonds, save lives fight for a democratic Zimbabwe stand for sanction removal only after free and fair elections.
Senator Inhofe‘s DC office: Jared Young 202-224-5762 & Kathryn Junk 202-224-1282

Replace AID with Debt

Book Review Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo

Dambisa Moyo tries to make the point that African governments should have long term plans for economic growth rather than just relying on government aid. Her tone however is condescending and her book does what Americans call ‘preaching to the choir’, winning her the applause of Steve Forbes and a few Africans in the Diaspora. She engages in a lot of generalities and addresses the issue of aid on a continent basis yet when she compares with other places she makes country to country comparisons. She paints Africa with the same paint brush as if the African experience is monolithic.

Moyo seems to suggest that corruption, market distortion, and further poverty are attributed to aid and not other factors. This seems too simplistic, she ignores the effects of colonialism, culture, brain drain and other factors. If aid is responsible for poverty in Africa how does Moyo explain poverty before aid began?
I am not a fan of people living in the Diaspora writing about the problems that face Africans on the continent particularly if they have spent a long time away from the continent and relying on secondary information to make their assertions. Ms Moyo who herself is a recipient of aid through scholarships has taken a new turn on the very action that afforded her a prestigious education that even Americans and Britons can only dream of. She is surprised that the road that Cecil John Rhodes the colonialist who dreamt of colonizing from Cape to Cairo is 85% tarred. I wonder why she is surprised.

Ms Moyo explains that the Chinese aid has accomplished in a few years what the western aid has failed to do over several decades. Why? Moyo does not answer the question satisfactorily. She raises an interesting question about why the U.K and U.S were giving aid to Zimbabwe of which she seemed unwilling to address perhaps because she knows the answer to that.

I am curious why foreign companies say that want to help Africans do not have Africans who live in Africa on their boards and opt for those like Moyo who have not lived on the continent for decades. Ms Moyo highlights Botswana has a model for Africa because of their large cash reserves and their adoption of capitalism and democracy. There is no doubt that this has been helpful because peace and stability give rise to foreign investment. Is foreign investment the measure of success in Africa? I would like to see us measure success in terms of the Africans that own the businesses. The Tswana may be successful but why have we not seen not even one of them on the Forbes billionaire list as we have seen from South Africa and Nigeria?

Moyo seems to engage in double speak as Orwell would call it. On C-span interview she denounces critics and says that she is talking about government to government aid but in her book she talks about micro-financing as the solution so which is it? Micro or macro which is it Moyo?

Her solution is Goldman Sachs in Africa and not Africans coming up with their own solutions. This culture of imitation & dependency through looking outside the continent for answers has to stop. If Goldman Sachs which is nicknamed in America Government Sachs had to receive government aid to avoid insolvency are they the right teacher of Africa economics?

Moyo is the sales person for banking industry that now wants to go into Africa to engage in a new market of debt.
She never mentions the thousands of millionaires in USDs out of Africa instead the sad stories that are perpetuated in main stream media. Her solution for Africa is not innovation but borrowing from World Bank, is that right? The borrower is always subject to the lender, let us not forget. Moyo wants to move from aid to debt, wow this is really the way forward? Look at Western economies riddled in debt is this really the model Africa should aspire to?
I am interested in what her answer would be about Spain and its use of aid to build infrastructure. Is she critical of that aid too? Moyo espouses the idea that some African countries are worse off now than they were under colonialism. This statement begs the question who is paying Dambisa Moyo to say these things? Again she engages in double speak you get the impression first that she is all for African economic independence then she makes such an ill informed statement. Undermining her own voice she appears to be a salesperson without her own authentic African voice. She is smart to stay on generalities rather than go into specifics because she knows that such statements are for some uninformed in certain circles.
Dambisa makes a valid point about why there are different models for developments for the rest of world and for Africa? She however does not answer the question. She knows the answer but turns a blind eye perhaps not wanting to offend those giving her a fat check.
Why does Moyo address Africa as a continent and not just individual countries? Does anyone know what percentage of African economies aid makes up?
Dambisa is right it is the responsibility of the government to provide solutions to Africa’s problems. The problem I have is that she seems to suggest that Africa’s solutions lie in Golden Sachs coming to Africa rather in Africans coming up with their own solutions as if they cannot come up with their own solutions.
I think that the fact that we have African entrepreneurs who are changing the lives in their own lives. She seems to feel that there is only one solution to Africa’s problem which negates her whole American experience. Americans believe that there is more than one solution to a given problem and this is perhaps the single genius of America. Just because there is bureaucracy in Zambia does not mean that her friend should have quit helping out her country. Look at Indians who are making it in India they are not full of excuses but have tenacity and perseverance to better their own land rather than making money bad mouthing their fellow people through overseas book sales.
Ms Moyo a Harvard and Oxford educated employee of the World Bank and Goldman Sachs has tremendous book knowledge of the continent, I am curious what her hands on experience is; and whether it goes beyond the boardroom and think tanks and lecture rooms. Perhaps Dambisa Moyo should run for President of Zambia and put into effect the ideas she espouses then we can judge whether or not they work.
What are Dambisa’s credentials in terms of what has she done besides her personal academic accomplishments and her employee status at prestigious firms? How many lives has she changed in Africa? Is it right for those who have received aid such as Dambisa herself to now become advocates against it just because they have benefited?



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The danger of a single story

Her writing is fascinating i read Purple Hibiscus and it was great she makes Nigeria come alive on paper. A gifted writer and this piece is a synopsis of this brilliant mind.