Mo Ibrahim rewards the privileged

Ambitious - Founder Mo Ibrahim

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation was established in 2006 with the aim to support good governance and great leadership in Africa. The latest recipient of the US$5 million prize money is former Cape Verde President Pedro Pires. Previous recipients include Festus Mogae of Botswana, Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique and Nelson Mandela of South Africa. The prize comprise an initial US$5 million payment followed by US$200 000 annually for life.

I do not have a problem with the aim of the prize itself - that of supporting democracy and good leadership. My problem lies with its selective approach in rewarding an individual in the form of a President. Isn't democracy born out of collective leadership involving even the nation’s citizens. Why then, should a single President be rewarded single handedly? On the other hand, why should a President be rewarded for a job they were elected to do in the first place? Doesn’t that constitute a bribery of some sort?

When Presidents are elected into office they are often bombarded with many benefits, to a point that when they leave office, most become wealthy regardless of whether they were honest or corrupt leaders during their reign. Why then, should we shower them with extravagance in the amount of of five million US Dollars? Are we really encouraging good governance or greed? Should Africa be paraded as a continent where democracy can only thrive when they're “handsome rewards”? Where is our moral fabric as patriotic Africans whose goal is to advance this continent without necessarily looking at incentives? Is this prize money even enough to discourage African leaders to stop their rot? For instance, the late Gabonese leader Omar Bongo's personal bank accounts revealed a huge amount of over 130 million US Dollars coupled with lavish properties in France. Would US$5 million discourage other potentially unscrupulous Presidents in Gabon for example? Why can’t Ibrahim instead invest his vast wealth in programmes aimed at eradicating poverty and inculcating ideals that are against greed and corruption in African Governments? Better yet, how about rewarding countries with good governance and not necessarily it's Presidents? 

Like I pointed out at the beginning of this article, I fully support the aim of this prize. It is common knowledge that citizens of such countries whose Presidents are recipients of this lucrative prize continue to live in abject poverty, hunger, disease and corruption so why reward a select few?

The Mo Ibrahim prize for achievement in African leadership as it stands is an embodiment of the ever growing gap between the rich and the poor.

God is African, but we don’t see that.

Insurmountable devastation Photo: Wikipedia

Be thankful each day. This life is not promised. What is here today could be gone tomorrow, so the adage goes and this is very true. The devastation gripping Japan today is insurmountable.  Japan’s Northeast Coast was reduced to rubble on the 11^th of March 2011 by an earthquake thereafter resulting in a Tsunami. The human suffering, the collapse of buildings, the dying of thousands upon thousands of people, the washing away of roads, houses, cars, can only be compared to a big budget   special effects induced Hollywood movie.

But this is the reality people are finding themselves in, as we speak. The Tsunami was triggered by an earthquake measured at a staggering 9.0 Magnitude. As we watch this, unfortunate, eye sore event, we must reflect on our own lives and be prepared for the unexpected. Events of this magnitude and the aftermath that follows should be a blueprint for our own existence in terms of being appreciative, pro-active and working towards our goal like there’s no tomorrow.

This Tsunami is likely to be the world’s costliest natural disaster, estimated at 309 billion Dollars. It’s inevitable that this catastrophe would drag the economy down and therefore foreign aid  is of vital importance. Japan has always been a symbol of technological advancement and prosperity. It is the world’s third largest economy. Japan is a leading nation in scientific research particularly technology.

Japan  is an island nation in Asia, a continent so prone to natural disasters such as these. In fact Japan is located in a volcanic zone on the pacific ring of fire. This is not the first natural disaster to occur in Japan and it won’t be the last, but the commitment, hard work and determination of Japanese people to foster their own pleasant survival and destiny through innovation is quite refreshing.

So, why am I writing this article? The answer is simple, two things come to my mind. First, is the perseverance and resilience of people of Japan and Asia in general. Secondly it is their desire to  overcome any challenges and succeed, traits we greatly lack in Africa. It’s just a matter of time before Japan prevails yet again, surpassing standards, that for us, would have taken decades to achieve. Colonialism and self pity aside, as lucky as we are in Africa, in terms of geographical location on planet earth with untapped abundant natural resources, so vast that we could survive on our own, we use our energies and intellect to either fuel wars, engage in power struggles, corruption and other social evils that have become so synonymous with Africa.

Exactly, what is wrong with Africa? Can you imagine what would happen, if these natural disasters were to occur in Africa? 

So in the aftermath of all these natural disasters, let’s reflect  in hindsight and assure the world as Africans that we can do it. Let’s stop with the blame game and face realities. Now more than ever, is the right time, with so much of our people highly educated and most of them in their prime, now is the time to drive this great continent into prosperity. Let's awaken the spirit of the African renaissance.

Viva La Revolucion!

A wind of change is sweeping across North Africa and the Middle East.  Anti-government protests that began in Tunisia have replicated sending shivers down the spines of long serving leaders in Africa, that continue to be heartless towards their own people. The “Domino effect" seem to have taken its toll.

Most leaders, specifically in Africa, tend to lose focus of why they are elected into office in the first place. What is most worrying is their tendency to lose touch with the electorate and often they adopt this “super human persona” that pushes them further and further away from the people.  People vote for leaders because, they believe that, they can bring change into their lives.  Most of the protests that are taking place, starting from Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Algeria, Bahrain and now Libya, have commonalities. Mostly these protests are fueled by the youth, who feel disenfranchised and that they are not included in economic activities of the country. Too often, our leaders feel too much comfortable in their chauffeur driven Limos and multi-million Dollar Presidential palaces and tend to forget the poverty and reality people live in.

The pro-democracy protests gripping the Arab world are similar and should not come as a surprise in that, protesters are fighting for one cause - “their welfare”. The latest country to join in these protests is Libya. Libya has an unemployment rate of about 21 %, believed to be the highest in the region despite its oil resources. Its leader, Muammar Gaddafi, has been in power since 1969. Commonalities in Arab countries that are faced with this massive “sea of change” are abundant. All have oil resources, long serving leaders, high unemployment rates and no significant change in terms of fighting corruption, unemployment and poverty.

This “revolution” should serve as an eye opener for those non-performing leaders (specifically in other African countries), that they are where they are because of people and people need positive change. Viva la revolucion!

May we all live abundantly!

Here is a toast to the new year

Hallo everyone. The New Year has begun and this is my first post. A lot of people have what they call New Year resolutions for each year. Personally I concentrate on working on my goals everyday, which are long term. Call it whatever you wish, the question is whether those goals/resolutions are met at the end of the day.

This year calls for hard work. I have seen a number of young people setting themselves what I would call "naive goals" such as working towards buying themselves fancy cars. Before you do that, especially those that don't have much financial clout ask yourself, what would be the benefit from this in the long run?

Would this help stabilise my financials in the near future? If the answer is no, please try to play it low this year. For something that depreciates, buy it at an affordable price so that in future you don't find yourself in a situation that brings you more  closer to financial stress. Believe me, they would be better times, when you adopt a saving culture.  When you have something set aside (an investment for example), even when you go broke today, there is a sense of security and pride left in you. 

The stage has been set and it's time we get ourselves out of the shackles of debt, create wealth for ourselves, our children and our children's children.

May we all live abundantly and productive this year.