Just kidding, caught you eye though didn’t it?…
As someone who routinely criticizes the work of International agencies in Africa I was stunned when a friend asked me a while ago “What makes you think you can do a better job than them? Or is it just because you are African”
My answer to that question is what led me to leave an OK well paid job in public affairs to set up my own company directly involved in Sub-Saharan Africa, but more of that later.
Recently as I have gotten immersed in Social Media I’ve found myself connecting with Africans all across the Diaspora(or as my friend@MatthewWoods calls it expatriate Africans..what is the difference between expatriates and Diasporans?).
Through Twitter and Facebook we share stories and articles that affirm our views on how Aid is destroying the continent or how corrupt the ruling elites are and more along those lines.
Recently I’ve been thinking about whether to up sticks and move to an African country for good, these thoughts have led me to question my constant criticism of well meaning agencies who send $billions of aid to the continent.
Thanks to Twitter, Facebook and the “ubiquitous” African focused blog like mine here many Africans living cushy lives in the West have found an outlet to let out their frustration at everything from Goodluck Jonathan buying three new shiny airplanes to the horror and environmental abuse that Shell carries on in the Niger Delta with wanton disregard for life.
However the biggest whipping boy for these Angry Africans (myself included) is the “Aid Industry”, this is an industry that employs hundreds of thousands of blue-eyed consultants from the best universities in the west to figure out how to save Africa.
This industry encompasses NGO’s, Government agencies like DFID, & USAID, cultural Icons like Bob Geldof and Bono; even philantrophists like Bill Gates have not been spared the wrath of the Angry African.
The fact that 60 years on these agencies still exist tells you all you need to know(see there couldn’t resit a dig, its hardwired in me)
But the question is this,Is it time Africans in the Diaspora just shut up and got on with their lives?Or move back to the continent they claim to love and invest their skills and talents to bring about the change they talk of,or is life in the west too charmed to risk it all.
This is not a critique but rather an observation, This group I’m referring to is very different from the “Cheetahs” that Professor George Ayittey so eloquently writes about. Cheetahs & Hippos – Prof George Ayittey
The “Cheetahs” are already in working in Africa, they might not have moved permanently yet but are as involved as one can be, I’ve met many of them thanks to the new Social world, the likes of @TMSRuge who is involved in the “Women of Kireka” project, or Ida Horner
Women of Kireka- photo by TMS Ruge
whose Ethnic Supplies business helps many poor African women earn a living by making and selling accessories and ornaments.
The group I refer to are mostly in the 20’s and early 30’s earning good money in Investment Banking, Consulting and other white coloured professions.I’m not for once suggesting that being African is the only qualification these “Angry Africans” have, indeed a lot them are Ivy-league educated or at least well educated, and successful in their chosen careers.
My gripe however is this, If we are so convinced these well meaning mostly European NGO types are wrong and lack a basic understanding of what needs to be done to eradicate the scourge of poverty from the motherland, why haven’t they re-located en-mass to Africa to make a difference.
In my current role I meet a lot of people looking to go Africa to set up companies, whether they be Social Enterprises or Oil companies looking for advice on how to lobby African Governments. What strikes me is that a lot these people are not Africans but rather Europeans or even the Chinese.
I asked friends of mine who like me have African backgrounds what it would take to go back,their responses were unambiguous!!
Unless they could find expat jobs that would pay them similar salaries to what they were currently on or roles with International organisations like ..you guessed it DFID, IFC, USAID and the usual NGO’s, then they would be staying put and commenting from the sidelines.
I know its easy to write all of this off as anecdotal but if you an African based in the West who is angry at how Africa is being mismanaged, why haven’t you taken you skills and experience to a place where it would properly make more of a difference than your office in Wall Street, Silicon Valley or the City of London.
As for me, a friend and I have set up a consultancy Burkson & Bampoh to advise people looking to set up companies in Africa, as well as advising African start-ups looking to access Western Markets on Regulatory frameworks, Funding opportunities and Legal issues they might face.
If you know of any African Start-ups that could do with our help, then please pass on the details.
In November last year 5 of us organised “BarCamp Africa-UK” to showcase how companies in the UK are using technology to make a difference on the continent, this year we hope to flip that around and offer African companies a chance to show people in the UK how they are using technology to create wealth, eradicate poverty and make a change. If you would like to take part please keep an eye out on this blog for details…
A great man once said Talk is cheap…..Screaming about how Aid has failed is the easy part, unless you are going to make yourself part of the solution then its probably best you go back to re-tweeting the article you’ve just read on how you need to shut up or pack your bags and go to where your skills can make a difference. 
WOW! another thought provoking post Tony. I agree with you when you say that there is no point in being angry about what is going on in Africa unless you are willing to take action to effect change. Social media has made it very easy for us to voice our thoughts/feelings but sadly this does not help folk on the ground. Action is what is required and this is where Social media has become a powerful tool. it has made it easy for like minded folk to find each other and collaborate to effect change @tmsruge and I met on twitter and that chance meeting led us to a collaboration on the Women of Kireka project.
As you say, Talk is cheap and I do hate folk that talk about doing things and never getting off their backsides to do something.
Quite on point, Tony. Quite bad that people sit down, get angry and in the morning they go to work in corporations and NGOs that are just sending “worthless” aid to Africa. Good stuff.
Well said! Action speaks louder than words as the say. I absolutely agree that all those who have similar intentions and expertise should somehow get together to decide how they can be more beneficial. A tree does not make a forest. Though talking is cheap…but I believe meaningful interaction can be very useful. Happy to follow so many like-minded people on twitter. I am happy to give my blogging on sustainability an African dimension and welcome suggestions for action. http://cejugbo.blogspot.com/
A sigh of relief, I’m glad people have clearly understood the point I’m trying to make, If we say we know the continent and understand the issues then it falls to us in our little ways to start making the difference. Its difficult getting the well funded agencies to help especially if your recommendations are different from theirs, they are convinced their degrees from oxford and gap year experience makes them more qualified to understand the issues.
Just imagine if DFID dedicated just 20% of its African budget solely to business start-ups in Africa..what a difference that would that make?
Thanks for your kind comments, In these crucial times the Skills of Africans in the Diaspora are needed more than ever,hopefully through mediums like this we can work together and go back and make that difference.
Thanks for kind comments Chris, I really enjoyed reading your blog, especially the connection between spirituality and sustainability. I look forward to learning more about your work.
Interesting and informative if not thought provoking. Thank you. Not considering myself as a business-minded person, nor an African who can afford to give up their 9-5 whilst still responsible for a young family here in the UK, I will have to continue along the lines of advocacy; and where I can, share my skills at an affordable level to my purse.
I sometimes find that as with most persons in the world – there are those that are doers and those that opt to complain or philosophy. At the end of the day each of us opt to go with what we are happy or comfortable with. Best wishes with this drive.
I am going to be honest here. I wrote the longest reply to your post when it just came out as I disagreed with some aspects of it. This does not mean you are wrong but I felt it was to generalist. Because (I know wrong gramme. I am pendantic like that!) some people do not live in Africa does not mean they do no get it. I also realised that my long rant in reply was a personal one as I am always having this debate with one particular friend of mine who I love dearly and he and I always arrive at some of compromise as we end up realising we are on the same side. I thought long and hard, erased my reply and wrote a blog on what yours had made me consider.
I would love to talk to you at some point.
To this day I cannot explain how a technophobe like me joined twitter and connected to Ida and I would not be here if that had not happened. So what you believe will happen but we all have our ways to do it.
I do agree though I hate the complaining and not doing anything about it!!!!!!!
Hi Sadia,
Thanks for comment, I tried to find your blog to read your re-action, indeed I did warn my views were quiet controversial and I didn’t expect everybody to agree with me. My gripe isn’t with connecting with like minds through Social Media, indeed I meet more people through Social Media than in real life, my criticism which bare in mind I confessed I was guilty of, is of this constant slamming of International Aid and other issues that some people engage. Clearly not everybody is going to be able to quit their secure job and move to Africa to work…I just wanted to put out there that If people were so passionate about Africa and felt they could do better then surely the best thing to do will be to roll up their sleeves and get involved.
I agree we are on the same side, the side for equality, development and at least having a say in how Africa is being run, we may disagree on how to get there. But remember we stay in the Diaspora complaining the Chinese are moving in taking away the wealth, nothing wrong with that, however it seems sometimes to me the only people who see Opportunity to make money in Africa increasingly don’t seem to be Africans.
Hi Tony,
My blog in draft not sure if you are able to see it. Not sure when it will be published! It may not be what you expect as it is not a rant against you. In fact I thanked you! It made me think about what I contributed and a talked about the little things that we as Africans do all the time but lose perspective as our problems are so large we can only see those!
I strongly believe that individuals leaving and going back is not going to be enough. Most of my close friends and family did just that at the end of our war and it has not really worked for many reasons. My initial response had explained this and how I felt so guilty not being one of them. In the end I feel that I have added more to black/African/girls by staying here in some of the small individual things I have done.
One of the reasons I shied away from social media and African organisations in the past is I think there is now too much debate and no proper way forward. This does not take away from a lot of the good work being done by different people but the resources are just not there to make a big impact because we are too fragmented in our approach. We are very good at theorising and assessing our situation but action is weak.
My point is I can roll up my sleeves anywhere, anytime and I believe I try to as much as I can but there is so much more possible. In fact some of the barriers for me have been not being able to get to a point where we have such healthy debate as we are now with no one feeling put out. My point of view has always been ‘anti blame’ I am always in fraught discussions as I find myself always sounding like I am taking the part of the people we say are taking advantage of us. My analogy has always been – ‘I am the protector of my home, if I open the door and let someone in to destroy it. I am to blame.’
Yes we have a history of oppression but we can talk and complain about the past, till the cows come home the only thing we can do is impact our future. So as I said initially we are not on opposite sides!! I am so passionate about this, that I hope I have made sense!
Well Chris, you can start by joining this forum as a resident contributor. click on the green button and you are away!
I would agree with you Sadia, that going back isn’t necessary the answer one can be effective from wherever they chose to be/call home. Being fragmented does not help as the millions we send home could be put to better use. So lets use platforms such as this blog to kick start a degree of joint working!
When I took Bono to task at TED Africa someone challenged me with the same thought.
Although my lineage is indirect through the Caribbean I thought about relocating….but didn’t know where. I will still protest about the nonsense but now I work with individuals around leadership and entrepreneurship and networking across the continent, with the intention of travelling back and forth to the motherland as often as I can. Ghana and Sierra Leone. Next stops
Be interested in what you do in all particularly Sierra Leone. If you need any links with Sierra Leone let me know.
Thanks for the post, Tony. I think both talk and action are needed. Talk because no one asks the African receiving aid what he or she really needs (they assume he/she doesn’t know), and action because we need to get beyond waiting for someone else to help us. A good, but imperfect, documentary on the failings of aid agencies in Africa can be found here: http://whatarewedoinghere.net. Most expatriate Africans I know are supporting family back in Africa in one way or another. That is aid. We may just need to tweak it to make it sustainable. One doesn’t have to support a whole community in order to make a difference.
Welcome to the discussion David, like minded folk coming together is the way forward. We can effect change much quicker and more powerful if we are united. I am not quite sure if the likes of BONO will ever trully understand or appreciate the day to day challenges a man on the street in Africa grapples with
Grace, I don’t think it is necessarily giving up your 9-5 per se. There other ways of effecting change and an ideal one for would be tapping into your network at work for example and get them to join hands with you in resolving an issue that you are passionate about back home
To answer your (probably rhetorical!) question, I think Diasporan relates to people who are forced out economically, whereas Expatriate relates to people who have chosen to live in a different environment because they want to. So that would be Diasporans from Africa, Expats from the west!
This entire subject is massively frustrating, even to those of us who know very little about it. It is just like the millions of pounds being poured into the National Health Service in the UK which goes entirely on extra levels of bureaucracy rather than on treatment or equipment. The help which is needed in Africa needs to get to the right people, not be squandered by unscrupulous officials.
Welcome to the discussion Morag. I think you have hit the nail on the head as I ponted out over at BIRDS http://www.birdsontheblog.co.uk/has-britain-exported-its-welfare-benefits-system-to-africa/ it would appear that we have jsut exported our systems to Africa without the necessary checks. It would help if money and effort was concentrated on preventing or resolving causes of poverty than trying to solve poverty once it has occurred.