May 18, 2012

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International Women’s Day and the courage to be

March 24, 2012 By
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Success begins with the first step…often into the unknown…with no other evidence than gut instinct…and the courage to be.

The Akabusi Charitable Trust (TACT) is an organization dedicated to the rural communities of Nigeria. It came out of my yearning to get in touch with the country of my origin, a faint memory since being abandoned in the UK by my parents and in particular my mother.

To be fair to both Mum and Dad it was an act of love, to give me a better highly prized British education. However with an inadequate understanding of time and distance and the limited ability we have to control macro politics or social dynamics, their dream was to become their worst nightmare. Three thousand miles of Atlantic sea, a three-year civil war, and a Greco Roman education rendered nature a distant relative to nurture and never the twain did meet.

I’ve spent fifty years trying to connect the dots – to make sense of my past and embrace my present in order to create my future. Experiences in children’s homes, military establishments, international sports teams, national media studios, corporate suites and of course a twenty-year marriage (now divorced) have helped me work things out, but I’m still discovering myself.

J. R. R. Tolkien is quoted as saying, “all who wander are not lost.” With no clear goal save to engage with Nigeria, I began charitable work in that country. That was just over ten years ago, in 2001. This past month – a decade on from my first experiences of digging bore holes “water and sanitation” setting up business (micro finance) – I was able to review the wonderful fruit TACT is bearing. I was proud to shake the hands of the latest cohort of women to graduate from the TACT Women2women program; women who now successfully demonstrate that they have the desire to better themselves, be part of the economic development of their local community, and leave a legacy.

It made sense of the hard work of so many people who have banded around my dream, and given blood, sweat, and tears to make it happen. TACT aims to help build Nigeria one person at a time, by developing programs to support people in Imo state. One of our key target groups is women, and widows in particular. TACT has therefore set up a project called Woman2Woman with the aim of encouraging women in the developed world to help those less fortunate than themselves in Nigeria, A small grant of £100, paid in two installments, can make a huge difference to the life of a widow in Nigeria and her family by enabling her to start a small business and become economically self-sufficient.

Unlike other micro finance schemes, Woman2Woman does not demand repayment of a loan but is a grant to promote the best possible chance of success.

International Women’s Day has been celebrated since the early 1900’s in the developed world and is an official holiday in many countries across the globe. Every year humanity celebrates with a multitude of events held in honor and support of women and their contribution to mankind.

I personally want to take this opportunity on behalf of everyone at TACT to thank the many women in the west and their forward-thinking male counterparts who have continued to support the growth and development of woman in Africa as we forge ahead and help “build Nigeria, one woman at a time.”

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Filed Under: Africa Matters, Africa Trade, African Authors, African Culture, African Development, African People, Kezie Akabusi, Latest Tagged With: , , , , ,

International Women’s day: The condition of African women

March 7, 2012 By
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This year marks 101 years of International women’s day but I wonder if things have changed for African women in real terms. There is no doubt that there have been huge changes for the better but how wide spread  these changes are is the subject of this post.

If we speak generally we can see that within the last 100 years Africa has had its first Woman President in Ellen Johnson Sirleaf something that some among had never dreamt possible .

Increased access to education for African women has meant that many African women have it into the boardrooms of multinational corporations, governments, political and education institutions and agencies as well as international institutions. This increase in access to education has also meant that African women have access to jobs/employment outside of the home than was previously the case and consequently african women now have financial independence and as a such a say as to how this is spent in the home.

African Women are also making huge strides in the areas of technology and indeed the head of policy at Google African is an African woman.

This is all great news indeed. But and there is always a big but, the disparity between the women I have described above and those at the bottom, mostly rural African women is huge. Progress for such women is hampered by several things,

  1. African culture and norms
  2. access to education
  3. inability to negotiate how family income is spent
  4. having no say as and and when they can have children or how many children for that matter (contraception comes to mind here)
  5. property rights
  6. world issues such as globalisation

 

It is not my intention to discuss each of these in detail here as we have discussed some of them of this platform several times. But I would like to turn to the issue of what has been termed as LAND GRAB  which was the topic of the BBC Africa debates last month. What struck me in that debate was that African women were being hit by both the effects of Globalisation and remnants of African culture that do not serve us. A woman on the programme said words to the effect- we do not have a say in how the land deals are negotiated because we are asked to leave the room when the negotiations start 

This is not the first time I had come across such a practise as late last year I had a conversation with women is Kisoro SW Uganda  and they too complained about not hang a say on issues pertaining to land and how it is used etc. My worry here is that African women have responsibilities to ensure that everyone is fed and in fact grow 50% of the continent’s food. What implications does this have for children in particular?

My question to you fellow Africans and friends of Africa is

 

What can we do to ensure that the world of the African woman who has no property rights, access to education, independent income etc, converges with the rest of the world?

 

 

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Filed Under: African Development, Ida Horner, Latest, Out of Africa Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Is an African Spring necessary?

February 21, 2012 By
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After a couple of sound checks, some laughter and greetings, Accra got ready to discuss the question knocking on Africa’s door since three Arab nations dethroned the kings who ruled them last year. Is an African Spring important? Was posed to the over 150 personalities seated in the main chilly auditorium of the Kofi Annanc Center of Excellence in Accra on 17th January this year.
On the panel to help dissect the difficult and controversial issue were;

• Dr. George Ayittey, Ghanaian economist, author and president of the Free Africa Foundation in Washington DC who has championed the argument that “Africa is poor because she is not free”.
• Anne Mugisha, Ugandan opposition activist and coordinator of the Activists for Change movement that organised the “walk to work” protests in 2011 in Uganda.
• Kuseni Dlamini, South African political analyst, who believes that Africa has already had its spring during the 1990s.

Other distinguished attendees included Chief Dele Momodu (Presidential Candidate for Nigeria and Founder of Ovation Magazine), Miss Elizabeth Ohene (Former Minister of State in Ghana) and Mr. K. B. Asante (A former Ghanaian diplomat).

To the surprise of many, less than 10% of attendees were in support of an African Spring. The majority backed, a non-violent process of dialogue and change process which would ultimately push Africa into prosperity. Many of the nations which swallowed the Arab Spring pill, are still undergoing series of reconstruction. Egypt, Tunisia and Libya are yet to see a decantation after the overthrow their respective leaders. This was the main reason behind Accra’s response.

Others were also of the view that a non-violent African Spring was already underway. This is a revolution led by the educated and Internet activist who will kick against bad governance in all forms possible. According to this school of thought, it is now more difficult in most African nations for a leader to push a whole nation down his own road because of such educated eyes and ears . What needs to be encouraged is the spread of such referring schemes in other parts of Africa.

The issue was discussed at length with emotions flying across the fully-filled auditorium. Most attendees didn’t have the chance to express themselves, because of time constraints. What I guess would have helped the debate more, is a true definition of ‘An African Spring’. By a Spring, do they mean the violence which took tens of thousands of lives in Arab states? or do they mean an opposition to what we all know to be bad governance?

Reactions on blogs and social media;
Prior to the event, a colleague had blogged on the BBC Africa Debate program. BloggingGhana, an organisation of Bloggers in Ghana had selected the topic for its Universal Post scheme. Read their posts and find out what their thoughts are on the matter.
Kajsa – Is an African Spring Necessary? Asks BBC
Gameli – African Spring, not the best way forward.
Edward – African Social Media and the Arab Spring
MacJordan – BBC African Debate; Is an African Spring looming in 2012?
Nana Yaw – There is no Spring in West African

Many other individuals shared their views on the issue on twitter with hash-tag #bbcAfricaDebate. Do a search for the hash tag and follow what was said.

Filed Under: Africa Matters, African Culture, African Development, African Nations, African People, African Politics, Edward Amartey-Tagoe, Latest, West Africa Tagged With: , , ,

Six steps to becoming an African Billionaire

February 17, 2012 By
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English: Mo Ibrahim, Sudanese-born British mob...

Image via Wikipedia

What’s wrong with Africa? Poor governance, poor economies, poor relationships amongst different ethnic groups, poor leadership, poor political structures and the list is endless. But in the midst of all this poverty, there is a lot more hope and prosperity; we must never ever forget that.

One such example of hope and prosperity I came across a couple of years ago is Mo Ibrahim. Believe it or not, until 2 years ago, I had never heard of the man. “Why not?” you may ask. Well, let’s just say that at the time, although I was somewhat aware of his foundation and gifts to exemplary African leaders because my own was a recipient of his foundation’s prize (Former Botswana President Masire), I just did not have the appreciation of who this man really is in terms of where he started from. And how I love stories of people rising up from the grassroots. I was actually looking for a bit of inspiration from the engineering field. I myself am an electrical engineer, having a go at the daily grind in the hope that the work of my hands will one day be instrumental in the development of Sub Saharan Africa. My quest for inspiration lead me to notes from a seminar held at the Royal Academy of Engineering in the United Kingdom. The seminar was entitled:

“Africa Works – with technology, good governance and a little help from our friends”

The talk was given by none other than Mo Ibrahim. Mo started out as an Electrical Engineer, having studied in the UK. He went on to work for British Telecoms (BT) and then on to founding two companies from his living room with £100 paid up in capital. These were then sold each for $900 million after 9 years and $3.4 billion after 7 years of operation! I don’t know about you, but when someone who has achieved so much gives a talk, you had better believe that he would command the attention of his entire audience, including me. Unfortunately I was not in attendance at this event, but from the post event notes, I have gauged that this man has got quite a personality. I would even say that he would have a form of crazes, albeit a crazes worth having as it has proved to have made a difference to countless lives and arguably the African continent itself.

How did he do it?

Not everybody was willing to place a bet on him, I can tell you that. He was almost failed by his professor in his PhD exam. During a time of frantic scrambling for licences in Europe on the back of the introduction of new cellular technology, no one was interested in Africa when he mentioned that licences there were virtually free. So how did he do it?

Based on what I have read about this guy, I will summarise as follows.

1. He chose a skill and nurtured it to the maximum of it’s potential, a PhD in Electrical Engineering focusing on mobile communications. At the time, mobile comms was just as unfashionable as building foundations out of brick and mortar. But that is what he did, that is where his crazes lay and that was the foundation of what he has achieved today.

2. Through his skills, he did networking, he made friends, he built good business relationships with allies who were there to help him when he needed a hand. Allies who would say, “Mo, we know you, we think you are crazy, but we trust you”.

3. He identified a gap, a void which needed filling and lives which needed to be impacted upon. And this is because he had to suffer to see this gap. He started as a student, a poor student as most students are, and he had to pay a little over 8% of his monthly stipend just so he could call home and speak to his family for 3 minutes; £10 for a 3 minute phone call.

4. He took a bet on himself, or rather, his business model because no one else was going to do it, but that did not stop him. Along with his partners, they recognised the weaknesses in the opportunity, mainly due to the problems with Africa’s image. Mo and his partners had to put all they had into their business as it proved difficult to raise money for any African business venture.

5. He positioned himself with good leadership, allowing himself to be accountable to his partners. He maintained this standard of business in order to be sustainable as a credible business. Good governance is what attracted support from his partners and subsequent investors. And the company would not pay a single dollar in bribery by making sure that no chief exec of any company could spend more than $30,000 without the board’s signature.

6. He remained BULLISH. And it was tough going, because after all this, right to the very point of sale, the banks would still not finance the company because it was an African company.

And what difference did this make to Africa? Mobile Telecommunications brought in transparency, a new way of living, and new way of staying connected, a new way of doing business along with bringing it’s own business opportunities. It even influenced politics as real time results were now broadcasted during elections faster than they could be faked which meant it became very difficult for an existing government to rig election results.

I really like Mo’s simplicity and bullish attitude on all things Africa. I like how he makes a stand for his continent, challenging any bad word said about Africa, pointing out that even Europe has its own problems with corruption and not apologising for any of it. Corruption does not exist until the opportunity to corrupt presents itself. The best thing about his story is how it can inspire you to find a way when there seems no way. When the media endlessly broadcasts that woe is Africa, Mo says, “Now wait just a minute! It really isn’t that bad!” And then because of this statement, it gets a little easier when you try to think about solutions for the betterment of Sub Saharan Africa.

This story is an example of how engineering and technology has been brought to the centre of society, and how it can help to change the face of Africa, and to spur it onto development. So if you have ever wondered how little old you could make a difference to your beloved land, this is a good example of how. Educate yourself, empower yourself, and engage in business and social enterprise and one day your efforts may create opportunities and inspiration for people that you couldn’t have dreamed of.

OK! So these are the 6 steps. Go out and do the same while I try to figure out how to replicate this model with electric power.

References:

http://www.raeng.org.uk/events/pdf/International_Lecture_Transcript.pdf

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/feb/01/mo-ibrahim

This is an adaptation of my original work taken from http://afriquanwoman.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/the-forgotten-africa/
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Filed Under: Africa Matters, African Development, African People, Emang, Latest Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Nigeria: benevolence or enlightened self interest? Part Two

February 15, 2012 By
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This is part 2  of the state of affairs in Nigeria to see Part one of this article click here

 

The President of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebelechukwu Jonathan (GEJ) is facing his biggest trial yet. He swept into power on a sea of euphoria 29th May 2011 as his rags to riches tale appealed to many aspirant Nigerians. His first term of office (6th May 2010 – 28th May 2011) was due to the untimely death of the then President Umaru Yar’Adua (a northerner). Nigeria is a country that insists on rotational presidency: that is to say that the Commander in Chief and President of the country must be picked alternatively from the north and the south in subsequent Presidencies. The constitution allows for an incumbent President to sit for two terms (eight years) before being replaced.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Goodluck_Jonathan_at_the_Nuclear_Security_Summit_2010.jpg

On the 2nd January 2012 GEJ unilaterally withdrew the government subsidy of oil which had the immediate effect of raising the price of fuel at the pump from N65 to N140 – more the twice the price for the Nigerian who on average earns less than $2/day ($1 = N160). Trade unions took all their members out on strike which brought the country to a grinding halt with the government losing out on millions each day. Now it seems that things have quieted down and the government has conceded to demands and has subsidized fuel to make it N97/day.

 

The proponents for the removal of fuel subsidy on face value make some sound sense economically. On Jan 12th this year GEJ was quoted as saying that the ending of fuel subsidy will save the government N8bn (£5.2bn) a year which will be put into public services. In a prudent government this would provide much needed cash to fix unemployment issues, drive the economy, build new refineries, raise power generation to light up the country with electricity, reconstruct the infrastructure – in particular the roads – diversify economy, invest in manufacturing. Politically however, it has been a disaster.

The government had introduced the reduction overnight with no warning and with absolutely no regard to the impact on the normal citizen. Every day people rely heavily on fuel not just for the motorcar but also for the plethora of generators each household requires to stand in for the erratic supply of electricity from NEPA (Nigerian Electrical Power Authority).

 

“NEPA take light” is a constant refrain up and down the country as the household is bathed in darkness night and day, often consecutively. However the real political issues are twofold. On the one hand many Nigerians don’t trust their government not to syphon away more money into Swiss bank accounts and luxurious apartments/commodities in other parts of the western world. And secondly many educated people are wary of who is really pulling the strings.  As Michael Dibiaezue, a Nigerian political blogger for Africa Files, points out:

“In December 2011, another kind of destabilizing stimulus was put to play in Nigeria. The managing director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, arrived in Nigeria to meet with President Jonathan. Her primary mission was to order him to get rid of fuel subsidy.”

 

Christine Lagarde (cropped)

Image via Wikipedia

 

And so once again we have a contemporary example of internal leaders doing the bidding of external agencies at the expense of local indigenes. This is nothing new in African politics.

For many observers internally, GEJ is already a lame duck president one year into his first elected term of office. I suspect that his one-year transition as night watchman for Yar’Adua will count against him and the north will not wait another term to get their candidate in. This being the case, those now in office will make hay while it is their turn in the sunshine. Thinly veiled platitudes of “power to the people” and “good will to all men” soon fritter away as the realities of incumbency reveal godfathers to be paid and macro systems to be placated. And so goes the slogan, “Power to the People…but only on election day.”

 

That the staunch followers of Islam in Nigeria have had a desire to “dip the Koran into the Atlantic” (euphemism for turning the entire country into an Islamist state governed by Sharia law) is something I heard when I first went to Nigeria in 1979. The tension between Muslims and Christians at fundamentalist level is nothing new worldwide, but most people of all faiths and none have got on with their daily lives almost oblivious to the intricate ramifications.

 

A rather alarming paragraph in a report by Farouk Chothia on attacks by Boko Haram dated 11 January 2012, entitled Who are Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamists? States:

 

“The attacks have raised global concern, with a US Congressional report – released in November 2011 – warning that Boko Haram was an “emerging threat” to the US and its interests.”

 

Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan have learned the hard way in the last few years that it is not cool to be an “emerging threat” to the US and its interests, and I suspect the political elite in Nigeria understand likewise. Farouk Chothia goes on to explain in the piece that Boko Haram is a Nigerian Islamist Sect founded in 2002 by a charismatic leader Mohammed Yusuf. The name Boko Haram is a composite word. Haram means in the native tongue of Hausa ‘Forbidden;’ Boko originally means ‘Fake’. Juxtaposed together colloquially Boko Haram has been loosely translated as ‘western education fake’ or “western education is forbidden.”

 

Any critical reading of the interaction of Africa and the west over the last couple of hundred years will reveal how easy it is to come to the assertion western education is “fake” or evil and therefore should be forbidden from an African perspective.  From the moment David Livingstone landed on the continent to Christine Lagarde’s latest visit to Nigeria, it is easy to assume that western education has little to do with talent management and human development and more to do with indoctrination and social engineering in order to secure precious resources for an avarice appetite that must be satiated.

 

Be it a word of warning or a chilling footnote, but African history suggests that western education comes as a package. Benevolence on the one hand, “enlightened self interest” on the other, includes an apparent acceptance that a certain amount of “collateral damage” a.k.a. “death or destruction” be perpetrated in the theatre of operation.

 

Humbly yours

 

Kezie Akabusi

 

 

 


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Nigeria: benevolence or enlightened self interest? Part One

February 13, 2012 By
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Nigeria – with 160 Million people, 250 different tribal tongues and a landmass of 1 million square kilometers (600,000.00 square miles) – is a diverse country with competing customs, cultures and histories amongst its citizens. Formally united in 1914 it was one of the many colonies around the globe that made a truism of the word, “The sun never sets on the United Kingdom”.  The continent of Africa was colonized under the Livingstone mantra, ”Christianity, Commerce, Civilization”, (note the order.)

 

Nigeria was a construct to formally advance the enlightened self-interest of Great Britain. No doubt the UK has brought many great things to the continent of Africa but one of the negatives as far as I can see is the “slave mentality” in leadership. The hallmarks are easily identifiable. At its highest levels we see myopic, short term self-interest, with the associated problems of corruption, tribalism, and nepotism.

 

“Big fish chop little fish” is well understood by those with their hands on the mechanisms of control, and as soldiers who give orders understand they in turn bend low to do the bidding of external masters and influencers. Hence I’m sad to say when ever I see good, (proliferation of computer and mobile telephony technology) or bad (civil war or intercine activity) I ask myself the question, “in whose interest does this action or intervention serve?”

 

It has not always been this way. I used to have a romantic view of humanity and that in essence the base instincts of man (generic sense) operated under “utilitarian ethics” and wanted to do things to serve the common good. I suspect though that the seeds of doubt where sown for me as a young boy when I got caught up in the Biafran war, albeit that I was living in the UK some 3,000 miles away.

People 50 years old or more may remember first hand the pictures the western world saw of mass famine and starvation on British TV as the Igbo victims of the bloody civil war in Nigeria 1967-70 were displayed in our living rooms through the television news broadcasts. The Pogroms (ethnic cleansing) in the north in ‘66/67’ were the antecedents to Lt Col Ojukwu declaring the eastern states of Nigeria the “Biafra Republic” in an attempt to protect the Igbos and provide a  safe and secure homeland.

 

At the end of the war when the Igbos were forced to surrender to Nigeria due to the ravages of famine, brought on by a blockade, the declaration of “No Victor No Vanquished” seemed quiet hollow to those in the eastern part of the country. Nigeria sits in an uneasy federal relationship, where divide and rule (as learned through their colonial origins) has been the order of the day. The three states at Independence 1st October 1960, today are carved up into 36 states, and the five south eastern states have cried marginalization on a regular basis as they lose out in the fight for a slice of resources from the national cake.

 

When I hear that Muslims in Nigeria are slaughtering Christians my mind involuntarily conjures up memories of the Hausa/Fulani northern hegemony, purging the land of its Igbo visitors in the background of “enlightened self-interest.”

 

Nigeria is an oil producing country and the majority of this ‘black gold’ is situated in the south east peninsula. Nigeria is the 6th largest exporter of oil in the world. According to Wikipedia:

 

“Nigeria has a maximum production capacity of 3 million barrels per day. In 2006, Nigeria averaged approximately 2.45 million barrels per day of production.”

 

Oil has been at the center of many disputes worldwide for most of the 20th century but in this century in the last couple of years we have seen Western interested oil related conflicts in Iraq, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan; is this now going to be the case in Nigeria?

 

See my conclusions in Part Two of this article.

 

Humbly yours

 

Kezie Akabusi

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Ida Horner Meets James a Ugandan farmer and business man

February 8, 2012 By
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James at Villages in Action 2012

Last Month one of our readers Joseph told us that he would like to hear more the day to lives of African people. I hope that we can rise to that challenge here on Africa on The Blog afterall this is one of the reason this platform exists. Minda started us off with her list of African bloggers who write about all things African and I thought I would share with you a conversation I had with James a business man in rural Uganda

I first met James at the first Villages in Action (VIA) in Masindi NW Uganda. That was at the back end of 2010 and it was a pleasure to catch up with him again at last month’s VIA. James is a grain miller and provides two very vital services to his community.
Grain milling- James started the grain milling business 9 years ago. This service is vital to this village because the village has neither electricity nor factories and the only way to preserve food is to turn it into flour which can be stored easily and used during the leaner times.
Bicycle repairing- bicycles are the most common means of personal transport in Kikuube and as any means of transport the bicycles do break down and need repairing.

IH: How long have you been in business?

J: I have been a grain Miller for 9 years
IH: how has your business impacted your life?
J: It has enabled me to put my children through the education system, pay for health care and sustain my family. I have also helped people in the village
IH: Please tell me about the significance of the bicycle repairing business
J: It enables farmers to get their produce to market without bicycles it would be near impossible as the market is a long a way away nearly half a day’s walk

IH: Do you enjoy your work?
J: Yes I do. I am the only person that provides the services that I do. I am also a sugarcane farmer and keep poultry, so I earn enough to sustain my family
IH: What challenges do you face in your business?
J: Inflation is a big problem, Cost of fuel, Cost of spare parts for the milling machine- I have to travel to Kampala to buy them, it is nearly 4 hours away and it is expensive. It would be good if the government could help people like by opening up a centre nearby where I could go and buy the spare parts. I also lack Capital to scale the business
IH: Where does someone like you that lives and works in a rural community go to access capital to expand your business ?
J: It is not easy but as a sugarcane farmer I can borrow from Kinyara Sugar works, who buy up all the sugarcane that we produce. It takes 2 years from planting to harvesting and even then they pay us 3 months after they have taken our sugarcane by which time we are in a lot of debt.
IH: If you had access to finance what would you do that you are not able to do right now

J: I would move the grain milling enterprise into a permanent structure as I am  unable to meet demand in the village. I need a new engine for the machines too. As the village has no electricity I use diesel to run the milling machine and I travel 15 KM to collect the diesel. He I that an industrial solar panel would be a better alternative to diesel as the plans to electrify the village are a long way off

IH: So are there plans to bring electrify to the village?
J: Only if we pay the government
IH: What about solar power?
J: Have not explored it but I am sure it would be useful – yes

IH: Have you got any advice for the youngsters in the village?
J: Get an education
IH: Why?
J: One must have enough knowledge in order to run a business
IH: what does the future look like for your business?
J: Expand the business. I need assistance
IH: What sort of assistance ?
J: mostly Skills- need to learn from others – how they organise their businesses and how they work

 

This was a thoroughly enjoyable conversation and I too look forward to listening to more of such conversations this year

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It’s Time African Union Turned its Attention to Something Worthwhile

February 1, 2012 By
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African Union have been meeting for the first time since the death of its former leader and financial backer in chief, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi last October. The issue of future funding for the organisation may yet be on the agenda even though the proceedings have been dominated by leadership elections.

Emblem of the African Union

Image via Wikipedia

Whatever is on the agenda, it is unlikely many Africans, let alone the international community really expect much from an organisation that has always shown its weakness at crucial moments, the Libyan case being the most recent example.

Yet 2012 could prove to be one of the most crucial and challenging year for the continental body. 25 of the continent’s 54 (UN figure) nations will be holding elections of some sort, from presidential, parliamentary to local and provincial. 5 of these elections will be crucial presidential contests in Angola, Kenya, Madagascar, Senegal and Zimbabwe.

Trouble has been reported in Senegal ahead of February’s presidential elections. People are opposing the decision by the country’s courts to allow the 85 years old incumbent President, Abdoulaye Wade to stand for a third term, which is against the constitution that Wade himself apparently amended in the early 2000s to restrict presidents to only two terms in office. Things could get worse before the elections, and AU may have to intervene at some point.

Madagascar is already a troubled spot; José Eduardo dos Santos in Angola has been facing protests from the country’s youth frustrated by lack of opportunities and unfair distribution of oil wealth. Previous elections in Zimbabwe and Kenya that produced “no winners” and ended up “governments of national unity”, suggest fragile and nervy electoral period ahead.

“Governments of national unity” may have somewhat steadied Zimbabwe and Kenya but the truth remains that these governments are a fiasco. Why give up when you can negotiate for “government of national unity”? It is these governments that gave former Cote d’Ivoire’s President, Lauren Gbagbo an incentive to cling on to power after a lost election in November of 2010. After AU’s envoy and “government of national unity” broker in chief Thobo Mbeki failed to negotiate for one in Cote d’Ivoire, unrest broke and hundreds of innocent people lost their lives and property. Some are displaced, yet to return to their homes.

Of course AU has no mandate to decide winning candidates anywhere but these events suggests that the organisation need a strict code of ethics that will force presidents to respect their constitutions; no third terms where a constitution restricts a president to two terms; presidents must relinquish power once they have lost elections.

After Zimbabwe, Kenya and Cote d’Ivoire, why is there still no policy towards this goal? What would happen if Robert Mugabe loses election and refuse to go, again? Another “government of national unity”? Has the organisation learn any lessons? Or is it that our leaders are reluctant to bring strict rules in case they are trapped themselves? It is time AU turned its attention to something worthwhile and perhaps justifying its continued existence.

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Filed Under: African Development, African Nations, African Politics, Jimmy Kainja, Latest Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

…and Glo launched

January 30, 2012 By
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source Multitvworld.com

There was much anticipation among the Ghanaian youth on the 19th January 2012, especially after the Nigerian Telecom giant had postponed its launching in Ghana more than once. To the surprise of many, Globacom launched its voice network on the 19th just as they promised at the Glo CAF African footballer awards ceremony in Accra the month before. In the early hours of the launch date, interested subscribers were offered the opportunity to reserve their preferred numbers by texting their choice to 02330010100. It didn’t take long for this instruction to hit the social networks such as Facebook and twitter.

With Globacom on board, Ghana now has 6 cellular networks ie. Tigo, MTN, Vodafone, Expresso, Airtel and Glo. The mobile telephony industry is believed to become more competitive with this roll-out. Early last year, Glo launched its broadband wing offering Internet users another avenue to access Internet in their homes and businesses. Glo is yet to make a significant overtake in this area as Vodafone has a big market share. Glo would have to play harder in the voice and GSM arena should they want to overtake MTN as the leader cellular network in Ghana.

The networks have improved on their services to some extent and hav introduced many services which in the past were absent on their networks. Months after the introduction of Mobile Number Portability (MNP), Vodafone is reported to have overtaken Tigo in the 2nd position in terms of subscriber base in Ghana. Competition has led the players to reduce their call tarrifs by more than 50% (SMS tarrifs remain the same though, am yet to find out why!).Will Glo push this reduction craze further? Let’s wait and see.

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Filed Under: African Development, African People, Edward Amartey-Tagoe, Ghana, Latest, West Africa Tagged With: , ,

Space has been conquered, what about child hunger?

January 23, 2012 By
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A picture of a starving child being stalked by a vulture made headline news all over the world in the early 90s. I couldn’t have been old enough to know how to cross a busy street let alone solve simple maths problems like 5 minus 8, probably responding “it can’t,” along with a puzzled facial expression. The picture showed a starving Sudanese girl who had just collapsed on her way to a United Nations feeding station. she could hardly move or make a sound. She was that hungry. She had lost control of the use of her limbs and voice, her brain most likely shutting down and her spirit completely broken. She could have been just as old as I was then, and yet, she wasn’t grappling with simple childish things like math and street crossing problems. Rather, life and death at the hands of starvation.

Pulitzer prize winning photo by Kevin Carter showing a starving Sudanese child being stalked by a patient vulture.

I have only recently come across this picture through the Bang Bang club a partial dramatisation of this event and the life of the photographer Kevin carter who took the picture. What a sad sight. And yet despite almost 2 decades having gone by since the picture was taken, UNICEF reports that 17000 children die daily from hunger and related illnesses (1 child every 5 seconds!), this picture still holds meaning to this day.

 

While it is hard to look at the picture without trying to moralise, that debate has since run its course but the timeless message in the picture remains. To me the message is simply, something isn’t right. If we can allow little kids to starve to death or even go through life without enough to eat, something just isn’t right. In this age of amazing developments, where we have come from smoke signals to video chatting, hunting and gathering to genetically modified food, how can we still be unable to feed everyone on the planet? Let alone helpless children. ” We” were able to put a man on the moon over 4 decades ago but to this day “we” cant put 3 meals a day in every child’s plate. That can’t be right.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6a09JvH4Vc

Is it not the role of every member of society and the whole world to ensure that children are protected and assisted to reach their greatest potential? Well, it should be. Clearly we are not doing what we should be. Could this be because we simply do not care? Have we gotten so carried away in our own luxuries to appreciate the suffering of other people? Yes, challenges exit in the world and particularly Africa which make efforts to feed all people very difficult. Amid all the wars, civil unrest, and political instabilities the starvation of children and young people is still inexcusable. We shouldn’t expect to overcome most social ills on this continent if the young members of our society are hungry. A hungry child cannot learn or do anything productive and is prone to violence. What more, their master becomes whoever offers them food. Imagine what other social ills can come from that.

 

By saying “feed the hungry”, the world does not ask for a man to be landed on another planet, far from it. Simply that the world cares enough to take the necessary steps to make food available to all people on earth especially the vulnerable and helpless children. It is not easy, thats a given. But genuine concerted efforts to that end are a good start.

 

If we think always with our minds and never with our hearts, we will lose our humanity.

 

 

 

I came across this anti-hunger campaigns which i think is quite catchy. The I billion hungry movement: I am MAD as hell! Sounds very convincing when you listen to Jeremy Irons say it on this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l57fmIup9Q

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: African Development, Latest, NkulumoZ Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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