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Showing posts with label Economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Economy. Show all posts

Sunday 14 May 2023

Africans or the West: Who is Underdeveloping Africa Now?

First published in May 2011

Map of Africa
Image credit: Pixabay


I was at the 48th Africa Day 2011 celebration organised by the Africa Asia Scholars Global Network (AASGON) at the University of Medway, Kent on Thursday 26 May 2011.

AASGON is a social and economic empowerment organisation whose aim is to work to strengthen economic, educational, social and cultural ties that exist between the peoples of Africa and Asia leveraging the vision of the 1955 Bandung Spirit Network of countries of Africa and Asia as a model.

Talks centred mainly around under development and poverty in Asia and Africa and how much the West had contributed to the under development of these regions of the world. 
In settings such as this it was not surprising that European trade in African slaves, colonialism, imperialism, trade imbalance, racism, will take centre stage as familiar topics for discussion. Unarguably, the continents of Africa and Asia had suffered greatly from the actions of the West which has contributed, and continue to do so immensely to the predicaments of Africa and much of Asia today.

Monday 27 March 2023

Voices of Hopelessness

                                                        Image: Courtesy pexels.com

For the average youth and the silent majority of older Nigerians who dream of a future for Nigeria which will work for all Nigerians their voices got willingly muffled. They were silenced by the few who knew no civilised way to win in what was supposed to be a democratic electoral process. For them the future is uncertain. Their already inhuman existence is made worse by feelings of hopelessness and despair caused by the BIVAStarized open rigging of the just concluded 2023 general election.

The government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are not pretending not to be part of the show of shame. It appears that Prof. Mahmood Yakubu sold millions of Nigerians into slavery for thirty pieces of silver. This man is not a Nigerian in essence.  At this stage of Nigeria's bumpy journey to a democratic system guided by respect for the rule of law and established elections administration process, it is right to expect the INEC chairman to be seen to have overseen a process which can be adjudged to be fair, credible and free. He failed woefully.

Wednesday 25 November 2015

The Time is Now to Change Africa

Time to change in Africa
Image credit: Pixabay

Africans need to renew their minds in order to create much-needed change. Every African or anyone one connected to Africa and its people all around the world have the vision of an Africa which is free from poverty, diseases, ignorance, political oppression, economic inertia and the ills of imperialism.

Post-colonial Africa has existed for well over half a century but hasn't flourished in the modern era. Slavery, colonialism, wars, dictatorships and political violence, corruption, and economic mismanagement, have all played their roles in creating debilitating environments in which poverty, crime, and disease thrive. Religious mercenary and intolerance continue to play active roles in keeping Africa from real development. Tribal bigotry is a problem which needs to be tackled and the solution lies entirely on the ability of Africans to begin to foster different views of who they are and how they relate.

As the AIDS and HIV era fades into near oblivion Ebola surfaced and took West Africa hostage recently.

Wednesday 15 December 2010

Ghana and Oil: Has Any Lesson Been Learned From Nigeria?

First published in December 2010

Image credit: Pixabay


Today Ghana has qualified as an oil-producing nation.  In my last post on the same subject, I stated the need for Ghana to take the development of local engineering skills content seriously if they are to avoid the mistakes which Nigeria made.  However, fears are being expressed that the whole process may have been rushed without adequate planning and preparation for the future. The oil and gas sector is huge and if well planned and managed revenue that will accrue over time has the potential of elevating Ghana to the same level as China, India, and Brazil. 

Wednesday 1 December 2010

Ghana Must Plan For The Future

First published in December 2010
Image credit: Pexels

It was a busy day for me, yesterday. but I managed to wade through the day. Snow fell overnight and still falling. I called the nursery and they were open but not sure if they stay open the rest of the day. Heck! I still took my daughter there anyway so she can join other kids at the nursery to make snowman so that I can have the focus on work. Got there and they turned us back saying some staff had phoned in to take a day off. Its great being a dad but sometimes it makes no sense when you look into the future based on what is happening today especially as an African. Being an aware African living in the west can be quite challenging and sometimes depressing. It looks bad for the African from anywhere he exists and worst on the continent we all call home.
I happen to stumble upon a news item titled “In The Name Of Oil, Ghana Is Already Swimming in a Flood of Debt”. Given the recent gains made by the people of Ghana in sustaining  what is beginning to take the shape of a democratic system we can be forgiven for singing the praises of the Ghanaian leadership. Ghana has found oil which has attracted the foreign parasites. They have smelt blood and are circling with their mouth wide open and fang-like teeth exposed and ready to hack into the pie.