Echoes from Edo State: A Democratic Revolution is Still Possible in Nigeria

Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor

 

 











"This (democratic) change would be reinforced by a renewed sense of optimism and confidence, among Nigerians, in the possibility of realizing a better Nigeria through a people-centered participatory democracy. This may not be easy to come by, but patriotic Nigerians will be more than ever willing to transform their optimism into reality and reclaim the country from the stranglehold of those politicians and remnants of the military era who have held the country hostage for so long. This change could usher in a new generation of leaders and technocrats who have a better understanding of how to prioritize the welfare of the people and reposition Nigeria in the global arena in the 21st century." – The Impending Democratic revolution in Nigeria.

The quote above is an excerpt from my article, “The Impending Democratic Revolution in Nigeria” written in 2010. Between 2010 and now there have been series of events that cast doubts at the possibility for democratic revolution in Nigeria. However, amid the ugly news of Boko Haram serial bombings, kleptocracy, and the many hardships facing millions of Nigerians, the July 14, 2012 free and fair election which consolidates the shift in political paradigm in Edo State is a silver lining in the sky.

Confronting Tribal Politics and Political Godfatherism

Prior to the election, it was reported that Tony Anenih, Nigeria’s former minister of Works and Housing and former national chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, had handpicked Maj. Gen. Charles Airhiavbere as the party’s candidate. Anenih’s main aim was to exploit tribal divides in order to maintain his influence as a political godfather/kingmaker in the state. It’s no news that Anenih is a high priest of the political cabal that has held Nigeria hostage for a long time. His likes have established themselves as political godfathers by whipping up tribal/ethnic sentiments among ordinary folks. They are ever gung-ho on using their protégés to maintain stranglehold on national and local politics. Anenih’s choice of Airhiavbere as the PDP gubernatorial candidate was thus an attempt to continue the tradition of political godfatherism and exploitation of tribal sentiments. Airhiavbere being Bini (Edo), the major tribal group which constitutes 55% of Edo State’s population, Anenih’s calculation was that the Binis would vote along tribal lines against Oshiomhole who hails from one of the state’s tribal minority groups.

Anenih’s manipulation was defeated as Oshiomhole won overwhelmingly not just in his own “tribal constituency” but also in Arhiavbere’s. The official election result shows that Governor Oshiomhole won in all18 local government areas of the state and received 73% of total vote cast. This defeat not only reinforces the belief that ordinary Nigerians can effect revolutionary changes through democratic means, it turns tribal politics and political godfatherism on their heads.

 

A Shift in Paradigm through Democratic Means

Prior to the elections, there were what seemed to be political killings, intimidations, and all sorts of activities that had threatened to derail the democratic process in the state. These activities were similar to those of the 2007 elections, in which the PDP candidate Oserhiemen Osunbor was initially declared winner, but was eventually defeated in court in 2008 after it was proved that the PDP engaged in massive electoral malpractices.

Over the past four years, Governor Adams Oshiomhole has proved his ability to contribute to the transformation of the state. He has constructed roads, confronted erosion problems, built schools, and displayed a considerable level of accountability – feats that the PDP could not achieve in the previous 9 years. The governor’s accomplishments have endeared him to the people of the state, and have won him the appellation, “Oshio Baba.” The PDP and their political godfathers saw the love affair between the governor and the people as a threat to their political stranglehold on the State. As a result, they declared that the July 14 elections must be won by every means necessary. But ordinary folks who are bent on shifting the political paradigm defeated the political machine of the infamous PDP heavyweights. 

This defeat of the seemingly PDP in Edo State in free and fair elections is nothing short of a democratic revolution - a consolidated shift in paradigm through democratic means. It is now up to the people to jealously guide their democratic gains. They must understand that there is hardly any political messiah. They must make sure that Governor Oshiomhole does not derail from the high standard of transparency, accountability, and good governance which he displayed in his first term – a successful model of democratic revolution in Edo State has potential national implications.

Whither Nigeria’s Democratic Revolution?

In tandem with the views I had expressed in “The Impending Democratic Revolution in Nigeria,” what we see in Edo State is a display of optimism, resolute, and confidence by ordinary citizens who believe that they can revolutionize governance through their votes. This is a silver lining in a turbulent political environment; a microcosm of what is possible across the country.

Indeed the political change in Edo State is a strong indication that despite all the troubles that Nigeria faces; despite the understandable pessimism expressed by many Nigerians and the frustrations that have informed the call for bloody revolution in the country, a democratic revolution capable of setting the country on a better path is still possible. This democratic revolution is staring at us.

Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem and African Liberation: Don’t Agonize, Organize

By Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor

May 25 every year is dedicated to the commemoration of the struggle for liberation from colonial rule in Africa. Last year at the celebration of African Liberation Day in Accra, Ghana, I came face to face with some living legends of African liberation and heard their narratives of the sacrifices they had paid for Africa’s political freedom. One of these heroes, Kenneth Kaunda – the nonagenarian veteran of Zambian independence and author of the book, Zambia Shall Be Free – was very forthright in capturing the challenges and accomplishments of the decolonization movement. He also illuminated the many contemporary problems which impede the complete emancipation of the continent. The ultimate goal of the decolonization was self determination, dignity and wellbeing of Africans. But more than five decades after the end of colonial rule in most African countries, many problems still militate against these goals.

Across the continent, people are plagued by high rate of unemployment, inadequate access to quality health care and education, over-dependence on foreign aid, low life expectancy rate, brutal dictatorship and pseudo-democratic leaders, gender inequality, and all sorts of threat to the future of the African child. One may even want to question the meaning of African liberation as the continent still does not have enough bargaining power to negotiate a global agreement against the disproportionate threat of global warming to the survival of the continent – a threat so grave that there are concerns that the emission level agreed upon by the powerful states would, as noted by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, “condemn Africa to incineration.” Against this backdrop, some people ask whether African Liberation Day is worth celebrating.

However, after my experience at the African Liberation Day in Ghana, I gained some clarity that informed my opinion: we must not trivialize the labor of the past heroes of Africa’s liberation struggle; we must celebrate the gains that have been made, while taking inspiration from the old struggles to confront contemporary challenges. This clarity was taken to a higher level after my familiarity with the writings of Dr. Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem.

In our quest for inspiration, we should not only focus on the achievements of the African liberation heroes of the 20th century. We need to draw on the life and deeds of 21^st century Pan Africanists. A symbol of this new brand of Pan Africanists was Dr. Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, who demonstrated that the younger generation should not agonize about the current state of the continent but stand for what is right and organize to complete the African liberation process.

Dr. Tanjudeen Abdul-Raheem (1961- May 25, 2009)

Dr. Tajudeen was born in Nigeria on January 6, 1961. He was steadfast in his commitment to speaking truth to power and standing for the ordinary people. After obtaining his bachelor’s degree in Nigeria with first class honors, he studied politics at Oxford University in the UK as a Rhodes Scholar. When he was interviewing for the Rhodes Scholarship, Tajudeen asked the interview committee to explain to him why they thought someone like him would want to be associated with an imperialist such as Cecil Rhodes who committed racist crimes against Africans. This question, however, did not get in his way to becoming a Rhodes Scholar.

He dedicated his life to organizing for Africa’s transformation. He was secretary general of the 7^th Pan African Congress held in Kampala, Uganda in 1994. He led the organization Justice Africa (which he helped found in 1999) to engage the African Union on issues that concern the wellbeing of the ordinary African. He was one of those at the forefront of pro-democracy struggle that delegitimized military rule and enthroned democracy in Nigeria. A co-founder of the reputable Center for Democracy and Development in Nigeria, Tajudeen was also the general secretary of the Global Pan-African Movement. He was Deputy Director of UN Millennium Campaign for Africa, and also gained a reputation as was a critical commentator and writer who drew attention to what should be the core of African liberation in the 21^st century.

Dr. Tajudeen was blunt but nuanced in his critique of African leaders who were once part of the liberation movement but derailed from the goal of emancipation in the course of perpetuating themselves in power. While space will not allow me to analyze all his writings, the titles of many of them were reflective of their theses, and they include: “Corrupt Leaders are Mass Murderers;” “Respect Term Limits for Democratic Change;” “Rule of Law or Law of the Rulers?”; and “Mu’ammer Gaddafi: The Brother Leader is Wrong on Revolutionaries in Power Not Retiring.” The others include: “Zimbabwe: As Good a Place as Any to Draw the Line;” “Justice for Zimbabwe Regardless of the West;” “Does Meles (Zenawi) Think He’s Africa’s George Bush?”;  “Africa: The Many Challenges to Human Rights in Africa;” and “Presidency in Perpetuity.”

Tajudeen’s commitment to the emancipation and wellbeing of ordinary people in Africa was nonnegotiable. He displayed this in his encounter President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. Museveni once sent Ugandan intelligence operatives to Nigeria to help Tajudeen escape from jail, where he was detained by then Nigeria’s brutal military ruler Gen. Sani Abacha for opposing his military dictatorship. Despite this help, when Museveni manipulated Ugandan laws to perpetuate himself in office, Dr. Tajudeen was the first to lash out against him. The issue of responsible leadership raised by Dr. Tajudeen some years ago has resurfaced today in the midst of growing discontent towards African leaders by their people.

Dr. Tajudeen was also preoccupied with issues affecting women. He wrote about “Ending Violence Against Women;” and affirmed that “Mothers Should Not Die Giving Life.” Recognizing the burden of liberation and transformation borne by women, Dr. Tajudeen wrote that “Everyday Should be a Woman’s Day.” He worked for African Unity and wrote: “Why We Must Struggle Against Xenophobia!” He also wrote about “The Demand for Common Citizenship;” and about “Taking Pan-Africanism to the People.” Dr. Tajudeen mobilized people to  “Stand Up Against Poverty,” and cautioned against aid dependency, noting: “Live Aid 2: ‘It’s Like Trying to Shave Someone’s Head in Their Absence.’” He backed up his activism with fervent grassroots mobilization and asked others to do same.

Don’t Agonize, Organize

We lost Dr. Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, though not his ideas. In 2009 on Africa Liberation Day, Dr. Tajudeen died in a car accident in Kenya on his way to launch a maternal health campaign in Rwanda. While he was alive, Dr. Tajudeen made us to understand that the struggle for Africa’s liberation continues. He clarified that we must appreciate the sacrifices and achievements of the past and that we must be conscious of the challenges of today. We must never agonize about the problems. We must speak truth to power and organize to confront the challenges. The inherent power of his dictum, “don’t agonize, organize,” is being displayed in Egypt, where people have mobilized to put the society on a new path.

I would recommend that young Africans and aspiring leaders, who seek to put their passion for better society and human dignity above everything else in Africa, read Dr. Tajudeen’s work and seek inspiration from his thoughts on African liberation. His writings have been compiled in a compendium, titled Speaking Truth to Power: Selected Pan-African Postcards. 

On this 2011 African Liberation Day, we remember Dr. Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem as one Pan Africanist and humanist who made a mark by helping us with ideas about the central focus of African liberation and Pan Africanism in the 21^st century: the restoration of the human dignity and wellbeing of all Africans from the stranglehold of corrupt and despotic leaders and their foreign accomplices. Yes the celebration of African Liberation Day is still very relevant. Don’t agonize, Organize!

                                                    

Africa at a Crossroads: Between Development and Transformation

 By Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor

More than five decades after independence, attempts by most African countries to bring about development and improve the living standards of their citizens have recorded some successes and many failures. We are now at a critical juncture in the history of the continent. Young people across the continent, from North Africa to Burkina Faso, Swaziland, Djibouti, Cameroon, Nigeria and elsewhere are increasingly active in political spaces, seeking to transform the socio-economic and political relations in their societies.

Africans want to transform relations to meet the aspirations of all in the society. All citizens want their governments to serve them, and not just vice versa. Workers want livable wages and better working conditions. Students want affordable and quality education. Women want gender equality. Everybody wants protection from the destruction of their environment by corporations. And citizens want their country’s resources to be used for their common good. Indeed, young people across Africa are now determined more than ever to realize their aspirations for human dignity, freedom, and social justice – aspirations that could not be guaranteed by the kind of development that the continent has pursued for the greater part of the post-independence era.

Human development indices – measuring standards of living, life expectancy rate, and literacy rate, among others – indicate that the continent has not made significant progress in achieving the aspirations of its people over the past decades. According to the UN Human Development Report for 2010, average life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa is only 52 years, the lowest in all the regions of the world. In fact, some African countries have lower life expectancy today than they did 40 years ago.

Most African countries gained political independence in the 1960s and 1970s. For the most part of the post-independence era, the majority of African countries have been confronted by poor governance, dependency on foreign aid and assistance, low human capital development, low production capacity and low level of scientific innovation. 

Over the years, development has been championed as a means of changing the socio-economic condition of the continent. But today, while we appreciate some little progress that has been made, we must also probe how the failures of development strategies have contributed to depletion of living standards on the continent.

DEFORMED DEVELOPMENT?

Development has often been described as improvement in the standards of living of a people, derived mainly from increase in economic growth. Economic growth is achieved from increase in productivity, measured in terms of gross domestic product (GDP). Economic growth has always been touted as the main driver of development. 

The goals that the pursuit of development is supposed to achieve include life sustenance, self-esteem/personal dignity, and freedom. Life sustenance refers to the ability to provide basic needs, including food, shelter, and clothing; while self-esteem in this context refers to the personal dignity derived from one’s ability to sustain oneself. A people’s self-esteem is bruised when they lack the wherewithal for self-sustenance, just as a nation cannot be said to be developed if it relies on external humanitarian aid and assistance or if it cannot control its political and economic destinies. Freedom, on the other hand, is the ability of a people to determine their own destinies.

The pursuit of economic growth, while in itself may not be bad, has failed to improve the aggregate living standards in Africa over the past decades. After decades of pursuing development, 65% of people in most African countries remain poor, according to the 2010 UN Human Development Report. This failure of the development in Africa has prompted the UN report to unequivocally state that, “the economics of growth and its relationship with development, in particular, require a radical rethinking.” Indeed, this radical rethinking demands that we abandon the failed and deformed development paradigm we have experimented with for decades and adopt a different strategy to improve the living standards of Africans.

THE FAILED PARADIGM AND ITS FACTS AND FIGURES

In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a major decline in living standards in Africa. It is not by accidents that this was the same period that the implementation of development policies known as structural adjustment was gaining ground on the continent. Structural adjustment policies (SAP) were imposed on Africa by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and some Western governments as conditions for granting access to much needed development loans. The goal of SAP was to achieve economic growth and development. Through SAP, there were cuts in workers’ wages, removal of government subsidies from agriculture and food production. Government subsidies were also eliminated from the production of other goods and services that had made life bearable for ordinary people. 

SAP also slashed government expenditure on education and health care, including maternal care. It pushed for economic deregulation, allowing fewer government regulations of private corporations, many of which were powerful foreign multinational companies. Majority of these corporations got more leeway to operate with the least amount of government oversights that were supposed to safeguard citizens against exploitation. There was massive privatization of every sector of the economy, including health and education, resulting in situations where most people who used to enjoy free education and government provision of health care became marginalized.

These development policies coupled with the entrenchment of government corruption across the continent contributed to broadening the gap between the wealthy and the poor. Citizens’ discontent and apathy towards their governments swelled. Most of these governments became more dictatorial as they tightened their repressive security apparatus to quell dissent and consolidate their rules in an atmosphere of pervasive military coups and counter-coups. Such was the development that stifled  innovation and deprived the people of the kind of atmosphere necessary for socio-economic transformation.

After decades of pursuing the SAP development agendas, inequality has become more entrenched within Africa and between Africa and other regions of the world. Between 1980 and 2010, sub-Saharan Africa witnessed an average human development growth rate of only 0.94%, an unimpressive figure compared to 1.73% for East Asia and the Pacific, or 1.65% for the region of South Asia. In most parts of Africa, inequality accounts for an average of 22% decline in living standards, 32% decrease in access to education, and 45% decline in access to health care.

One would have assumed that the “massive” foreign development aid and assistance that have been poured into Africa in the past decades are enough to improve living standards, create equitable access to education, health care, and reduce or even eliminate poverty. Instead, there has been a perpetuation of dependency, low human capital development, and significant decline in living standards. 

The development we have pursued created such a corrupt and deformed system in which African countries were not only dependent on foreign assistance. The resources that were supposed to be used to improve the people’s living standards were flown overseas. Africa has become so dependent on foreign aid that some governments cannot survive without them. It is difficult to understand how, up to 2008, aid as a percentage of government spending was 126% for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 771% for Liberia. This is despite the natural resource wealth of these countries.

Some liberal estimates state that over the past 50 years, Africa has received more than $1 trillion in development aid. Ironically, in less than 40 years, between 1970 and 2008, the illicit financial outflow from Africa is estimated at $1.8 trillion. Other estimates have also shown that up to 30% of the GDP of sub-Saharan Africa is moved overseas. This is the paradox of how a development paradigm underdeveloped Africa.

TRANSFORMATION BEYOND DEVELOPMENT

Indeed, the kind of development strategies that African countries have adopted for the most part of the post independence era has neither protected African peoples from the stranglehold of foreign controls nor empowered them against exploitation and oppression in the hands of freedom fighters that turned despots. Decades of development has not restored the human dignity of Africans to the level where the global media image of the continent is no longer starvation, diseases, and wars. It has failed to achieve the aspirations of the African people for better living standards, self-sustenance and political freedom.

This failure necessitates the pursuit of something different. We must pursue an agenda for transformation beyond the limits of development. We must work to transform the relationship between African leaders and African peoples; transform the gender relations; and transform the relations between African leaders/ elites and foreign interests that negate the interests of African peoples.

This is where it is imperative to place the revolutions spreading across the continent today in the proper context. It is context where citizens are rising against the failure of a deformed development paradigm and its associated despotic leadership to meet their aspirations.

Revelations have now emerged from the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) that the structural adjustment policy of privatization and its attendant ills contributed to the build up of rage that culminated in the Egyptian revolution. According to the report, “anger at Egypt’s privatisation programme, involving the transfer of billions of dollars worth of public assets to private hands, aided the Egyptian revolution.” In this new climate of revolutions and quest for a different paradigm and new mode of leadership, the younger generation of Africans must articulate and pursue an alternative transformative agenda for the next fifty years.

To achieve transformation, we must adopt a holistic approach to organize our societies politically, economically, and socially for the optimal well being and dignity of all. We can not achieve poverty alleviation, let alone eradication if we cannot guarantee livable wage or if we are deprived of  responsible and accountable leadership. We cannot reduce maternal mortality or improve life expectancy in an atmosphere where there is inadequate government investment in health care, education, sanitation, agriculture, and gender equality.

We must continue the revolution to create a pathway to transformation. We must be steadfast. We must sustain the momentum with optimism, a clear sense of purpose, unflinching determination, and a non-violent strategy until we transform Africa beyond the limits of development.

As Ivory Coast’s Laurent Gbagbo is Captured: Proposal for Peace and Reconciliation

By: Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor

The former president of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, was captured yesterday (April 11) by forces loyal to President Alassane Outtara after months of clinging to power, following the November 2010 disputed elections in which Mr Outtara was internationally recognized as winner. The underground bunker in the presidential palace where Gbagbo had been hiding was said to have been penetrated by Outtara’s forces with the help of French forces who have been operating in Ivory Coast under a United Nations mandate.

The Ivorian crisis has claimed thousands of lives, displaced millions, and destabilized the economy of that country. There are accusations and counter accusations about massacres and human rights violations from both Gbagbo supporters and Outtara’s.

Immediately after his capture, Gbagbo called for an end to fighting so that they could seek civilian solutions to the crisis. In a broadcast speech, President Outarra promised that justice would be served for the killings and human rights abuses. He proposed the setting up of a truth and reconciliation commission.

The task ahead of the new president and the Ivorian people is enormous. These include revamping the economy, rebuilding trust and confidence between the supporters of Outtara mainly from the North and those of Gbagbo from other parts of the country, and ensuring that there is a balance between justice, peace, and reconciliation. In addition, maintaining security in a nation where weapons are now in the hands of aggrieved supporters on both sides will be a herculean task.

During the fighting, mercenaries from neighboring Liberia were said to have fought on both factions, with some abandoning one faction for the other depending on who was offering more pay at specific times.

There must now be a genuine effort by the Ivorian people and their new president to mend broken bones in the country as well as to work with the regional organization, ECOWAS, in order to ensure lasting national and regional solutions to the problem.

Outtara must ensure that he lives up to the democratic standards which his supporters within and outside Ivory Coast sought to uphold when they opposed Gbagbo. Outtara gained some support in the pan African world despite Gbagbo’s claim that his fight against him was a struggle to save Ivory Coast from the imperial stranglehold of France.

When we opposed Gbagbo, we were not unaware that France’s neo-colonial interest in West Africa is overwhelming, and that France has been an impediment to regional integration and unity in West Africa. We are also cognizant of the fact that France would want to re-consolidate its influence in Ivory Coast and West Africa through Outtara.


That said, despotism and anti-democratic means are futile strategies for the kind of opposition and resistance that can stand tall to France’s neo-colonialist machinations in Africa. Removing French military bases from Africa, dismantling the anti-regional integration impediments posed by the franc zone and France-Afrique, and giving Africans more control of their resources in West Africa over France require the supremacy of people’s power. Dividing the people along ethnic, religious, and regional lines for political gains, as Gbagbo did in the name of fighting neo-imperialism does nothing but weakens the supremacy of people’s power. We have seen the people’s power in motion in North Africa. Who says we cannot do same in West Africa?

Anti-imperialists who have genuine intentions for Ivory Coast and for all African people must now work harder to pursue peace and reconciliation in Ivory Coast. We must build Ivorian democratic institutions and entrench the kind of democratic values that would give no space for xenophobia, islamophobia, religious intolerance, chauvinism, and despotism in order to hold the new Outtara government accountable to the people while seeking to dismantle France’s imperial overreach.

……………………………………………….
Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor is a researcher, consultant, and strategist. He holds a Master's degree in International Education Policy from Harvard University. He could be reached at aiwudaho@gmail.com.

Ivory Coast in Crisis: Between the Struggle against Neo-imperialism and the Defense of Popular Sovereignty and Human Rights

By Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor

As the world celebrates International Women’s Day, which is marked on march 8 annually, the news of the March 3 killing of at least six unarmed women protesters in Ivory Coast by forces loyal to the embattled leader Laurent Gbagbo reminds us of the plights that women – and ordinary people – face around the world, particularly in conflict zones in Africa. Ivory Coast (also called Cote d’Ivoire) is now on the brink of a civil war. This situation is about the struggle for a new era of democratic participation and popular sovereignty as much as it is about the struggle against neo-imperial stranglehold. My proposition is that we cannot sacrifice one on the altar of the other. 

While the attention of the world was fixated on the revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East, Ivory Coast degenerated into a tumultuous country, following the disputed presidential elections last December between Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Outarra. So far, over 360 people have been killed. Hundreds of thousands more have been displaced amid reports of looting, intimidation, and gross human rights violations. The Gbagbo regime has cut off electricity and water supply to the north, where his rival Outarra draws much of his support. This has brought untold hardship on the people, especially women and children. According to the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs, the February 28 cut in service has resulted to a situation where “vaccines are going bad, taps are dry and the families of women in labour are ferrying buckets of water to hospital.”

The Elections

The current crisis started in December after the second round of presidential contests between Gbagbo and Outara. In the first round of the elections held in October, Gbagbo (of the Ivorian People’s Front) obtained 38.04% of the votes while Ourtarra (of the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire) received 32.07%, and Henri Konan Bédié polled 25.24%. During the second round, Bédié supported Outtara, and the result released by the country’s electoral commission declared Outarra winner with 55.16% of the votes against Gbagbo’s 44.8%. This result was acknowledged by election observers from the African Union, UN, the EU, and the entire international community. Laurent Gbagbo rejected the outcome, and has since refused to step down. The West Africa regional body, ECOWAS, has mounted pressure on him to relinquish power. It has imposed economic sanctions on the country and even threatened the use of “legitimate force” as a last resort against Gbagbo. There have also been sanctions by the US and the EU against members of the Gbagbo regime.

Gbagbo has remained defiant to, not only to the sanctions but also to series of diplomatic missions from the ECOWAS, the AU, and the UN mediating the dispute.

There have been reports that Gbagbo’s government has employed propaganda, intimidation, violence, and that he has whipped up xenophobia, religious, and sectarian sentiments to manipulate the people, especially youths in the southern part of the country, in order to maintain his stay in power. Thugs backed up by security forces have looted properties of opposition politicians, attacked UN peacekeepers, and threatened away some AU mediators from the country. There are fears that situation is escalating into a civil war between the north and south of the country.

Claims and Counterclaims

The crisis has now reinforced the country’s north-south divide and the politics of identity and citizenship which were among issues that had resulted to an initial civil war in 2002. Gbagbo and his supporters claim that Outarra, who has worked at International Monetary Fund (IMF), is an agent of the IMF and Western/French neo-imperialism. They maintain that Outarra used his Western influence to rig the elections in order to derail the effort by the Gbagbo regime to delink itself from France’s neocolonial stranglehold. They have also linked the country’s 1999 and 2002 coups to Outarra and his French enablers.

On the other hand, Outarra’s loyalists accuse Gbagbo and his followers of engaging in politics of exclusion, whipping up xenophobia, anti-Islamic and anti-immigrant sentiments to accentuate the north-south division in the country and deny northern Ivoirians their citizenship and political rights. This division is backed up by the political/cultural ideology known as Ivoirité.

Ivoirité, Citizenship, and Democratic Rights

The concept of Ivoirité refers to Ivoirian national identity or ivoirianess and what it takes to be an original citizen of Ivory Coast. Developed by one Professor Niangoran Porquet in the 1970s, Ivoirité was later exploited by politicians to accentuate ethic cum cultural differences. Ivoirité questions the Ivoirianess of many of the 5 million Ivorian citizens in then mainly Muslim north, whose ancestry were in full or part traced to migrant workers from neighboring countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea. Ivoirité was manipulated to question these people’s ivoirianess, even though they were born in Ivory Coast and had hitherto had national identity cards and had been allowed to exercise their citizenship right to vote. These northern citizens were thus considered to be less Ivoirian than their southern compatriots. In 1995 and in 2000, when Alassane Outarra attempted to contest for the office of president, Ivoirité was used as a basis for his disqualification. He was said to be having “suspicious nationality,” as one of his parents was from Burkina Faso. This was despite the fact that he had served as an Ivoirian cabinet minister before.

This north-south division and exclusion was among the factors that plunged the country into a civil war between the rebel led north and the central government in 2002. This was after Gbagbo won an election in 2000 whose legitimacy was contested. The intervention of ECOWAS, the AU, and the UN ensured that an agreement – the Ouagadougou Accord – was signed among the warring parties in 2007. After frequent postponement of elections, the 2010 polls were overseen by Gbagbo who had already served a 10 year period of an extended presidency. Some analysts have dismissed Gbagbo’s claim that Outarra rigged the 2010 polls. It is widely believed that Gbagbo’s underlying reason for clinging to power is the political ideology of Ivoirité, according to which Outarra is a symbol of French/Western neo-colonialism, and is not Ivorian enough to be president.

Democracy above Strongmen and beyond Elections

Both Gbagbo and Outarra belong to what the Ghanaian born economist, George Ayittey, call the Hippo Generation. The Hippo Generation of leaders in Africa is stuck with the old rhetoric and deformed ideas of leadership and governance. It is the Cheetah generation – the new generation – that can fix Ivory Coast and transform Africa. The struggle in Ivory Coast should not been seen merely as a struggle between Gbagbo and Ouatarra. It is rather a struggle to ascertain who decides the future of the country – the Hippo or the Cheetah generation? It is a struggle to determine whether popular sovereignty or the power to determine the destiny of the country should be wielded by the people or by strongmen or leaders who manipulate the people for selfish political ends.

Both Outtara and Gbagbo represent the brand of African leaders whose stranglehold the younger generation of Africans must get rid of, as being done in Egypt. But the project of freeing the continent of such men must involve a democratic process that upholds the will of the people. This process cannot be guaranteed in Ivory Coast by tolerating Gbagbo to establish himself as a strongman who undermines democratic values, disregard regional framework for democracy, devaluing life by using state security apparatus to kill innocent citizens and eliminate women who are asserting their rights to peaceful protest. This process cannot be achieved by leaders who whip up xenophobic, sectarian, and religious sentiments.

Outtara is accused of being closely associated with politicians and corporations in France as well as with the IMF and World Bank, whose policy dictates most Ivoirians and Africans consider imperialistic and anti-people. France has historically manipulated the pseudo-solidarity of Francophone to accentuate the division of the West African sub-region between French-speaking and English-speaking factions. This has worked against the regional integration project of ECOWAS, while the organization has struggled to checkmate France’s neo-imperial influence in the sub-region. If Gbagbo’s defiance towards ECOWAS is allowed to further divide and weaken the organization, it would be to the advantage of France and other dictators who want to repress popular sovereignty to perpetuate themselves in power. The best option is one that gives popular sovereignty to Ivoirians, consolidate national unity, advance politics of inclusion, while strengthening ECOWAS/Africa’s ability to use regional solidarity and democratic framework in checkmating the kind of politics and leadership that work against the human rights and economic interest of the people.

In this regard, only the entrenchment of a strong, democratic tradition/institutions that prioritizes the will and interest of the people can ensure that Outarra himself would not be given the space to become an agent of neo-imperialism when he assumes office.

The Ouster of Egypt’s Mubarak: A “Yes We Can” Moment for Africa’s Youths

Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor

After 30 years of enduring a repressive and corrupt regime and 18 days of resisting intimidation, bloodshed, and security crackdown, the Egyptian people finally prevailed over a dictator President, Hosni Mubarak, who resigned on Friday, 11 February. Inspired by the revolution spearheaded by the youths in Tunisia, Egyptian youths led a non-violent uprising that began on January 25. Armed with new tools of organizing, including Facebook, Twitter, text messaging, among others, the youths mobilized men and women, young and old, rich and poor, and folks from all walks of life, who flocked the streets in their millions to demand for the resignation of Mubarak and to press for their economic and political rights.

Mubarak who had ruled Egypt under emergency law employed various forms of intimidation against the protesters. His regime cut accesses to internet, cell phone services, and non-state media services. It imposed curfews. It made some gradual concessions in a bid to buy time. The regime used state security agents to kill hundreds of protesters, to injure thousands, and kidnap and torture many. But the people remained undaunted. The revolution continued, as the protesters devised creative means to circumvent and survive all the intimidation. Eventually, Mubarak resigned when he came face to face with the full course of the creative, resilient, and transformative energy of Egyptian youths.

The new wave of revolution that promises to blow across Africa and the Middle East started in Tunisia, where it ousted another corrupt and repressive leader, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.

YES WE CAN – FROM TUNISIA ACROSS AFRICA

The Tunisian revolution was triggered in December after Mohammed Bouazizi, an unemployed graduate set himself on fire in protest of government’s refusal to accommodate his complaints of police brutality and exploitation. That country’s dictator, Ben Ali, was complacent, believing that he could quell the ensuing protests by using state security apparatus to kill and maim the demonstrators. This move only buoyed on the spirit of resistance among the people. And finally, his autocratic regime, which the people had dreaded and endured for 24 years ended when he fled the country on January 14. Egyptian youths and youths from many African countries and across the Arab world were inspired by the Tunisian revolution.

The Egyptian revolution is now validating the statement that was made by the Tunisian Revolution: a new Africa driven by the creative energy and transformative aspirations of the youth is possible. We are in a critical moment in Africa, a moment where revolutions championed by ordinary Tunisian and Egyptian youths who yearn for a better society are impacting African politics and the entire international system.

Following the Tunisian revolution, I asserted in an article that, “the move by Tunisian youths is an indication of what is to come in Africa as youths’ creativity, power and energy increasingly become the basis for resistance and transformation.” In less than two weeks after making this assertion, the Egyptian revolution began, and has now proven to be more profound. The question that abounds in the blogosphere in the Pan African world and in other quarters is: which country is next? There have also been postulations about what made revolutions possible in Tunisia and Egypt. No doubt, there was a convergence of forces that came to a head or a tipping point in Tunisia and Egypt, so that it only took a trigger to set the revolution in motion.

In a New York Times article published just hours before the resignation of Mubarak, the Egyptian Nobel Peace Laureate Mohammed el Baradei wrote: “[t]he tipping point (at which the Egyptian revolution was triggered) came with the Tunisian revolution, which sent a powerful psychological message: “Yes, we can.” If the Tunisian revolution was the Yes-we-can moment that inspired the Egyptian revolution, the Egyptian revolution could turn out to be the Yes-we-can moment for more revolutions in Africa and the Middle East.

From Libya to Zimbabwe, Guinea, Ethiopia, Algeria, and Cameroon; from Ivory Coast to Angola, Morocco, and Uganda, there abound corrupt autocrats who perpetuate themselves in power and care less about the wellbeing of their citizens. An end to these regimes and the transformation of African societies do not seem to be what could happen anytime soon. But the events of the Tunisian and Egyptian revolution prove that in the right environment and revolutionary tipping point, characterized by the convergence of forces beyond the control of any one individual, all that is needed to set the revolution in motion is a minor incident, a trigger.

Young people in Africa and around the world should be inspired by the savvy, tenacity, and courage of the Egyptian youths who confronted one of the most entrenched and one of the longest dictatorships in the world to non-violently demand a transformed society that would uphold their human dignity. If we examine closely the revolutionary tactics, moral courage, and tenacity of the Egyptian and Tunisian youths, we would find some basic lessons for other African youths.

LESSONS FROM THE REVOLUTIONS

Some common features of both the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions are that they were led by youths, who used Facebook, Twitter, and text messaging to mobilize millions of people independent of any organizational fronts or political figures. These young people non-violently declared revolutions, without resort to arms.They demanded new regimes and systems that guarantee freedom, human dignity, and democracy.

From these two revolutions, it could be deduced that a revolution requires a convergence of events/forces that get to a tipping point, at which it takes only a little trigger to set the revolution in motion. Once in motion, the intentional acts of pro-democracy and progressive people, who are bent on transforming the society, eventually steer and sustain the revolution towards the desired goal. In Tunisia and Egypt, the youths played crucial roles as they became an indispensable part of the forces at the tipping point. They were in charge of the steering and sustenance of the revolutionary momentum. Besides the acts of self-empowerment, grassroots mobilization, and political awareness displayed by these youths, there is much to learn from the gestures of the Egyptian protesters in terms of willingness to transcend religious, sectarian, and partisan divides. Christian youths defied the instructions of some of their religious leaders who were against their participation in the protests. Muslims cautioned their fellow Muslims against alienating their compatriots, and chanted: “Christians, Muslims, atheists, we are all Egyptians.” Christians guarded against the police their Muslim compatriots who took breaks from the protests to pray. These acts, though anecdotal, are symbolic and remarkable. They hold remarkable lessons for the transformation of African societies for peaceful, multicultural, multi-religious, and multiethnic coexistence. They point to what is possible in societies whose youths are hungry for change and transformation beyond xenophobia, religious divisions, sectional and ethnocentric differences.

A NEW AFRICA IS POSSIBLE

The exit of Mubarak is not an Uhuru (or a mission accomplished) moment for Egypt. Revolution is not an event. It is a process. The socio-economic and political problems of the society cannot be fixed overnight. However, this is a remarkable moment that shows that the birth of a new society is possible. It shows that the old ideas and leadership style that Africa has been subjected to for decades can no longer sustain the realities of the moment. These old ideas and leadership must make an exit for a new framework based on freedom, justice, and the dignity of all citizens.

The youths should remain politicized. They should increase their political awareness and stay vigilant throughout the process of reconstruction. The same courage, tenacity, and creativity that it took them to dethrone Mubarak should be drawn upon for the tasks ahead. The Yes-we- can mindset is critical in the task ahead for Egypt, just as it is for the rest of Africa.

Tunisians and African Youths: "We Want Bread and Water and No Ben Ali"

By Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor
After 23 years as president, Tunisian leader Zine el Abidine Ben Ali was forced out of office by disgruntled youths over rising cost of living, unemployment, and misrule. Protests broke out in mid December 2010 after the death of Mohamed Bouazizi, an unemployed graduate, who set himself on fire out of frustration following police harassment for hawking vegetables without permit. Youths from different cities soon demonstrated in solidarity with Bouazizi and in protest of a regime they had increasing grown impatient with. They succeeded in booting their autocratic leader out of power onto exile on Friday, January 14.

According one report, some of the protesters displyed placards stating, "We want bread, and water and no Ben Ali." This is symbolic of the aspirations of Tunisian youths and ordinary people across Africa. They yearn for access to means of livelihood, food, decent housing, health care, and a society devoid of self-centered dictators like Ben Ali.
In one conservative estimate, $1.8 trillion was illegally flown out of Africa between 1970 and 2008. What kind of action by the people will ensure that the next four decades of the 21^st century are not characterized by such illegal outflows that neglect the people who wallow in grinding poverty? This is the question.

My prognosis is that the move by Tunisian youths is an indication of what is to come in Africa as youths’ creativity, power and energy increasingly become the basis for resistance and transformation.

Africa is a continent with one of the highest proportion of youth as a percentage of its population. According to the United Nations, 60% of Africa’s population is less than 25 years old. And this percentage has been projected to increase over the next couple of decades. I have noted elsewhere that Africa could reap enormous demographic dividends from such population dynamic. But I also agree with Michelle D. Gavin, who wrote in “Africa’s Looming Mega Challenges” that, “the concentration of young people coping with poverty, unemployment and underemployment, and few avenues for social mobility and economic opportunity can lead to volatile mix of alienation and frustration, especially as media images from the industrialized world continue to penetrate deeply into the region, magnifying the sense of relative deprivation.”

It is up to African leaders to grapple with the challenges of investing in these youths to meet their yearnings and aspirations. Indeed, African leaders must understand the urgency to meet these aspirations or face a situation where the youths unleash the new generation tools of organizing and channel their energy and talents to bring about the change they want.

A recent UN report, The State of African Cities 2010: Governance, Inequalities, and Urban Land Markets, emphasizes the need for sweeping policy reforms on the continent in order to cope with emerging challenges of urban settlement. The report states that the challenges ahead “require well-devised public policies that can steer demographic growth, turn urban accumulation of activities and resources into healthy economies, and ensure equitable distribution of wealth.” The report further highlights the urgency of this forward planning for African cities and infrastructure development, stating that, “[s]weeping reform is also critical for effective delivery of affordable housing, services and urban infrastructures commensurate with the magnitudes of these rapidly expanding urban concentrations.” These sweeping reforms can only be carried out by regimes of visionary and people-oriented leadership across the continent.
AFRICA'S YOUTHS LEADING THE WAY

From Angola to Cameroon, Algeria, Egypt and Ethiopia; from Ivory Coast to Libya, Morocco, Uganda and Zimbabwe, there abound the likes of Ben Ali who seem to mistake public office for kingship throne or personal property. For how long can they continue to do this without facing a similar fate as Ben Ali? The first decade of the 21st century has just ended, and the pace of technological change and changes in the international system indicate that socio-economic changes would have to keep pace or at least not be stagnant in order to avert the wrath of disgruntled populace.

African states need the right leadership to bring about the tolerable measure of socio-economic change. This visionary leadership is one that must understand the needs and aspirations of the African people, especially the youth. This leadership must also understand that the drastic changes in domestic realities in Africa vis-à-vis the new and constantly evolving realities of the international system dictate that the old ideas/framework about development in Africa would have to be overhauled.

Unfortunately, many African leaders are still operating in the old mindset, and are using the pre-21st century ways of doing things to address 21st century challenges. Many African leaders seem to be far behind their youths who seem to understand better that the world has changed. Our youths are operating in a world where the use of anti-imperialist narratives by freedom fighters-turned-despots no longer appeals to young people. Many African leaders are so out of touch with grassroots realities that they do not completely understand how today’s African youths are different from youths of previous generations. We are now living in a world where local youths easily connect with other youths elsewhere and deploy social media tools for a vast array of activities. The distance among today’s African youths and between them and youths of other societies has been bridged by technology. These youths understand better how governments in other societies strive to meet the aspirations of their people, and wonder why their own governments care less about them. They have easy access to information about their leaders’ corruption and profligacy and can share same on Facebook, You Tube, and twitter in minutes. These youths of our Facebook generation are activists and journalists in their own rights. They can organize with the click of a computer mouse and through text messaging. After seeing the revolutionary power of youth mobilization and social media tools of organizing that was pivotal to the election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the USA, these youths recognize more than ever that they have power to bring about non-violent revolutionary change. Many African leaders either underestimate or have yet to grasp the power of African youths to cascade this pattern of mobilization. They are far behind.

When the revolution started in Tunisia, Ben Ali could no longer repress or intimidate Tunisian youths, even after labeling demonstrators as terrorists. Similarly, many African leaders may soon discover that the old tactics of repressing people’s aspiration through propaganda and the barrels of the gun is obsolete. In the book, Barack Obama and 21st Century Politics, the author states that the essence of a revolution is that old thinking, ideas, and ways of doing things that sustained the old era can no longer hold the society together. This revolution does not have to be violent or bloody. In fact, the contradictions of the disconnect between many African leaders and the grassroots reality and aspirations of their young people who yearn for a new style of leadership, new ideas and transformative policies may result in some revolutionary tsunamis that would take Africa's ruling elites unawares. Again, this revolution does not have to be bloody or violent, since violence begets violence.

African leaders need not worry about how to suppress the energy and power of these youths. They should be concerned about how to set an agenda for policy and governance overhaul to facilitate adequate investment in the people. This will enable young Africans channel their energy and talents toward societal transformation in lieu of social unrest.

After the collapse of the Ben Ali regime in Tunisia, African and Western leaders leaders, especially French officials, who had allied with the dictator even up to his last hour in office, quickly denounced him and registered their solidarity Tunisia's youths. This is a classical example of youths leading the way, and others joining the revolutionary bandwagon.
PEOPLE’S POWER ACROSS THE EQUATOR, BEYOND THE ATLANTIC AND THE MEDITERRANEAN

It is no news that France was a close ally of Ben Ali’s repressive regime. A top French official had even contemplated assisting the dictator to crack down on demonstrators on grounds of “security cooperation” agreements between the two countries. People’s power, not just in Tunisia, but also in the Diaspora, served as a bulwark against France’s granting of asylum to Ben Ali after the collapse of his regime. According to one source, France rejected Ben Ali’s request for asylum on the grounds that the move “would upset the hundreds of thousands of French residents of Tunisian origin.”

This shows what Africans can achieve when they create solidarity between the home front and the Diaspora. This solidarity is a force that Africa’s despots and their imperial accomplices cannot dare challenge. However, a major obstacle to this solidarity remains the anti-imperialist rhetoric and manipulations used by Africa’s autocrats to engineer division among the Diasporas and between the Diaspora and the home front when these leaders are about to lose their hold to power. This is evident in Cote d’Ivoire and Zimbabwe, where the governments that have over the years allied with foreign elements to Africanize exploitation and repression play the anti-imperialist card when it is time for them to respect the democratic wish of the people. In the case of Tunisia, where there was no room for such manipulation, the alliance between the home front and the Diaspora made the aspiration of the people to prevail. It is now up to the people to ensure that a truly democratic and transformed society is borne out of this revolution.

For how long would African leaders continue to allow African youths waste away in their desperate moves to cross seas and deserts for greener pastures overseas? For how long do African leaders think that these youths, who know they have the power to chase their repressive leaders from power, would continue to tolerate misrule, looting, and repression?

The model of development where the goal of the so-called poverty alleviation is treated as though it was an isolated objective can no longer hold. African leaders must embark on the holistic approach of promoting good governance and investing in human beings to meet their aspiration to live in dignity. This approach must include investments in quality and accessible education beyond mere universal basic education; investments in universal health care; in decent and affordable housing; and in agriculture and job creation.

The victory of Tunisian youths who took to the streets to actualize their aspiration for a better society calls for deep reflection among African ruling elites. They must embrace good governance and invest in their people or face the wrath of the 21st century African youth.

Exploring the Recesses: The Education of A British Protected Child by Chinua Achebe - A Review

It’s been quite a while since I finished a book in days. Aside from having a hectic daily grind, I take numerous notes and explore references while reading. Yet with Achebe’s new piece, I was through in a day and a half, sitting pensively after completion; my mind racing and positively stimulated.


We must collectively thank Achebe for this slim all encompassing volume and for committing his thoughts and well-rounded dissections to paper. Compiled as a collection of essays, the topics ranged from literary to political all of which he delivers through life accounts that link to nationalist, pan-African and global views on race, the problem of perception and their significance to humanity.

I imagine us, a younger generation, seated about him as he recounts stories of people and events in African history, relating them to our experiences today and all the while subtly admonishing that we become cognizant of who we are and from whence we come.

Achebe offers a lucid projection into what has otherwise been a murky topic. Reaching deep into the recesses of history to uncover incidents that have come to define the prevailing condition of African nation states, he acknowledges the problem of leadership as a major part of Africa’s challenges as well as examines the role of education in charting a new course forward.

His considerations on education much like those of Patrick Awuah, cofounder of Ashesi University, call for an educational paradigm that produces a new breed of leaders who emerge from the educational system possessing a deep sense of responsibility rather than an unfounded sense of entitlement.

He explores Africa in terms of its people, noting how a culture of collaboration is inherent within us. “Africa believes in people, in cooperation with people. If the philosophical dictum of Descartes “I think therefore I am” represents a European individualistic ideal, the Bantu declaration “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” represents an African communal aspiration: “A human is human because of other humans.” Essentially, We are, therefore I am.”

He also explores Africa with respect to art and our collective capacities when he notes “… the creative potential in all of us; and of the need to exercise this latent energy again in artistic expression and communal, cooperative enterprises.”

As Achebe notes, “The point of all this is to alert us to the image burden that Africa bears today and make us recognize how that image has molded contemporary attitudes, including perhaps our own, to that continent.” Essentially, we must regain a lost image and do away with the ‘problem of perception’ that has been cast on us.

The Life of A British Protected Child is an easy read. It gives us an elders perspective of what we, a new generation must aspire to but also equips us with enough history to question our predicament as a continent as well as heighten our individual thirsts for historical truths about Africa.The message is simple; in this age of digitally recorded histories, we must tell our own stories. We must explore our creative potential for shaping future attitudes towards Africa and collectively as well as practically embark upon redefining what it means to be African.

Calculated Optimism: Africa's Growing Young Population, Demographic Dividends, and the African Renaissance Part 2.*

by Wilson Aiwuyor



-->

Africa’s demographic dividends could be enormous and transformative when the continent attains political stability and take due advantage of its booming young population. Africa’s population dynamic indicates that the continent, unlike other regions of the world, would neither face any shortage in domestic labor supply nor worry about the economic burden of an increasingly ageing population for the most part of the 21^st century. By 2050, Africa’s working-age population, which is currently 54% of the continent’s total population, will climb to 62%. In contrast, Europe’s working-age will shrinks from 63% in 2010 to 51% in 2050. European economy policy is already feeling the pinch of an ageing population. One analyst, Tim Colebatch, observes:

European governments have stared into the future, and they don't like it. They see a dwindling European workforce struggling to support a rapidly expanding number of retirees. They see their budget deficits swelling as millions of elderly people force up spending on pensions, health-care and nursing homes, while their populations fall and their tax base shrinks.

Africa will have more than enough workforce to sustain its economy. Europe (and other regions of the world where there is an ageing population) will increasingly need Africa’s surplus labor. In fact, the European Union has opened immigration job centers in parts of Africa.

Additionally, Africa’s population will serve as a vast market for domestic production and to support the global economy. The McKinsey Global Institute forecasts the spread of Africa’s potential demographic dividend beyond the continent in its publication titled Lions on the Move: The Progress and Potential of African Economies. The publication states: “By 2040, it (Africa’s labor force) is projected to reach 1.1 billion, overtaking China’s and India’s. If Africa can provide its young people with the education and skills they need, this large workforce could account for a significant share of both global consumption and production.” This is the Africa that is referred to in the vision for an African Renaissance as enshrined in the Vision of the African Union (AU); an Africa that would be “prosperous and peaceful, an Africa driven and managed by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the international arena.”

The Dividends and the Renaissance

The African Renaissance is an age-long vision that requires good governance to translate into reality. The concept of African Renaissance was first used by the Senegalese scholar Cheikh Anta Diop to refer to an Africa that can assert itself politically, economically, and culturally. In his collection of essays, Towards the African Renaissance: Essays in Culture and Development, Diop cited fundamental requirements to achieve the renaissance. Among these requirements were continental integration and economic viability. In another book, Black Africa: The Economic and Cultural Basis for a Federated State, published in 1974, Diop presented an elaborate blueprint for the achievement of the African renaissance.

 Similarly, Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first independent president and champion of Africa’s decolonization movement, made a compelling case for Africa’s unity and economic integration geared toward continental transformation. Meanwhile, earlier in 1963, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah had proposed in his book, Africa Must Unite, that a united Africa should integrate and pool its resources to put an end to economic dependency and conflicts.

In 1995, Nelson Mandela asserted that Africa was moving into a “new era of renaissance.” This statement marked the re-emergence of the vision that was articulated by Diop and Nkrumah decades earlier. After Mandela’s reference to the Renaissance in 1995, the concept gradually became the overarching term for the vision to bring about a united, stable, peaceful, and prosperous Africa; an Africa that can improve the quality of life of its citizens and give the continent a pride of place in the global community.

The vision of the African Renaissance and the paradox that Africa is the future of the world are no joke. In May 2010, French President Sarkozy said it point blank during the Africa-France Summit that, "Africa is our future." Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown buttressed Sarkozy's statement.

--> "Future growth in the world economy, and future jobs in the developing world, will depend on harnessing both the productive potential and the pent-up consumer demand of this continent," asserted Brown. Advanced economies in the West and developing countries in the global south, including China, India, and Brazil are now seeking new ways to either assert or re-assert themselves in Africa - a development that some analysts refer to as a new scramble for Africa's resources. Despite the scramble for Africa's natural resources, the continent's greatest asset remains its human resources anchored on its booming youth population.

Indeed, the enthronement of good governance and investment in human resource across Africa would better position the continent to reap the demographic dividends and achieve the African Renaissance. Again, high population growth rate is not Africa’s fundamental problem. Africa is not overpopulated. African leaders should be made to govern well and implement adequate social policies to improve education, health care delivery, infrastructural development, human capital development, and the empowerment of African women.

* This is the second of a two-part article. Read part 1 here