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PAV EDITORIAL Vol. 26 December 2009
The Burden of Membership In The Billionaires Club For Africa
It is a development that failed to garner significant attention yet the revelation by a recent United Nations Population Fund UNPF report that the population of Africa had hit the billion number is of great significance. UNPF Director Thoraya Obeid told the BBC that the population of the continent had more than doubled in the last 27 years. In its State of the World Report, the population of the world is pegged at 6.8 billion and by 2050, estimates show the population of Africa will be about 1.9 billion. "Africa countries are all growing fast... because there is large number of women who have no access to planning their families," says UNPF’s Thoraya Obeid in a BBC interview. A break down of the population shows that Central Africa has 125.7m, East Africa 318.8m, North Africa 209.4m and West Africa 298.6m. Nigeria and Uganda are cited as having the fastest growing populations.
In the world today, among the few countries with billion number figures in terms of population are China and India. At the dawn of Independence for most African countries in the last fifties and early sixties, China and India were not faring any better than Africa. The reality is very different today. Where as India and China have witnessed significant economic development and transformation, the situation in Africa remains pathetic. China and India today wield considerable influence and leverage in world affairs as opposed to Africa which is still frantically groping round and round in the dark.
Of what use is a huge population when many continue to live in abject poverty, when democracy continues to be stifled, when he vast riches of the continent serve the needs of a privileged elite, when wars and disease are still rife in the continent, when its human resources continue to be mismanage by leadership void of a transformative vision capable making the continent meet challenges of the 21st century? The answers certainly will provide a very gloomy picture yet like many others, we at Pan African Visions believe that there is every reason to hope and remain positive.
The population of Africa represents a huge market. A market that salivates many an appetite around the world today prompting what some describe as the second scramble for Africa. The Chinese are every where in the continent, the USA is showing greater interest, and so are India, Japan, Canada not forgetting Europe which may pay for years of abusing the privileged access it had to Africa and its resources. Does Africa however have what it takes to get a good deal from the rest of the world? Although dynamic leaders like Paul Kagame, John Attah Mills, Meles Zenawi and a few others have bright ideas on how to move Africa forward, there are still quite a good number of old sit tight leaders who remain a stumbling block.
Speaking at the seventh biennial US-Africa Business Summit which took place last September in Washington DC, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said for too long Africa has been viewed as a charity case instead of a dynamic continent capable of becoming a global economic engine for the 21st century. This dynamic she says must be changed. “We have to convince African countries to do more trading among themselves and to break down barriers at their own borders. It is absolutely clear that if African countries began to trade with one another, they would quickly have more increase in GDP than they could ever imagine by just bilateral agreements with Europe and the USA .So part of our goal must be to persuade our friends-open up your markets to each other.” Secretary of State Clinton noted.
At the Business Summit were African leaders like John Attah Mills of Ghana, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Sassou Nguesso of Congo as well as a very impressive array of African and American business figures and companies. The message from Secretary of State Clinton was very poignant, there is more Africa can get from trade with the rest of the world but with a population in the billion figure, there is even more to gain, a lot more to gain from trade with itself. Ideas like the United States of Africa have been mooted and re-mooted but with limited success despite the huge advantages that many believe will come from such a union, ideas like a common currency and a current passport continue to be treated with incredible levity by a generation of leaders who appear unconscious to the stark realities of a rapidly evolving world.
Programmes like the New Partnership for African Development –NEPAD are salutary; the African Union is a positive step but should leaders continue to mortgage and stagnant the collective interest of the vast majority just for the fear of losing the tin-god status enjoyed in their countries? With the kind of leadership that the continent has will the continent be able to accommodate the needs of such a huge population? The population itself should be a blessing rather than a curse. At a time the population of some world countries is aging, Africa continues to have a dynamic young population. The resources are there, the people are hard working and largely peace loving, but can its leadership display the kind of patriotism and vision that have brought China and India to the enviable position they occupy in the world today? The answer should be a very emphatic yes.
Times are changing so are Africans and any leader who refuses to acknowledge this or continue to ignore this fact does so at his own peril. In the face of repeated frustrations the people are capable of standing up to claim leadership or what should be rightfully theirs. Example in point after years of blatant neglect from successive governments in Nigeria, including the hanging of people like Ken Saro Wiwa who dared to demand a fair share of resources accruing from the oil rich Niger Delta of Nigeria, it took a rebellion for the government of President Musa Yar’Adua to sue for peace. What started like a mile action by militants almost degenerated into a full blown rebellion and needed the might of the Nigerian military, diplomacy and a serious commitment forced out of the Nigerian government to transform the region. Not until oil supplies witness a sharp fall and revenues drastically cut did the Nigerian government discover that the Niger Delta was a more serious threat than initially thought.
There are many Niger Deltas in Africa but instead of waiting for things to reach boiling point before there are addressed, our leaders should give dialogue a chance, listen to the legitimate aspirations of its people, work towards balance equitable development, and learn to be servants and not masters. Just look at the toll that a flawed election took on human life and development in 1998. Look at the barbarity with which fellow Africas are repatriated in a country like Equatorial Guinea. It is not by siphoning and stashing away resources in foreign banks while going to the IMF and World bank cap in hand to beg for more to indebt future generations.
In our last issue of the year, we take a look at the promising first steps of Gabon’s President Ali Ben Bongo fighting to shirk off the controversy that surrounded his election, a look at 27 years of President Paul Biya with Cameroonians still waiting for the rigour and moralization he promised, and Constitutional developments in Kenya. As mentioned early, not even the remotest part of Africa has been spared either the influx of Chinese products or the presence of projects it is funding. Our December package carries an interview of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, the fortunes of the African woman since the Beijing Conference of 1995, and the great expectations ahead of one of the major events of 2010, the FIFA World Cup billed to be hosted on behalf of Africa for the first time by South Africa.PAV shares the draws, fixtures and the reaction of some of those who will be key actors in ensuring the best representation for Africa.
We also take this opportunity to wish our readers a wonderful Christmas and a most prosperous new year 2010. Despite the hitches of the past few months, we promise to return in January with a big bang. Sincere gratitude to our growing readership, we appreciate all the comments and suggestions that came our way through 2009. We will definitely need more of them, more of your adverts, more of your support, more possibilities of networking et al.
Happy reading, happy Christmas and a most prosperous new year 2010 to you and all yours !!!
Ajong Mbapndah L & Fidelis Achenjang for the PAV Team
