My Beauty Best Teacher

NaijaBlog writes about the response to the latest Airplane Crash in Nigeria:

"...Never has the opiatic, under-developing effect of religion in Nigeria been so clear to me as it was last night, watching NTA. There will be no major change in the way aviation is run here, so long as the crash is classified as an Act of God, and our response to it conditioned to be one of prayer. Religion Nigerian-style numbs every sinew of the body, freezes the brain, and erodes any possibility of rational response, and above all, transformative action. It is, at present, a malign force – a force which does not transform, which does not heal. It is, as Soul says, the most vicious colonial effect.
It could, of course, be altogether different. Religion (whatever the hue) can be a force for change, for good. Prayers can probably be answered, in a sense (one crystallises intent through quiet moments of contemplation). But not where there is no accountability, not where religion is used as a political tool for repression (explicit or otherwise), not where material wealth is taken to be a necessary precursor to spiritual wealth..."

Bruce J Berman writes(pdf):

The colonial legacy of bureaucratic authoritarianism, pervasive patron-client relations, and a complex ethnic dialectic of assimilation, fragmentation and competition has persisted in post-colonial societies. Patron-client networks remain the fundamental state-society linkage in circumstances of social crisis and uncertainty and have extended to the very centre of the state. This accounts for the personalistic, materialistic and opportunistic character of African politics. Such networks also penetrate institutions of civil society and liberal democracy, undermining programmes of socio-economic and political reform.

Underappreciated "...Street-vended and informally vended food can contribute significantly to the food security of those involved in its production, particularly suppliers of raw produce, food processors and vendors. Women are often owners or employees of street food businesses. In certain countries (Benin, Ghana, Lesotho, Togo and Democratic Republic of Congo), they represent 70 to 90% of vendors. In Ghana and most developing countries, most women sell food in the street primarily to improve the food security of their household and also to have some degree of financial independence.Despite its growing presence, it is a sector that has rarely been the focus of strategic research initiatives that determine the importance and potential hazards of street-vended food, and what contribution it makes to the livelihoods of the urban and peri-urban poor (both producers and consumers)..."
via Natural Resources Institute

Michael Wilkerson writes:

In Uganda and other developing countries, governments who claim to be democratic tend to discard either by intention or by ignorance the social contract theory on which modern democracy is based. The idea, first propounded by philosophers Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean Jacques Rousseau, is that government enters into a contract with its constituents where by taking power it agrees to protect their rights. If it fails then it has breached the contract and the people have the right to overthrow the government and find a new one.

Sharda Naidoo reports on remittances:

Remittance flows into Africa have grown exponentially over the past two years, more than $11-billion in 2005 via formal and informal channels.World Bank researchers further believe that remittances have helped reduce poverty and that they offer a lifeline to struggling economies. They have also helped to stabilise irregular incomes and build human and social capital. In Uganda, remittances have cut the share of poor people by 11% and in Ghana by 5%. In Lesotho, remittances now account for more than one-third of gross domestic product (GDP), and more than 50% in Ghana.

Continuing our coverage of foundations we now take a look at the Mo Ibrahim Foundation which has announced a $5million prize that:

Recognises former executive Heads of State or Government in sub-Saharan Africa who have dedicated their constitutional tenure of office to surmounting the development challenges of their country, improving the welfare of their people and consolidating the foundations for sustainable development.

G. Pascal Zachary writes:

"Saving" Africans is all the rage among celebrities. Hollywood is releasing a string of African morality tales, from "The Last King of Scotland," about Idi Amin's capricious rule, to "Blood Diamonds," the story of a white smuggler in West Africa who has pangs of regret over his misdeeds....By reducing Africans to the status of props in an American morality play, Africans are themselves robbed of some measure of their dignity, which is why a number of Malawians are upset by Madonna's fast-track adoption.

StockMarketNigeria writes about the benefits of Railway Transportation:

The first phase of the Lagos-Kano railway line project is to cost $8.3 billion, of which $2 billion of the amount has already been obtained as a soft loan from the Chinese government. The numerous benefits of the project as announced by the president includes:

· Utilization of local raw materials as much as possible,

·Increase in traffic of goods and passengers around Nigeria,

· Retaining the top rating of important commercial cities like Lagos, Aba and Kano as key commodity-trading points in West Africa,

· And, reduction of road accidents in Nigeria

Allan Brian Ssenyonga writes

The African immigration phenomenon has had different outcomes but one of the most significant yet overlooked is the aspect of remittances. This refers to the money sent back home by the immigrants. For sometime now, remittances have become an important aspect as far as the development of Africa and other poorer nations is concerned. Many Africans living and working in Europe and USA are working hard to maintain their families back home. On receiving their pay cheque, many send almost 60 % of their earnings back home to help foot medical bills of aging parents, pay school dues for school going siblings and relatives as well as establishing income generating projects...although Africa is losing so much in terms of skilled labour, it is also gaining a lot from the huge sums of money sent back home that are directly pumped into the local economy and therefore lead to economic development.

Ashraf Ghani on TEDTalks presents a case for Mobilising Capital to enable State Building:

Full disclosure, Emeka Okafor publisher of Timbuktu Chronicles and Africa Unchained is the co-producer for the TED Global Arusha event.

PSD Blog reports on the WSJ's coverage of Africa's Bull markets:

The continent's so-called frontier markets, such as Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Mauritius and Botswana, are up an average of 26% so far this year in dollar terms, according to Liquid Africa. By comparison, the MSCI Emerging Market Index, which includes just three African countries -- South Africa, Egypt and Morocco -- has risen 9.5% during the same period.

If you haven't heard this story, it's because the numbers are still small. The London Stock Exchange is five times as big as all African stock markets combined. And South Africa's exchange is 2/3 of the African total.

Reviews of Roel van der Veen's incisive "What Went Wrong with Africa" state that :

"This work is commendable on several counts. First, it is arguably one of the most ambitious syntheses of contemporary African history and politics to date, combining the study of internal and external factors, usually treated separately in the literature under the rubrics of African politics and African international relations. Furthermore, van der Veen adops a unique multi-disciplinary perspective, as well as a long-term historical perspective, rightly arguing that 'in order to understand Africa's present-day situation, we must look not only at outside influences but also at long-term, indigenous African elements'"--African Studies Review
"[a]ny personal, professional, or academic library reference collection strong in African social issues and history won't want to miss Roeel Van Der Veen's powerful What Went Wrong with Africa, charting the unprecedented changes in people's standards of living in Africa over the years. Africa is the only large contiguous region left out of the worldwide rise in prosperity: What Went Wrong with Africa seeks to explain why."--Library Bookwatch

Mobolaji Sanusi indicts Nigerian society:

The rot in the nation is unimaginable. It is not impossible for a right thinking Nigerian to develop insomnia as a result of the depth of graft in the country. Graft has foreclosed many windows of opportunities for citizens of this country. From the topmost leadership to the least person on the street, corruption has come to be seen as a way of life – nothing in our national life is free anymore.

Emmanuel Franklyne Ogbunwezeh writes:

Mediocrity constructs the failure of societies. It brews allergy to progress. To this end, a society that applauds mediocrity has booked an appointment with poverty. That society has a rendezvous with collapse. It has a date with failure. Mediocrity kills development. It smothers aspirations to excellence. It eviscerates every passion to innovate. It percolates and corrodes the fibres of the society. Core values erode at its toxic acidity. This leads to a breakdown of social support system which ensures social cohesion. In the light of this, a society which places premium on corruption, and fraud is heading to hell. Because dalliance with the mean has never launched any society into the orbit of development

Continuing our focus on private foundations we take a look at the the AE Healthlinks foundation founded by Tosan Akporiaye-Oruwariye . Their goals are to:

1. Facilitate direct patient care of a wide variety of illnesses that includes both medical and surgical interventions
2. Provide technical assistance in terms of specialized equipment for different services
3. Facilitate the appropriate medical training of various cadre of health professionals

Gebreselassie Y. Tesfamichael writes:

For decades, we had watched governments throughout the continent compromise their sovereignty as they adopted economic models imposed on them by both the West and the East in order to get aid. We could not help noticing how aid distorted the development process. For instance, donor organizations emphasize the social sectors -- health and education -- while almost entirely ignoring the commercial and business sector. Africa's cities are full of educated, enterprising people who are peddling goods made in Asia. Why should that be? Agriculture and manufacturing are starved for funding. We need health care and education, yes, but we also need a productive sector for the healthy and the educated to work in...The fundamental problem in Africa is not lack of resources, but the failure of political leadership. The modern African state is a colonial creation, extractive in its design. Its mission was not to serve the people, but to dominate and exploit them. Despite independence, and despite improvements brought by numerous recent democratic elections, the nature of that state remains intact. The primary solution is to change it.

Jean Rogers writes(PDF):

Transition to a rule-of-law system requires a shift in values that must permeate the implementing institutions and the public. As mentioned before, the values include respect for the law, supremacy of the law, recognition of rights, equality under the law, government restraint, and fair and impartial enforcement. Assessing functioning norms in the informal sector and adapting them for formal laws is one key way to gain acceptance of change from the grassroots. Such change may still encounter resistance within various levels of government, however. Thus, political will from the top and push for change from the grassroots are both key to making the shift effectively.