My Beauty Best Teacher

Thompson Ayodele writes "...The resources needed for development in Africa can be generated within the continent. From 1970 to 2000 Africa received about U$400 billion in aid. Africa has got enough financial help from overseas. Africa’s lack of development clearly does not stem from lack of funds. More foreign aid will not eliminate poverty and launch African countries to productivity and growth...development in the continent is possible through change which must come from within Africa. If anyone really wants to help poor Africans out of the vicious circle of poverty he must promote free commerce, protect property rights, encourage openness to trade, allow markets to flourish and reduce government intervention in the economy..."He"...berates the proponents of ‘trade justice’ such as the Make Poverty History coalition who push for more barriers to trade. This would, according to Ayodele, further harm and impoverish the poor and vulnerable. “If countries should relax barriers to trade, it would kick-start entrepreneurial activities. People would discover where goods are most needed and innovate how best to produce those goods. The competition for supply would spur improvements in local production, investment and technology transfer with consequent benefits for
everyone, particularly the poor..."
Via Institute of Public Policy Analysis

Sierra Leone's tourism promise and more-Tony Blair
Barclays Bank up to more fishy stuff?
A bid to strengthen Think Tanks.
Is corruption in Nigeria's DNA?
A tour of Nairobi.
Writing off sovereign debt and hampering growth-Thompson Ayodele in the Telegraph
Can we rein in the destabilizing effects of Natural Resources? Perhaps with the Natural Resource Charter contends Paul Collier.
Taju Tijani asks, where are the Black British Millonaires?
How Corporate America Really Views Africa.
The Guardian compares their Katine village project with MVP's. They should take a look at the Working Villages and learn from the successes of Songhai Centre.

Thompson Ayodele writes:

The ownership of the rail transport by the federal government is responsible for the present state of rail in Nigeria. The rail system has been solely funded by government. Partnering with the private sector that could muster enough funds and invest in development of the rail has never been encouraged. Rail business in developed countries has progressed significantly leading to strategies like Design Build Own and Transfer (DBOT). This strategy has made it easier to adequately fund railway revitalization. For instance, the Bangkok's Skytrain elevated rail system, the Great Belt Fixed Link in Denmark and the joint Øresund Strait project between Denmark and Sweden.

Still Mourning a Murder "The father I didn’t know"-Ayodele Dele-Giwa
Tanzanian's "Let's Be Self-Reliant"-The Citizen
Still Releveant "Open Content for Education in Africa"-Open Access News
The socio-political ills of Nigeria actually started long ago, in those ‘good old days’.Anthonia Yakubu reviews Kinsman and Foremam By T. M. Aluko
Why Intellectuals Still Support Socialism-Peter Klein
Electricity: Let there be Light in Nigeria - Economist
How to Write About Africa II: The Revenge By Binyavanga Wainaina
Ethiopian recycler has a problem with the country's intellectuals
How mobile phones are at the root of Saharan music-Guardian

Is the Government in Accra about to shoot itself and cross-border integration in the foot? Thompson Ayodele and Olusegun Sotola of IPPA write:

The Ghana Investment Protection Council, GIPC, recently revived a regulation that requires foreign-owned businesses based in Ghana to raise at least $300,000 before they are allowed to operate. These measures are imposed to shield indigenous business owners from foreign competitors. This is hinged on the belief that there is a need to curtail the influx of neighbouring countries‘ nationals from crowding out local business interests and creating job loss for Ghanaians.
Although the argument that the policy is designed to witch-hunt the nationals of any country has been debunked by the Ghanaian authorities, industry watchers and experts are not convinced. What is evident in view of the investment pattern is that the regulation is directly aimed at local entrepreneurs from West African countries who want to invest in Ghana and not against Chinese or Indian entrepreneurs whose chunk of foreign investments‘ loans are guaranteed by their governments. Thus, raising the specified amount won‘t be a problem for the Chinese and the Indians. By and large the policy will have more direct bearing on small and medium, scale businesses owned by nationals of West African countries as they do not enjoy the protection offered by their Chinese and Indian counterparts.

From Farafina the Architecture of Demas Nwoko.Ayodele Arigbabu wrote earlier:

If architecture is a fusion of art and science, Demas Nwoko's architecture resonates with a deep understanding of materials and form, and an adeptness at structural resolution. Yet, he does not have formal training in architecture. His buildings bring architectural design up to date. Nwoko takes the best of old building techniques and exploits the possibilities of modern construction methods to evolve a refreshing style which perhaps qualifies as the first evidence of a truly nationalistic architectural form in Nigeria...[continue reading]