Mo Ibrahim is the Sudanese billionaire and founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation that concerns itself with promoting good governance in Africa. He can, however, not help but be disappointed by the setbacks that this endeavor is experiencing. This frustration is experienced in a recent interview given to The Guardian of Nigerian.
Excerpts:
According to Ibrahim, “When Europeans started handing over independence to African countries about 50 years, it was clear that we were not ready, as we failed to build the institutions, we failed to institutionalize good governance, the results of which are instances of military rule and other forms of dictatorship in the continent. Today we could see the incredible picture of misrule and bad governance throughout the continent.
“Unfortunately, this is the legacy which our generation is leaving for the younger generation. But you have your job really cut out for you and it is important to see how far you can go to ensure that you make the best out of the very bad situation so that Africa can be better than you are meeting it. I hope the legacy you will leave for your children will be better than what we have left for you.”
According to him, “When some African countries were busy celebrating I asked one basic question for which they nearly crucified me. The question I asked was, what are we really celebrating? Because 50 years ago, to this day after independence, most African countries had higher income per head than China, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, but today those countries have everything in abundance than the income per head, is that something to be proud of? You ought to cover your heads in shame rather than dancing and celebrating, we have failed, that is the unfortunate failure in governance.
“There is no other reason why we should experience such mass failure because I always believe Africans are very capable as individuals. Though I lived most of my life actually in the west, I watched the Africans in all aspects of life, sciences, engineering, telecoms, software, but the question is why is it that whenever they are at home they cannot perform, but when they go to Europe and America, they become excellent products. How can an African go and teach people in Princeton and yet is not recognized at home?”
According to Ibrahim, a Sudanese, the idea of blaming the white man for all the problems of the continent was no longer tenable. He said: “I find it really disgusting when I listen to some African politicians blaming our problems on the English people, the French and other guys. Don’t give me that excuse because those left more than 50 years ago, how could they still be responsible for our problems today? Do they remember that America was a British colony? Why is America not like Africa? Everybody was colonized by somebody else but they have made progress, so African leaders should face their challenges,” he said.
Excerpts:
According to Ibrahim, “When Europeans started handing over independence to African countries about 50 years, it was clear that we were not ready, as we failed to build the institutions, we failed to institutionalize good governance, the results of which are instances of military rule and other forms of dictatorship in the continent. Today we could see the incredible picture of misrule and bad governance throughout the continent.
“Unfortunately, this is the legacy which our generation is leaving for the younger generation. But you have your job really cut out for you and it is important to see how far you can go to ensure that you make the best out of the very bad situation so that Africa can be better than you are meeting it. I hope the legacy you will leave for your children will be better than what we have left for you.”
According to him, “When some African countries were busy celebrating I asked one basic question for which they nearly crucified me. The question I asked was, what are we really celebrating? Because 50 years ago, to this day after independence, most African countries had higher income per head than China, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, but today those countries have everything in abundance than the income per head, is that something to be proud of? You ought to cover your heads in shame rather than dancing and celebrating, we have failed, that is the unfortunate failure in governance.
“There is no other reason why we should experience such mass failure because I always believe Africans are very capable as individuals. Though I lived most of my life actually in the west, I watched the Africans in all aspects of life, sciences, engineering, telecoms, software, but the question is why is it that whenever they are at home they cannot perform, but when they go to Europe and America, they become excellent products. How can an African go and teach people in Princeton and yet is not recognized at home?”
According to Ibrahim, a Sudanese, the idea of blaming the white man for all the problems of the continent was no longer tenable. He said: “I find it really disgusting when I listen to some African politicians blaming our problems on the English people, the French and other guys. Don’t give me that excuse because those left more than 50 years ago, how could they still be responsible for our problems today? Do they remember that America was a British colony? Why is America not like Africa? Everybody was colonized by somebody else but they have made progress, so African leaders should face their challenges,” he said.
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