Ghanaian Youth Criticize Terms of World Bank Loan

Nicolas Van de Valle of Cornell has cited the fact that in Africa, pressure groups have little effect in changing the way that  governments formulate policy.  This body of research will be  put to to the test this week, as a group of youth in Ghana has launched an admirable campaign to pressure the government to review the terms of a World Bank loan that say will disproportionately marginalize young people.  Says the group: 

"We find this move by government extremely difficult in accepting why the NDC government, an acclaimed social democrat party, that promised social centered policies - like creating more jobs for the youth and Ghanaians at large, could suddenly succumb to such inhumane agreement by the World Bank and the IMF to freeze employment, among other harsh conditionalities." 

Way to go, Ghana.  Prove Van de Walle wrong....

Who Writes History....

Visiting friends in Charleston, South Carolina and this morning had coffee at an African-theme, hipster-filled coffeehouse called "Kudu."  Loved this poster.  Any thoughts as to the identity of the man in the foreground? 

The Two Faces of Abuja

Long known as a country of poverty in which 60% of the population lives on less than $1 a day, the windfalls of Nigeria's oil boom have nevertheless produced a rather wealthy elite in the country that has long been by noted by Nigerians and outsiders alike.  (A friend who had grown up in Lagos told me recently of the "Red BMW" parties he went to in the city as a youth, in which every attendee had to arrive in a pre-determined color of the German car or be denied admission.) Planning a stay in Abuja, Nigeria this summer, I've recently been led to believe that Nigeria's new capital city of Abuja (purpose-built in the 1980s to relieve both congestion and ethnic tensions from then-capital Lagos), is the epitome of the disparities of wealth that exist in the country. 

Articles by the New York Times  and BBC highlight the fact that for diplomats and government employees, life within Abuja is infused with the opulence that might be expected from a city purpose-built to serve as host to branches of global IGOs (like the United Nations), regional IGOS (like the headquarters of ECOWAS) and as the seat of the Nigerian government; however, for those employed in Abuja's service industry (like chauffeurs, housekeepers, cooks, etc.) life is less fabulous. Indeed, Abuja's cost of living is often cited as being roughly equivalent to living in Manhattan, rendering it one of the most expensive cities in Africa.  Consequently, service workers live in shanty towns outside the capital, unable to pay the cost of living in the "elite" city of Abuja, which the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nasir el-Rufai has infamously claimed "is not a city for poor people." 

Despite the apparent inequities between the elites and service industry,  Abuja announced yesterday in the Nigerian daily This Day  that it now seeks to be named among the '20 Best Cities in the World.'  In addition to being known as one of the most efficient capitals in Africa, Abuja garnered acclaim in 2003 for hosting the All-Africa Games, a continental equivalent to the Olympics.  Logistical gaffes aside, Abuja then put its name in the hat to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which would have marked the first time an African nation had hosted; it eventually lost out to Glasglow, Scotland, when committee members decided that Abuja wasn't quite yet capable of hosting such a large event.  Abuja thus appears a city optimistically energetic yet perhaps overly-ambitious of its own current capacity.

The question simplified: Should Abuja be lauded for creating a stable, clean, navigable and enviable capital for Nigeria, even if life there is so prohibitively expensive for the average Nigerian?  Will the comparative opulence of Abuja spur on the creation of a new Nigeria technocratic class, or will it simply elicit disdain from those citizens unable to afford its elite style of life?  Comments welcome...

African Leaders Offer Support to War Criminal

The International Criminal Court's indictment of Sudan's Omar al-Bashir (over the alleged orchestration of the mass murders happening in the country's western Darfur region) has been met with disdain by African leaders and others in the Global South.  Yesterday, the African regional bloc of COMESA (Common Market of Eastern and Southern African States) condemned the indictment as neo-colonial and unfair, citing the fact only African heads of state (Charles Taylor of Liberia as well) have been chastised by the ICC, whereas Western heads of state (Bush Deux, namely) are war criminals who've faced no repercussions for their actions. 

COMESA's support for al-Bashir is particularly interesting when integrated into a framework elucidated by Yale political scientist Bruce Russett in his book, Triangulating Peace: Democracy, Interdependence and International Organizations.  In essence, Russett and co-author Oneal argue that democracy, economic interdependence and international organizations all contribute to peace, and peace in turn fortifies each individual institution.  I'm currently conducting an ongoing study to gauge the applicability of this paradigm to Africa; specifically, I'm interested in the extent to which African international organizations (like COMESA, ECOWAS, or SADC) contribute to or hinder the possibilities for peace. 

While al-Bashir's trial by the ICC isn't causally linked to a propagation of peace, it is unlikely that by excusing him from any culpability, COMESA is helping to bring about peace in its own backyard.  At least in the case study of COMESA, al-Bashir and the ICC, Russet and Oneal's thesis appears not to hold. Rather than contributing to the peaceful resolution of a conflict that appears clearly orchestrated by al-Bahsir, COMESA is contributing to, not mitigating violence in Darfur. More news on African international organizations and peace to follow...

De-Constructing Obama's Trip to Ghana

One of the great ironies of the utterly failed Bush administration was that despite its seemingly un-ending series of political gaffes, the one (comparatively) strong point of his foreign policy agenda was his relationship with Africa.  Though goodwill from the continent could be owed simply to the fact that he doubled aid to Africa (primarily in the form of PEPFAR funds), Bush nevertheless left Obama with surprisingly amicable relations with the continent. 

Fast forward to 2009. The White House announced last week that President Obama would be making his first trip to Africa since his inauguration as a President. While many assumed that the trip would undoubtedly take him to the much-publicized homeland of his father, Kenya, such was not the case.  Rather, Obama will make a brief, one night stop in Accra, Ghana. African media has been agog with speculation with three queries:  Why did the White House overlook Kenya? Why did it choose Ghana? And why weren't other African countries included on the tour?  

The answer to the final question is clear: Obama's stopover on the continent has been tacked on to the end of a longer G-8 trip to Russia, a move intended to help him stop the erosion of political capital he currently enjoys on the continent.  As a New York Times article explains, the stopover in Ghana was intended to "at least get a marker down before too much time passed," noting that by July, Obama would have visited Europe three times, without having been to Sub-Saharan Africa once.  Other countries weren't included in the tour because it is largely a  chronological place holder until a more prolonged Africa trip can be scheduled.  As to why Kenya was not chosen: this seems obvious.  Long the darling of East Africa, Kenya's presidential poll that was marred by ethnic violence in late 2007 and early 2008 still tempers the international community's vision of the country.  Such is exemplified by the highly publicized decision of the US Transportation Safety Administration to demand that Delta Airways pull out of a previously-agreed to direct flight from Atlanta to Nairobi.  (A flight to Monrovia, Liberia was also reneged, though direct flights into Abuja, Nigeria will go ahead as planned.)  Despite its deep admiration for Obama, Kenya's unending political tug-of-war between Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki doesn't speak highly of its democratic capacity, and the celebrity of Obama in his patrimony would likely cause security risks for what is intended to be but a brief appearance. Finally, why Ghana?  The seemingly obvious answer is Ghana's admirable presidential election in December 2008, which saw a peaceful and largely transparent run-off between between eventual winner John Atta Mills and challenger Nana Akufo-Adodo.  In stark contrast to Kenya, Ghana proved capable and determined to prove itself an African state committed to democracy and peaceful transitions of power, a fact which Obama no doubt leveraged when choosing a destination on a continent enamored with him. Further, Ghana will provide Obama with a rather low-stress option for a one-night African appearance; as Lizzie Williams has said, Ghana may be described (in contrast to Nigeria, for instance) as "Africa for beginners." Obama's Africa trip, while not producing meaningful policy, will nevertheless have implications for the way that the continent views his administration, and doubly offers  slight insight into how his administration will approach Africa.  Rather than simply returning to the land of his father, Obama's largely cosmetic visit to Ghana does set the right precedent for US engagement by placing high value on democracy and peace rather than simply familial linkages. 

Africa Meets Appalachia

My hometown of Hendersonville, North Carolina is known for its religiosity.  Literally hundreds of churches lie within a 15-mile radius of this town of 12,000; most prominent amongst them is not surprisingly First Baptist Church, which locals view as being in a never-ending "building" war with the nearby First United Methodist Church.  Today, Hendersonville's newspaper, The Times News ran a story that logically caught my eye: "Camp Africa to Give Teens a Glimpse of Different Culture." Two Christian missionaries who had served in Africa named Justin and Rebekah Rhodes are constructing what they call an "authentic African village" in the hills of North Carolina which will play host to a group of Christian teens for several days in the summer. Not surprisingly, the goal of Africa Camp is to encourage teens to consider becoming Christian missionaries in Africa.  Screeeeeeech. 

Of course, the Rhodes' efforts to encourage youth to have a global perspective and to share concern about mutual humanity is highly laudatory. Their commitment to the continent is evident.  What is worrisome is both their portrayal of Africa and the necessity of further proselytizing from outsiders.  The portrayal of the continent from Camp Africa's website speaks volumes. “It all happens in an authentically simulated village. The living quarters, the cooking fires, the meals, the clothing, the language, even the currency is truly African. The only thing we’ve left out is the malaria!" And Africans, whom apparently have no hand in determining what "authentic" African culture the teens will be taught. The advert concludes, "You’ll experience the culture and mystic [sic] of ‘the dark continent’ without traveling there.” The game is not a new one: Christian missionaries portraying Africa as "mystic" and "malarial" so as to convince future generations of their need to bring those living in the "dark continent" into the light of a (Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, etc.) set of beliefs.  Perhaps most disconcerting about the story was the "unbiased" reporting by the story's author, Ann Wirtz, who reported summarily that: "Africa Camp aims to show campers the need for Christian missionaries in Africa, where tens of thousands in villages are unaware of God’s love for them." We shan't even begin to approach the importance of distinguishing between fact vs. opinion in reporting.  The Rhodes should be congratulated for their commitment to the continent and their willing creativity to share this passion with youth.  They should be careful, however, not to denigrate the continent in order to convince American Christianity of its necessity to "save" it once again. 

Africa Doesn't Need Aid, It Needs Good PR

I spoke on the phone this afternoon with Dr. Leslye Obiora, a dear mentor of mine from Yale who served as Nigeria's Minister of Mines and Steel Development from 2006 - 2007, directed the World Bank's (don't worry!) program for Women and Law, and has also founded the Institute for Research on African Women, Children and Culture (IRAWCC).  We'll be collaborating this summer on a piece centered on aid effectiveness, along with Dr. Alfred Monye of Nigeria's National Planning Commission.  She alerted me she recently wrote an article for The Christian Science Monitor, published on May 20.  After five seconds of Google-ing, I came across her phenomenal article, which calls for the international community to view Africa (and Nigeria specifically) as a much more than a land of corrupt scam artists, but rather, as a land where a largely ethical and hardworking population must remain resilient in the face of the greed of a few in power.  Indeed, a reading of Karl Maier's work on Nigerian history un-optimistically entitled This House Has Fallen: Nigeria in Crisis emphasizes that the wider global community is affected by Nigeria precisely because the so-called "419" internet scams "have become the number three form of internet fraud." Rather, I would argue that the Nigerian crisis touches us at a more profound, more humanistic level. That Nigerians must resort to these tactics for capital accumulation is not endemic to their character: the nature of the global political economy has left little other resort. Perhaps more appropriately Africa needs to launch a PR campaign against the unsavory tactics of the West. 

De-Colonization Continues: Guadeloupe Calls for Independence from France

Since having worked for the French Government as an English Assistant in Cayenne, French Guiana in 2006 - 2007, I've been conducting an ongoing (and at present, greatly stalled) project examining the French DOM-TOMs and their prospects from independence from France. Essentially, the DOM-TOMs (Domaines d'outre mer and territoires d'outre mer) are various islands (and in the case of French Guiana, mainland territories) that are bits of the former French empire that have yet to be officially de-colonized.  They may be said to be analogous to Alaska and Hawai'i - non-contiguous extensions of a more powerful central state.  

The resemblance to colonies of days gone by should not go unnoticed. Inequity in French Guiana is highly drawn along racial lines, with the Creole, Hmong and indigenous Amer-Indian populations living on a fraction of the resources enjoyed by the ever-rotating cadre of French civil servants (highly reminiscent of former French colonial bureaucracy) that rotate in and out every few years.  The call today by Guadeloupe's Communist Party (GCP) to support its independence from France is a highly heartening step in the right direction, as were the 2008 protests that took place in another French Caribbean DOM-TOM, Martinique.  The move for self-determination for these neo-colonies is a highly important step in achieving a de-colonization process largely (and incorrectly) assumed to be complete. 

China: The New IMF for Africa?

After returning back to my home of Hendersonville, nestled in the Appalachian mountains of Western North Carolina, I became acutely aware of the extent to which discussion on the "New Scramble for Africa" has permeated not only academic circles, but civilian discourse as well.   For those who aren't well-versed in the discussion, a recent article by Lord Aikins Aduesi written for the exceptional Pambazuka News Agency succeeds in outlining the broad contours of the argument.  Though he offers very little new insight into the general discussion of the topic of neo-imperialism in Africa, he does arrive at an interesting conclusion: that with the ascendence of China, Africa now has an alternative outlet to receive funding for development projects that will allow it to avoid its historically disastrous relationship with the IMF and World Bank.  While I wholeheartedly agree that the democratization of the development arena is a positive,  I recall an essay written by a colleague of mine at Yale by the name Channa Cummings, which questioned the extent to which China has become the "new IMF" for African countries. 

Dr. Paul Tiyambe Zeleza to Serve as Dean of College of Liberal Arts at Loyola-Marymount

Dr. Paul Tiyambe Zeleza, who has been kind enough to conduct interviews with me both for Washington DC's 89.3 "AfricaNow!" radio program and for the Fall 2008 edition of the Yale Journal of International Affairs, has recently been named the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Loyola-Marymount University.  Dr. Zeleza has been the President of the African Studies Association and also won the 1994 Noma Award (designating the best book from Africa) for his work "An Economic History of Africa."  Sincere congratulations Dr. Zeleza. 

A Culture of Corruption: Everyday Deception and Popular Discontent in Nigeria by Daniel Jordan Smith

This summer I'll be working at the United Nations Development Program in Abuja, Nigeria.  Specifically, I'll be in the Governance Unit, which seeks to encourage democratic practices, discourage corruption and strengthen a commitment to human rights. In preparation, I recently purchased the book A Culture of Corruption: Everyday Deception and Popular Discontent in Nigeria by Dr. Daniel Jordan Smith of Brown University from Barnes and Noble.com.  Upon opening the book, the title page read When They Severed Earth From Sky and the following pages included chapters entitled "Willfulness: The Atom or Thou" and "Post Hocus Ergo Pocus: Space Aliens Mutilate Cows." Apparently, Princeton University Press made a pretty serious blunder here...

Samasource: Innovation in Social Entrepreneurship

A student in a class that I  TA'd at Yale this Spring, called "African Poverty and Western Aid" (taught by Dr. Chris Blattman) has brought to my attention the highly creative work being done by a group called Samasource.  Founded by a Harvard graduate with a specialty in African Development Studies (can one major in such a thing?!) Samasource seeks to outsource internet-based tasks - like data entry, website design, etc. - to people in developing countries who otherwise remain excluded from participation in the global political economy.  Contact me for more details.... 

Op-Ed from Zimbabwe

Another characteristically anti-imperialist op-ed from Zimbabwe's state-run newspaper, the Herald.  I'm a particular fan of this one, primarily because North Carolina's Jesse Helms gets bashed on by a Zimbabwean journalist.  We didn't think so highly of him either, Mukanya...