Generations have come and gone, legacies have been left; good or bad.Today,in Nigeria, like every African country, the problem of bad leadership has left citizens despondent, whether they are conscious of it or not. This piece is a reflection from the thoughts of George Ayitteh, a Ghanaian economist, who is also the founder of Free Africa Foundation. It was at a conference put together by TED, with the theme as marketplace. He opened his speech by asking “Do you think that African leaders would put this type of conference together”. If they decide to do, they would ask for foreign aid. He further explained that Africa’s begging bowl is leaking. He produced facts that Africa loses 148billion dollars annually to corruption, 80 billion to capital flight. For a continent that used to export food; Africa now imports 20billion dollars worth of food. Foreign aid according to him is not bad, but sometimes could be like the blind leading the clueless.
Ayitteh averred that the Cheetahs are the only ones who can save Africa, the cheetahs according to Ayitteh is a new breed of Africans who understand what accountability and democracy means. The salvation of Africa rests on the backs of these Africans. These Cheetahs brook no corruption; they understand how to turn things around. This is against the Hippos-early postcolonial African leaders who led Africa from independence to further dependence on foreign aid whose begging bowl is perpetually leaking. These leaders led Africa into Swiss bank socialism-A form of governance where money of the people ends up in private names in Swiss banks. They can’t reform the system because they benefit from the rot! He recalled how he asked colleagues on an internet forum to name 20 good African leaders from independence. People were only able to come up with 15, Idi Amin of Uganda inclusive. This obviously is a far cry for a continent of 54 countries, with over 204 leaders from independence that has been let loose from the shackles of colonialism for over 5 decades.
The Ghanaian economist explained that pre-colonial Africans despised tyranny and that was why societies like the Igbo, Somali, and Kikuyu were organized in tribes with no central leader. In the Asante kingdom, the leader was surrounded by councils upon councils. In Oyo Empire, democracy was existent with the Alaafin of Oyo, put in checks by the Oyomesi, led by the Bashorun; the Oyomesi was also put in check by the Sango, Esu and Ogboni cults.
There was a form of capitalism in existence, as Timbuktu was noted to be a large marketplace like wise other areas in Africa. The Hippos, instead of going back to pre-colonial Africa, in order to recreate society embraced the aberration of Swiss bank socialism. Ayitteh brandished them with different adjectives such as; an assortment of military fufu heads, crocodile liberators, vampire elites, Swiss bank socialists.
LESSONS FOR NIGERIA
The salvation of Africa cannot be divorced from Nigeria, considering her foreign policy thrust on Africa which has been followed by magnanimity and a great contribution to building of enduring African institutions such as the AU and ECOWAS.The role of Nigeria in the anti-apartheid movement cannot be underscored. With countries like Botswana, South-Africa and Ghana thriving in their democracies, Nigeria obviously has a lot to do. This is the time of the Cheetahs. The time of those who want to occupy Nigeria with the recent and fraudulent removal of subsidy. It is time to wrest Nigeria from the hands of the Hippos. Enough is Enough! They claim our economy would suffer, if government keeps subsidizing fuel. What happens if government keeps subsidizing political office holders with VP Sambo getting 45milllion naira for newspapers in 2012 alone, Patience Jonathan collecting billions to build a complex; when the constitution does not even recognize her role? Would our future be better when Jonathan feeds 1billion in 2012 and many Nigerians go to sleep without food or garri in their stomach? Its obvious that Nigeria has become a a Vampire state, where the leaders share the wealth with their cronies and kinsmen, leaving every other person to suffer. In many cases according to George Ayitteh, the leader is the chief bandit. The buck stops on Jonathan’s table, he should be blamed. What happens when the cabal has been pardoned, when Dimeji Bankole’s case has no head, where Akala and Gbenga Daniel are smiling with their stolen billions and the weight of the law has not fallen upon them? If we can’t trust them with little, how can we trust them with more? According to Fela Durotoye, does more money make one prudent? Would a rotten brain function, after a nice hair cut? Nigerian youths, enough is enough. We must occupy.
The onus falls on the Cheetahs to get themselves involved in creative capitalism; social business. From there we can start showing the Hippos in our society that the Cheetahs who brook no nonsense are in town. Let the Hippos face justice, Let the Cheetahs prevail. Occupy Nigeria!
Cheetah Onikoyi Babatope Falade
ARE YOU A CHEETAH OR HIPPO IN THE MAKING?
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