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Prime minister Abe in handshake with the African Union Chairman and President of Chad, Idriss Deby |
African Heads of states including Nigerian President Muhamadu
Buhari were once again in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital promised $30 billion in
aid by the visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe said his country
will commit the money in public and private support for infrastructure
development on the continent.
The Japanese Prime minister who is in the Kenyan capital
Nairobi to attend the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African
Development (TICAD), said the package would be spread over three years from
this year and include $10 billion for infrastructure projects on the continent,
to be executed through cooperation with the African Development Bank.
"When combined with investment from the private sector,
I expect that the total will amount to $30 billion. This is an investment that
has faith in Africa's future, an investment for Japan and Africa to grow
together," he told a gathering of at least 34 heads of state and
government from across Africa.
Japans faith in Africa’s future is something of interest to
me. I remember watching on CCTV News couple of month’s back, December to be precise
when Chinese President Xi Jinping made a similar pledge to gathering African
Heads of state in Pretoria South Africa, when he announced a $60 Billion loan
and aid.
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President Xi Jinping of China and President Zuma of South African |
Interestingly Japan and China are both competing Asian
economic and political powers that are looking for ways to both consolidate on
their growing world influence and economic growth.
Prime minister Abe’s remark of Japanese faith in African
future is as prophetic as it is realistic, but only if these set of African
leaders who always present Africa as poor and needy continent will give way to a
more creative and dynamic leaders who understands the enormous potential that abounds
in the African continent, and who also unlike these beggar leaders knows how to
harness those potentials.
While I understand the place of aid and loans to nations and
continent, I do not subscribe to a pattern where a country or continent will
live depending on either revenues from natural resources like oil or grants,
aids and loans like our friends from Asia has offered us to run a country or
continent.
Africa as a continent is blessed, but seems somehow caused at
the same time with bad and vision-less leaders, who only seek to take and not
generate.
Worst of the leadership problem in Africa is the issue of sit
tight leaders like President Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Paul Biya of Cameron and those
who will always insist on coming back to power like Nigerian President Muhamadu Buhari, while offering no real solution plaguing their country.
Yes, Africa has a future, a bright future if only Africa can
produce new sets of leaders who would not wait for aids, loans and grants from Washington,
Tokyo or Beijing to develop their infrastructure and grow their economy.
Nigeria can become China of Africa if the leadership harnesses
the vast manufacturing potential of the Aba, Onitsha and Lagos people, so also
can Kenya feed the entire African continent if the old man Mugabe will allow
the younger Zimbabweans to marshal the countries administration, while South
Africa with her economic and technology potential can become Japan of Africa.
Thank you Prime minister Abe, but we wish you never came, for
only then would our leaders look inwards to look for the money to develop our
continent, so that Africa and japan can have a fruitful future.
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