AFRICA HEADS OF STATE GATHER AGAIN FOR ASIAN AID

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.

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.