A TALE OF TWO SAMUELS
In faraway Geneva, Switzerland, over 10 dozen top chief executive officers of blue-chip companies operating on the Black African continent rounded off their meeting with the objective of uncovering the magic wand for the rapid industrialisation of Africa. These egg-heads plus a mixture of politicians from Africa had originally set out to find out the new most workable economic models to turn around the continent currently ravaged by hunger, mass poverty and conflicts. Somewhere in between their dialogue sessions, a prosperous African- born but Europe- based billionaire Mr. MO Ibrahim convinced them to change the focus of deliberations to a much more pressing issue- lack of good governance.
One striking factor out of their constructive dialogue was the unanimous conclusion that the most critical needs of the African continent are not economic models or absence of such but good governance.
Although, I am uncomfortable that these African business leaders did not behave wisely by holding this sort of a key meeting outside of the shores of Africa, but it is better to analyse the message and avoid paying so much attention to the messenger, it is strategic to affirm that the assertion of these African business leaders is correct.
The plenary session, comprising Mo Ibrahim of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Pierre Guislain (Africa Development Bank) and Abebe Aemro Selassie of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), blamed African governments for the continent’s dwindling economic fortunes. This important call by respected business and socio-economic leaders for effective decentralised political systems at the forum where more than 1,000 chief executives of leading organisations are seeking sustainable solutions to Africa’s economic woes would sure put pressure on weak governments and encourage prudent management of resources.
Mercel Mbamalu had captured the nitty-gritty of that high profile meeting in such a manner that a reader in Nigeria would nostalgically ask question about why Nigeria’s political space is no longer dominated by leaders with sterling qualities such as the two most famous SAMUELS- Chief Samuel Mbakwe and General Samuel Ogbemudia.
Let’s revisit that strategic African business parley in Geneva whereby we were told by The Guardian that whilst responding to the moderator’s question on what he represents in the African economic model, Mo Ibrahim had sought to modify the theme of the conference – “Re-inventing the Africa Business Model” – on grounds that transparency should be much more important to the continental administrations than any economic model.
“Africa is not a company. It is made up of 54 countries,” he noted, describing the situation as a “big elephant in the room.” The philanthropist argued that what the continent needs are “countries with no corruption. An Africa that is more transparent with open governance.”
This perspective reminds us of the indubitable fact that leadership legacies shape public opinion in a very formidable way. In that line Mr. Julius Olu Odetunde who wrote a book entitled: “Teach yourself Yoruba proverbs and idioms in English language”, reminds us of a particular Yoruba proverb: “oba to je ti ilu toro oruko re pare, eyi ti o je ti ilu fi tu oruko re o ni pare bakan naam, ” meaning “a king who reigned when the town was peaceful will not be forgotten, and the one that reigned when the town was chaotic too will not be forgotten.”
This proverb warns that if one assumes or hold the reins of government or any other leadership’s post in life, one should strive to do good, because whatever we do today will soon become history.
Emmanuel Onwubiko, Head of Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria