The Ouster of Egypt’s Mubarak: A “Yes We Can” Moment for Africa’s Youths

Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor

After 30 years of enduring a repressive and corrupt regime and 18 days of resisting intimidation, bloodshed, and security crackdown, the Egyptian people finally prevailed over a dictator President, Hosni Mubarak, who resigned on Friday, 11 February. Inspired by the revolution spearheaded by the youths in Tunisia, Egyptian youths led a non-violent uprising that began on January 25. Armed with new tools of organizing, including Facebook, Twitter, text messaging, among others, the youths mobilized men and women, young and old, rich and poor, and folks from all walks of life, who flocked the streets in their millions to demand for the resignation of Mubarak and to press for their economic and political rights.

Mubarak who had ruled Egypt under emergency law employed various forms of intimidation against the protesters. His regime cut accesses to internet, cell phone services, and non-state media services. It imposed curfews. It made some gradual concessions in a bid to buy time. The regime used state security agents to kill hundreds of protesters, to injure thousands, and kidnap and torture many. But the people remained undaunted. The revolution continued, as the protesters devised creative means to circumvent and survive all the intimidation. Eventually, Mubarak resigned when he came face to face with the full course of the creative, resilient, and transformative energy of Egyptian youths.

The new wave of revolution that promises to blow across Africa and the Middle East started in Tunisia, where it ousted another corrupt and repressive leader, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.

YES WE CAN – FROM TUNISIA ACROSS AFRICA

The Tunisian revolution was triggered in December after Mohammed Bouazizi, an unemployed graduate set himself on fire in protest of government’s refusal to accommodate his complaints of police brutality and exploitation. That country’s dictator, Ben Ali, was complacent, believing that he could quell the ensuing protests by using state security apparatus to kill and maim the demonstrators. This move only buoyed on the spirit of resistance among the people. And finally, his autocratic regime, which the people had dreaded and endured for 24 years ended when he fled the country on January 14. Egyptian youths and youths from many African countries and across the Arab world were inspired by the Tunisian revolution.

The Egyptian revolution is now validating the statement that was made by the Tunisian Revolution: a new Africa driven by the creative energy and transformative aspirations of the youth is possible. We are in a critical moment in Africa, a moment where revolutions championed by ordinary Tunisian and Egyptian youths who yearn for a better society are impacting African politics and the entire international system.

Following the Tunisian revolution, I asserted in an article that, “the move by Tunisian youths is an indication of what is to come in Africa as youths’ creativity, power and energy increasingly become the basis for resistance and transformation.” In less than two weeks after making this assertion, the Egyptian revolution began, and has now proven to be more profound. The question that abounds in the blogosphere in the Pan African world and in other quarters is: which country is next? There have also been postulations about what made revolutions possible in Tunisia and Egypt. No doubt, there was a convergence of forces that came to a head or a tipping point in Tunisia and Egypt, so that it only took a trigger to set the revolution in motion.

In a New York Times article published just hours before the resignation of Mubarak, the Egyptian Nobel Peace Laureate Mohammed el Baradei wrote: “[t]he tipping point (at which the Egyptian revolution was triggered) came with the Tunisian revolution, which sent a powerful psychological message: “Yes, we can.” If the Tunisian revolution was the Yes-we-can moment that inspired the Egyptian revolution, the Egyptian revolution could turn out to be the Yes-we-can moment for more revolutions in Africa and the Middle East.

From Libya to Zimbabwe, Guinea, Ethiopia, Algeria, and Cameroon; from Ivory Coast to Angola, Morocco, and Uganda, there abound corrupt autocrats who perpetuate themselves in power and care less about the wellbeing of their citizens. An end to these regimes and the transformation of African societies do not seem to be what could happen anytime soon. But the events of the Tunisian and Egyptian revolution prove that in the right environment and revolutionary tipping point, characterized by the convergence of forces beyond the control of any one individual, all that is needed to set the revolution in motion is a minor incident, a trigger.

Young people in Africa and around the world should be inspired by the savvy, tenacity, and courage of the Egyptian youths who confronted one of the most entrenched and one of the longest dictatorships in the world to non-violently demand a transformed society that would uphold their human dignity. If we examine closely the revolutionary tactics, moral courage, and tenacity of the Egyptian and Tunisian youths, we would find some basic lessons for other African youths.

LESSONS FROM THE REVOLUTIONS

Some common features of both the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions are that they were led by youths, who used Facebook, Twitter, and text messaging to mobilize millions of people independent of any organizational fronts or political figures. These young people non-violently declared revolutions, without resort to arms.They demanded new regimes and systems that guarantee freedom, human dignity, and democracy.

From these two revolutions, it could be deduced that a revolution requires a convergence of events/forces that get to a tipping point, at which it takes only a little trigger to set the revolution in motion. Once in motion, the intentional acts of pro-democracy and progressive people, who are bent on transforming the society, eventually steer and sustain the revolution towards the desired goal. In Tunisia and Egypt, the youths played crucial roles as they became an indispensable part of the forces at the tipping point. They were in charge of the steering and sustenance of the revolutionary momentum. Besides the acts of self-empowerment, grassroots mobilization, and political awareness displayed by these youths, there is much to learn from the gestures of the Egyptian protesters in terms of willingness to transcend religious, sectarian, and partisan divides. Christian youths defied the instructions of some of their religious leaders who were against their participation in the protests. Muslims cautioned their fellow Muslims against alienating their compatriots, and chanted: “Christians, Muslims, atheists, we are all Egyptians.” Christians guarded against the police their Muslim compatriots who took breaks from the protests to pray. These acts, though anecdotal, are symbolic and remarkable. They hold remarkable lessons for the transformation of African societies for peaceful, multicultural, multi-religious, and multiethnic coexistence. They point to what is possible in societies whose youths are hungry for change and transformation beyond xenophobia, religious divisions, sectional and ethnocentric differences.

A NEW AFRICA IS POSSIBLE

The exit of Mubarak is not an Uhuru (or a mission accomplished) moment for Egypt. Revolution is not an event. It is a process. The socio-economic and political problems of the society cannot be fixed overnight. However, this is a remarkable moment that shows that the birth of a new society is possible. It shows that the old ideas and leadership style that Africa has been subjected to for decades can no longer sustain the realities of the moment. These old ideas and leadership must make an exit for a new framework based on freedom, justice, and the dignity of all citizens.

The youths should remain politicized. They should increase their political awareness and stay vigilant throughout the process of reconstruction. The same courage, tenacity, and creativity that it took them to dethrone Mubarak should be drawn upon for the tasks ahead. The Yes-we- can mindset is critical in the task ahead for Egypt, just as it is for the rest of Africa.

Tunisians and African Youths: "We Want Bread and Water and No Ben Ali"

By Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor
After 23 years as president, Tunisian leader Zine el Abidine Ben Ali was forced out of office by disgruntled youths over rising cost of living, unemployment, and misrule. Protests broke out in mid December 2010 after the death of Mohamed Bouazizi, an unemployed graduate, who set himself on fire out of frustration following police harassment for hawking vegetables without permit. Youths from different cities soon demonstrated in solidarity with Bouazizi and in protest of a regime they had increasing grown impatient with. They succeeded in booting their autocratic leader out of power onto exile on Friday, January 14.

According one report, some of the protesters displyed placards stating, "We want bread, and water and no Ben Ali." This is symbolic of the aspirations of Tunisian youths and ordinary people across Africa. They yearn for access to means of livelihood, food, decent housing, health care, and a society devoid of self-centered dictators like Ben Ali.
In one conservative estimate, $1.8 trillion was illegally flown out of Africa between 1970 and 2008. What kind of action by the people will ensure that the next four decades of the 21^st century are not characterized by such illegal outflows that neglect the people who wallow in grinding poverty? This is the question.

My prognosis is that the move by Tunisian youths is an indication of what is to come in Africa as youths’ creativity, power and energy increasingly become the basis for resistance and transformation.

Africa is a continent with one of the highest proportion of youth as a percentage of its population. According to the United Nations, 60% of Africa’s population is less than 25 years old. And this percentage has been projected to increase over the next couple of decades. I have noted elsewhere that Africa could reap enormous demographic dividends from such population dynamic. But I also agree with Michelle D. Gavin, who wrote in “Africa’s Looming Mega Challenges” that, “the concentration of young people coping with poverty, unemployment and underemployment, and few avenues for social mobility and economic opportunity can lead to volatile mix of alienation and frustration, especially as media images from the industrialized world continue to penetrate deeply into the region, magnifying the sense of relative deprivation.”

It is up to African leaders to grapple with the challenges of investing in these youths to meet their yearnings and aspirations. Indeed, African leaders must understand the urgency to meet these aspirations or face a situation where the youths unleash the new generation tools of organizing and channel their energy and talents to bring about the change they want.

A recent UN report, The State of African Cities 2010: Governance, Inequalities, and Urban Land Markets, emphasizes the need for sweeping policy reforms on the continent in order to cope with emerging challenges of urban settlement. The report states that the challenges ahead “require well-devised public policies that can steer demographic growth, turn urban accumulation of activities and resources into healthy economies, and ensure equitable distribution of wealth.” The report further highlights the urgency of this forward planning for African cities and infrastructure development, stating that, “[s]weeping reform is also critical for effective delivery of affordable housing, services and urban infrastructures commensurate with the magnitudes of these rapidly expanding urban concentrations.” These sweeping reforms can only be carried out by regimes of visionary and people-oriented leadership across the continent.
AFRICA'S YOUTHS LEADING THE WAY

From Angola to Cameroon, Algeria, Egypt and Ethiopia; from Ivory Coast to Libya, Morocco, Uganda and Zimbabwe, there abound the likes of Ben Ali who seem to mistake public office for kingship throne or personal property. For how long can they continue to do this without facing a similar fate as Ben Ali? The first decade of the 21st century has just ended, and the pace of technological change and changes in the international system indicate that socio-economic changes would have to keep pace or at least not be stagnant in order to avert the wrath of disgruntled populace.

African states need the right leadership to bring about the tolerable measure of socio-economic change. This visionary leadership is one that must understand the needs and aspirations of the African people, especially the youth. This leadership must also understand that the drastic changes in domestic realities in Africa vis-à-vis the new and constantly evolving realities of the international system dictate that the old ideas/framework about development in Africa would have to be overhauled.

Unfortunately, many African leaders are still operating in the old mindset, and are using the pre-21st century ways of doing things to address 21st century challenges. Many African leaders seem to be far behind their youths who seem to understand better that the world has changed. Our youths are operating in a world where the use of anti-imperialist narratives by freedom fighters-turned-despots no longer appeals to young people. Many African leaders are so out of touch with grassroots realities that they do not completely understand how today’s African youths are different from youths of previous generations. We are now living in a world where local youths easily connect with other youths elsewhere and deploy social media tools for a vast array of activities. The distance among today’s African youths and between them and youths of other societies has been bridged by technology. These youths understand better how governments in other societies strive to meet the aspirations of their people, and wonder why their own governments care less about them. They have easy access to information about their leaders’ corruption and profligacy and can share same on Facebook, You Tube, and twitter in minutes. These youths of our Facebook generation are activists and journalists in their own rights. They can organize with the click of a computer mouse and through text messaging. After seeing the revolutionary power of youth mobilization and social media tools of organizing that was pivotal to the election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the USA, these youths recognize more than ever that they have power to bring about non-violent revolutionary change. Many African leaders either underestimate or have yet to grasp the power of African youths to cascade this pattern of mobilization. They are far behind.

When the revolution started in Tunisia, Ben Ali could no longer repress or intimidate Tunisian youths, even after labeling demonstrators as terrorists. Similarly, many African leaders may soon discover that the old tactics of repressing people’s aspiration through propaganda and the barrels of the gun is obsolete. In the book, Barack Obama and 21st Century Politics, the author states that the essence of a revolution is that old thinking, ideas, and ways of doing things that sustained the old era can no longer hold the society together. This revolution does not have to be violent or bloody. In fact, the contradictions of the disconnect between many African leaders and the grassroots reality and aspirations of their young people who yearn for a new style of leadership, new ideas and transformative policies may result in some revolutionary tsunamis that would take Africa's ruling elites unawares. Again, this revolution does not have to be bloody or violent, since violence begets violence.

African leaders need not worry about how to suppress the energy and power of these youths. They should be concerned about how to set an agenda for policy and governance overhaul to facilitate adequate investment in the people. This will enable young Africans channel their energy and talents toward societal transformation in lieu of social unrest.

After the collapse of the Ben Ali regime in Tunisia, African and Western leaders leaders, especially French officials, who had allied with the dictator even up to his last hour in office, quickly denounced him and registered their solidarity Tunisia's youths. This is a classical example of youths leading the way, and others joining the revolutionary bandwagon.
PEOPLE’S POWER ACROSS THE EQUATOR, BEYOND THE ATLANTIC AND THE MEDITERRANEAN

It is no news that France was a close ally of Ben Ali’s repressive regime. A top French official had even contemplated assisting the dictator to crack down on demonstrators on grounds of “security cooperation” agreements between the two countries. People’s power, not just in Tunisia, but also in the Diaspora, served as a bulwark against France’s granting of asylum to Ben Ali after the collapse of his regime. According to one source, France rejected Ben Ali’s request for asylum on the grounds that the move “would upset the hundreds of thousands of French residents of Tunisian origin.”

This shows what Africans can achieve when they create solidarity between the home front and the Diaspora. This solidarity is a force that Africa’s despots and their imperial accomplices cannot dare challenge. However, a major obstacle to this solidarity remains the anti-imperialist rhetoric and manipulations used by Africa’s autocrats to engineer division among the Diasporas and between the Diaspora and the home front when these leaders are about to lose their hold to power. This is evident in Cote d’Ivoire and Zimbabwe, where the governments that have over the years allied with foreign elements to Africanize exploitation and repression play the anti-imperialist card when it is time for them to respect the democratic wish of the people. In the case of Tunisia, where there was no room for such manipulation, the alliance between the home front and the Diaspora made the aspiration of the people to prevail. It is now up to the people to ensure that a truly democratic and transformed society is borne out of this revolution.

For how long would African leaders continue to allow African youths waste away in their desperate moves to cross seas and deserts for greener pastures overseas? For how long do African leaders think that these youths, who know they have the power to chase their repressive leaders from power, would continue to tolerate misrule, looting, and repression?

The model of development where the goal of the so-called poverty alleviation is treated as though it was an isolated objective can no longer hold. African leaders must embark on the holistic approach of promoting good governance and investing in human beings to meet their aspiration to live in dignity. This approach must include investments in quality and accessible education beyond mere universal basic education; investments in universal health care; in decent and affordable housing; and in agriculture and job creation.

The victory of Tunisian youths who took to the streets to actualize their aspiration for a better society calls for deep reflection among African ruling elites. They must embrace good governance and invest in their people or face the wrath of the 21st century African youth.

Exploring the Recesses: The Education of A British Protected Child by Chinua Achebe - A Review

It’s been quite a while since I finished a book in days. Aside from having a hectic daily grind, I take numerous notes and explore references while reading. Yet with Achebe’s new piece, I was through in a day and a half, sitting pensively after completion; my mind racing and positively stimulated.


We must collectively thank Achebe for this slim all encompassing volume and for committing his thoughts and well-rounded dissections to paper. Compiled as a collection of essays, the topics ranged from literary to political all of which he delivers through life accounts that link to nationalist, pan-African and global views on race, the problem of perception and their significance to humanity.

I imagine us, a younger generation, seated about him as he recounts stories of people and events in African history, relating them to our experiences today and all the while subtly admonishing that we become cognizant of who we are and from whence we come.

Achebe offers a lucid projection into what has otherwise been a murky topic. Reaching deep into the recesses of history to uncover incidents that have come to define the prevailing condition of African nation states, he acknowledges the problem of leadership as a major part of Africa’s challenges as well as examines the role of education in charting a new course forward.

His considerations on education much like those of Patrick Awuah, cofounder of Ashesi University, call for an educational paradigm that produces a new breed of leaders who emerge from the educational system possessing a deep sense of responsibility rather than an unfounded sense of entitlement.

He explores Africa in terms of its people, noting how a culture of collaboration is inherent within us. “Africa believes in people, in cooperation with people. If the philosophical dictum of Descartes “I think therefore I am” represents a European individualistic ideal, the Bantu declaration “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” represents an African communal aspiration: “A human is human because of other humans.” Essentially, We are, therefore I am.”

He also explores Africa with respect to art and our collective capacities when he notes “… the creative potential in all of us; and of the need to exercise this latent energy again in artistic expression and communal, cooperative enterprises.”

As Achebe notes, “The point of all this is to alert us to the image burden that Africa bears today and make us recognize how that image has molded contemporary attitudes, including perhaps our own, to that continent.” Essentially, we must regain a lost image and do away with the ‘problem of perception’ that has been cast on us.

The Life of A British Protected Child is an easy read. It gives us an elders perspective of what we, a new generation must aspire to but also equips us with enough history to question our predicament as a continent as well as heighten our individual thirsts for historical truths about Africa.The message is simple; in this age of digitally recorded histories, we must tell our own stories. We must explore our creative potential for shaping future attitudes towards Africa and collectively as well as practically embark upon redefining what it means to be African.

Calculated Optimism: Africa's Growing Young Population, Demographic Dividends, and the African Renaissance Part 2.*

by Wilson Aiwuyor



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Africa’s demographic dividends could be enormous and transformative when the continent attains political stability and take due advantage of its booming young population. Africa’s population dynamic indicates that the continent, unlike other regions of the world, would neither face any shortage in domestic labor supply nor worry about the economic burden of an increasingly ageing population for the most part of the 21^st century. By 2050, Africa’s working-age population, which is currently 54% of the continent’s total population, will climb to 62%. In contrast, Europe’s working-age will shrinks from 63% in 2010 to 51% in 2050. European economy policy is already feeling the pinch of an ageing population. One analyst, Tim Colebatch, observes:

European governments have stared into the future, and they don't like it. They see a dwindling European workforce struggling to support a rapidly expanding number of retirees. They see their budget deficits swelling as millions of elderly people force up spending on pensions, health-care and nursing homes, while their populations fall and their tax base shrinks.

Africa will have more than enough workforce to sustain its economy. Europe (and other regions of the world where there is an ageing population) will increasingly need Africa’s surplus labor. In fact, the European Union has opened immigration job centers in parts of Africa.

Additionally, Africa’s population will serve as a vast market for domestic production and to support the global economy. The McKinsey Global Institute forecasts the spread of Africa’s potential demographic dividend beyond the continent in its publication titled Lions on the Move: The Progress and Potential of African Economies. The publication states: “By 2040, it (Africa’s labor force) is projected to reach 1.1 billion, overtaking China’s and India’s. If Africa can provide its young people with the education and skills they need, this large workforce could account for a significant share of both global consumption and production.” This is the Africa that is referred to in the vision for an African Renaissance as enshrined in the Vision of the African Union (AU); an Africa that would be “prosperous and peaceful, an Africa driven and managed by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the international arena.”

The Dividends and the Renaissance

The African Renaissance is an age-long vision that requires good governance to translate into reality. The concept of African Renaissance was first used by the Senegalese scholar Cheikh Anta Diop to refer to an Africa that can assert itself politically, economically, and culturally. In his collection of essays, Towards the African Renaissance: Essays in Culture and Development, Diop cited fundamental requirements to achieve the renaissance. Among these requirements were continental integration and economic viability. In another book, Black Africa: The Economic and Cultural Basis for a Federated State, published in 1974, Diop presented an elaborate blueprint for the achievement of the African renaissance.

 Similarly, Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first independent president and champion of Africa’s decolonization movement, made a compelling case for Africa’s unity and economic integration geared toward continental transformation. Meanwhile, earlier in 1963, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah had proposed in his book, Africa Must Unite, that a united Africa should integrate and pool its resources to put an end to economic dependency and conflicts.

In 1995, Nelson Mandela asserted that Africa was moving into a “new era of renaissance.” This statement marked the re-emergence of the vision that was articulated by Diop and Nkrumah decades earlier. After Mandela’s reference to the Renaissance in 1995, the concept gradually became the overarching term for the vision to bring about a united, stable, peaceful, and prosperous Africa; an Africa that can improve the quality of life of its citizens and give the continent a pride of place in the global community.

The vision of the African Renaissance and the paradox that Africa is the future of the world are no joke. In May 2010, French President Sarkozy said it point blank during the Africa-France Summit that, "Africa is our future." Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown buttressed Sarkozy's statement.

--> "Future growth in the world economy, and future jobs in the developing world, will depend on harnessing both the productive potential and the pent-up consumer demand of this continent," asserted Brown. Advanced economies in the West and developing countries in the global south, including China, India, and Brazil are now seeking new ways to either assert or re-assert themselves in Africa - a development that some analysts refer to as a new scramble for Africa's resources. Despite the scramble for Africa's natural resources, the continent's greatest asset remains its human resources anchored on its booming youth population.

Indeed, the enthronement of good governance and investment in human resource across Africa would better position the continent to reap the demographic dividends and achieve the African Renaissance. Again, high population growth rate is not Africa’s fundamental problem. Africa is not overpopulated. African leaders should be made to govern well and implement adequate social policies to improve education, health care delivery, infrastructural development, human capital development, and the empowerment of African women.

* This is the second of a two-part article. Read part 1 here

Calculated Optimism: Africa's Growing Young Population, Demographic Dividends, and the African Renaissance (Part 1)*

by Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor

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Africa’s population has exceeded 1 billion, and is projected to top 2 billion by 2050. In addition to having the highest population growth rate, Africa is one of the regions with the highest proportion of young population. According to United Nations World Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision, 60% of Africa’s population is less than 25 years old. Only 5% of Africa’s population falls within the age range of 60 to 80 years old, compared with, say, Europe whose figure for the same age group is 26%. Consequently, while Africa’s population doubles by 2050, Europe’s, which is currently over 700 million, will shrink to 691 million. What are the economic implications of Africa’s population dynamic? Is there any correlation between Africa’s burgeoning young population and the realization of the African Renaissance – which is the vision to transform the continent into a prosperous, stable, and integrated

continent?

The purpose of this article is to show that Africa could reap enormous demographic dividends from its young and fast growing population if over the next decade leaders on the continent embrace good governance and implement adequate social policies targeting improvement in education, health care, infrastructure, and women empowerment.

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Some analysts have expressed concern over Africa’s population trend, claiming that the continent is overpopulated. They are, understandably, concerned about the strains of Africa’s population on the environment and natural resources. They caution against the effects of overpopulation on poverty reduction effort and on the continent’s overall capacity to sustain its people. But Africa’s population dynamic must be put in simplified statistical perspective in relation to other regions of the world in order to answer questions about sustainability, poverty and overpopulation.

Is Africa Really Overpopulated?

The 2010 World Population Data Sheet reveals that Africa has a population density of 34 people per square kilometer. With a population density of 170 people per square kilometer, Western Europe is five times more densely populated than Africa. The European Union, on the other hand, has a population density of 115 people per square kilometre, making it more than three times as densely populated as Africa. Yet, unlike Africa, neither Western Europe nor the EU bloc is considered overpopulated in popular discourse.

With a total area of over 30.3 million square kilometers, Africa has more than enough space to accommodate the geographical areas of China, India, US, Western Europe, and Argentina combined – whose total areas is about 29.9million square kilometers. Meanwhile, Africa’s present population is less than half the 3.6 billion people in China, India, US, Argentina, and Western Europe combined. In essence, it is counter-intuitive to regard Africa as overpopulated when other regions that have more than twice Africa’s population within a smaller area are not considered overpopulated.

Between Overpopulation and Sustainability

Africa has only 15% of global population but possesses 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land. The continent holds 20% of the world’s natural resources. If Africa’s area alone can accommodate China, India, US, Western Europe, and Argentina, whose combined 3.6 billion population is more than half the world population, then the continent should be able to sustain a population that would be about 2.1 billion in 40 years.

Thus, the focus should be on good governance and responsible leadership. With good governance and adequate social policy, Africa can build the capacity to properly manage its resources, develop its human capacity, and maintain a sustainable population growth. There are enormous benefits to be accrued to the continent if African governments invest heavily in education, health care, infrastructure development, youth development and women empowerment. In fact, education and female empowerment alone can significantly regulate Africa’s population within sustainable proportion.

*This is the first of a two-part article. Read Part 2 here

The Share Culture

When we combine our interests, the things we love to do and our expertise, the things we’re really good at. We find ourselves in a realm of constant innovation; something Sir Ken Robinson refers to as being in ‘The Element’ in his book of the same title.

More than likely we will find ourselves working together with people who have similar interests, even if their disciplines are different, towards a common objective.

These collaborative endeavors are usually driven by the need to inspire some sort of change.  It could be a change in attitude, perception or more practically a change in social and/or economic conditions.

Any collaborative group shares a set of similar non-inherent qualities, essentially making them interconnected ‘tribes’ of individuals whose association is not based on shared lineage or language but on shared interests; a fact noted by Swedish professors Ridderstrale and Nordstrom in their book Funky Business Forever.

The culture of sharing has been promoted in large part by modern communication technologies and systems which have facilitated a shift in the position of individuals from mere users into producers and from passive receptors of information into active contributors to public discourse.

With this rise in the culture of sharing, we can thus more realistically envision a future in which whatever work we do for a living is not only something that earns you a paycheck but also something you enjoy or something you can combine creatively with your whatever interests you.

In an atmosphere of shared ideas innovation becomes the norm, thereby making the task of problem solving much easier. Sharing increases our catalytic potential to successfully deal with challenges. It’s not about one person with an idea; it’s about collective intelligence. Sharing ideas has already begun to create new ‘tribes’ of trendsetters and innovators. You know who you are.

The potential of our shared energy to effect real and positive change on the continent is unlimited. To all the change agents out there, here’s to a collaborative future.

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Seun Aladese is a student of Communication and Media at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is a member of the Albert Dorman Honors College and can be reached at saladese@gmail.com

The Impending Democratic Revolution in Nigeria

by Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor

Signs of revolution are in the air in Nigeria, but not the kind of revolution that Prof. Ben Nwabueze recently argued for. During the launching of his book in Lagos, Prof. Nwabueze, member of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) asserted that only a bloody and violent revolution would reverse the pervasive decadence in governance in Nigeria. One could understand Prof. Nwabueze’s frustration over the looting spree and corruption among the ruling class who have neglected the welfare of the ordinary Nigerian. But if history remains a good teacher, there is no certainty that any bloody revolution would solve Nigeria’s problems. All the retrogressive military coups that have taken place in Nigeria as well as the country’s three year civil war (1967-1970) were executed in the name of bringing about revolutionary change. Yet, none could solve the country’s problems. Nigeria should and would have a revolution, it ought not be violent.

If the necessary preconditions are fulfilled, Nigeria’s impending revolution could be through the ballot boxes at a crossroad - possibly by 2015 - where there would be a convergence between divine force (force majeure) and the determined efforts by Nigerians to make a break with politics as usual. This revolution need not conform to the old sense of revolution, which is often a violent and bloody change executed by self-proclaimed revolutionaries.

A New Sense of Revolution

The conventional notion of revolution, which suggests that it must be violent or bloody, is being epistemologically and ontologically challenged. In "Barack and 21^st Century Politics: A Revolutionary Moment in the USA," veteran peace activist and pan-Africanist Horace Campbell “interrogates the traditional sense of revolution, which is often the violent overthrow of existing order by self-proclaimed revolutionaries." Campbell draws on contemporary realities to "relocate revolution within the context of fundamental transformation in the society, sustained by a consciousness of the challenges of the moment bound to a new form of thinking among the rank and file of the society." The democratic revolution that could take place in Nigeria come 2015 would be characterized by a fundamental shift in the nation's polity orchestrated by a change in the thinking and political consciousness of the rank and file of the Nigerian society as it relates to leadership and the obligations of elected officials.

Besides Nigeria’s polity being awash with corruption and misrule, the country, since its return to democratic rule in1999 after decades of military dictatorship, has passed through many turbulent times that threatened to tear it apart. The most recent of such turbulences was witnessed when former President Yar’Adua was ill. It could be argued that what Nigeria has experienced over the last ten years has been democratic transitioning. Having survived this turbulent transitioning, Nigeria’s democracy has now gotten to a point that could launch the country into the next level of democratic governance.

This next level of democratic rule would be made possible by a dramatic change in the political realities of Nigeria, marking a break with the old paradigm of leadership in the country. This change would be reinforced by a renewed sense of optimism and confidence, among Nigerians, in the possibility of realizing a better Nigeria through a people-centered participatory democracy. This may not be easy to come by, but patriotic Nigerians will be more than ever willing to transform their optimism into reality and reclaim the country from the stranglehold of those politicians and remnants of the military era who have held the country hostage for so long. This change could usher in a new generation of leaders and technocrats who have a better understanding of how to prioritize the welfare of the people and reposition Nigeria in the global arena in the 21^st century.

It important to note that this revolution would not produce a utopia, neither would it solve Nigeria’s problems overnight. But it has the prospect of opening up the political space for addressing the grievances and the needs of the people within the confines of democracy. In essence, it holds the potential of transforming the relationship between the government and the people. But there are preconditions for this revolution to materialize.

Preconditions for the Revolution

The ability to translate the imminent democratic revolution into reality is predicated on a divine factor and two human preconditions. The divine factor (force majeure) was once seen in action when the supposedly invincible dictator Gen. Sani Abacha, who was an obstacle to Nigeria’s return to democracy, was taken down by the divine power of God in 1998. This same force came as the deus ex machina (hand of God) that rescued the country from the machinations of elements who, for selfish reasons, did not mind the implosion of the country instead of resolving the constitutional crisis that fell out of former President Yar’Adua’s sickness.

The human factors are hinged on first, the forerunner of the revolution - President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration and its ability to carry out the reforms that will prepare the ground for the change in leadership paradigm. This shifting paradigm would infuse confidence in Nigerians that the realization of a better Nigeria within the confines of democracy is within reach. The build up to this confidence would be the practical assurance of the people through the conduct of the 2011 elections that their votes count.

The second human factor is the prerequisite change in Nigerians’ attitude to strongly espouse an action-backed optimism for the possibility of a democratic revolution in the country. The reference memory for this optimism and action could be found in Nigerians' relentless struggle against military rule, a human struggle that was complemented by the divine force culminating in the eventual enthronement of democracy in 1999. In this renewed struggle to take democracy to the next level, Nigerians should put into consideration the words of Alex Steffen:

Where no one believes a better solution is possible, those benefiting from the continuation of a problem are safe. Where no one believes in the possibility of action, apathy becomes an insurmountable obstacle to reform. But introduce intelligent reasons for believing that action is possible, that better solutions are available, and that a better future can be built, and you unleash the power of people to act out of their highest principles. Shared belief in a better future is the strongest glue there is.

Indeed, at the core of this attitudinal change is Nigerians’ ability to look at the little progress that is being made and acknowledge that the glass is half full, while vigorously working to make it full; Nigerians must avoid the dangerous alternative of seeing the glass as half empty, they must desist from the rhetoric and actions of cutting corners for cataclysmic changes in an attempt to make the glass full overnight.

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lWilson Idahosa Aiwuyor is a researcher, consultant, and strategist. He could be reached at aiwudaho@gmail.com.

Kwame Nkrumah Centenary Colloquium: Rendezvous of Africa’s Past, Present and Future

by Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor

On May 22 to 25, a centenary colloquium was held in Ghana to wrap up months of activities commemorating the 100th birthday anniversary of the late Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana and foremost champion of African liberation and unity. Jointly organized by the government of Ghana and the African Union, the three day colloquium, which was held at the Accra International Conference Center, was a meeting point of Africa’s past, present, and future. The theme of the colloquium was apt: “Contemporary Relevance of Kwame Nkrumah’s Contribution to Pan-Africanism and Internationalism.” Many ideas and philosophies of Dr. Nkrumah were critically examined within the context of Nkrumah’s time as well as in their practical import to contemporary African realities. These philosophies include Nkrumah’s belief in radical approach to development through investment in human resources and in infrastructure development; his championing of an all-African agenda for liberation, reconstruction, and transformation; and his actions on bridging the gap between the Diaspora and the home front in the emancipation and development of the African personhood. Also brought to the fore was Nkrumah’s long term visionary planning that has now made his admirers and critiques alike to agree that he was far ahead of his time.

Extolling Nkrumah’s philosophies at the colloquium were prominent intellectuals, veteran freedom fighters, activists and leaders, including President John Atta Mills of Ghana; President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal; the Deputy Chairperson of the AU Commission, Dr Erastus Mwencha; Prof. Isaa Shivji, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Research Chair in Pan-African Studies at the University of Dar es Salaam; Horace Campbell, veteran pan-Africanist/peace activist and professor of political science and African American studies at Syracuse University, New York; and Dr. Yao Graham of the Third World Network. Also present were leaders of African decolonization movement and contemporaries of Nkrumah, prominent amongst whom was 93 year old Kenneth Kaunda, the leader of the Zambian independence movement and first president of Zambia.

Kenneth Kaunda on the Nkrumah Method of Liberation
Kenneth Kaunda, the author of the popular book "Zambia Shall be Free," a personal friend and contemporary of Nkrumah reflected on what he called the “Nkrumah method of liberation,” and pointed out its relevance in the fight against Africa’s numerous contemporary problems. When Ghana gained its independence in 1957, Nkrumah asserted that Ghana’s independence was meaningless unless the entire African continent was free from colonial shackles. Kaunda narrated how Nkrumah led the Pan-African agenda to give assistance to freedom fighters across the continent. This approach was instrumental to the decolonization of Zambia and the entire Africa. The imperative of this Nkrumah method in confronting Africa’s problems in the 21st century cannot be overemphasized.

President Kaunda made a passionate plea for African leaders and peoples to confront Africa’s contemporary challenges, including the scourge of HIV/AIDS, with the collective approach of Nkrumah. Kaunda punctuated his speeches with inspiring songs of liberation, including one that Nkrumah had taught them: Forward Ever. He emphasized the centrality of women’s emancipation to the goal of Africa’s development, and charged present and future leaders of Africa with the task of learning from the strengths and weaknesses of past generation for the realization of the ideals that Nkrumah and Africa’s freedom fighters stood for.

President Abdoulaye Wade and Pan-Africanism
As a student leader, President Abdoulaye Wade was influenced by the intellectual and Pan-African thoughts of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Wade has since remained an Nkrumaist and Pan-Africanist in his own right. What stood out about President Wade at the colloquium was his vocal stance on African unity and his efforts to popularize African unity among young people. Wade came to the colloquium with a large contingent of Senegalese youths, who seemed to be very enthusiastic about the ideas of Kwame Nkrumah. Wade’s approach in this regard is commendable as it reflects an attempt to bridge the historical dichotomy between Francophone and Anglophone Africa created by colonialism. As chair of the session on “Ideas and Vision” on Monday May 24, President Wade declared his full support for preserving the ideas and vision of Kwame Nkrumah. He personally called on African leaders to do more to popularize the Pan-African vision and ideas of Nkrumah, and to ensure the actualization of the goal of continental integration for the benefit of the peoples of Africa.

Nkrumah and the New Scramble for Africa
The contemporary relevance of Nkrumah’s idea – that only a united Africa would be able to resist foreign manipulations and balkanization – was reechoed by Dr. Yao Graham. In his paper, “Nkrumah’s Development Vision and the New Scramble for Africa,” Dr. Graham pointed out that the present competitive thrust of world powers and emerging economies into the continent reflects a new scramble for the continent and its resources. Nkrumah had advocated a collective economic and foreign policy that would leverage Africa’s position in world affairs and global political economy. And there is no better time for Africa to embrace Nkrumah's recommendations. Nkrumah warned against the formation of economic blocs by African states with their former colonial masters. Dr. Graham particularly pointed out the economic sabotage and anti-integration effects of African states’ economic partnership agreements (EPAs) with Europe. The terms of agreement of these EPAs negate the goal of regional integration on the continent. Many of these EPAs support open integration, which is championed by external actors and meant to integrate Africa into globalization in a manner that undermine trade and economic integration among African states. Translating into action Nkrumah’s idea of continental unity and integration is indispensable in Africa’s struggle against the new scramble for the continent.

The Scientific Dimension of Pan-Africanism in the 21st Century
As pointed out by one speaker at the colloquium, “the real roots of Pan-Africanism lay in the bottom of the slave ships where Africans were packed.” Through Pan-Africanism, Africans at home and in the Diaspora have struggled to assert their human dignity and promote their culture and knowledge system, even in the face of the use of pseudo-science to justify the inferiority of the African personhood. In his paper, “Towards an Africa without Borders in the 21st Century: The Inspiration of Kwame Nkrumah,” Professor Horace Campbell illuminated the challenges to Africa’s liberation in the 21st century that necessitate the consideration of the scientific dimension of Pan-Africanism. Africa's numerous challenges do not respect the artificial borders drawn by the colonizers. For Africa to transform, and for the continent to maintain the dignity of the African personhood in the 21st century, we must consider the promotion of scientific endeavors as an integral part of Pan-Africanism. Phenomena such as global warming, the development of alternative sources of energy, and the use of scientific knowledge to preserve planet earth and advance the goal of shared humanity require the reconceptualization of old forms of knowledge and the promotion of aspects of African knowledge system that have been downgraded for centuries. Africa must not remain on the sideline of scientific advancement.

In the present era of genetic perdition and attempts by some scientists to produce superhumans and designers babies, there should be well trained scientist from Africa to raise questions about the future of the black race and humanity in general. Nkrumah was engaged with the development of human resources for solutions to societal problems. The 21st century Pan-Africanist must recognize the importance of science and the centrality of the development of African knowledge system to the goal Africa’s transformation.

African Youths, Nkrumaism, and the Future of the Continent
The centenary colloquium commenced on May 22 with a youth summit on the topic, “The Grand Debate: Continental Government Now or in the Future?” The youth summit produced a communiqué which was presented to the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Erastus Mwencha, by the Secretary of the All Africa Students Union, Abdul Karim Hakib. In the communiqué, the youths who were drawn from the Diaspora and the Eastern, Western, Northern, Southern, and Central regions of Africa embraced the Pan-African idea of Nkrumah. They acknowledged that “a Union Government (for Africa) as a vehicle for the socio-political and economic development of the continent is imperative and long overdue.” They called upon African governments to take urgent steps towards the realization of a continental Union Government and for the implementation of the numerous charters and protocols that promote continental integration, especially the African Youth Charter. After presenting the communiqué to Dr. Mwencha, Abdul Karim Hakib made a passionate plea on behalf of African youths for the availability of books by Nkrumah to African youths. This plea was very significant given the contemporary relevance of Nkrumah’s philosophy and ideas as far as continental integration is concerned. Indeed, if all African youths could embrace Nkrumah’s humanist and Pan-African ideas, the future of continental unity would be much brighter.

Hope beyond the African Liberation
“There is hope; continue and finish.” This was the admonition of Ambassador Thompson Doddly, a contemporary and friend of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, to the younger generation of Africans. This hope was what I saw as I sat with other Africans from home and the Diaspora to celebrate the African Liberation Day and wreath laying ceremony in honor of the deceased African liberation fighters at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park on Tuesday May 25. The journey of Africa's liberation has been tough. Despite the numerous challenges, some progress has been made. President Kaunda laid a wreath on behalf of Africa’s past freedom fighters while current African leaders such as and Ghana’s Vice President Dramani Mahama and Erastus Mwencha of the African Union laid theirs on behalf of the people of Ghana and Africa. Abdul Karim Hakib laid a wreath on behalf of African youths. This was a significant moment that symbolizes the confluence of the past, the present, and the future of Africa. The philosophies of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah remain relevant to the present and future transformation of Africa. The hope for the translation of these philosophies into practical reality lies with the younger generation of Africans. The baton is being passed.

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Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor is a student of International Relations. He is a Public Policy and International Affairs Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University. He could be reached at aiwudaho@gmail.com.