Nigeria: Will the elections be a turning point.

Nigeria is due to hold elections in the next two weeks. It is the closest election in Nigeria's history. This is a time when Nigeria will either make its mark as Africa's preeminent nation, or slide back into a sleeping giant. How the country conducts elections will make or break it. In April 2014, Nigeria became Africa's largest economy, after rebasing to account for previously neglected sectors such as Nollywood and the telecommunications sector. According to a poll by afrobarometer, the two main Presidential candidates, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, are tied at 40 percent, and the election outcome is too close to call. According to former US assistant secretary for African affairs Johnnie Carson, Nigeria is faced with three main problems. One, the cascading violence in the north east, the close elections in mid February, and the drop in oil prices. Even if these problems are huge, they can still be surmounted, and make Nigeria take its place in the league of nations.

This is the point to be optimistic about the Nigerian story. According to writer Amy Chua, author of the Triple Package, a book that highlights why some groups of people are successful, the writer mentions that Nigerian Americans are some of the most successful groups in the United States. If Nigerians abroad are succeeding, then the Nigerian election should be one step in which the country strives to provide opportunities to its young and upcoming politicians. A

Africa's Young are ready to take up leadership, but they need patience.

Kofi Annan

The challenge for Africa has always been a leadership crisis in the continent. There has never been a better time for the young in Africa to take up leadership positions, and endear themselves to the electorate. Africa is the world's youngest continent, and its average age is just 19 years. The continent boasts of  a rapidly expanding middle class that is widely exposed and ready to steer the Africa to the next direction. But how can the Africa's young make sure that they do take up leadership positions in the continent?

The young in Africa have never been at a poignant position to effect change. The Arab Spring in North Africa and the Middle East showed just a small group of disenfranchised youths bring down whole governments. However, for the youth to succeed, they must realize that their time to be Africa's leaders is now and not tomorrow. They must seek a civil means of engagement so that they can exert their huge numbers to effect change. While the concept of leadership has often been synonymous with old age in Africa, this is beginning to change. There are more young Africans coming up through the ranks, especially in the business sector. If young Africans such as MTN's RS Dabengwa are controlling billions of dollars in investments, how come they cannot be trusted with political leadership? If shareholders are entrusting Africa's young with billions of dollars in wealth, how come Africa's politicians are unable to do so.

However, age alone is not a predictor of leadership. Therefore, young Africans will have to be mentored, and stay in the right atmosphere for them to develop their leadership potential. Too often, many voters are skeptical since they can't differentiate between the younger leaders and the older leaders. In deed, some young leaders in the continent have engaged in the same looting as the older leaders. To such voters, there is nothing that necessarily indicates that the younger leaders are better than the older leaders.

Even though these allegations are well meaning and founded on facts, there are some very vocal young leaders whose voices have been buried deep in the clutter of noise. There are silent change makers in the continent who are continuing to do great things with absolutely no recognition. It is such leaders that we must identify and nurture. Too often, we have tended to silence these lone voices, and its time that we changed our approach to them, encouraged them, and gave them the proper tools for them to succeed as young leaders. After all, we would all benefit from a youthful leadership that is capable of creating a peaceful and prosperous continent, a continent that will be able to rise above the abyss of misrule, and safely enter the league of well governed states and regions.

Africa's Problem is a Crisis in Leadership.

Nelson Mandela

Many African countries gained independence in the 1960s. And yet, 50 years later, the continent still grapples with the same issues it encumbered at the time of independence. War, disease, and poverty are still very much widespread throughout Africa. Even the so called African success story countries have not been global players as yet. Countries such as Botswana, Mauritius, and Rwanda, though continental success stories, have not still made it to the top globally. Many countries came up with vision and mission statements in order to project their global goal. However, the vision and mission goals were quickly discarded as the due dates approached.

True, the continent is growing, but one has to ask whether this growth will lift all tides with it, or will it merely be a pipe dream that will be extinguished as fast as it arises? The continet's main problem is a crisis in leadership. Once the continent fixes its leadership problems, then it will be in a pilot position to take its rightful place in the world. Africa is the most unstable continent in the world. It comes to the global table as a late comer, and even then, it only gets the food crumbs, after everyone else has eaten. Some will want to say that Africa was at the same level of development as the so called Asian Tigers, but those countries are so far ahead at present that one would not even believe that they were nearly at the same stage in the 1960s.

Every year, thousands of African youngsters routinely die trying to cross the Mediterranean, so that they can get a better life abroad. The images of Europe as a land of milk and honey only serve to reinforce the urge by Africa's youngsters that there fortunes will be better abroad. The youngsters are leaving because there are no jobs, because they see no chance of making it in their home country. They are leaving because Europe assures them of hope.

Africa then must fix its leadership. It must get transformational leaders who will be able to diagnose the continent's problems, and propose relevant solutions. This will require that the continent first of all creates the right structures to identify able and capable leaders. The parties must be ideological, rather than tribal based. Equally, elections must be peaceful, as too often, investors flee at the time of elections. The more the elections are close, the greater the potential for violence.

While the current growth rates are indeed laudable, even inspirational, the only true safeguard for Africa will be an assurance of a forward thinking leadership. Everything else will not amount to much.

Laptops will improve learning in African schools, but caution must be taken.

Its a raging debate in many African countries. Should we provide primary school children in African schools with laptops? Will laptops help to improve the literacy skills of African students. In a number of countries such as Namibia, Kenya, and Rwanda, there are already some programs that have been rolled out to provide students with laptops. There could be several pitfalls to this.

First of all, many students in Africa lack access to basic things such as food, books, and clothing. How can African schools be at the forefront of providing laptops, and yet, the students are lacking the basic aids to learning? What needs to happen then is that schools should first ensure that they have the requisite infrastructure in place. Schools will have to be connected to the national grid. Many schools lack access to electricity, and this makes it even harder to ensure that the laptops are used efficiently.

Crucially, the development of curriculum is another aspect that will have to be looked into. Currently, multinational companies are installing content in these educational devices, ensuring some kind of educational colonialism takes place. This is one of the reasons why many governments and education policy makers are resisting the the adoption of laptops. What's more, teachers need to be trained afresh, as the teachers are currently not trained in computers. There will have to be a new skills acquisition by teachers in our schools, and this will ensure that teachers are abreast with today's development.

It would be important that laptops not act as the panacea to all the ills that encumber the African education systems. We could for instance start with a laboratory with a few computers, even as we empower teachers and build more classrooms and laboratories. This will be the only way to ensure that when the right time for laptops comes, the schools will be prepared to adopt the laptops, and use them to be globally competitive in the 21st century. Even as we adopt the use of laptops in African schools, we should not forget that teachers are still indispensable in this new educational system, and they must be part and parcel of the whole process.

Africa has to Model its own Form of Democracy for it to Develop.

Some African leaders view China as a place where they could borrow lots of ideas, especially on how to develop their country from a third world to a developed country in just a generation. In the last 30 years, China has lifted more than 300 million people from poverty, and the country is now looked both as a friend and a threat as it looks to expand its global hegemony. In Africa, China has gobbled up mineral resources, and continues to look for raw materials to power its industries. One question though that China has taught many African countries is the need for stability. China has prioritized stability as the basis for economic growth, and it is no wonder the country has grown double digits in the last thirty years or so. As Africa experiments with democracy in its various forms, it would have to know that democracy is a painful process, that takes one step at a time, and building nations is also equally a slow and painful process. 

According to Silicon Africa, a think tank that seeks to advance Africa’s agenda, ‘An African student in China asked his professor the following question: “Why isn’t China doing anything to change his image abroad, as most of the things people say about China are not true”.
The professor paused, smiled, and with a sterling contempt replied “China doesn’t give a damn”. Then continued “it took us 30 years to build our country, while it took over 400 years for Western countries to reach the same level of development.
The most important thing for China now is stability, so we can focus on our development. That’s the stage where we are.

We are well aware of all the various human freedoms available under other suns, and we desire to have them here in China, and we are confident that in time we will have the same freedoms here in China. However, for now, at the stage where we are, we need stability to continue our development.”
Indeed, knowing the kind of political organisation a country needs at particular time in its history is very critical for that country’s stability and prosperity.” Silicon Africa concludes. 
For Africa then, it would have to balance between stability and democracy in order to grow rapidly.

2015 General Elections: Nigeria Youths- The Weapon.

T

here is so much tension in the air. There are too many negative utterances concerning the forthcoming general elections. People and parties and organizations are spreading fear all over the land as if something more than the elections is coming. And each time I reflect on this, I see the youths at the centre of this supposedly utterance war; coming in contact every single day (these days) on the front pages of the national dailies and on all other Medias.

Individuals, parties and organizations are going into various archives to bring to light again, captions and pictures that portrait the ‘good’ or the ‘evil’ of some individuals vying for one political office or the other, especially the presidential office. On the front page of the Punch News Paper dated Monday, January 19, 2015, it stands written in bold and with different colours: NIGERIANS BE WARDNED! NIGERIA …” I have set before thee LIFE & DEATH. Therefore, choose LIFE that both thee and thy seed may LIVE.” Deut 30 vs 19. In the above mentioned daily, precisely on page 9, it states: JOBS IN LAGOS PROVIDE FOR MILLIONS OF NIGERIANS. WE CANNOT LEAVE THE FATE OF MILLIONS TO AN INEXPERIENCE LEADER …”

I cannot see reason why there should be so much ‘insults’ between interested politicians, their parties or their friend-organizations with the view of wining ‘followers’. I cannot bring myself to ‘follow’ someone who uses insulting and degrading words, in the aim of gaining my trust. I prefer to follow someone who gives his/her opinions on bringing lasting solutions the country’s socio-economic problems. I desire to follow anyone who respects the opinion of the other party, who see the other person as mortal who is capable of doing ‘wrong’ today and becoming ‘better’ tomorrow, and not judging today because of yesterday.

In all of these, I see the youth of the country as the tool and weapon that can be use to either bring lasting solution or continue to cause havoc in the society. I see the youths as the only available weapons of mass growth or mass destruction. I see the youths as the easily-reached tool and weapon employed by these ‘insulting individuals and parties and organizations.’ I see the youths that do not know what way to follow, where to make a bold U-turn, and when to stop completely on the track that has not been leading to growth and development, falling prey to desperate politicians, where they are use as ‘weapon to create ‘un-peaceful nation’. 

I desire to refer every young person in this country and around the world to the book of Prophet Isaiah chapter two verses two to five (Isaiah 2:2-5), where the Scripture holds (in paraphrasing) that: In these days of unrest, these days when there is fear everywhere you turn, days when politicians chose to ‘insult’ themselves to show us they love us and want to lead us, days when there are so many homeless people in their own father’s land, days when the leaders forget to ‘fight’ for the people, and were ‘fighting’ to gain power by all means; the only place nations like Nigeria and its people should go is the hill of the Lord, where He will teach us what to do to bring sanity again to the land. It is only God that will settle dispute among great nations, only God can make us hammer our guns and explosives and looting and corruption, into plough and peace and economic growth. It is only God, who from the beginning of creation made great plans for us all that can bring His original plans back into existence in the life of our world, nations and as individuals. Returning to Him on His holy mountain does not mean going up one mountain or going into one Church; it is simply, going to him with your heart-personally knowing Him and His plans and purposes. 

To kill and loot and destroy and rig during election is never the plan and purpose of God for us. The youths must not allow themselves to be used to achieve evil. They should be creative in their thinking and create solutions to the problems we are facing; which will obviously need the creative power of everyone, contributing his/her quota of positive and creative thoughts, to the green-and-white bowl that needs to be filled great minds and ideas to achieve lasting peace and rapid development. And the only true source of such minds and ideas and innovation is God. He alone can give the kind of wisdom we individually need to move our beloved country to the next level of positive growth and development in every sector of the economy.

The 2015 general election is meant to ‘change’ occupants of the various political offices, and not to cause fear and panic and unnecessary anxiety among the people. It is a period of evaluating the ‘present’ occupants of the offices and reaching a reasonable decision to either keep them in the office or seek another mind to transform the office and perform better; even those occupying the office at present and seeking re-election, should only be encourage to ‘do better’ than the term that is passing. That they were or are bad today does not mean they can't be better tomorrow. I therefore see no reason why there should be ‘sounds of war’ and ‘insulting’ utterances coming from those that the graving to be our leaders. I believe they should be more gentle and kind with words; driving their points home in peaceful co-existence rather than with violence and insults and destruction. 

 Nigeria youths must be awakening to the fact that the ‘future’ starts right now. Individuals must make deliberate effort to change the mind-set of ‘unless we get money from you, we won’t vote you in.’ Once someone gives you money and got your vote, s/he will ‘steal’ the money given to you at first before thinking of doing anything for the community or the country. The days of ‘stomach infrastructure’ is gone with the wind of ignorance. The wind of positive change has come, and it’s blowing everywhere, seeking great minds to fill and inspire and motivate. And this wind can only enter an individual or group who is open to creative and positive thought pattern, it will come to those who connect back to the Source of Power, where creativity started, where peaceful co-existence has it firm root, and where everything was declared ‘GOOD’; and that Source is GOD.

Youths must therefore embrace and inhale this wind of change and see a brighter future ahead. Youths should be leaders of today and of tomorrow; because unless one is firm and positive in his/her decision making now, tomorrow might not even come for that person to make any meaningful decision to lasting and positive change in the society. Unless the youths see that the future of this nation lies in their hands, they will stay ‘calm’ and ‘mute’ to the happening in the land. 

The troubles of today are ‘fruits’ that grew from the ‘trees’ of decisions ‘planted’ in the past. But we should know, that the land still remain the same – Nigeria, and the soils (us) are still fertile, with willing hearts to produce better crops if given better seeds. We must therefore understand the terms of the farmer to be able to cultivate the land and plant good seeds and expect great harvest in the future that is not too far away. To keep repeating the ugly term that: This is Nigeria, nothing good can come out”, or again. “This is Nigeria, where anything goes,” will do us no good; will not bring about any change in the current trend of backwardness and corruption and sufferings and pains and fears. Because if we continue repeating the believe system or attitude of those who where here before us, if we continue walking in the shoes of those who made the decisions that are affecting us today, without making creative effort to change ourselves and our attitude, we shall continue to remain perpetually in the same state, and continuously ‘suffering and smiling’.

Today, it doesn’t matter anymore who made the decisions that are bringing us pains and sufferings and hunger and poverty and unemployment. Some of those that made the decisions years ago are still alive and are making every effort to ‘come-back’ into our ‘farm land’ to either plant ‘better seeds’ or yet another ‘un-fruitful’ seed. Today, some of those who made the terrible decisions that are affecting us negatively are dead, but their ‘seeds’ are making drastic effort, either to come complete the ‘evil’ work of their father, or to continue the ‘good’ work of their father, and or, to right the wrong done by their father.

Today again, the mantel of ‘leadership’ has been given to us, where we are face with the opportunity and challenge to correct the wrongs of yesterday, to make conscious effort towards making the right choice of choosing  who should ‘drive’ the vehicle leading to the Nigeria of our dream; the Nigeria where our children and children’s children will have the liberty of attending good schools, have quality health facilities, grow in an environment where creativity and positive attitude will help them become wish men and women.

History is not meant to make us cry all the time. History is meant to be a guide, helping us to know where we are coming from, where we are and where we should make effort to go-the right direction. We must allow the times of the pass to guide us to the future, not by being angry with it or those who where in it, but by studying it and applying its disciplined instructions towards attaining positive growth and development.

Youths must be weapon of positive, lasting change and not destruction, violence and corruption!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

EDOKA PETER-PAUL is a Writer, Motivational Speaker, Marriage/Relationship Counselor, Career Adviser, Business Developer, Founder of Pillarious Foundation and President of MayDec Incorporation. He has BA (Hons.) in Philosophy from SS Peter and Paul Catholic Major Seminary, Bodija-Ibadan, an affiliate of the University of Ibadan, all in Oyo State, Nigeria. He is married to Juliana Peter-Paul and the marriage has been blessed with a son-Edoka Owoicho-Oche Moel.

Author’s Contacts: www.edokapeterpaul.blogspot.com

                                 Email: edokapeterpaul@gmail.com

                                 Facebook: www.facebook.com/Edoka Peter-Paul

                                 Twitter: @EdokaPeterPaul

                                WhatsApp: +2348026111406

          Phone: 07065857965                

Mobile Commerce could Power Africa's next Growth Cycle.

The internet commerce has not quite picked up in Africa. The legacy system of the banks, and the lack of access to credit cards are just some of the reasons why e-commerce has not quite picked up in Africa. And yet, the continent could be sitting on the cusp of a revolution. Consider that Africans own 600 million mobile phones, 100 million of which are smartphones. This means that there has never been a better time to launch mobile based applications.

The mobile money transfer market is easily the most ubiquitous mobile application. The money transfer service grew because of an unmet need. There was a need for banking services, which was not being provided by the traditional banks. In Kenya, the MPESA service has been the most widespread service. In the year 2013, $20 billion was transacted through the service. Most of all, the micro transfer service helped to launch many other related businesses. For example, musicians now use the service to enable their fans download music at a fraction of the cost of buying an album. In a country where piracy is rife, this couldn't be better, as it enables musicians to earn some income from their hard work.

There are other mobile applications that have indeed been helpful. For example, MFarm is a service which enables farmers to get timely updates of the prices of goods and services, and in the process, the farmers are able to cut out the middlemen. The service charges users a small fee for inquiring about the products of goods and services.

Going forward, we should expect more mobile applications to be rolled out. According to IBM's Africa chief scientist Uyi Stewart, what will be needed will be a need to solve problems that afflict Africans immediately. Mr. Stewart advises that African innovators should start from the end in mind, and then work backwards towards creating sustainable business solutions to solve those problems. If more African innovators follow this route, then mobile commerce could indeed power on the next wave of growth for the continent.

Africa is growing, but who is benefitting.

Teodoro Obiang:

Africa is home to six of the ten fastest growing economies in the world. It is the second fastest growing region in the world. And yet, even with all these amazing statistics, Africa still remains the world's poorest continent. It appears that Africa is growing yes, only that the fruits of growth are not percolating down to the grassroots. There is a growing inequality in the continent.

For example, three years ago, a widely cited report noted that for every 56 shillings that a rich Kenyan was making, a poor Kenyan was making just one shilling. This shows that the rich make 56 times more than the poor. If we could use Kenya as a case study, then the continent is really one of the places with the highest inequalities in the world. Ventures Magazine projects that the number of African billionaires is rising, and puts the number at more than 50. On the other hand, Forbes magazine estimates that the number of dollar billionaires in Africa could equal that of Latin America.

What's more, many of the continent's richest hide their wealth in safe tax havens, where the wealth cannot be traced. According to a BBC assignment report in 2012, Equatorial Guinea is supposed to be at par with Great Britain on paper. Its per capita income is $34,000, making it one of the richest countries in the world. And yet, the wealth is concentrated in just a few hands. The country's President, Teodoro Obiang, has silenced opposition voices, and his son owns hotels in France and has several luxury yatchs. What's even worrying was that this siphoning off of the country's wealth took place with the help of Western banks and multinationals.

Africa is growing at break neck speeds no doubt. For it to claim the 21st century, it will have to ensure that just as it encourages growth, it will also have to encourage the spread of this growth. It cannot be that only a tiny elite benefit from Africa's huge resources. Otherwise, the growth will feel very hollow, and will consign Africa to its perennial place as the world's poster child for poverty in the midst of plenty.

It's time to make Africa's minerals a blessing.

Petroleum mine

How best can Africa use its minerals. The continent has an abundant mineral supply. But its often caught in the so called paradox of plenty, or the mineral curse. For example, even though Nigeria has plenty of oil, power blackouts are still rampant. Even though DR Congo has plenty of coltan, which is used in the making of mobile phones and laptops, most of its residents cannot afford the basic mobile phones and cannot partake in the information revolution. One way that Africa can develop is to ensure that it negotiates favorable terms for its mineral resources. In this, its often been said that the huge obstacle is not even the lack of finances, it is the lack of  human capital in the minerals field. For example, most of the contract in negotiations goes to foreign law firms, as there are not many African lawyers with the expertise to negotiate the complex mineral contracts.

We could create a fund similar to what countries like Botswana have done. Botswana has used the mineral resources, especially from diamond, to improve the public infrastructure for the country. Even though the country was severely ravaged by AIDs, the infection rates have gone down as a result of the investments in the health sector from the diamond proceeds. Crucially, Botswana continues to attract teachers and doctors from the rest of Africa and the world, and the country is one of the few countries in the world to have a budget surplus. Its former President, Festus Mogae, was awarded the Mo Ibrahim leadership prize because of his exemplary leadership, his commitment to democracy and human rights, and for using the proceeds from the diamonds to grow a prosperous Botswana economy.

Norway is another example. It is estimated that Norway has a sovereign wealth fund that could total at least $100,000 per each citizen, this is all thanks to the way the country has been able to make use of its mineral resources. Another country we could adopt from is United Arab Emirates (UAE), known for its tourism. Realizing that oil would run out in the next thirty years, the UAE government sought to increase the amount of investments in other sectors, and today, its flagship city- Dubai, is known for tourism, finance, amongst other economic pursuits. The mineral resources in Africa are not limitless. They will run out one day. Its time that African countries were able to adopt firm measures that would see the countries benefit from the vast mineral resources.

It's time to make the abundant minerals in Africa to be a blessing rather than a curse. I believe that it can be done.

Top Quality University Education will unlock Africa's Potential.

Education is one of the most important aspects of a nation's well being. And yet, there has been a raging debate on what mode of education that Africa should adopt. The World Bank and other multilateral institutions continue to insist that Africa needs basic education in order to develop. However, evidence is emerging that the continent also needs a strong higher education system. How can education policy makers in the continent merge the two?

At Africa Shine, we believe that there has been too much focus on basic education to the detriment of higher education. Almost all the donor funding is concentrated on basic education, while leaving out the higher education sector. According to statistics, there are between 3 million and 5 million college and university graduates in Africa every year. This number is comparable to the number of graduates churned by Indian and Chinese Universities. However, the quality of graduates leaves a lot of desired. Rote learning is still the order of the day, and creativity and innovation is not encouraged.

While African universities have fared better in teaching, they have not been as steadfast in research. According to the webometrics ranking of universities, few African universities rank in the top 500 in the world. These universities tend to be concentrated in South Africa and Egypt. The impact that a great university can have on a community is immeasurable. For instance, according to the kauffman foundation, a think tank that seeks to promote entrepreneurship, the value of companies created or co-created by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) alumni is about a trillion dollars. If these companies were an isolated country, they would be the seventeenth largest economy in the world. What's more, the jobs benefit the local Massachusetts economy. The report details that fewer than ten percent of the MIT students are drawn from Massachusetts, and yet, more than 30 percent choose to remain behind in Massachusetts and start their companies.

We therefore need to create lots of first class universities in Africa, and avail them with funds to enable them compete in the 21st century. A number of schools are already attempting that. For instance, Ghanaian Patrick Awuah left Ghana as a teenager to attend Swarthmore University in the United States. He later went to work for Microsoft, becoming one of the thousands of millionaires churned out by Microsoft. He later went on to get an MBA from UC Berkely, and proceeded to establish Aseshi University in Accra, Ghana. The university draws from local and foreign students, and emphasizes a liberal Arts curriculum. Mr. Awuah believes that the university is training the next generation of African leaders.

In South Africa, there is another school, the African leadership Academy- ALA. The school is a college preparatory school that teaches African studies, Leadership, and entrepreneurship. Its students are drawn from Africa and beyond, and it has one of the lowest acceptance rates in the world. The school hopes that the students from the school will be placed in leading colleges and universities in the world, from where they will come back and help rebuild Africa.

As these examples show, there are efforts underway by various stakeholders to develop the African education system. What's needed is a full proof system that ensures that Africa's best and brightest are taught the right curriculum that will help them advance in the 21st century. What must not be forgotten is that in today's world, ideas are the new capital, and it would be important that Africa's education systems realize this.

Africa Needs Both Economic Growth and Stability.

Abidjan, Ivory Coast

Africa is on the brink of takeoff. It is the second fastest growing region in the world. It is home to six of the ten fastest growing economies in the world. There are more mineral resources that are being discovered, and hopefully, if the proceeds from these minerals are used well, then the continent will get handsome rewards from the minerals discovered. However, one challenge that remains for the continent is how to make it more stable politically. True, there is some progress that is being made. For example, last year, elections in seven countries were peaceful. However, there were also a number of instabilities in the continent. There was a near coup in The Gambia. There was a coup in Burkina Faso. There were still instabilities in South Sudan, and the Central African Republic. So, even as the economies of Africa are growing, there are still some pretty delicate situations politically.

Crucially, which model of development should African countries adopt. Should they choose a model which emphasizes economic growth, or a model which emphasizes stability. Countries such as Rwanda and Ethiopia are growing at break neck speeds. There growth rates are more than 7 percent. However, the governments of the two countries are also accused of being intolerant to opposition voices and the media. For instance, in Ethiopia, the media freedoms are curtailed, and the country has jailed several journalists who went against the government line. In Rwanda, several opposition voices were silenced, and some even assassinated, as President Paul Kagame tightens his grip on power. These two countries seem to be too happy to follow the Chinese example, where one party rules.

However, economic growth alone can be a detriment to a country. Take the case of Ivory Coast for example. The country was the quintessential successful country. It was literally one of the most successful French colonies in Africa. Its capital city, Abidjan, was the Paris of Africa. The country ticked in all the right boxes. However, after the death of the strongman, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, who led the independence from France in 1960, the country disintegrated. The country only recovered after a peace deal was signed in 2004, allowing some kind of a power sharing deal between the north and the south. 

As the case of Ivory Coast so clearly demonstrates, economic growth alone cannot be the solution to a country's progress. A country has to have both economic growth and stability. Each feeds off the other, and either of them cannot be a panacea to Africa's underdevelopment.