From Saheed Ibrahim
Until foreign aids coming to Africa are channelled towards innovation and business entrepreneurship, the aids would never lift Africa out of underdevelopment.
This was the submission of a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu in his keynote address to the 57 Nigerian 2023 alumni of the Mandela Washington Fellowship in Washington DC, USA.
The former journalist said, “foreign aid is not part of prosperity creation framework. Africa cannot rise based on foreign aid. That is very clear. Show me the that country that has become a global economic power because of foreign aid?” He asked.
The former presidential aspirant submitted that if there would be foreign aid in Africa, it should be channelled towards financing two things.
He said it was important to engage why capitalism prospered in Asia and the Western countries but not in Africa.
While highlighting some of the limitations to wealth creation in Africa, Moghalu stressed that the secret of wealth creation in the Western world is invention and the commercialisation of invention.
He charged the new Mandela Washington Fellowship alumni to go back with the insights they have obtained from the United States of America and mix it with the originality of an African worldview.
He said every prosperous person builds their businesses in their own uniqueness and that’s why China, US and others do businesses differently based on their cultures and proper.
Chief Executive Officer of Next Narrative Africa, Akunna Cook stressed the need to promote Africa’s image and tell the underreported success stories of the continent.
She said Africans are not just sources of solutions to African problems but also that of global problems.
The Executive Director, West Central Africa, U.S.-Africa Business Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Guevera Yao described the 57 fellows as ambassadors of the most populous African nation, charging them to believe in what they do to make necessary change in their country and on the African continent.
He added that fellows should think of businesses that could be globalised, adding that they must take advantage of the tools and resources they could use while in the US.
Earlier, the Host and President of MWF Alumni Association of Nigeria, Olorunfunmi Adebajo said the event was to celebrate young Nigerians that had shown how significant and important they are to the development of Nigeria.
Nigeria has the largest contingent annually at the MWF and this proves the significance of Nigeria to African development.
