Mo Ibrahim: 'Our leaders are not our masters; they are our servants.'
Dr. Mo Ibrahim, the businessman behind the Mo Ibrahim Foundation and its controversial 'Ibrahim Prize',* touched on a number of issues - from the failure of leadership economic integration - at a recent lecture delivered at the University of Ghana, Legon in Accra. Highlights from the talk when you click the link.
Highlights:
on leadership
“We have a very rich continent yet we are the poorest people on earth. After 50 years, I do not think we can blame the colonists for our woes. We are responsible for the mess that we found ourselves and cannot blame anybody.”
“There is nothing wrong with our people, but it is our leaders who have made us poor. What the people bother about is the deliverables. We do not care about the politics.”
on
economic integration:
“If we do not take steps to integrate our economies we will continue to wallow in poverty. Economic integration is a must. The Europeans did not like one another yet they were able to form a very successful European Union (EU).”
on
climate change:
Africans are the most threatened people on earth and we did not put the carbon out there, but we are suffering for the carelessness of other people.”
Click here for the entire article.
*The Ibrahim Prize recognises and celebrates excellence in African leadership. The prize is awarded to a democratically elected former African Executive Head of State or Government who has served their term in office within the limits set by the country's constitution and has left office in the last three years. For more info,
click here.
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What's your take on Dr. Ibrahim's points? Leave your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section below!
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Thanks for the summary. This man is really an inspiration and I am feeling what he is saying. It is time that leaders do exactly what they are elected to do “lead” and do it with some dignity. If they don’t do it we will remove them, we will call their bluff and we will demand better. The time for games has ended!
Love it! The games are no longer a go. Definitely in agreement – too much at stake to leave Africa’s potential up to ineptness.