Africa: Land of the Very Poor and Excessively Rich

Africa is a continent of extreme riches and extreme poverty. Just take a look at the picture to the left. In it, four workers install a marble staircase into the (unfinished) home of Nigerian Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

According to a 2005 New York Times article, Alamieyeseigha, also known as "The Runaway Governor," is believed to have stolen and/or misspent over $400 billion of government funds and used the money to purchase an oil refinery in Ecuador and several homes in London, California, and South Africa. Alamieyeseigha denied the charges, that is after he was caught trying to flee Nigeria... with forged travel documents... while wearing a dress and wig. See below for before and after:

Okay, so the picture on the bottom is fake, but doesn't capture how utterly ridiculous this man is. The sad part is that there are many others like Governor Run-Away who steal government funds, lavishly spend these funds, and more often than not, pay no consequences for their actions. So the question then is: What can be done to stop this?

I'm sure that there are a myriad of academics, public officials, and citizens alike who have their own solutions, but there has been one that has struck me: Install a no-nonsense, authoritative figure to single-handedly wipe out financial corruption. My dad first presented this solution to corruption to me, citing how President Jerry Rawlings was able to turn Ghana from one of the most corrupt nations in West Africa to one of the most successful and least corrupt on the continent. Dambisa Moyo, author of the recently released book Dead Aid, presents a similar idea to my dad. In her book, she writes of a "benevolent dictator" possibly being the key to promoting development in African nations.

Though I definitely understand where my dad and Dambisa Moyo are coming from, the idea of an authoritarian/dictator is unsettling to me, only because I think the idea would only be successful in an ideal Africa, where it would be almost certain that a selfless individual with honest motivations, legal actions, and a non-corrupt circle of friends and advisers would be in such an authoritative position. Then again, if such an individual were to be installed and successfully eradicate corruption and promote development, the future of African nations would be brighter.

If anything, the fact that even top African intellectuals are considering dictators, whether benevolent or not, to solve Africa's problems is a sign of how messed up affairs are across the continent. This is not good.


(First picture from New York Times)