Tag: africa

Solutions For Nigeria’s Post-Harvest Losses

I appreciate the problem diagnoses of the following article “Nigeria needs 5,000 cold trucks, 100 cold rooms to curb N3.5 trillion post-harvest losses”; but disagree with the approach to the solution.

Why? From the perspective of African nation-building:

Essence is the principle; form is the preference.

A patient with a migraine does not need Tylenol but a solution to their headache which can come in many forms! Solution is the essence; Tylenol is a form. Physicians in Western medical schools are taught to prescribe, so their solutions are typically a “pill-based” reliance on big pharma. Similarly, African people today are taught to buy “ready-made forms” from the West as solutions, instead of developing/exploring different potential forms to address the essence!

The need here is not a “cold truck” (form), but a preserving storage with mobility (essence). Cold trucks are AN option, not THE solution. Cold trucks require inputs that many African countries may not have sufficiently developed (infrastructure, energy, technology etc), so then they rely on Western imports and maintenance.

We first need to see if there are existing indigenous storage systems among the African people that is already suited to the environment and more agile. Next you improve, modernize, and scale it. The people would then own the homegrown technology and not be dependent on imports for their agricultural value chain. Yet I understand there is a transition period which requires a dual approach until you fully build domestic capacity.

More broadly, what Nigeria needs is an aggressive 30-year ASDP—Agricultural Sovereignty Development Plan. A comprehensive plan to domestically buildout all factors of production, inputs, systems, and institutions along the agricultural value chain to establish agricultural sovereignty In Nigeria; whose capacity and productivity will make Nigeria the breadbasket of Africa and the chief supplier of agricultural goods globally.

Such growth can only happen and be maintained when it is built on indigenous systems that come from within the people i.e., when “essence” is developed into indigenous “forms”, and all foreign inputs ( “forms”) are adapted to the cultural context of the African people. However, it takes visionary political leadership with the right concept and approach to development to undertake true African nation-building!

Today Nigerian political leadership is abysmal (and since post-independence has been so with but few exceptions), therefore they are generally incapable of solving this problem. Change will only happen when visionary nation-builders take possession of political office in Nigeria and, with an iron-will for the good and sound strategy, aggressively drive development forward for the complete transformation of Nigeria.

~Dr. Ikenna A. Ezealah, Ph.D., MBA
“Builder of the African Future”

Leaders of Africa, Speak UP!

Many people are discussing Africa as the future—and rightly so, given its immense potential.

Academics, investors, politicians, think tanks, individuals, and governments alike all have something to say about the need to position themselves to benefit from the African growth they believe is coming.

Conferences are held to set global development agendas and define Africa’s role. Others focus on Africa’s place in the geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China. Some spotlight climate change or other global trends and how Africa can adapt. Still others center on technological innovation and how Africa can catch up. The list goes on.

The voices are loud—talking about Africa, talking for Africa, even trying to set the agenda Africa should follow.

But you know who is silent amid all this clamor? African leaders.

Like palm trees swaying in the wind, many attend conference after conference, adjusting their positions to match whatever the international community is saying.

But no one truly knows the position of African leadership. No one has seen a united front articulating a bold, original vision for the Continent—a vision championed confidently before the world as Africa’s position!

So I ask: African leaders, where do you stand?
What is your conviction?
Where is this continent going under your leadership?
What bold vision have you put forth to shape the future of your people?
What priorities have you established, instead of merely accepting the priorities handed to you by others?

It is with shame, frustration, and fury that I look into the ranks of much of Africa’s leadership—because I am utterly clueless about where the continent is heading. There is no guiding vision.

Everyone is speaking about and for you, Africa. But you, leaders of Africa—why are you silent? Why do you lack conviction and original vision? Why have you become mere followers—puppets—echoing the positions of foreign ventriloquists?

Yes, a few African leaders today stand as exceptions. But most have no business being in office. They should step down and make room for those who do have the capacity and conviction—those ready to serve with their whole heart with an iron-fist for the good, and lead their people forward with original visions brought to life through aggressive nation-building!

Leaders of Africa: Stand up. Straighten your backs.

Speak up. Declare your vision.

Lead your people into a brighter future.

And if you cannot—then respectfully step aside so those whom Heaven has endowed and prepared for these times may step forward to take action!

The African people are tired of lukewarmness and weak leadership, and hunger for something more!

Now is the time for firmness, for strength, for vision, and for bold action.

Leaders of Africa… speak up for your People and Continent!

Leaders of Africa… Speak up!

~Dr. Ikenna A. Ezealah, PhD, MBA
“Builder of the African Future”

“Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade…” by Ha-Joon Chang

For me, continuous reading, experience, and reflection are essential for professional development and thus for constantly refining the tools necessary for effective African nation-building.

In line with this objective, I finished reading and reflecting on the book “Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism” by Ha-Joon Chang —a work I highly recommend! And not being too dramatic but, given the rich content, it should have been titled “The Gospel of Economic Development According to Chang”.

The range of topics, the sharpness of his analysis, and his dynamic use of humor made the examination of economic development both insightful and engaging. His work has enhanced my perspective and sharpened my African nation-building toolkit!

Summary:
Using wit, an engagingly personal style, and a battery of examples, Chang blasts holes in the orthodoxy of Thomas Friedman and other liberal economists who argue that only unfettered capitalism and wide-open international trade can lift struggling countries out of poverty. On the contrary, Chang shows that today’s economic superpowers-from the U.S. to Britain to his native Korea–all attained prosperity by shameless protectionism and government intervention in industry.

He argues that the alliance of advanced countries (acting as ‘Bad Samaritans’) have conveniently forgotten this fact, telling the world a fairy tale about the magic of free trade led by the US and mediated by the ‘Unholy Trinity’ of international economic organizations that they largely control—World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Trade Organization; ramming policies that suit them down the throat of the developing world.

Unlike typical economists who construct models of how the marketplace should work, Chang examines the past: what has actually happened. His pungently contrarian history demolishes one pillar after another of free-market mythology. We treat patents and copyrights as sacrosanct―but developed our own industries by studiously copying others’ technologies. We insist that centrally planned economies stifle growth―but many developing countries had higher GDP growth before they were pressured into deregulating their economies. Both justice and common sense, Chang argues, demand that we reevaluate the policies we force on nations that are struggling to follow in our footsteps.

Three Previously Completed Books:
✅ Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity , and Poverty – Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson.
✅  Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa – Dambisa Moyo
✅ Africa Unchained; The Blueprint for Africa’s Future – George Ayittey

Onward & Upward!

~Dr. Ikenna Ezealah
“Builder of the African Future”

Meeting the President of Botswana

I am earnestly committed to the Cause of African Nation-building. So I focus my energy on what affects the lives of the African people, and prioritize relationships with people who are earnestly committed to this goal, or who enhance my life in varied ways which enables me to better pursue this goal. 

In this process, life naturally orchestrates connections with people at all levels—even the highest professionally—who also share this goal in their own unique way. 

One such encounter recently occurred on Friday, March 7, 2025 at the Embassy of Botswana in Washington DC. There, I had the pleasure of meeting and interacting with two other nation-builders and rising political stars in Africa: the newly elected President Duma Boko of Botswana, and Bogolo Kenewendo, Minister of Minerals and Energy of Botswana. Of course, all discourses had one theme: African nation-building. After meeting them, my confidence in Botswana’s bright future is reinforced. 

President Duma Boko and Dr. Ikenna Ezealah
Minister Bogolo Kenewendo and Dr. Ikenna Ezealah

Photos are great, but I should emphasize that my aim is beyond photo-ops. It is focused on a broader coalition-building of people who are committed to forming strategies and taking energetic actions that will physically manifest in the continent to directly improve the lives of the African people. 

I hope to unite with such people who are focused on building a brighter African present and future. 

~Dr. Ikenna Ezealah

“Builder of the African Future”

…Dr. Juris-Diplomat

March 6, 1957—The Birth of An Independent Ghana

Happy Independence Day Ghana!

On this momentous day, March 6, 2025, I join the people of Ghana and the Global African community in celebrating the anniversary of Ghana’s independence, achieved under the leadership of the Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah! I also honor The Big Six of Ghana (Kwame Nkrumah; Joseph Boakye (‘J.B.’) Danquah; Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey; Ebenezer Ako-Adjei; William Ofori Atta; Edward Akufo-Addo)—and all others who contributed to the struggle for Ghana’s political liberation. Their efforts not only secured Ghana’s independence, but also set a precedence for other independence movements across Africa.  

On March 6, 1957, Ghana became the second African country to gain independence. Although it is widely regarded as the first, historical accuracy gives that distinction to Sudan, which gained independence from British-Egyptian rule on January 1, 1956—making it the first African country to gain independence in the year 1956, before Ghana.

Sudan’s colonial administration was unique —it was governed under an Anglo-Egyptian Condominium (1899-1956), meaning it was jointly ruled by Britain and Egypt, rather than being a direct colony of a single European power. So, while Sudan was the first African country to gain independence in 1956, Ghana (1957) was the first African country to gain independence from direct European colonial rule (British Gold Coast).

As a Garvey-Nkrumah Legal Fellow, our delegation visited Ghana and Rwanda in the Summer 2024. After completing our official business for the trip—including a meeting with the President of Ghana—we visited the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park & Mausoleum in Accra. The previous Summer, I had read Dr. Nkrumah’s autobiography and had devoted time to understanding him not just as a leader, but as a person—exploring his deeper aims and motivations. This experience was deeply inspiring and further reinforced my commitment to African nation-building!

On July 19, 2024, I stood beside Dr. Nkrumah’s statue, mirroring his forward-pointing gesture that powerfully embodies his famous words: “Forward ever, backward never.” Then I knelt before his grave, filled with different intuitions. Sometimes in life, the most precious things cannot be shared.

“Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, a thousand thanks for your positive example of visionary African leadership, and your unbending commitment for the welfare and progress of the African people. Most of all, your natural reverence for God. These are noble qualities desperately lacking in African leadership today, and we feel the big gap left by your absence.”

I will carry the torch of African progress forward, working diligently to ensure it burns brighter in this generation—singularly focused on the mission of African nation-building!

Confidently I walk the path of destiny—“Forward ever, backward never”—focused upward, forever onward!

Happy 68th Independence Day Ghana!

~Dr. Ikenna Ezealah
“Builder of the African Future”

The Burkina Connection: Sankara-Compaoré-Traoré

On October 15, 1987 (37yrs ago), Thomas Sankara, then President and transformative leader of Burkina Faso, was assassinated in a coup led by Blaise Compaoré, a close associate. Compaoré assumed the presidency and ruled until 2014, when a domestic uprising forced him into exile in Ivory Coast. Five months after Sankara’s murder, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, Burkina Faso’s current President, was born (March 14, 1988).

Blaise Compaoré has since expressed remorse for his role and asked for forgiveness from the Burkinabe people and Thomas Sankara’s family.

Today, many Africans debate whether forgiveness should be granted and if he should be allowed to return to the country. I believe in the power of forgiveness for healing and the salvation of second chances. However, I also urge African people to consider:

How can this situation be strategically leveraged for effective nation-building? What intelligence could be extracted to strengthen domestic defense operations?

As a condition for considering a presidential pardon or sentencing reduction, Compaoré should disclose critical intelligence, including:

  1. Direct Involvement and Support: Did you act alone? If not, who were your collaborators? List the countries, entities, and individuals involved, including their roles and support given.
  2. Foreign Influence: Which foreign countries or agencies contacted or supported you, and how did they communicate? What role did foreign intelligence play?
  3. Detailed Planning: Provide a complete timeline and coordination details of the plan. Who funded, provided equipment, or orchestrated activities?
  4. Promises and Conditions: What were the promises given to you and your collaborators for a successful coup? What terms were set, and what did you bargain for?
  5. Execution and Modifications: Describe how the plan unfolded, including any last-minute changes. Were foreign agencies involved in any decisions or adjustments?
  6. Post-Coup Roles and Policies: What was the foreign involvement in appointing officials and structuring the government post-coup? Describe any foreign-directed policies or programs aimed at reversing Sankara’s initiatives.
  7. Domestic Influence and Control: How did you identify and manage internal opposition? Were foreign entities involved in tracking or suppressing resistance?
  8. Media and Public Opinion: Was there a strategy to influence public perception? How did media, domestic or international, play a role, and who guided this narrative?
  9. Military and Economic Dependencies: What defense or economic agreements were established with foreign nations? Which sectors or policies were influenced by external interests?
  10. Exile and Contingency: Which countries provided exile, and was it part of an initial arrangement? Were backup plans established in case the coup faced resistance?
  11. Potential Collaboration for Redemption: Are you willing to work with the current administration to rectify past actions?

These preliminary are questions that African people can strategically use to extract intelligence from this situation. In exchange, the current government may consider significant concessions. Such intelligence is invaluable, for it would sharpen vigilance and strengthen the defensive foundations of African nation-building.

Onward & Upward!

~Dr. Ikenna Ezealah

African Diaspora Day On The Hill

During CBC week (Congressional Black Caucaus) that took place in DC from September 9-15, I attended the African Diaspora Day on the Hill. Some notable encounters included Dr. Abike Dabiri, CEO of Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), and Ms. Anna Mwalagho, Swahili Language and Culture Lecturer at Howard University.

There is a backstory that made my surprise encounter with Ms. Anna Mwalagho magical. During undergrad at Bowling Green State University, I was Treasurer and then President of African Peoples Association (student organization). As President, I exuded a triumphant enthusiasm in vision-setting, mission-forming, and working with my executive team to design and implement programs to promote the African cause on campus. My organization work was the happiest years of my undergraduate experience!

Here is an excerpt from a 2007 school newspaper about African People’s Association:

Otiso, a faculty advisor for the APA, said he was impressed with [Ikenna] Ezealah’s vision and goals coming into office.

“Soon after being elected president a year ago, he proceeded to share his vision for the organization and what he hoped to accomplish in his tenure as president. I was amazed at his grasp of the issues,” said Otiso.

As president, Anyanwu said that Ezealah has had a tremendous impact.

“People are taking the organization more seriously than in the past. Now we are working with the mission statement in mind instead of being just a social group,” he said.

With a mission focused on educating the public about the real image of Africa, the organization has planned several educational events. The Annual Dinner Celebration on April 17th is the biggest event put on by the APA all year. 

https://bgfalconmedia.com/114108/news/bg-news/apa-goals-represented-by-single-growing-plant/

—

And during my tenure as President, the main performer during the Annual Dinner was…. Ms. Anna Mwalagho! She is a renaissance woman with an inspiring affection for Africa.

After graduating I lost touch with Ms. Anna Mwalagho. Then while reflecting on my life during the COVID, a fire awakened within to participate in the post-colonial nation-building of Africa, so the institutions and systems accord with the indigenous heritage of the African people. I then enrolled in law school and set out on the course to be an international nation-building diplomat. After a foundational first year, I transferred to Washington College of Law in DC. Months later, I attended the African Diaspora Day on the Hill during CBC week. There, in a moment of wonder and nostalgia, I again crossed paths with Ms. Anna Mwalagho from my APA days! Life coming full circle.

In College I was just working joyfully as Treasurer and then President of African People’s Association. But in retrospect it appears the experience was a clue to a future life marked with the objective to be a helper and guardian of the welfare and further development of the African people!

Onward & Upward!

~Dr. Ikenna Ezealah

Top 10 African GDPs v. Elon Musk’s Net Worth (2024)

Just for fun, I asked ChatGPT to compare the current GDPs of African countries with Elon Musk’s net worth (estimated at $248 billion). While the figures should be verified, the preliminary result is:

Elon Musk is the 5th largest economy in Africa, with a net worth greater than 50 African countries. Here’s the numerical breakdown.

Top 10 African GDPs v. Elon Musk Net Worth (2024)

1. South Africa – $373 billion
-Musk’s net worth is 66.5% of South Africa’s GDP
-Difference: South Africa’s GDP exceeds Musk by $125 billion
2. Egypt – $347 billion
-Musk’s net worth is 71.5% of Egypt’s GDP
-Difference: Egypt’s GDP exceeds Musk by $99 billion
3. Algeria – $266 billion
-Musk’s net worth is 93.2% of Algeria’s GDP
-Difference: Algeria’s GDP exceeds Musk by $18 billion
4. Nigeria – $252 billion
-Musk’s net worth is 98.4% of Nigeria’s GDP
-Difference: Nigeria’s GDP is only larger by $4 billion
5. Ethiopia – $205 billion
-Musk’s net worth is 121% of Ethiopia’s GDP
-Difference: Musk’s net worth exceeds Ethiopia’s GDP by $43 billion
6. Morocco – $152 billion
-Musk’s net worth is 163% of Morocco’s GDP
-Difference: Musk’s net worth exceeds Morocco’s GDP by $96 billion
7. Kenya – $104 billion
-Musk’s net worth is 238% of Kenya’s GDP
-Difference: Musk’s net worth exceeds Kenya’s GDP by $144 billion
8. Angola – $92 billion
-Musk’s net worth is 270% of Angola’s GDP
-Difference: Musk’s net worth exceeds Angola’s GDP by $156 billion
9. Cote D’Ivoire – $86 billion
-Musk’s net worth is 288% of Cote D’Ivoire’s GDP
-Difference: Musk’s net worth exceeds Cote D’Ivoire’s GDP by $162 billion
10. Tanzania – $79 billion
-Musk’s net worth is 314% of Tanzania’s GDP
-Difference: Musk’s net worth exceeds Tanzania’s GDP by $169 billion

Imagine if we added large Western multinational firms to the comparison? The result would be disastrous. African people please listen to me… if you do not make big changes soon (starting with your “leadership”) then in the next 10years you will be completely swallowed by the global economy. Already now you are mashed up at the edge of the throat. One “throat-thrust” and you will fall headlong in the stomach to be digested.

There is but one way out…to heed the clarion call for vigorous nation-building!

Onward & Upward!

~Dr. Ikenna Ezealah

Africa Needs A Common Language!

Years ago, when I read the African Continental Free Trade Agreement document, the last paragraph surprised me:

“WE, the Heads of State and Government or duly authorised representatives of the Member States of the African Union, have signed and sealed this Agreement in four original texts in Arabic, English, French, and Portuguese languages, all texts being equally authentic.”

Not one of those languages is originally African! A document meant to represent African interests is not presented in an original African language. Do you see the linguistic confusion in Africa today?

To develop as a unified body, Africa needs a common indigenous language as a unifying element among its diverse peoples and ethnic groups. Genuine cooperation, strategic alignment, mutual understanding, and policy coherence, which facilitate economic development, assume simplicity and ease of communication. Africa cannot claim this today.

If you study the development of both historical and modern world powers, one common element that facilitated their growth was linguistic homogeneity. Even when different languages and dialects existed within their borders, one primary language guided them. Africa lacks this.

Today, Africa is linguistically similar to the Tower of Babel—a mixture of hundreds of local languages and dialects beneath a handful of colonial languages. In an African country, some speak the colonial language, others a broken mix of it and a local language, and still others speak only the local language. Multiply this across all African countries! What you have, in the final analysis, is linguistic chaos ripe for divisive tribalism.

Despite this, policymakers are attempting to unite Africa through policy initiatives. But what is the chance of success? How can one African truly empathize with another when they cannot even understand each other?

Real leadership demands that hard decisions be made. The African Union should take the lead, and with the cooperation of the Ministers of Education, a chosen language should be taught in all African schools starting from primary education. I am not proposing “linguicide,” as all other languages would remain intact, learned, and culturally passed on to future generations. Nor does this chosen language imply “superiority”; it is simply a means of collective cooperation. All egos, tribalism, and emotions must be put aside, and leaders must be able to make this decision objectively, without regard to ethnic affiliation—a tall order today!

Africa is still linguistically colonized and cannot fully develop as a united body so long as a local language (or a few) is not primary, and European languages remain its main form of communication. Instead of just one, each region could adopt a common language, resulting in five main African languages!

Africa needs a common language (or basket of languages), so its people have a true medium to promote unity and collective progress.

Onward & Upward!

~Dr. Ikenna Ezealah

The Call To The Global African Peoples!

Observing this Chinese Political Scientist speak, do you see how much pride he feels when he authoritatively speaks of China’s development and rise from an agrarian society to an economic behemoth? And how this commands silence from other professionals?

Who among the global African people can boast the same of Africa today? We must struggle today for the burning pride of realized growth as a people! The pride of facing centuries of setbacks and oppression and still soaring to luminous developmental heights like a phoenix!

Africans cannot fully gain that unflinching pride and confidence as a people unless they build something indigenously unique in Africa today, whose beauty and refinement matches and even exceeds foreign developments! Until then, there will always be a lingering doubt in the intuition of the African that needs to either look back to ancient glories to justify itself or look overseas at Africans doing big things in foreign countries! The latter deserves recognition, but it only reinforces the notion that you could only achieve greatness through foreign systems and societies… not yours!

China also boasted of a rich ancient history! But the world mocked: “If you were so great in ancient times, then prove yourself in the modern era!” Under Deng Xiaoping, who became paramount leader in 1978, China responded by initiating revolutionary economic reforms that catalyzed their transformation into the behemoth we see today! The ancient dragon of China resurrected and silenced all doubt!

Now Africa, the world smirks and mocks you as being a developmental pariah! What is your response? Debates of slavery and colonization are losing their luster! Valorizing ancient African glories has value, but those were achievements of our ancestors, we in the modern era must prove ourselves! The Law of Universal Movement demands continual proof of capacity through constant progress and development! Onwards, ever onwards must be the forward drive to prove ourselves ever anew!

Only applied potential and realized capacity that brings a new standard of excellence through ennobled indigenous developments will empower African people with radiant pride and confidence, and also silence the mocking and doubts! Only deeds and original accomplishments as a people will do this!

Builders of the African Future, there is absolutely no other way to achieve this but through diligently harnessing the immense talents and capacity of the global African peoples, then strategically applying its unified power in the organized framework of a developmental vision that unleashes Africa’s modern potential and gives the world a marvel to behold! No matter how daunting the challenge, let us stand up courageously and brace ourselves to meet it as a united force for the transformative good! For Africa can and must rise!

…Hence the call to nation-building!

Onward & Upward!

~Dr. Ikenna Ezealah