Discussion Forum

An inquiry into how Africa’s “Vicious Cycle” can be broken;
and on micro-loans.

A piece of correspondence with Ms. Lisa Gallagher, President, Bridge Capital Foundation.

From: Lisa M. Gallagher
Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2007 2:24 PM
To: info@africawecare.org
Subject: Vicious Cycle

Dr. Chukwuemeka Obiajunwa,

Please let us know how you feel Africa's "Vicious Cycle" can be broken. What are your thoughts on micro-loans?

Lisa Gallagher
Bridge Capital Foundation
http://www.bridgecapitalfoundation.org

(below is my response)

Ms. Lisa Gallagher:

Thank you for your email of inquiry: breaking Africa’s “Vicious Cycle”; and my thoughts on “Micro-Loans”. I am going to be very brief in addressing these issues in this email. I am prepared to offer you an expansive expatiation should you want me to do so at a later time.

On the issue of the “Vicious Cycle”; we are all familiar with the age old adage that you give a beggar a fish you feed him for a day; but give him a line, bet, hook, sinker, and teach him to fish and you have fed him for ever. When it comes to Africa, why are the armies of aid agencies, I cynically refer to as ‘so-called-do-gooders’ parading about not heeding this time-tested wisdom? I do not know about you, but the reason is quite obvious.

What Africa needs is empowerment opportunity rather than charity. At best, no human being wants charity or to be a charity case (as charity in itself is debasing, dehumanizing, and demoralizing); at worst, charity creates a culture of dependency. And the so-called-do-gooders have created and fostered a culture of dependency in Africa; which has led to helplessness, hopelessness and powerlessness.

The disease-riddled, flies-infested African children we always see on television have become the merchandise hawked about and around by the so-called-do-gooder aid agencies. How many times a day are we solicited to make a donation of a dollar because ‘one dollar will feed a family of five Africans for a week’.

I do not want to be carried away here, as you may be well aware as to what ‘Africa’s “Vicious Cycle”’ is. But the fact is that the condition of the African children is not the problem: it is rather the thick bellowing smoke touching the heavens. The mammoth conflagration producing this thick bellowing smoke are the parents of these children that, from year to year have not made or earned a dollar. Children are God’s gift to parents; and they are the best suited to take care of their children. But alas! They are not able to fulfill their God given obligation and responsibility because they have not worked in years; and their job prospects are non-existent. In this milieu, marches in the so-called-do-gooders herding out the children from their ram-shackled hovels of mud and straw huts to feed, clothe, medicate, and educate these children; after which they are returned back to the same environment that has not changed in years. And these same children will be the next in line to bring up the next generation of disease-riddled, flies-infested children to be fed, clothed, medicated, and educated by the so-called-do-gooders. This syndrome is what I call the perpetuation of the “Vicious Cycle”.

They best way I know how to break the “Vicious Cycle” is through investment in gainful productive economic activity: investment in sustainable projects that employs African people so that they can make the dollar themselves. Making the dollar themselves, by itself alone restores their basic human dignity; makes them regain their self esteem. It enables them take charge of their lives; and makes it possible for them to take care of their families.

There is close to 80% unemployment in all of Africa. There are millions upon millions of young African men and women; able-bodied and well educated, often with university degrees who cannot find jobs of any kind. By any economic model, we have full employment here in Canada. You very well know the employment situation here in Alberta. Employers routinely go for recruitment drives in Europe and Asia. Why don’t they go to Africa? I know why. But this is not the forum for that discussion.

There is another age old adage that says that the best way to help a poor person is not to give him of your wealth but to show him a way to his own. These well-educated and able-bodied African men and women brought here to Alberta would not only ease our dire labour crunch; but the wages they earn will be remitted back to their families in Africa. With one stone you would kill a lot of birds at the same time – an African saying. The case of the Philippines (nannies) comes to mind as the cultures are akin.

I feel that Africa’s Vicious Cycle can be broken by investing in gainful productive sustainable projects in Africa. And I say investment as oppose to donation: make it business investments where the investor will recoup his / her investment capital with reasonable returns on investment. You see, throughout the history of man, no country, no region of the world has ever developed without commerce and industry. This augurs well to the question of “Micro-Loan”. Africa can only develop through commerce and industry engendered by investment in sustainable projects of community-based organizations, one village, one community at a time.

The traditional aid to Africa by the rich countries like Canada has failed the African people because they have by-passed, neglected, and marginalized the African people and given their aid money to corrupt African leaders who siphoned the aid money to their foreign bank accounts. According to a Senate of Canada report published some time last year, CIDA has nothing to show for its 50 years of aid programs to Africa. All the traditional aid agencies working in Africa are only interested in their own vested interests and do not care about the African people. They are not interested in solving the problem, but rather in perpetuating the Vicious Cycle, that way they have jobs. The Christian evangelizers ought to be building factories in Africa instead of building churches that enslave the African people the more. Don’t get me wrong, I am a Christian myself. The African leaders are nothing but bandits; and their heads of state are the bandits-in-chief. Governments in Africa exist only to fleece the African people rather than care for them.

I have written more than I intended to. But please forgive me as I cannot help it when I speak from my heart; and I do speak what I do know, which is the truth as I know it.

And now for the “Micro-Loan: my thoughts are as deep as well. But suffice it to say that everywhere I go in Africa, I am confronted by Africans, mostly women who present me with viable business plans but lacking in start up capitals. In January/February 2007, I was in Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa. In June/July 2007, I was in Nigeria, Benin and Togo. Invariably and in all cases, the amount of capital required to kick-start a viable business activity and enterprise would range from $100 to $1200. And these would be repayable loans, mind you. All they need is an opportunity to be empowered to take off to gainful productive economic activity that would enable them regain their basic human dignity, restore their self esteem; make it possible for them to take charge of their lives, and take care of their families. One would think that traditional aid agencies would gear their financial aid programs in this direction. African parents do not need these so-called-do-gooder aid agencies to take their children from them to feed, clothe, medicate and educate. They can best take care of their families if only they are given the empowerment opportunity. And “Micro-Loan” can provide the empowerment opportunity.

I am so sorry I have taken so many words to address your inquiry. I hope I will hear from you again. I have taken the liberty to look up your organization on the web. It is very impressive what you are doing and set up to do. I wish you the very best. Thank you very kindly for caring.

Sincerely,

Chukwuemeka Obiajunwa
Executive Director
Africa We Care