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Category Archives: DC Corridors of Power

A Day on Capitol Hill with Young African Leaders, Power Africa, and the Library of Congress

28 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by africaindc in DC Corridors of Power, Events, Uncategorized

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Africa Policy Breakfast Series, Cote d'Ivoire, Ex-Im Bank, General Electric, Ghana, Heirs Holdings, IVLP, Karen Bass, Liberia Newspapers, Mimi Alemayehou, OPIC, Power Africa, Power Africa focus countries selection criteria, Rwanda, Shaka Ssali, Symbion Power, Togo, Tony Elumelu, YALI

YALI Breakfast

The room was dominated by portraits of old white men, including one holding a poodle.

Yesterday feelings of patriotism stirred in my bosom as I attended the Africa Policy Breakfast Series sponsored by Rep. Karen Bass (D – CA), a two panel Senate hearing on Power Africa, and I then passed a few hours reading Liberian newspapers at the Library of Congress before venturing over to New America and Arizona State.  It still strikes me as pretty cool that I can rub shoulders with prominent dignitaries and attend congressional hearings in person.

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William Garvelink, Former DRC Ambassador Has an Interesting, Short-sighted Perspective

27 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by africaindc in DC Corridors of Power, Events

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CSIS, DRC, Joseph Kabila, Laurent Kabila, Resilience, US Policy in the Congo, William Garvelink

Listening to a live webcast of a CSIS event on ‘Resilience: Learning from Practice Across the Development Spectrum‘ I was struck by the comments of Ambassador William Garvelink, who represented US interests in the DRC from 2007 – 2010 (I also still have no idea what Resilience is, but that’s another matter).

Garvelink noted that 2013 was a good year for the Congo and that generally, the country is moving in the right direction.  This instantly raised flags for me as the current president of the DRC is in office as a result of a successful armed rebellion against the State and presided over a deeply flawed election in 2011 (in which he changed the constitution to make his election easier – the same thing that Abdoulaye Wade tried unsuccessfully to do the following year and which garnered much criticism).

Although his time was limited, Garvelink also managed to obfuscate history, noting that as Rwanda and Uganda attempted to overthrow the Congolese government, the Kabila administration is justifiably more concerned with its survival than everyday governance (bizarrely, he even gave kudos to Angola and Zimbabwe for saving the government).

In my view, the very fact that the Kabila administration came to power through an armed insurrection (originally aided by Uganda and Rwanda before they changed sides) provides a challenge to its legitimacy and weakens its credibility.  Coming to power through force will mean that continued violence remains a strong possibility and that one’s interests in governing are likely perverted.

It’s generally agreed that US support for the egomaniacal Mobutu for several decades was detrimental to the development of the DR Congo.  I think there’s a very good chance that history will tell the same story with the US support for the Kabila’s.  Intriguingly, according to Wikipedia, Ambassador Garvelink pursued doctoral studies in history.

Historians generally have perspective.  Ambassador Garvelink and perhaps US policy to the Congo on the whole, seems to lack this trait.

 

 

‘Africans Don’t Need us to Bring Anything…We’re Just the Catalyst’: Bureau of African Affairs Head Speaks at Nigerian Embassy

27 Thursday Feb 2014

Posted by africaindc in DC Corridors of Power, Events, Uncategorized

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Ade Adefuye, Africa Society, Bernadette Paolo, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Embassy of Nigeria in US, Goodluck Jonathan, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Nigeria, Peter Tosh, Power Africa, South Sudan, Trade Africa, US - Africa Summit, YALI

2014-02-26 19.25.07

Yesterday, the Africa Society hosted Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, at the Embassy of Nigeria.  The event was originally slated for December, but postponed when the Secretary traveled to the Central African Republic to deal with the crisis there. Although I was fatigued from a new job and illness I ventured out in the evening after work to hear if there would be any interesting observations given the recent suspension of Nigeria’s highly suspected Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi, state criminalization of homosexuality in Nigeria, and the appearance of increasing autocracy from Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.

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‘The Old Man is Being Crazy Now’: NED Democracy Fellow Thiat on Hip-Hop and Activism in Senegal

31 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by africaindc in DC Corridors of Power, Events, Uncategorized

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Abdoulaye Wade, African conscious hip-hop, Angola, Cheikh Niang, DOs Santos, Gambia, Kaolack, Keur Gui, Mugabe, Senegal, Thiat, West Africa integration, Zimbabwe

Thiat (R)

Thiat (R)

I recently heard Charles Mangongera, NED Democracy Fellow, deliver remarks on Zimbabwe.  Yesterday, I heard his colleague, Thiat, speak on Y’en a Marre: Youth and Social Engagement in Senegal in the same room.  Thiat provided a brief history of the emergence of Y’en a Marre, its opposition to President Wade’s unconstitutional efforts to seek a third term, and his future aims and objectives.

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‘The Assurance I Will Give You Here’….Attahiru Jega, Nigeria Electoral Commission Chair at CSIS

28 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by africaindc in DC Corridors of Power, Events, Uncategorized

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Ambassador Campbell, Attahiru Jega, Brookings Institution, CSIS Africa Program, elections in Africa, Ford Foundation, Goodluck Jonathan, INEC Nigeria, Johnnie Carson, Kingsley Moghalu, Nigeria, Nigeria election, NYSC

2014-01-27 10.55.30

CSIS launched its Nigeria Election Forum, with support from the Ford Foundation, yesterday on the theme of ‘Preparing for Nigeria’s 2015 Elections: Key Challenges and Priorities.’  Attahiru Jega, the Chair of Nigeria’s Electoral Comission (INEC) was the keynote speaker and took up well over half of the allotted two hours.  A panel of Nigerian civil society activists followed, alas I had to return to work and was not able to hear their remarks. Continue reading →

DMV Nigerians Rally for President Goodluck Jonathan

26 Sunday Jan 2014

Posted by africaindc in DC Corridors of Power, News, Uncategorized

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DMV Nigerians, Goodluck Jonathan, GSG USA, Nigeria, Nigeria elections, Nigerian Politics, PDP, Sllver Spring

Browsing the web this weekend, I discovered a Facebook page, as well as a website for a ‘Goodluck Support Group USA – DC/MD/VA’.  With elections due in Nigeria next year, Goodluck Jonathan’s party the, People’s Democratic Party, has been rocked by a wave of prominent defections and the abrupt resignation of its Chairman.  On the international scene, Jonathan has been widely criticized for signing anti-gay legislation.

It certainly seems like Jonathan is in need of some support and good luck.  I don’t see too many specifics on the support group, but they plan to host a politics and pancakes breakfast, hold mobilization meetings, and a town hall gathering in June (which as the Sierra Leone government learned in Silver Spring, has the potential to backfire).  They are also soliciting volunteers.

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  • Vigorous Discourse on Angolan Governance at NED February 23, 2016
  • Farewell DC! April 26, 2014
  • Africa at Beltway Plaza Mall, Greenbelt MD April 23, 2014
  • Ghanaian/Diaspora Film from Akosua Adowa Owusu at the Anacostia Arts Center April 23, 2014
  • Sierra Leone Independence Celebrations in DC April 18, 2014
  • Freedom House Africa Head on Kenya’s Political Trajectory April 10, 2014
  • CSIS: A Western Journalist Speaks on the Congo and a Former US Ambassador in the DRC Obliquely Criticizes Rwanda April 4, 2014

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