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

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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

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.

Brookings Meekly Explores Africa’s 2014 Priorities with an Eminent Panel on #ForesightAfrica

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Africa in 2014, African Development, Bright Simons, Brookings Institution, Central Africa, Congo, George Clooney, IT in Africa, John McArthur, John Prendergast, Makhtar Diop, Robin Sanders, Senegal, World Bank

From L to R: McArthur, Diop, Sanders, Simons, Prendergast, and Sy (who is cut off)

Yesterday, I ventured down the street to the Brookings Institution for my first policy event of the year, ‘Top Priorities for Africa in 2014.’  The panelists (of which there was a large number) were quite impressive: Former US Ambassador to Nigeria and the Congo, Robin Sanders, Co-Founder of the Enough Project, John Prendergast, Bright Simons, President of a technology start-up in Ghana, Makhtar Diop, VP for Africa at the World Bank, and Amadou Sy, a Senegalese resident at Brookings.  John McArthur did an able job filling in for the flu-stricken Helene Cooper as moderator.

While it was good to get back in the swing of things and hear from the prominent speakers, the broad nature of the topic, the large number of panelists, and the limited time available led to a lot of broad generalizations and generic prescriptions for the continent’s development.  As I’ve said at similar events before, I’m sure that most of those in the audience would have been qualified to make the same remarks.

‘It’s Time to Move to the Next Level’: The President of the African Development Bank on the Era of iTunes & Africa’s Colonial History

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Africa Rising, African Development Bank, Brookings Institution, Donald Kaberuka, Homi Kharas, iTunes Africa, Jendayi Frazer

Kaberuka at Right

I ducked in today for most of ‘A New Agenda for African Development Finance in the 21st Century: A Conversation with African Development Bank (AfDB) President Donald Kaberuka‘ at the Brookings Institution. Opening remarks were delivered by Homi Kharas of Brookings, who reinforced my previous positive perceptions and noted that Africa is growing in general – its economy, population, and cities.

He quickly turned things over to Kaberuka, whose comments rather impressed me,

Boredom as Brookings Examines the Future of the African Union

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Africa Growth Initiative, African integration, Alan Spence, Amina Salum Ali, AU Ambassador to the US, bored DC interns, Brookings Institution, Marcelo Giugale, World Bank, World Bank Congo egg study

Yesterday I (and presumably the other attendees as well) suffered through a rather pedantic set of platitudes as the Ambassador of the African Union to the US, Amina Salum Ali, a high ranking World Bank staffer, Marcelo Giugale, and a media professional, Alan Spence expounded  in the most generic ways possible (for the most part) about African development, or ‘The Next 50 years of the African Union‘, as the event was billed (there was another scheduled panelist who did not show and no explanation was provided).  In the defense of the speakers, I suppose that a vague topic results in vague observations.

The Brookings Institution Tackles the US, China, and Africa

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Brookings Institution, China in Africa, He Wenping, Niger, Sino - Africa, Witney Schneidman

I first became interested in Chinese engagement in Africa while living in Niger.  My favorite restaurant in Niamey (the capital) was Chinese and much of my kitchenware came from a Chinese shop in the city of Zinder, near where I lived.  Youth in Zinder occasionally greeted me (a caucasian male) in Chinese.  The Chinese were also constructing a large embassy while I was in the country, using predominantly Chinese labor.

The Brookings Institution convened several experts yesterday to discuss The U.S., China and Africa: Pursuing Trilateral Dialogue and Action.  I couldn’t make it, but read Winslow Robertson’s post on the event.

African Growth Pt. II: The View of the World Bank and the Brookings Institution

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Brookings Institution, Cell Phones in Africa, Gabon development, Homi Kharas, Pravin Gordhan, Shanta Devarajan, World Bank Africa

While the South Africa Minister of Finance was the primary speaker at the Brookings Institution’s April 17 event on “Inequality and Inclusive Growth in Africa”, Shanta Devarajan, the Chief Economist for Africa at the World Bank and Homi Kharas, the Deputy Director of the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution were also present.  While Mr. Kharas made some very insightful comments I was thoroughly displeased my Mr. Devarajan’s approach (although to be fair, the Finance Minister took up the vast majority of the time so I do not have to much material to evaluate the others).

Following Minister Gordhan’s remarks, Homi Kharas posed some very concerning questions about Africa’s growth.  While the statistics point to