True, all animals may be equal but some are more equal than others
Monday December 13 2021
Covid-19 vaccines. The emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and swiftness of nations to lock out South Africa only makes one wonder what would have happened if instead of China, the original virus originated from Africa. FILE PHOTO | AFP
Last month, the co-chair of the African Union Vaccines Delivery Alliance, Dr Ayoade Alakija, made Africa proud. As old schoolmates and alumni of the International School, Ibadan, Nigeria, she made us all proud as she expressed what many have known but have been silent about. She said George Orwell got it right where vaccines are concerned: All animals are equal but some are more equal than others.
The emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and swiftness of nations to lock out South Africa only makes one wonder what would have happened if instead of China, the original virus originated from Africa. The developed world would have locked us out and thrown away the key. There would have been no urgency to develop vaccines and Africa would have become the Covid continent. She said that the travel bans are based on politics and not science and urged African leaders to stand up and make their voices heard. However, compromised leaders cannot any their voice. That is the root of our problems.
Misplaced priorities
People stay poor not because they have not had money or opportunity but because of misplaced priorities. When the priority in handling resources is appearances rather than build substance, the end of/for such people or nations will not be different from those who lacked money and/or opportunity.
For instance, when the seat of Nigeria’s government was moved from Lagos to Abuja, several properties like the Federal Secretariat were available for repurposing. Unfortunately, some of these lie rotting away while billions are approved for new projects that could easily have been executed in some of these old buildings.
One may ask, “Wale what is the connection between the Federal Secretariat in Lagos and the omicron variant and developed nations shutting Africa out?”
Think of the billions spent on projects that were simply not necessary but which were executed anyhow. Think of the logic behind some of these new projects. The truth is that many of them are nothing more than vanity projects.
There is enormous value in plugging holes of waste and learning to get our priorities right as a people. Think of how much can be freed up on the continent if each regime does not insist on trashing old projects and initiating their own.
We are not poor even if other nations see Africa as the dispensable pests of the world. When Africa gets its priorities right, no one will be able to ignore us, push us around or shut the door on us.
We have a culture that celebrates what you have regardless of how you get it. When people find themselves in public office, they simply continue to do what they already perfected in their closets.
Feeding vanity
What if the legislative arm of government sets up sustainability committees that must give a minimum of a 50-year justification for government projects before funding can be approved? What if they enact laws that forbid projects from being abandoned simply for political reasons? The cash that we could have spent on R&D, on roads and infrastructure that will serve nations for generations is buried in some fancy projects that serve the egos of some people.
So, yes the world will indeed shut the door on Africa and throw away the key but guess what? We brought this on ourselves and we can fix it. When we get our priorities right, our realities will change.
Wale Akinyemi is the convenor of the Street University (www.thestreetuniversity.com) and chief transformation officer, PowerTalks; [email protected]