By George Bamu

I thought I needed to be old enough

But, I realized I was old enough

To make the decisions that I make

About my life; my career, my future.

When each day passes, life moves on

We live our lives, not knowing that time passes

We do not have to wait for tomorrow

To make the decisions of today.

Like many Africans around the globe; from London, Harare, Yaoundé, Denver and Chicago, among others, I have been watching the FIFA 2010 World cup with a sense of excitement and nostalgia. Africans have been watching with particular curiosity because the World cup is one of those barometers being used to measure success for the continent.  Even before the finals, the judgment call is already out.

To me, it is clear; the actions of the African governments being represented by their teams, players and officials have been thoroughly scrutinized. And rightly so. The scrutiny comes from everyone; those with high expectations that African teams will represent Africans well and those with little knowledge about the economics and politics of African soccer. For Afro skeptics, it is time to nail the countries, the teams and their leaders. For the optimists, perhaps the bar has been raised a little higher and everyone is looking up, whether the countries reach the bar or not. African leaders, beware!

I must confess that I did watch every game in which Algeria, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana and South Africa played. Some of us who love the continent and yet find ourselves living elsewhere other than in our native countries, many of us are in America watching our teams play; sometimes, we would sneak time out of our work schedules to catch the games. Except for those professional soccer analysts on big name TV outlets who get paid to watch and analyze the games, the glimpses of South Africa 2010 have been something to be proud about.  That is what I think.

Not just when African teams win, but in many other aspects.  Soccer is no longer a European game, it is an African game and Africans love it and live it.

The Nigerian government banned its team from future participation in international soccer tournaments for two years because of the teams dismal performance, Paul Le Guen proved that he could not handle infighting within the Cameroonian team, Ghana beat the U.S.A and reached the quarter finals before elimination by Uruguay, the French continue to blame their national team for not representing them well, Argentina was eliminated by Germany with a 4-0 beating at the Semi’s, the horns continue to blare with each soccer matchup. I love the noise produced by those horns. Sounds to me like something that makes South Africa 2010 unique in its own right. Let’s take those horns to the next Broncos or Nuggets game.

While soccer, the beauty of the South African nation, South Africa’s exemplary leadership in organizing the games, remains the focus of Afro optimists, the Afro pessimists were out digging for bad news around Africa. Yes, the skeptics in the western media obsess about poverty, AIDS and crime in Soweto and Johannesburg, and not about progress that the continent has made in the face of daunting challenges.

Thinking and looking forward, we are planning the launching of a revamped organization, a more robust website and methods to stay afloat as a vibrant twenty first century organization.
It used to be that when business leaders and entrepreneurs talked about downsizing, everyone would be thinking about job losses, pay cuts and relocations only. It’s part of planning and the need to stay solvent but actually, it goes beyond that. Certainly, if you are coming from outside, one with little or no experience about what it takes to run an organization, small or large, it would seem it is all about pain and losses for the workers. Beyond that, it’s also about strategy, best practices, competitive advantage, and viability.

This is at the core of the thought processes of our Africa Agenda organization after five years of existence. We are young, small, lack the big name recognition in the nonprofit world. We have done some work for our community, elevated discussion about Africa to a new level; at least we’ve showed that we are a serious organization.

To become the future that we dream of, a sustainable organization, a credible niche Africa information portal, we’ve got to rid our self of empty talk, fight back misinformation about Africa, project a stronger and more positive image of Africa, bridge the knowledge and information gap about Africa and help build a great continent. How are we going to do this? With more presence, more information about Africa. Let a thousand African flowers bloom!

Sounds wonderful? More to come.

Join us!

News Media 2010; ad revenue for African American magazines fell 21.8% to 252 million in 2009, reported 6.5% decline for Jet and 10% decline for Ebony. Read PEW’s State of the News Media for more.

“Winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time.”
“Extra ordinary benefits acrue to the tiny majority of people who are able to push just a tiny bit longer than most.”
“Its easy to be a CEO. What is hard is getting there. There is a hugh dip along the way.”
“If its worth doing, there is probably a dip. The dip creates scarcity; scarcity creates value.”
“The cul de sac and the cliff are the curves that lead to failure.”
“If you want to be a superstar, then you need to find a field with a steep dip-a barrier between those who try and those who succeed”

“a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, which takes a close look at the news ecosystem of one city suggests that while the news landscape has rapidly expanded, most of what the public learns is still overwhelmingly driven by traditional media—particularly newspapers.”

Read More….

***Open book study: 1 hour. Please see questions at end of the page.
You are welcome to supplement your reading with material outside of the text book.

What recently happened in Niger and what are the consequences:
The reverberations of a “soft coup” which occurred in the Uranium rich nation of Niger are just about reaching their intended destination, those now in positions of power throughout Africa and those who aspire for leadership there, and yet it is hardly believable that coup d’états are still en vogue in Africa.

On Thursday February 18, “President Mamadou Tandja was deposed and the government dissolved”, according to reporting from the BBC. Reports hold that the president is safe, while being help in the service quarters of the presidency.

Soft, lackluster condemnation or lack thereof, about the use of force, undemocratic means to remove a legitimate government from power is what remains in question in the Niger imbroglio.

“The US said it believed the coup had been triggered by Mr. Tandja’s actions last August, when he held a controversial referendum to abolish limits on presidential terms of office.
”, according to reports from the BBC

Constitution, elections, what caused the coup?
For all who are tuned in to the developments in Niger and the resultant reaction from other world leaders and organizations, the crisis has brought to the fore many more questions about governance in African nations.

Questions?
1. Should President Mamadou Tandja have known that his own military could step in if he tried to stay in office longer that the constitution mandated?
2. Could fears of the military stepping in have prevented the actions of the president in helping modify Niger’s constitution in 2009?
3. Which African nation(s) are in a similar position that Niger found itself prior to the military taking measures of their own.
4. Under what circumstances should citizens of a nation not condemn a military coup for what it is, a coup, the forceful removal of an elected president and government?
5. Who benefits from the Niger coup; the citizens of Niger, the military or the opposition parties?
6. Are military coups inevitable, predictable or stoppable in some African nations?
7. Under what conditions can better democracy flourish in many African nations

While the nonprofit sector is, and should be, a rich source of innovative approaches to important challenges, it is not simply a space in which to “let a thousand flowers bloom.” Any experimental approaches should be grounded in a careful review of the best known practices.

If you go forward without careful consideration, you run a high risk of failure that may poison the well for others trying to address the same issues, not to mention hurting the very people or issues you seek to support.”

Source: What you need to know before statring a non profit.
A Project of the California Management Assistance Partnership.

http://www.cnmdallas.org/downloads/GetReadyGetSet_StartingNonprofit.pdf

Here is what I have been thinking lately:

Case in point: Haiti

The earthquake that has crippled the nation of Haiti, has led to many questions about the past, present and future of that country.

What could the government of Haiti have done differently if they knew the earthquake was near? The earthquake was predicted but no one thought it could happen in January of 2010.

What if? The questions are many and the answers are few.

Are our own African governments ready to deal with the many “What If’ scenarios which plaque them every day? Would African leaders lead better if they knew what might come their way?

A tsunami, genocide, a landslide, a volcano, an uprising, a military coup, tribal warfare, a disputed presidential election, a constitutional crisis, a failed government, a terrorist attack, etc

What if?

What possibilities exist that those who now govern our African nations haven’t thought of yet? How Can African Leaders Engage Powerful Questions?

The Art of Powerful Questions: Catalyzing Insight, Innovation and Action. By Eric V. Vogt, Juanita Brown and David Isaacs, just might help.

Enjoy reading!