Why The Forbes Africa List is Bad for Africa

[Moses Ebe Ochonu]

I gave a paper last week to the Cambridge University Economic History Seminar in which, among other things, I argued tangentially that the Forbes list of richest Africans, which debuted in 2011, has been terrible for Africa because it has:

1) Created a fetish of big name billionaire entrepreneurs as economic messiahs who should be coddled and propitiated.

2) Stifled efforts to scrutinize these billionaire entrepreneurs' dealings, and their shady entwinements with governments.

 

3) Overhyped the extent to which entrepreneurship is a catalyst for national economic revival to the neglect of the idea of the developmental state that has worked elsewhere and used to be part of the conversation in Africa.

4) Absolved African states of their responsibilities to citizens who have been re-socialized in this neoliberal world of ours to believe that the state owes them nothing and that they can all pull themselves up by their own entrepreneurial bootstraps.

5) Created a desperation on the part of entrepreneurs to "join or move up on the Forbes Africa list," which is authorizing corruption, the cutting of corners, and exploitative practices.

6) Obscured other measures of success and entrepreneurial accomplishment, some of which are unquantifiable.

I made several other provocative arguments. The great Anthony Hopkins took me to task on some of my points, and Gareth Austin had some excellent corroborative and critical comments and suggestions. The paper generated quite an engaged and productive conversation. 

I may have to write a separate essay on dangers of the Forbes List-Dangote effect for Africa.

[Femi Segun]

Wow. I like this line of thought and arguments. I presented a paper on Afrocapitalism and Developmental Regionalism at a conference in South Africa seven years ago. I used Dangote as an example of Afrocapitalism. But late Professor Pius Adesanmi took me on and raised the same issue you raised in your paper: Dangote's model is state-supported capitalism that breeds cronyism.  The monopoly that he enjoys and the concessions that he receives from the government over the years have stilted competition. My eyes got opened and I remembered an experience I had when I was in the private sector.  On my way from Paris in 2002, I met a UK -based  Nigerian in -flight and we exchanged contacts.  Two years after, he reached out to me to say he got a big contract from Illovo Sugar to be the distributor in the UK and Africa. He asked if I can carry out market feasibility on the viability of introducing   Illovo sugar to  Nigeria. Pronto, I went to town and made some calls. I was reliably informed that the powerful cartel controlling the sugar industry in Nigeria, of which Dangote is the leader will not allow the importation or the profitability of the product in Nigeria. That was the end of the big contract. But to take the argument further, what can we say about the Chaebol in South Korea? Although there are also arguments against that part of the export-led industrialization in South Korea, it appeared state-supported capitalism contributed to the high level of development in that country. Apart from the neoliberal argument that the state should provide infrastructure and maintain law and order, given the low level of capital mobilization in Africa, how can the state in Africa support the growth of the business sector within the context of the developmental state that you raised above? 

Femi

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[Toyin Falola]

China? The state funds many of the companies that you see abroad.

In the US, your tax money ultimately ends in the pockets of private businesses…they call it military-industrial complex.

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[Oluwatoyin Adepoju]

beautiful discussion

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[OLAYINKA AGBETUYI]

Omoba:

I have said the creation of the Dangote blueprint was the main reason the Kano Mafia led by Maitama Sule instigated the annulment of the 1993 elections through the supported coup of home boy Sanni Abacha..

Even the plea of the  erstwhile business associate of Sule the late Ooni Sijuwade to Sule to support its actualisation fell on deaf ears.

It was the reason Aare Abiola was assassinated in captivity:  so he would not be able to mount an effective challenge to the Cartel. ( Maitama Sule was reported to have said Aare Abiola should not be allowed to come out of jail alive!)

This is the sort of prebendal politics northern Nigerian power brokers play.

The chickens have now come to roost as they are now using the bile to destroy most of the North. 

OAA

Sent from my Galaxy

-------- Original message --------

From: Femi Segun <solor...@gmail.com>

Date: 23/03/2021 15:46 (GMT+00:00)

To: 'Chika Onyeani' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Why The Forbes Africa List is Badfor Africa

This message is eligible for Automatic Cleanup! (solor...@gmail.com) Add cleanup rule | More info

Wow. I like this line of thought and arguments. I presented a paper on Afrocapitalism and Developmental Regionalism at a conference in South Africa seven years ago. I used Dangote as an example of Afrocapitalism. But late Professor Pius Adesanmi took me on and raised the same issue you raised in your paper: Dangote's model is state-supported capitalism that breeds cronyism.  The monopoly that he enjoys and the concessions that he receives from the government over the years have stilted competition. My eyes got opened and I remembered an experience I had when I was in the private sector.  On my way from Paris in 2002, I met a UK -based  Nigerian in -flight and we exchanged contacts.  Two years after, he reached out to me to say he got a big contract from Illovo Sugar to be the distributor in the UK and Africa. He asked if I can carry out market feasibility on the viability of introducing   Illovo sugar to  Nigeria. Pronto, I went to town and made some calls. I was reliably informed that the powerful cartel controlling the sugar industry in Nigeria, of which Dangote is the leader will not allow the importation or the profitability of the product in Nigeria. That was the end of the big contract. But to take the argument further, what can we say about the Chaebol in South Korea? Although there are also arguments against that part of the export-led industrialization in South Korea, it appeared state-supported capitalism contributed to the high level of development in that country. Apart from the neoliberal argument that the state should provide infrastructure and maintain law and order, given the low level of capital mobilization in Africa, how can the state in Africa support the growth of the business sector within the context of the developmental state that you raised above? 

Femi

On Mon, Mar 22, 2021 at 7:26 PM Moses Ebe Ochonu <meoc...@gmail.com> wrote:

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