My TEDTalk is out this week! I talk about how great power competition could hinder the world's ability to fight climate change and induce a destructive scramble for resources, and I outline steps to take to avert that dystopian future. via
@TEDTalks
Oh my God!! My book, “Economic Diversification in Nigeria: the Politics of Building a Post-Oil Economy” was selected by the
@FinancialTimes
as one of the Best books on Economics for 2022!!!
I am so thrilled and overjoyed and happy!!!
This just arrived! My book, “Economic Diversification in Nigeria: the Politics of Building a Post-Oil Economy” is out in < 2 weeks.
The digital copy is open access and available for free
I have some discount vouchers for those who want to purchase the print copy
More to come
This is utterly ridiculous! How did a trivial issue of someone posting photos on their private social media account turn into a “blasphemy case” over comments made by social media trolls. This is vicious misogyny at its worst. Hope we all rally round and defend Rahma Sadau.
I'm so excited to announce that I am joining the
@CarnegieEndow
for Int'l Peace as inaugural Director of the new Africa program!
The program will provide insights on economic, political, technological & transnational issues shaping
#Africa
’s future
Last week, I had one of the greatest honors of my life when I addressed, as guest speaker, the distinguished participants of the
@USAfricaCommand
’s annual Chiefs of Defense conference. Drawing on our work at
@AfricaCarnegie
, I spoke about “Africa’s Changing Global Role” 1/
We are pleased to announce that Zainab Usman (
@MssZeeUsman
) is joining the Carnegie Endowment as a senior fellow and director of our new Africa program.
When I tweet on Nigeria, I need to remember to restrict replies to the tweet to people I follow. Unfortunately many cannot disagree in civility anymore. You either align with their POV or they brand you an enemy and shower you with insults and threats. Strange.
Ghana becomes the latest country in the Global South to announce a transition minerals policy.
Ghana’s Green Minerals Policy "demands that not a single volume of lithium produced in this country will be allowed to be exported in its raw state."
Pleased to announce that my book "Economic Diversification in Nigeria: the Politics of Building a Post-Oil Economy" is published! Available in:
- Hardcover
- Open-access ebook
Discount code + other info 🧵1/
Hoping the
#Nigerian
government, including state governors, immediately address the extremely disturbing reports and videos of the targeting and killing of innocent
#citizens
in Oyo State. Immediate action needed to prevent escalation and reprisals. Sad. Deplorable.
In the new year, we should leave old baggage behind.
But the specious argument in this article with its offensive title, “The world economy’s biggest problem is Africa” reminiscent of The Economist’s “the Hopeless Continent”, needs to be tackled 🧵 1/
Here’s a sneak-peak of the cover of my forthcoming book “Economic Diversification in Nigeria: The Politics of Building a Post-Oil Economy”!
I just received the updated cover from my editors at
@ZedBooks
/
@BloomsburyBooks
The book is available from around Jan 2022. Stay tuned!!
What a week! Such an honor to testify before the U.S. congress
@HouseForeign
with
@WalterAKerr
&
@Prof_Yadav_SCM
. I proposed 3 principles to guide the modernization of U.S. int'l development assistance
My written statement:
Video:
Finished and submitted my book manuscript to my publisher a several days ago. What a big relief! At some point, working on it felt like I was writing a second PhD thesis and I cursed myself several times... 😅
I can see sunshine, flowers, spice, and everything nice now. 😊
Call for scholarship applications: The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program to study for a master degree
Open to citizens of developing countries to study at universities in U.S., Africa & Japan
Apply by 11 April 2019
via
@WorldBank
Nigeria needs to take a serious and hard look at itself in the mirror. The level of chaos and disorganization is truly unprecedented. Something is seriously and terribly broken somewhere. And a sizeable segment of the political and intellectual elite is in deep denial - when you
The World Trade Organization is accepting applications for its Young Professionals Program 2022.
Eligible candidates from developing and least-developed countries under 32 years, by Jan 2022, are encouraged to apply
Deadline: April 29 2021
Well, Nigeria, time for some serious introspection and soul-searching.
The Nigerian ambassador to the USA is 85+ years old. At this critical juncture!!
There’s just no other way of sugar-coating this, but we’re really not serious
Breaking: The Trump administration is banning immigration from Nigeria and three other countries as part of an expansion of its policy restricting travel from some nations
Fully-funded PhD opportunity at the University of Manchester on transport equity in the digital age in the Sub-Saharan African context (overseas/Non EU-UK applicants are eligible to apply).
Read details below on eligibility and application details.
The print copy of this just arrived! My chapter is on
#Nigeria
’s
#Oil
Sector. I’m so excited about it! 😁💚 This is just a small piece of my DPhil (PhD) thesis on the “Political Economy of Economic Diversification in Nigeria” Watch this space!!! One down, two to go!! 😎
The proofs for my forthcoming book just came in today!
"Economic Diversification in Nigeria: the Politics of Building a Post-Oil Economy" is out in June 2022 with
@BloomsburyBooks
@BloomsburyPub
@ZedBooks
Excited!
A Chinese mining company formally opened a $300 million lithium processing plant in Zimbabwe, which has one of the world’s largest reserves of the metal as demand surges globally because of its use in electric car batteries. 1/ 🧵
Internship opportunities at the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).
Apply by 01 October
Open to citizens of OFID member countries: (Algeria, Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Venezuela)
So pleased to share my new journal article with
@AfrAfJournal
!!
I argue for a new theoretical lens to conceptualise the episodic bursts of economic reforms in
#Nigeria
that have enabled GDP
#diversification
, but not
#exports
or revenue diversification
Pessimism is easy. Convenient. Because it requires no effort to succumb to our fears. Imposes no responsibility to act.
Optimism is much harder. Disruptive. Because it requires effort to see the silver lining. It requires real work to translate vision to action to results
You cannot fight oppression with bigotry. You cannot fight injustice with prejudice. It just never works. You end up recreating the very problems you fought against. The freedom fighters who are unable to understand this basic fact always, without exception, become super villains
I pray daily for: courage to understand the limits of my knowledge, wisdom to defer to the expertise of those who know better and the humility to learn.
There’s nothing as embarrassing as being unaware of one’s own ignorance and arrogantly speaking about that which we know not
I've been reading this for the past several weeks| "
#China
’s 40 Years of Reform and Development: 1978–2018" published by
@ANU_Press
.
Its open access. You can download the PDF for free:
Former Congolese president, Joseph Kabila, just completed his PhD in International Relations, with the dissertation title "Geopolitical Turn: USA-China-Russia Rivalry and Implications for Africa." Good use of his spare time…
🚨 Ph.D
#JKK
en Relations internationales de l'université de
@go2uj
✍️Comme thème: les implications de la rivalité États-Unis- Chine-Russie et leurs implications.
@SADC_News
@Presidence_RDC
I am so honoured and humbled to have my decade-long work and ideas on economic diversification in Africa profiled by
@petercoy
for the
@nytimes
@nytopinion
Very thankful for getting this platform to share these ideas.
Read the piece here:
A failure of the Dangote Refinery amounts to a destruction of a $20bn investment, plans for Nigeria’s energy security and guarantees the continuation of foreign exchange volatilities for the foreseeable future. The political circumstances around its failure will create (or
Arewa akwai matsala wallahi. Wannan sha’anin Rahma Sadau da takaici. Wai me ye ta yi ma su ne haka? She posted photos on her private social media page and now she’s being ‘held responsible’ for comments made by anonymous internet trolls? Wannan ai zalunci da jahilci ne.
🚨 Scholarship 🚨
The University of Edinburgh is offering a full scholarship to suitable female candidates from Africa to study for an MSc in Africa & International Development and subsequent PhD. The funding covers 4 years of support.
Apply by 30 April
The highest level of professional and intellectual maturity is when you can acknowledge and respect a person’s brilliance, even while strongly disagreeing with their views.
Too many analysts erroneously question infrastructure investments because the project is loss making in the first few yrs. But infra projects are not to defined in narrow financial terms but in longer term societal gains eg can open up vast regions to future private investments
“What the U.S. can learn from Beijing’s rail strategy—build it and they will come—is that infrastructure costs should be weighted in favor of broad societal benefits, rather than strict revenue projections”
A lesson African countries should also heed!
260 NGOs urge banks not to finance a $3.5bn oil pipeline in East Africa on concerns around climate change. One question is, what alternatives are the NGOs putting on the table for Uganda and Tanzania to generate revenue and generate electric power?
Finally, a question for the
@FT
@FinancialTimes
: isn't it time to get an African expert in their roster of “contributing columnists and editors”?
There are dozens of African analysts, economists, academics etc., who are already public intellectuals: who write, grant media
Exactly six months ago, Zoom traded at $113 per share. Today it’s, $445 per share, an increase of nearly 400%.
Wild!
Tech firms are the real winners of this covid-economy.
I used to read interesting and authoritative work in various Oxford Handbooks, and marvel at the quality of scholarship.
Today, I have my own chapter in this series.
Surreal!
#NoChill
#Stoked
Really pleased to announce that my chapter on "The 'Resource Curse' and the Constraints on Reforming
#Nigeria
’s
#Oil
Sector" is now published.
It is one of three chapters on the oil sector in the Oxford Handbook on Nigerian Politics.
@OUPAcademic
In every election, be wary of the silent majority.
In the runup to
#NigeriaDecides
, Twitter became so toxic to many level-headed analysts who just chose to go silent online.
Therefore, the prevailing narratives here are incredibly misaligned with on-the-ground realities 1/
Pleased to share our new paper, with
@david_g_landry
. Many African countries have placed ’economic diversification‘ high on their policy agenda, but they must define what it means in their specific structural & socioeconomic contexts 1/n
@CarnegieEndow
The final version of our book "The Future of Work in Africa: Harnessing the Potential of Digital Technologies for All" is now available
Written before
#covid19
but most of its key messages are even more relevant now as
#Africa
struggles with the pandemic
This is not a good look,
@GermanyDiplo
. Using terrible stereotypes of Africa (“Africa is a vast landscape of wild animals in the bush”) to score a geopolitical upper cut to an adversary in a European war will not win you any African friends. Tone deaf! Do better!
The Russian Foreign Minister
#Lavrov
is in Africa, not to see 🐆, but to bluntly claim that
#Ukraine
’s partners “want to destroy everything Russian”. Here is a 🧵 with all of his “evidence”: 1/3
Applications open: the Mo Ibrahim Foundation Academy Fellowship in public policy & global governance at Chatham House
Deadline: 29 April 2019
Open to citizens of Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Uganda, Mozambique, Zambia.
This month, the Carnegie Africa Program
@AfricaCarnegie
turned two years old. We launched the program on February 1st 2021!
Happy Birthday to us! Here's to many more years of productive and impactful work.
“What the U.S. can learn from Beijing’s rail strategy—build it and they will come—is that infrastructure costs should be weighted in favor of broad societal benefits, rather than strict revenue projections”
A lesson African countries should also heed!
So overwhelmed by all the kind words, prayers, good wishes and offers of support. Humbled & blown away.
Wish I could reply the hundreds of messages I’ve received over the past 24 hours. I can’t. But I see you all...
Thank you so so much. 🙏🏾 😊
Now let’s get to work. 💪🏾 🌍
Really pleased to announce that my chapter on "The 'Resource Curse' and the Constraints on Reforming
#Nigeria
’s
#Oil
Sector" is now published.
It is one of three chapters on the oil sector in the Oxford Handbook on Nigerian Politics.
@OUPAcademic
Shocking!
#Oil
price collapses to $2 a barrel.
⚠️Although worth clarifying that this is WTI (West Texas Intermediate) of north America, trading at $2
Brent Crude, the benchmark for oil from countries like Nigeria is currently trading at ~$26 a barrel
V.important distinction
I love to see people around me doing well. Let the tide lift all boats 🚣♀️
Also gives me a reason to brag about “my amazing friends...” doing xyz 🤩🤩
There’s space for all... and so much work to do.
Let’s all find a spot and start digging.
Positivity and light always. 💪🏾☀️
I suspect there’s a serious labor and skills misallocation problem happening on the African continent, and it is likely to become more pronounced soon. Let me explain.
On one level, there’s a (latent?) demand for local and boutique consultancies in several African countries.
I actually laid out my specific points of disagreement with the article by highlighting the inaccuracies I found therein.
Perhaps, beyond dismissing my critique as “emotional”, you could similarly point out the aspects of my rebuttal that you disagree with?
And also explain to
Such an honor to attend the Welcome Reception for Kenya’s President, William Ruto, at the White House. Amazing to witness this historic elevation of the relationship between an African country and the United States. 🇺🇸 🇰🇪
A bit of self-indulgence today 😉
Heading out for a run 🏃🏾♀️I do 7km for 1 hour 3x/week. This, combined with my 4wk-long no-sugar/low-carb diet is energising. My back pain, foot ache, headaches & fatigue are gone. Sugar is ☠️
I kinda... look good, no? 😏😁
Oh, yeah
#TeamNike
💚
The Oxford-Weidenfeld and Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme for candidates applying for graduate study at the University of Oxford
Covers 100% of course fees and a grant for living costs (of at least £14,777).
Deadline, January 2019
We just published a new report on the “Future of Work in Africa: Harnessing the Potential of Digital Technologies for All”.
I’m very pleased to have co-authored this important report.
Do check it out.
If you'd like to learn more about
#TheFutureofWork
in
#Africa
, read our latest report on The Roles of Skills, Informality, and Social Protection in Unleashing the Promise of
#DigitalTechnology
for All:
The Young African Leaders Program at the European University Institute in Florence Italy is accepting applications
The fully funded program is open to mid-career policy experts from Africa under 45 years. It will run in Sept-Nov 2021
DEADLINE: 31 March
@Tweet_abuzaria
This is so heartbreaking. 😢 Many young people are depressed for various reasons. Sometimes you feel trapped by numerous problems thinking there’s no way out. May Allah help all those in such situations. It’s easy to be insensitive when you’ve never been in depression before
For those following Nigeria, here’s a good primer on the ‘zoning’ of presidential power between the North & South.
Much of bitterness in political discourse today (incl. on social media) is really about which region will produce the President in 2023
🚨Job alert!!
I'm looking to hire a "Research Analyst" to join the rest of my dynamic team at
@AfricaCarnegie
. The successful candidate will work on areas related to digital innovations, connectivity and tech regulations in Africa.
More info here:
I’m confident the courts will throw out this ridiculous case. The hypocrisy here is glaring. Lady posts own photos on social media, she’s bullied, threatened and sued. Gov Ganduje is caught on camera collecting bribery. He gets away with it and no one applies Shariah law on him
Nigeria has a serious internal security crisis. It must invest heavily in improved (community) policing. Overhaul the police force - recruit, train and empower people to defend their communities. 300k officers cannot protect 200m people. Stop appeasing criminals with payouts
"A billion people in sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa) were responsible for only 1% of global emissions. Any model expecting them to immediately focus on 'zero emissions' is naïve and discriminatory."
In debates on reforming the Nigeria Police Force, there’s well-meaning clamour for decentralisation. It is misguided.
Many state govts are badly run with severe governance constraints. If these govts fail at everything else, why assume they can suddenly manage a state police?
The ongoing turbulence of 2020 is best described by this statement by Vladimir Lenin:
"There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.”
@Tweet_abuzaria
I’m reading some of the insensitive comments. So judgmental and callous. Seriously, these types don’t even know the meaning of depression and how insidiously consuming it can be. Even if one has constant love and support, it can be very difficult to come out of it.
A paper I co-authored on the political economy of power sector reforms has just been published! It examines developing country experiences with market reforms in unbundling, regulating, privatizing and creating competition in the sector via
@WorldBank
Pleased to announce that my book "Economic Diversification in Nigeria: the Politics of Building a Post-Oil Economy" is published! Available in:
- Hardcover
- Open-access ebook
Discount code + other info 🧵1/
“Chinese scientists cure diabetes using stem cells in world first”
Having lost two very close family members to diabetes, I cannot stress how remarkable this breakthrough is for the world
Climate change is a driver of the intensifying herdsmen-farmer conflicts across West Africa. This analysis maps pastoralists' movement during wet and dry seasons. Striking! In poor governance environments, the climate crisis takes an ethno-religious turn
Finished reading
@hofrench
’s Born In Blackness last night. Took about 4 months. I would read, stop for a couple of weeks, then pick up the book again.
Its a traumatizing but important book. Hope it catalyses more effort in revisiting & recasting history
The World Bank Group is on a recruitment drive to address fragility, conflict and violence (FCV).
There are over 100 positions available in different sectors: agriculture, energy, governance, health, financial sector management etc.
Check it out!!
I hope people (in Africa, other low and middle income countries) pay attention to the massive policy shifts that are reorganizing the global economy.
The Washington Consensus of the last 30 years plus is dead.
It’s replacement is a bit amorphous but starting to take shape
The U.S. just gave the death blow to 30+ years of Washington Consensus of free markets & small govt
A new American Industrial strategy unveiled by NSA Jake Sullivan will profoundly shape the global economy and prevailing theories of int’l development🧵1/
Just landed in Nairobi for the annual
@Mo_IbrahimFdn
Governance Weekend. Will be here for a few days. Looking forward to catching up with friends and collaborators in the coming days.
Also, I 💙 Nairobi. City, people, vibes are all so
#chill
Social media is great on many fronts. It can also induce/aggravate anxiety. Take frequent breaks. I do that every couple of months. I quietly log out/deactivate my accounts for weeks, take a breather and return recharged. Pls take care of your mental health during this pandemic
The
@WorldBank
Africa Fellowship Program is now open for applications. Are you:
- a PhD candidate or recent grad?
- from Sub-Saharan Africa?
- under 32 yrs of age?
Then come work with us! Apply by August 23 2020. Good luck!
via
@WorldBank
The Excellence in Africa initiative is accepting applications for its fellowship program.
It is open to outstanding science & engineering grads wishing to complete a PhD at an African university.
The deadline for applications is 20 April 2021.
Excited to speak at my very first TED conference in Detroit. My talk on Fri. is on: “Can we fight climate change in a deglobalizing world?”. If all goes well, inshaa Allah, I will share the video.
Great opportunity to showcase our work at
@AfricaCarnegie
Gotta say, writing a book is one thing. Figuring out distribution & dissemination is a full time job 😪 Without which the 📕will sit on a shelf quietly, obscure & unloved
The part no one tells you about
Thanks to my amazing support system (publishers, colleagues & friends) 💙💜
...where are the int'l NGOs that are vociferously against all investments towards the Tanzania-Uganda oil pipeline?
...surely the carbon emissions of 18,000 empty flights should be worthy of global outrage... more than an oil pipeline connecting two low-income African countries
The U.S. just gave the death blow to 30+ years of Washington Consensus of free markets & small govt
A new American Industrial strategy unveiled by NSA Jake Sullivan will profoundly shape the global economy and prevailing theories of int’l development🧵1/
Interesting serendipity! Tanzania soon to get its first female head of state when vice-president Samia Suluhu Hassan is sworn in as president. Samia Hassan is also originally from the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar. Historic moment for Tanzania. Here's to a smooth transition.
Samia Suluhu Hassan will be sworn in as Tanzania 🇹🇿 President and will lead for the remainder of Magufuli’s term until 2025. He had just been re-elected in November last year.
She becomes the first female President in Tanzania and East Africa.
The Korea-Africa Summit just wrapped up in Seoul. With 48 African countries represented & 25 heads of state in attendance.
A major emphasis was securing access to Africa’s minerals “critical” to the energy transition, with the establishment of the Korea-Africa Critical Minerals
What is going on in Nigeria? The Dangote Refinery Complex was meant to be an important project that, in collaboration with the federal govt, could help address Nigeria’s fuel supply crisis and the resulting pressures on foreign exchange. This outcome is looking unlikely. 🧵 1/
Aliko Dangote offers to sell 650,000 bpd oil refinery to NNPC
“We have been facing fuel crisis since the 70s. This refinery can help in resolving the problem but it does appear some people are uncomfortable that I am in the picture. So I am ready to let go, let the NNPC buy me
I hope Seun Onigbinde’s ‘real’ friends will tell him some hard truths.
I think he’s being misled, online, by his cheerleaders who are not helping him, either deliberately or out of ignorance about how govt works and the role of ministerial aides.
Lessons there for everyone...
Interesting... this fertiliser plant adds to Morocco’s growing list of investments in sub-Saharan Africa. A Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline is also in the works
Nigeria and Morocco have signed an agreement to develop a $1.3 billion Basic Chemicals Platform in Nigeria that will produce Ammonia and various NPK and DAP fertilisers, using Nigeria’s gas reserves. We are well on our way to becoming a regional and global fertiliser power house.
Is there any COVID-19 vaccine production in Africa?
YES. There are at least 12 COVID-19 vaccine production facilities, set up or in the pipeline, in 6 African countries as of Sept 2021
See the Chart of the Month in our Sept newsletter for more info
Cool infographic breaks down the world’s govt debt, currently $69.3 trillion
The top 5 countries holding the highest amount of debt are:
1️⃣USA, 31%
2️⃣Japan, 17%
3️⃣China, 9.8%
4️⃣Italy, 4%
5️⃣France, 3.9%
African countries collectively account for 1.9% of the total
Microsoft has partnered with the Government of Nigeria to accelerate the nation’s efforts in becoming a more digital economy!
The partnership is anchored on three pillars:
✅Increased connectivity
✅Upskilling and job creation
✅Digital transformation