This editorial from Forbes discusses Mo Ibrahim and his foundation dedicated to ending politcal corruption in Africa. The author,Mfonobong Nsehe, doesn't think his idea will work. What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with the author and why?
Going through this article discussing about Mo Ibrahim, his shocking amount of resources, between wealth and riches, and the author, Mfonobong Nsehe illustrating his ideal plan for Ibrahims resources. I believe what Mo Ibrahim has done to acquire his vast amount of resources, his wealth, is certainly an approved method. Towards the end of the article, the author stated, "Of course, I am in no position to dictate to Ibrahim how he should dispense his resources, but a more effective way to build a pipeline of respected leaders in Africa is by identifying and investing in Africa’s next generation of leaders..." I could not agree more with this quote, because I too believe that the greatest investment that anyone could make is that of something going towards the future, oppose to the past. The next generation in any society or culture should always be look at as the most worthy cause for any investing. The author then begins to refernce the actions of Ibrahim, disucssing how he is "attempting to seduce African leaders to become moral and selfless". This truly is shocking, thinking about how the leaders of hundreds of thousands of people, millions in some situations, have a price. Astonishing to think that there is a price for freedom, and to share the same outlook as a particular group of people or person. To conclude my response to this topic, my beliefs are similar to those of the author, but at the same time I believe that Ibrahim and his vast amount of resources are being intented to good purposes.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this article about Mo Ibrhim and his idea of rewarding African leaders, I was really suprised that he would do this. I think that it is very important to have good goverence of the people, and I understand why he would want to try and help but, I do not think that money is a sufficent waying of making sure the leadears proceed in a democratic way. Near the end of the article it states, "It is impossible to solve a greed or moral problem with financial incentives; you solve it by engineering a paradigm shift in the thinking patterns of a people." I completley agree with this statement, 5 million dollars is a lot of money but, how much is that really helping? Instead old patterns need to be slowly but surley changed. Also, I agree with Josh,"that it is extremely shoking thinking about how the leaders of hundreds of thousands of people, millions in some situations, have a price." There should not be a money reward for agreeing with persons idea. All in all, I think that it is very interesting what Mo Ibrahim is doing but, at the same time i think that his money could be put towards strong plans that could bennifit the people now and in the future.
ReplyDelete---Rachelle
Ryan Peterson- I agree with Mfonobong Nsehe the author of the Forbes article when he says, “While I salute Ibrahim’s noble intentions, I believe it is highly unlikely the money will do much in solving Africa’s leadership problem.” I think Ibrahim is a very noble man, with good ideas, and good moral intentions. However, I agree with Nsehe that the 5 million dollar prize is pocket-change when it comes to many corrupt leaders of Africa. It shows his love for his continent and his great morals that he would selflessly give away such large amounts of his fortune, to better the continent as a whole. I think that instead of focusing on rewarding what has been done with 1 or 2 “clean” leaders; the money can go towards building a less corrupt Africa in the future. I agree with Joshua Eichel when he says, “I too believe that the greatest investment that anyone could make is that is something going towards the future, opposed to the past.” I believe that Ibrahim should restructure his organization to funding clean and democratic campaigns, rather than rewarding leaders for what they’ve done. If Ibrahim invests in the country and its elections and clean leaders going towards the future, I believe it will change the continent as a whole much more than by giving the money away as he has. However, in the end I have no doubt that Ibrahim’s intentions are pure, and incredibly selfless.
ReplyDeleteAs the author and Ryan has said, "While I salute Ibrahim's noble intentions, I believe it is highly unlikely the money will do much in solving Africa's leadership problem." This also goes along when Rachelle "Instead old patterns need to be slowly but surley changed." I personally don't think that money can buy what you want in life. In order to change something, you have to do it, not buy it. The money that is also going around is a lot for one person to have especially in Africa. I also agree with Ryan, that the leaders shouldn't be rewarded, but they should be recongized. Ibrahim should invest more in the country and plan ahead for the future, so as the years past, and something economical happens, Africa leaders are already ahead of the game. I feel like the money being giving though, is to much for one.
ReplyDelete-Vivian Kattell
Everyone above has brought up some really knowledgeable points. I too, like Ryan, Josh, Vivian, and Rachelle agree that Mo Ibrahim's intentions are there, but he is going about it in the wrong way. Ryan and Vivian used the quote, "While I salute Ibrahim's noble intentions, I believe it is highly unlikely the money will do much in solving Africa's leadership problem." Ryan then analyzed it by saying his intentions were good, and he is a noble man for creating this foundation that supplies such hefty sums in reward to the best governing president, but that 5 million dollars simply isn't enough money to be used as an incentive. The word incentive brings me to the point that I would like to share, which is most similar to what Vivian was getting at, having said that she believes, "..Money can't buy what you want in life. In order to change something, you have to do it, not buy it." This is extremely close to where I personally stand on the issue. Mo Ibrahim's idea of rewarding the presidents within Africa for being the least corrupted needs to stay; money just isn't the answer. The article reads, "It is impossible to solve a greed or moral problem with financial incentives; you solve it by engineering a paradigm shift in the thinking patterns of a people." This, to me, is the most important sentence in the article. If Ibrahim or others can discover a way to change the patterns of thought behind the powerful people in Africa, then change can be made to the corruption. Using money as an incentive is like fighting an electrical fire with normal fire. It's better in some cases, but it isn't really solving the problem, but rather adding to it (pooring more money into these leaders hands which allows them more power to manipulate etc.) in some cases. I wish I had an idea as to what solution we could implement, but I don't and i think it will take more time to find a none money-rewarding based solution to the problems in Africa dealing with the corruptive governments.
ReplyDeleteConnor Cinque
It is very nice how Mo Ibrahim tries to encourages people to get rid of corruption by rewarding them. As long as you reward "right" people, I think that Ibrahim´s idea can work. But the problem is how to find these people who had earned that money? I know that couple last winners did great things, but does it help anybody if Ibrahim gives his money to someone who is alreay retired and rich? That money is like pocked money to them! And when they have that much money already do they respect the meaning behind Ibrahim´s money? I personaly think that those awards went to wrong addresses. It would be better if Ibrahim would invest future leaders in Africa, who can make the difference, just like Mfonobong Nsehe said in his article. But ironically would that be a called corruption? Everything what Mo Ibrahim has done is very nice, but like Nsehe says in his article "the Mo Ibrahim price is the most valuable award in the world, but I also think it is one of the most ineffective" it´s pretty much what I think about that award after all.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the author when he says Mo Ibrahim is going about this in the wrong way. His intentions are good, giving away money to the least corrupted political leader, giving it to them because they have done good things. But, how will he know that they won't turn corrupted in the future? It also does not make sense that he is giving away $5 million dollars to men that are already wealthy. In my mind, already wealthy men getting more money could cause the corruption in the first place. I agree with Vivian when she says, "In order to change something, you have to do it, not buy it." Change can't be bought, no matter how much you trick your mind into believing so. If you want change, you have to make it happen, the money can't change it itself. It needs will, projects and support. When the author says, "But in all sincerity, what appeal does $5 million really hold for a typical African leader who controls billions of dollars of a country’s resources?" I completely agree. I really don't see how more money can stop a person from becoming corrupted when they already have billions and billions of dollars, which was my point before. I see what Ibrahim is trying to do, but the way he is approaching it is all wrong. I think he should step back and look at the bigger picture and see what giving more money to already rich men can cause.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Mo Ibrahim created his foundation with good intentions, but I was surprised that someone would donate 5 million dollars and skeptical that his foundation would actually work. He believes that giving a 5 million dollar award to a country in Africa for being a democratic nation will improve the continent of Africa. I believe that this could cause more tension between countries, and desperate leader could take desperate actions that harm their country and people. They could take these desperate actions because they are competing to get the money for their country while instead creating further problems for their people and country. I agree with the author Neshe and Ryan when they state, “While I salute Ibrahim's noble intentions, I believe it is highly unlikely the money will do much in solving Africa's leadership problem." I think that Neshe and Ryan are also correct in the fact that you can’t try and save a whole country by improving leadership with a bribe. The country can only change if the leader and people are willing to change. I think Mo Ibrahim had good intentions, but, in the end, I don’t see this foundation working.
ReplyDeleteI found this article quite interesting. I agree with the author when he says "what appeal does $5 million really hold for a typical African leader who controls billions of dollars of a country’s resources?". Obviously 5 million dollars sounds like an unbelievable amount to us, but to an African dictator who has billions of dollars, I don't think it's as appealing. His intentions are very admirable as not only giving your money towards a greater cause is noble, but putting yourself out there and saying there is something wrong with the people around you. I also agree with Josh when he says that everyone has a price. I thinks it's the inconvenient truth. If you offered a big enough cash sum, people would change. However, I don't truly believe they would change, rather just appear different for the money which is wrong. I believe he should invest in the leaders who are good and have them build up a sturdy government in Africa.
ReplyDeleteThe very interesting, and shocking article about Mo Ibrahim’s $5 million give outs created a discussion in my brain. Is he doing the right thing, or is he just giving away money to already rich leaders? Personally, I like the idea of him bribing African leaders with mass amounts of money, for good reasons of course. On the other hand, I agree with Mfonobong Nsehe, when he says, “a more effective way to build a pipeline of respected leaders in Africa is by identifying and investing in Africa’s next generation of leaders”. I think that there are many other ways that Mo Ibrahim could have invested his money, whether it was in non-profit organizations or even building schools for the people of Africa. I also understand that a large part of Africa’s future is their government. I like how Ryan Peterson said, “I think Ibrahim is a very noble man, with good ideas, and good moral intentions.” Ibrahim is a good person, who may just be another billionaire looking for a new way to spend his endless money. I agree with Nsehe and Ryan, Ibrahim is spending his money the wrong way; there are many other more effective, and more creative ways to help Africa become uncorrupt.
ReplyDeleteA agree with Ryan I do not think money will make a difference. Like Mfonobong Neshe who is the author of the article says, “while I salute Ibrahim’s Nobel intentions, I believe it is highly unlikely the money will do much in solving Africa’s leadership problem.” I could not agree more with this I think that just money will not fix the leadership problem. I think money will definitely play a role in the fixing if the leadership problem, but money alone will not fix it. It will take a stable government and better protection such as army. This is not to say that Ibrahim’s intentions are not very good ones, and 5 million dollar grant is most definitely a big one. However in the big picture it wouldn’t even put a dent in the corruptness already going on in Africa. Although it wouldn’t make much of a difference it speaks immensely to Ibrahim’s character the fact he would give all of that money to the continent of Africa is unbelievable. As a result of this It gives proof that Ibrahim’s intentions are genuine and pure. The fact that Mfonobong Neshe thinks they aren’t I do not agree with at all. Also the fact that the majority of the race in is black I think an African American like Ibrahim’s should be able to make donations without any question of his intentions. I also believe one man can not make the difference, if other wealthy people were to contribute I think it would work wonders in the property stricken countries of Africa. If we all unite I believe we can make a significant change in Africa. I also love the picture of this guy, just saying.
ReplyDeleteJake Kennedy
Good discussion gang. If you had Ibrahim's 5 million dollar foundation money and had to give it to something in Africa where would you focus this investment?
ReplyDelete+ 5 pts for a response.... to this additional question
DeleteI would focus that money into providing education for every child and Producing jobs to help stain families and communities. As well Building stable community centers giving out clean water and medical attention across struggling parts of Africa. I think this will be best for the immediate needs of the people of Africa and for long term change.
DeleteI completely agree with this article. Though the intentions of Mo Ibrahim are good, there is no way to change corruption without changing the people you are dealing with. Awarding money to an already wealthy person doesn’t do anything but make them wealthier. If said person was wealthy and corrupt before, what does making them wealthier do to change the fact that they are corrupt? I understand that if you we’re to give this money to someone who was not previously wealthy it could quite possibly make their need for cash flow far less therefore they could then in turn help the corruption that is associated with their struggle for money; this situation involves many “what if”’s though.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Connor Cinque when he says that he agrees with the qupte stateing "..Money can't buy what you want in life. In order to change something, you have to do it, not buy it." Though money is a very valuable recourse which many including myself love, you can’t pay your way through life. You need to earn things with hard works, smarts and dedication not with a dollar bill.
To answer your question of “If you had Ibrahim's 5 million dollar foundation money and had to give it to something in Africa where would you focus this investment?” I would focus this investment on the people in Africa that need the money most. At the end of the day awarding money to government officials that are already wealthy when you live somewhere that has such impoverished areas is completely wrong. Awarding the money to cities in Africa that could use it to benefit local schools or charities dedicated towards hunger would be much more beneficial as well as justifiable.
-Sydney Fisher!
After reading this article, I would have to agree with the author. I think what Mo Ibrahim is doing with his money is not productive as It would be, If used in other means to help promote positive change across Africa. I also agree with the author that true change starts with the people, they must be more educated and given a taste of true democracy to be motivated to acquire peace and freedom. This is something that cant be bought off of corrupt governments as Ibrahim is trying to do. Although what he is doing is not a realistic plan for changing all of Africa for the better but it does help promote some change and will still help. So what Mo Ibrahim is doing with his money isnt bad but could be put to more productive use. Aswell I agree with Jake I love the picture of this guy.
ReplyDeleteJake Lawrence
I have mixed opinions after reading this article. It seems wrong that leaders are being "bought" to run a stable democracy. At the same time, if it's getting good results, what's wrong with it? The author is of the opinion that, "a more effective way to build a pipeline of respected leaders in Africa is by identifying and investigating in Africa's next generation of leaders, and shaping their characters from this moment to avoid avaricious tendencies and embrace selflessness and servant- leadership." I agree that entire perspectives have to be changed for a government to completely embrace justice. There is one glaring flaw that the author did fail to address. The future leaders need to grow up before they can run a country. Until they are old enough to do so, I think that this is working fine. If I had Abrahim's money, I would focus on using it to improve the standard of living in underdeveloped countries in Africa. I would try to address health issues, and then try to improve education. While I admire his approach, I would take a bottom up approach and try to start a grass roots movement. Another aspect of my money would be spent trying to preserve African culture, so that we don't completely Westernize the entire world, and destroy their ancient customs.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth White
I agree with the author, and the majority of my peers, when I say that this award to incentivize African leaders in order to stabilize their government has honorable intentions, but seems to be an ineffective and hasty use of Mo Ibrahim’s money. His attempt “to encourage good governance and develop a pipeline of quintessential leaders in Africa” is admirable, but I think that bribery, or using “incentives” is the wrong approach. Using a bribe to discourage greed in African leaders seems to be entirely contradictory, and I think that the money could be used in so many more beneficial ways for the citizens of Africa. Making the rich even richer won’t help the people of Africa, and despite Ibrahim’s noble attempt to fix the corruption of government in Africa, I believe that this award system should be disbanded, and Ibrahim’s money would be better spent on helping African citizens directly. I agree with Elizabeth when she states “While I admire his approach, I would take a bottom up approach and try to start a grass roots movement.” This alternative democratic approach would greatly reduce corruption in Africa, because it would allow for a larger population to make decisions for the welfare of Africa, rather than a select few political leaders, who are vulnerable to corruption and greed.
ReplyDeleteI do belive that he is trying to do a good thing in trying to stop greed and corruption but they way hes doing it is not good. he is trying to stop corruption by giving away money, witch is the mane sorse of greed to begine with, although i understand that the worthy are getting it and not the corrupt but still the idae is flawed to me. in my opinion the money should go to schools and local bussiness to help improve the country futher. id do agree with Elizabeth with the grass up approch, as long as he does stay away from the corrupt leaders, witch are plenty, but either way the idea is good and i think he should continue to do something at least. -brian mclaurin
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