DAWN March-April 2021

Awakening the African Giant Within

Publisher's Message

“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12 NIV

Ricky Muloweni Publisher

THE ONGOING PANDEMIC HAS continued to decapitate the small business community in Africa. Our culture and ability to adapt to this challenge should not be embraced but be taken as a call to action. The combination of the pandemic with the employment challenges already posed by Africa’s rapid demographic growth, and its lack of social safety nets, is a recipe for economic disaster in many parts of Africa especially the rural towns.

It is much clearer now to say an economy for the top did not help the bottom whatsoever. Going forward we will all need to explore better avenues to build an economy for small businesses; one that builds and will always sustain them in times of pandemics. The African people are very talented and have the resource base to be anything they want to be. During this period, great minds have to come together to mobilize required capital to drive this generation of Africans to the economic transformation that is needed.

Business

First woman, first African: Nigeria's Okonjo-Iweala set to be named WTO boss

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala poses outside a Nigerian diplomatic residence in Chambesy, near Geneva, Switzerland, September 29, 2020. © ©REUTERS/Emma Farge/File Photo

THE WTO (WWW.WTO.ORG) HAS CALLED a special general council meeting at which the former Nigerian fi nance minister and World Bank veteran is expected to be formally selected as the global trade body's new director-general. US President Joe Biden strongly swung behind her candidacy shortly after the only other remaining contender, South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, pulled out. "I look forward to fi nalising the process," Okonjo- Iweala said on February 6 after securing the Biden administration's support. The organisation is also eager to conclude the drawn-out process, having been leaderless since Brazilian career diplomat Roberto Azevedo stepped down last August, a year ahead of schedule. The process of picking one of eight candidates to succeed him had been expected to wrap up by November, but the administration of former US president Donald Trump blocked the consensus to appoint Okonjo-Iweala.

'Reform candidate' The 66-year-old will not be at the WTO's Geneva headquarters for Monday's virtual session and it is not known when she would take up her duties. The 164-member organisation's special session gets under way at 1400 GMT and Okonjo-Iweala is scheduled to hold an online press conference two hours later. The WTO picks its leaders through consensusfi nding, so even though she is the only candidate still in the race -- boasting US, EU and African backing -- there is always the chance of a spanner being thrown in the works. She will take over an organisation mired in multiple crises and struggling to help member states navigate the severe global economic slump triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Okonjo-Iweala argued during the race that she was best placed out of the eight candidates for the post to steer the WTO through the crises. "I am a reform candidate," she insisted. She has among other things warned that growing protectionism and nationalism have been spurred on by the pandemic and insists barriers need to be lowered to help the world recover. Even before Covid-19 battered the global economy, the WTO was weighed down by stalled trade talks and struggled to curb trade tensions between the United States and China. The WTO also faced relentless attacks from Washington under Biden's predecessor Donald Trump. Among other things, Trump brought the WTO's dispute settlement appeal system to a grinding halt in late 2019.

'Boldness, courage', Okonjo-Iweala has said her priorities include getting long-blocked trade talks on fi shery subsidies across the fi nish line and breathing life back into WTO's Appellate Body. Twice Nigeria's fi nance minister (2003-2006 and 2011-2015) and its fi rst female foreign minister in a two-month stint in 2006, Okonjo-Iweala is seen as a trailblazer in her west African homeland. She has brushed off claims she lacks experience as a trade minister or negotiator, insisting that what is needed to lead the WTO is not technical skills but "boldness, courage". She has portrayed herself as a champion against Nigeria's rampant corruption -- saying her own mother was even kidnapped over her attempts to tackle the scourge. But her critics argue she should have done more to tackle it while in power. A development economist by training with degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Okonjo-Iweala has also had a 25-year career as a development economist at the World Bank, eventually becoming its number two. She is on the Twitter Board of Directors and chaired Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

Tanzania Swears in Samia Suluhu Hassan as First Female President By Ebby Shaban, Bethlehem Feleke and Reuters (edited by Dawn staff)

TANZANIAN VICE PRESIDENT SAMIA SULUHU HASSAN was sworn in on March 19th as the country's first female president, two days after the death of President John Magufuli was announced. Hassan took the oath at the statehouse in the city of Dar es Salaam in a televised ceremony on state TV. In an address shortly after she was sworn in, Hassan said Magufuli's body would be moved to several locations around the country over the next few days for private and public farewell events. He will then be laid to rest in his hometown, Chato, on March 25, she said. Hassan announced the death of Magufuli, age 61, in a televised address Wednesday in which she said he "died of a heart ailment that he has battled for over 10 years." Described as a soft-spoken consensus-builder, Hassan will also be the country's fi rst president born in Zanzibar, the archipelago that forms part of the union of the Republic of Tanzania, Reuters reports. Her leadership style is seen as a potential contrast from Magufuli, a brash populist who earned the nickname "Bulldozer" for muscling through policies. She will be faced with the task of healing a country that was polarized during the Magufuli years, analysts told Reuters, and building her own political base to govern effectively.

Lifestyle/Culture

15-Year- Old Faith Odunsi Wins Global Open Mathmatics Competition

By Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

A YOUNG NIGERIAN TEENAGER HAS recently beat out contestants from around the globe in a mathematics competition. According to AfroTech, Nigerian student, Faith Odunsi, 15, took part in the Global Open Mathematics competition and emerged victorious as she beat competitors from China, the UK, the US, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia in a global math competition. As the winner of this competition, Odunsi not only walked away with the title, but she has also secured the top prize of $1,000. The 15-year-old Odunsi is currently in her fi nal year as a high school student as she is attending the Ambassadors School, Ota Ogun State.

Her father is a doctor and her mother is a businesswoman and she attributes her math skills to her father, which she thanks him for. In an exclusive interview with Punch magazine, Odunsi mentions that she has taken part in numerous competitions that have, in part, prepared her for this latest one. She also spoke of the medals she has won in previous competitions. “Yes. I have been taking part in the national Olympiad since I was in JSS2. I have also taken part in Kangourou Sans Frontieres, South African mathematics Olympiad, American Mathematics Competition, and Pan-African mathematics Olympiad.

For the national Olympiad, I was made the Queen of Mathematics from JSS3 to SS2. For the South African Mathematics Olympiad, I got medals. I got a silver medal in the Pan-African mathematics Olympiad in 2019. I was also made an ambassador of my school.” She also stated she wants to study abroad. “I would like to study outside Nigeria because the facilities are better abroad and the experience is better. I don’t think I will be limited in Nigeria; I just think the opportunities will be better abroad.”

NBA's Basketball Africa League to Debut May 16 in Rwanda By Marc J. Spears

THE NBA'S NEW BASKETBALL AFRICA LEAGUE plans to make its long-awaited debut on May 16 in Kigali, Rwanda. The new league will include 12 teams from across Africa playing its inaugural season in 26 games at Kigali Arena in Rwanda rather than the initial plan of playing in different countries in Africa. The BAL was initially expected to debut on March 13, 2020, beginning in Dakar, Senegal, but it was postponed 10 days before that because of the coronavirus pandemic. The BAL, which is a partnership between the NBA and the International Basketball Federation, includes club teams from Africa and is the NBA's fi rst collaboration to operate a league outside of North America.

"We are thrilled that the inaugural Basketball Africa League season will take place at the worldclass Kigali Arena," said BAL president Amadou Gallo Fall. "Through the BAL, we will provide a platform for elite players from across the continent to showcase their talent and inspire fans of all ages, use basketball as an economic growth engine across Africa, and shine a light on Africa's vibrant sporting culture."

The BAL says it has created "robust health and safety protocols" for the 12 teams and their personnel traveling to Rwanda due primarily to the COVID-19 virus. The BAL says its health and safety protocols are from the guidance of public health officials and medical experts from the World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

The BAL adds that the competition will tip off with an 18-game group phase with the 12 teams divided into three groups of four. During the group phase, each team will face the three other teams in its group once. The top eight teams from the group phase will qualify for the playoffs, which will be single elimination in all three rounds. The fi rst BAL Finals will be held on May 30.

The 12 teams include:

• Algeria's GSP (Groupement Sportif des Pétroliers),

• Angola's Petro de Luanda (Clube Atlético Petroleos de Luanda),

• Cameroon's FAP (Forces Armées et Police Basketball),

• Egypt's Zamalek,

• Madagascar's GNBC (Gendarmerie Nationale Basketball Club),

• Mali's AS Police (Association Sportive de la Police Nationale),

• Morocco's AS Salé (Association Sportive de Salé),

• Mozambique's Ferroviàrio de Maputo,

• Nigeria's Rivers Hoopers BC,

• Rwanda's Patriots BC,

• Senegal's AS Douanes (Association Sportive des Douanes) and

• Tunisia's US Monastir (Union Sportive Monastirienne). Champions from the national leagues in Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia earned their participation in the inaugural season. The remaining six teams, from Algeria, Cameroon, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique and Rwanda, secured their participation through BAL qualifying tournaments conducted by FIBA's African regional office across the continent in late 2019.

"We are extremely happy to fi nally launch the highly anticipated fi rst season of the BAL," said FIBA Africa and BAL board president Anibal Manave. "FIBA and the NBA have been working closely together to develop protocols to address the health and safety of all players, coaches and officials. The experience of hosting the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers in Rwanda late last year will contribute to a safe and successful inaugural BAL season."