Mo Ibrahim is an odd African businessman. This Writer dare say a typical African businessman worth the 300 million pounds, that the Sudanese commands, would not bother about mundane things such as good governance.

The typical African, would set up a political party or sponsor associates in political parties. These cronies would serve as his conduit for acquiring State properties at knock down prices. At social events, he would be the chairman; he would flaunt his wealth and grudgingly give away a meagre for whatever was the reason for the function.

He would have many wives, and if only one consorts, many concubines. Typically too, he would spend on material things that make his poverty stricken compatriots gasp for breath. In effect, African businessmen prop up bad governance.

Therefore to have someone from this fold promoting the concept of good leadership is odd. Ibrahim is a rare business personality by African standards. Rare still, is his decision to deploy huge resources to influence politics positively, instead of using same to corrupt.

Anyway, the above concerns partly underline the disbelief expressed when Dr Ibrahim announced what is said to be the world's biggest prize. But one shudders to say that this is the kind of strangeness Africa needs if it were to overcome the blight of penury and years of underdevelopment. It must clean the mess in its body politic and the Mo Ibrahim prize fills that vacuum.

The award, in the words of Dr Ibrahim, is to be given to a Former African Executive Head of State or Government, who had demonstrated excellence in leadership. The package comprises five million US dollars over 10 years and 200,000 US dollars annually for life thereafter. A further 200,000 US dollars per year for good cause espoused by the winner may be granted by the Foundation during the first 10 years.

However, it is not everybody who is happy. Giving money to a Former Head of State had been the hardest to sell for the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. The Majority of African Leaders leave office disgraced for a number of reasons including corruption. Many are said to have stashed billions of hard currencies their people need in foreign banks. To reward these people with this colossal sum seems odd to a number of people.

Mr Cameroon Doudo, a Veteran Journalist of no mean repute, is one such person who believes that the Ibrahim scheme could serve other needs. His angst is not against the proposal to clean up Africa's bad corporate leadership. He feels the money could better serve other purposes such as providing the services African Leaders failed to render to their people when they were in power.

In the October 30, 2007 edition of the Times, Mr Duodu proposed to Mr Ibrahim to "quickly set up another prize, to be distributed to ordinary Africans, who make a real difference to their communities by what they do as a service for the good of their people".

Former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, feels critics should focus more on the essence of the award. According to him, the prize "will provide a platform for African leaders to engage civil society and help to curb corruption in politics.

"The award will promote and organize good governance that will drive African's political and economic renaissance," he opined.

President Bill Clinton, Former US Leader corroborates President Mandela's view. He argues that while "leadership is important everywhere," it is particularly critical in Africa.

The strangeness of the award reveals the strangeness in Dr Ibrahim as a person. By being innovative, he has helped to spur business ventures across the Continent, mainly in the telecommunications sector. He ennobles the vision that Africans can combine the value of higher education with the fineness of business to make money, instead of wallowing in corrupt practices.

Dr Ibrahim earned a PhD in mobile communications from the University of Birmingham, after previous studies at Universities of Alexandria, Egypt and Bradford, England, majoring in Electrical Engineering. The higher education motivated him to set up Celtel in 1998 at a time when few global telecom operators gave the Continent a thought.

Dr Ibrahim sent the world a message when he sold his company to Kuwait's MTC for US$3.4 million in 2005, when Celtel was operating in a dozen of African states with a subscriber base of 20 million.

That message was: "Africa does it". But he also pleaded for one thing: "You don't have to corrupt or allow yourself to be corrupted to be rich." Africa, he explains, can evolve as a global player if her leaders repudiated bad habits in politics and learned not to be comfortable with the sleaze in business.


Source: A GNA Feature by Nathaniel Glover-Meni