Added on 28 February 2010
30 June 2010
I owe you stories about Fostina Mani, Sammy Gitau, Leah Komen, Wairimu Gitau – all Kenyans whose pet projects are examples of that originality we were discussing last week. I also need to tell you about my last interview at USIU and about Salsa night in Nairobi and about Ugali and Sukumawiki but I’m yet [...]
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21 June 2010
Guys, this (bit by bit on the blackberry) method is actually working! So far, I’ve written about 1500 words. A typical chapter would fall between 3000 and 5000 words. Your comments help more than you realize so don’t be stingy. Whoever reads this should say something. And to those of you regular comment leavers: muchos [...]
Posted in Book update4 Comments
16 June 2010
Two of the more standout features of the African marketplace have the distinct dual pleasure of being its greatest attractions and possible hindrances. I am referring to taxes – or lack thereof, and bargaining – or license to boycott goods control. I was in the Masai market in Nairobi the other day and the price of [...]
Posted in Thoughts0 Comments
14 June 2010
So back to this U. S. Of Africa business… Allan was not the only one who thought it was a bad idea. Some argued that smaller countries would be perpetual casualties of this idea. There were also concerns that if power were to be rotated, leaders would play favorites, giving more attention to their region at [...]
Posted in Book update2 Comments
08 June 2010
Seeing as none of you saw fit to comment on the previous post about a United States of Africa, I’m putting that on hold to write this instead: Kenya would have been a lot less fun without Nyambura, a precocious eight-year-old who taught me almost every word of Swahili I now flaunt. Her invaluable commentary [...]
Posted in Book update5 Comments
01 June 2010
This is continued from my landing at the Jomo Kenyatta Int’l Airport. So tell me, will a United States of Africa solve any problems or create bigger ones? Enjoy… Minutes after clearing customs, I bought a Safaricom SIM card, negotiated a ride for (about 1300KSH) to the school where I’d be interviewing students and was discussing [...]
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01 June 2010
This is under 200 words on my first moments in Kenya, the third country on the Solving Africa itinerary. You can expect short anecdotes like this from now on until I’ve exhausted all my stories from Kenya. Kenya started off with a bang. After the ordeal of getting a Kenyan visa, I thought I’d have [...]
Posted in Book update1 Comment
12 May 2010
I was supposed to write a great book. Everyone was counting on it. I’d raised the money to travel to seven African countries and I’d told everyone I would write a book about it. All I had to do was sit my ass down and write the book. So after traveling, I started writing. I [...]
Posted in Book update6 Comments
22 April 2010
During the discussion forum hosted by Nancy Birdsall, President of Center for Global Development, Acting President of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan offered his perspective on several of the key issues affecting Nigeria, including electoral reform, consolidation of the gains of the Niger Delta Amnesty, the fight against corruption, and improvement to the power and energy sectors. Birdsall who said the US was interested in helping Nigeria manage her oil said the world wants to see a more active and engaged Nigeria. She expressed how disappointing it has been that Nigeria missed several opportunities to serve on the global stage. “Despite Nigeria’s great wealth, too many Nigerians are still in poverty” she mused. What will it take to move Nigeria from its introverted and stalling progress towards the level it deserves? Africa needs a strong Nigeria, one that is focused on improving lives.
Posted in Interviews2 Comments
27 March 2010
Living abroad is not the answer to everything--- diaspora is over rated—but there are opportunities here. It is left for the youths to come here and grab those opportunities for good use.
Posted in Interviews1 Comment
