INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP HONORS PRESIDENT SIRLEAF

UNIVERSITY CLUB, New York, Apr. 30 - The International Crisis Group today honored President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf with the Fred Cuny Award for the Prevention of Deadly Conflict for her outstanding leaderhip in democracy, development and peacebuilding in Africa.

UNIVERSITY CLUB, New York, Apr. 30 - Some time last week, I got an email from the assistant to Mr. Eddie Bergman, who is the Executive Director of the Africa Travel Association (ATA), inviting me to a luncheon award at the prestigious University Club on 54th Street and 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York.  I didn’t hesitate in accepting the invitation, first because I have a lot of respect for Eddie because of what he is doing in promoting more tourism to Africa, and secondly because the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was one of the individuals to be honored.  My enthusiasm is centered on how tourism could potentially increase economic growth in Africa, and as well as provide jobs for the continent’s teeming unemployed youths. Let me just say that Ellen has received so many awards since becoming President that it now defies counting, I don’t know whether it is because she is the only female President in Africa, or the great job she is doing in Liberia or maybe because she is a known personality in this country, having worked for the World Bank, the United Nations and so many high profile organizations in this country before returning to Liberia to run for the presidency.

As an aside, I have to recollect that Sirleaf was a member of an African organization at the United Nations, formed after I wrote a blistering attack on Africans working there for their seemingly non-involvement in issues affecting the African community.  The organization was called CAFARAC (don’t ask me to remember what it stood for), but I know we elected Banke King Akerele as the president.  Banke, whose late senior sister, Yahne Sangarey, used to be one of my associates as Editor of New Media for the African Sun Times, was a director of a UN agency based in Senegal, but after Sirleaf won the election, she brought Akerele to be the Commerce Minister in 2006, but last year 2007, switched to become the Foreign Minister. 

Liberia’s Foreign Minister Banke King Akerele with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

I remember last year when Prof. Ibrahim Gambari’s books, edited and published by Thomas Okpaku, was launched at the African Union office, which has a huge conference area done in the UN general assembly room, and the new Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua attended.  After he spoke, promised to have the books distributed in all the Nigerian universities and then left, other important people were being called to speak, but when ambassadors were being called, I had to go to the MC and reminded him that a Foreign Minister was in the audience.

I love driving into New York after 11 am but before 3:30 pm.  I generally try to fix my appointments on Mondays and Tuesdays, preferably after 3:00 pm because then parking is cheaper at some of the parking lots.  But today, I decided to park on 56th Street and 9th Avenue where I normally park for about $15 but was told it would now be $22, okay, no tips.  So, I strolled gently down to 5th Avenue and 54th.  When I got there, I saw a sea of whites.  At some of these events, I always wonder the kind of commitment our people have for these kinds of causes.  Is it because we don’t care or is it we are too pre-occupied with our own problems to care about other peoples’ problems.

Before I go on, one more thing.  Prior to leaving for the event, I had called my photographer and told him to meet me at the venue.  After many cell phone calls of missing the place, I finally had to go outside to fetch him.  But then, the guards told us he had to go through another entrance, which led us through the kitchen to the main floor where we came back to where the guards were, rather silly I must say.  I mention this because of the narrative below, the photos he had to take. 

As to the event itself, this is what I had written in the African Sun Times:

UNIVERSITY CLUB, New York, Apr. 30 - The International Crisis Group today honored President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf with the Fred Cuny Award for the Prevention of Deadly Conflict for her outstanding leaderhip in democracy, development and peacebuilding in Africa. Other award winners included Mr. Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland from February 1994 to February 2000. Upon leaving office, Mr. Ahtisaari founded the Crisis Management Initiative, of which he is Chairman of the Board. Another award winner was Samina Ahmed, the Crisis Group’s representative in Islamabad, Pakistan, as well as being in charge of the Group’s offices in Afghanistan, India and Nepal.

The award to President Johnson-Sirleaf was presented by billionnaire philanthropist George Soros and who has given a lot of money to Liberia.  During their conversation prior to the award, Mr. Soros asked Sirleaf some questions including governance style, economic policies and education for the Liberian people.

Here’s billionaire philanthropist George Soros welcoming Ellen Sirleaf to receive her award

Sirleaf replied that she based her style of governance on being inclusionary, not a winner-take all syndrome.  She decided to bring the best minds into her government, whether they were members of her own party, members of the opposition or just technocrats.  On economy, she said her first duty is to find a way to provide jobs the young people, especially those who were in the army but now without jobs.  She said that her government was doing its best to provide education for all.  “But you know, a lot of them don’t want to go back to school, having lived a different life.  They prefer to go back to the streets, and live a life of extortion.”

The event provided us great opportunity to network

Immediately the event was over, I said to Eddie let’s go and meet with the powers-that-be.  And the photos below are the narrative -

Here I’m telling President Sirleaf what a great job Eddie Bergman is doing for Africa, through his hard work of promoting tourism to the continent.

I believe I have got the President’s attention, yes, tourism creates economic growth and provides jobs.  She’s is an economist by training, capisce.

I believe the President is amenable to my spiel.

The President is more than interested.  She turns to Eddie and says, “I’m glad.  We have a lot of tourist attractions in Liberia, but they need to be developed.  Talk with my Ambassador to the UN.”

Eddie and Ambassador and Permanent Representative Milton Nathaniel Barnes exchange business cards.

Mission accomplished, but not a la George Bush, then we moved on to billionaire philanthropist George Soros.  He could become a great asset for the Africa Travel Association.  Rubbing shoulders with him might just be the thing I need to become one.  You never know, ha ha, wishful thinking, really?

Obviously, whatever I was saying is music to the ears of George Soros.

Okay, the billionaire is interested, turns to Eddie.  After Eddie talks about ATA and how the organization would be more than honored to have him as a member/sponsor, he turns to Eddie and asks whether we have heard of Africanet.  We both said no.

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