Chinua Achebe Is Right; Africa’s Problem Is Leadership

Every mobile phone battery has about 3 grams of cobalt. Laptops and tablets, even more. The number of mobile devices worldwide in 2020 stood at 14.02 billion, with forecasts suggesting this is likely to rise to 14.91 billion by 2021. In 2024, it is projected that the number of mobile devices globally will reach 17.72 billion.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has the largest cobalt reserves in the world, and some 4 million metric tons as of 2019. Ironically, it’s one of the poorest nations on earth and didn’t even have money to hold elections a few year ago.

World Food Programme ranks her 179th of 189 countries on the 2019 Human Development Index. DR Congo is now the second-largest hunger crisis in the world after Yemen.

Almost half of the country's population have no/acute access to decent food and many are internally displaced.

Cocoa production accounts for 4.9 percent of GDP in Côte d'Ivoire and 6.9 percent in Ghana. These statistics show the considerable importance of these two crops in the rural economies of these countries, and hence their importance in determining smallholder farm incomes.

With Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, the world’s top two cocoa producers, as well as Nigeria, which ranks fifth behind Ecuador and Cameroon, ECOWAS member countries account for 68% of cocoa supply globally. In other words, nearly 4 million tonnes were harvested in the 2019-2020 season, out of the global total of 5 million tonnes.

The problem is that Africa’s cocoa producing countries capture just 3% of global chocolate industry revenue, according to figures from the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO). Although Côte d’Ivoire produced 2.1 million tonnes of cocoa in 2017 (44% of global output), it brought in just $3.3bn (€2.9bn) from the trade, compared to earnings of $22billion for US chocolate majors.

We’ve being producing cocoa and exporting it in its raw state for decades, what stops our leaders from building industries and adding value to cocoa? Why should Congo bleed and her people in total dismay? How should Apple and Samsung and other mobile communication companies’ rack in billions and trillions of profits at the expense of Congo?

I agree with Chinua Achebe, the problem of Africa is Leadership!

I agree with Lawyer Ace Anan Ankomah, brains develop nations NOT resources.

The West, Asia etc. have used their brains and expertise to build systems to capitalize on our leadership paralysis on the African continent.

We're blessed with resources NOT the minds to lead the change and drive this beautiful continent to its promise land! May Africa find leaders!