Comments on: Africa’s trying tradition of sit-tight leaders http://blogs.reuters.com/africanews/2010/12/22/africas-trying-tradition-of-sit-tight-leaders/ African business, politics and lifestyle Wed, 22 May 2013 19:18:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: AlyKhanSatchu http://blogs.reuters.com/africanews/2010/12/22/africas-trying-tradition-of-sit-tight-leaders/comment-page-1/#comment-9254 AlyKhanSatchu Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:42:13 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/africanews/?p=4693#comment-9254 Dear Matthew, I think the Broad Macro Trend is one that is dynamic and disjunctive. That Trend being A New Africa where Africans are connected to the c21st and each other via the Mobile Phone and the Mobile Internet. Layer onto this a Demographic Skew where Elections will be won by winning the Under 30s and I think we are entering a Moment of Maximum and Dramatic Change. Whilst the Old Landscape looked very Tribal and Adversarial and in essence had a Scarcity Zero Sum Game Mentality, I believe the New Landscape will be entirely different. Obviously, this is correlated to the Mobile and Internet. Ethiopia is a Stand Out Laggard. Kenya with its Undersea Cables practically a Laboratory Experiment. The Ivory Coast is nevertheless quite a Blip on the Radar Screen. No Process of Change is ever Smooth, it often is about Tipping Points. Like That Tipping Point all those Years ago when The World realised that the Man in Prison Nelson Mandela was actually the President. So Ivory Coast is surely disappointing but if You care to measure the Degree of Pressure being applied, You will note its a Multiple of what has been seen before. I remain optimistic Cote D'Ivoire is an Outlier and not the Norm. Aly-Khan Satchu Nairobi http://www.rich.co.ke/rctools/wrapup.php Dear Matthew,

I think the Broad Macro Trend is one that is dynamic and disjunctive. That Trend being A New Africa where Africans are connected to the c21st and each other via the Mobile Phone and the Mobile Internet. Layer onto this a Demographic Skew where Elections will be won by winning the Under 30s and I think we are entering a Moment of Maximum and Dramatic Change. Whilst the Old Landscape looked very Tribal and Adversarial and in essence had a Scarcity Zero Sum Game Mentality, I believe the New Landscape will be entirely different. Obviously, this is correlated to the Mobile and Internet. Ethiopia is a Stand Out Laggard. Kenya with its Undersea Cables practically a Laboratory Experiment.

The Ivory Coast is nevertheless quite a Blip on the Radar Screen. No Process of Change is ever Smooth, it often is about Tipping Points. Like That Tipping Point all those Years ago when The World realised that the Man in Prison Nelson Mandela was actually the President. So Ivory Coast is surely disappointing but if You care to measure the Degree of Pressure being applied, You will note its a Multiple of what has been seen before.

I remain optimistic Cote D’Ivoire is an Outlier and not the Norm.

Aly-Khan Satchu
Nairobi
http://www.rich.co.ke/rctools/wrapup.php

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