His name is Mo Ibrahim, a notable African entrepreneur who in spite his huge wealth still has a deep passion for seeing a prosperous Africa thus he instituted the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Leader. The Mo Ibrahim Prize seeks to recognise African Ex- Presidents who where honest, transparent and people focused in their developmental programs and reward such with a whooping $5m dollars grant among others. Thus encouraging ethical leadership among African statesmen.

So such a laudable initiative that i hope other elite Africans can emulate. But, in the last 2 years, The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has announced that it didnt identify an awardee, that is to say, there is a scarcity of suitable qualified African Ex- Presidents in the region to cart away his $5m generous prize! Since the latest announcement in 2010, i have become more worried about the state and future of our great continent. But also i have become excited as i see a great opportunity for upcoming next generation African leaders to pitch for honesty, integrity and value based leadership. As a renown youth leader, i am brooding positive thoughts in this direction, but at the same time i am thinking that there is a huge opportunity for Mo Ibrahim Foundation to consider investing part of their huge  funds  in developing and harnessing next generation leaders accross the continent, such an investment over a 10 years period i can bet has the real potential to greatly redirect the African region just as much as our current team of African leaders project to achieve.

Africa Will Work!

Kingsley Bangwell

ASHOKA Fellow, Young Global Leader – World Economic Forum, Youth Specialist.