All must have prizes — except in Africa, it seems.
First the Mo Ibrahim Foundation announced that, for the second year running, it could not find a worthy winner of its US$5 million award for excellence in African leadership. Then the UN failed to present an award for “improving the quality of human life” because human rights groups objected to it being funded by one of the continent’s most brutal dictators, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea.
Both non-events put the spotlight back on the quality of Africa’s rulers and could lead critics to wonder if the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Last year the prize committee, chaired by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, said it had considered some credible candidates, but also could not select a winner. Soon the inability of a continent of 53 countries and 1 billion people to produce a suitable candidate might prove rather embarrassing.
The Daily Nation newspaper in Kenya observed: “The idea was always noble, but its implementation was not thought out clearly.”
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