Quote Originally Posted by Bill Moore View Post
Kingjaja,

Your point is taken, and I can't provide a response that would mean anything other than state that our intentions are often good, but our execution to achieve those intended ends are normally terrible due to poor understanding and being blinded by our own rhetoric.



When you have time I would like you to post more on this topic. When I have time I'll post some articles that state otherwise that you can challenge.

I'm not blowing sunshine up your butt, but your insights are very helpful to the SWJ community writ large since they often make us take a step back and reflect on our view of reality, which certainly isn't shared by much of the world, especially the developing world.
I'll respond in time, but let me just add that the Chinese aren't just building infrastructure or extracting minerals from the ground - they are also doing a lot of very good business with locals.

I don't know much about other parts of Nigeria, but since I come from Nigeria and a fifth of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa is Nigerian; the situation in Nigeria must count for something.

Africa has real needs (consumer goods) - in the absence of mains electricity, Chinese built generators are very important. Quite a few local business people collaborate with Chinese partners to manufacture tires, plastics, white goods, motorcycles - you get the drift. It leads to more jobs and greater revenues on both sides.

Nobody in Africa is under any illusion about the Chinese - they don't pretend to be what they are not (unlike the US); they are mean, but they get the job done - a job that no one else (except say Indians & Lebanese who aren't any better) will do.

A few words about US and US intentions - I think US actually believes its rhetoric a bit too much. George Bush's Pepfar was laudable, but that isn't the sum total of US-Africa relationship. The major problem in this relationship is this: US has never bothered to ask what 1. African leaders or 2.The African public wants out of this relationship. It's more like a case of "here's the aid, that's all folks".

Most Americans (ordinary folk, presidents, policy makers) are yet to internalize this: most Africans DO NOT benefit from foreign aid.

So a foreign policy that is very heavy on foreign aid and foreign aid rhetoric is neither going to be useful nor very effective in the long run.

Chinese are a bit better; they actually spend time listening to African leaders. If a leader wants a dam, there might be a good reason for it - not dismissing that request out of hand like the US is wont to do and shoving an "environmentally sustainable" bull#### "solution" down his throat - and a lot of aid advisers (on gender, sustainability - and related nonsense).

Chinese don't tend to listen to African publics - but there is a large and growing relationship between Chinese and African businessmen (at least in my native Nigeria). US-Africa trade in 2013 was $85 billion, China-Africa trade was $210 billion - that points to a growing business relationship. When fracking & shale gas fully takes off - expect US-Africa trade figures to further fall.

A new airport terminal being built in one of Nigeria's growing towns - this is the kind of no fuss projects the Chinese deliver in record time - and financing is a lot cheaper.