Quotes by George Ayittey - Page 1

Socialism is always wrong.
George Ayittey / Economist
Always Wrong
Socialism
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The only good dictator is a dead one.
George Ayittey / Economist
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Radio is the death and life of Africa.
George Ayittey / Economist
Life And Death
Radio
Africa
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Africa is poor because she is not free.
George Ayittey / Economist
Libertarian
Poor
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What Africa needs to do is to grow, to grow out of debt.
George Ayittey / Economist
Debt
Grows
Needs
Africa
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Traditionally, Africans hate governments. They hate tyranny.
George Ayittey / Economist
Government
Hate
Tyranny
African
Governments
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Africa has more dictators per capita than any other continent.
George Ayittey / Economist
Continents
Dictator
Africa
Continent
Dictators
Per
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Hippos kill more people in Africa annually than any other wild animal.
George Ayittey / Economist
Animal
Hippo
People
Wild Animal
Africa
Wild
More People
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The solutions to Africa's problems lie in Africa, not in Live Aid concerts.
George Ayittey / Economist
Aids
Concerts
Lying
Problem
Solutions
Africa
Aid
Lie
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Western-style multi-party democracy is possible but not suitable for Africa.
George Ayittey / Economist
Democracy
Party
Style
Suitable
Africa
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Back in the 1960s Africa not only fed itself, it also exported food. Not anymore.
George Ayittey / Economist
Feds
Inspiration
Motivation
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There was free trade in Africa. There was free enterprise in Africa before the colonialists came.
George Ayittey / Economist
Enterprise
Free Enterprise
Free Trade
Trade
Free Free Trade Trade
Africa
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Virtually all of Africa's civil wars were started by politically marginalized or excluded groups.
George Ayittey / Economist
War
Excluded
Groups
Marginalized
Africa
Civil
Civil Wars
Wars
Virtually
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If NATO goes in and solves the crisis in Darfur, when the next one comes along Africa's leaders will just sit back.
George Ayittey / Economist
Crisis
Darfur
Leader
Nato
Next
Africa
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When Uganda got debt relief in 1999, the first item President Museveni bought was a presidential jacket for himself.
George Ayittey / Economist
Debt
President
Presidential
Relief
Uganda
Bought
Himself
Item
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Africa's salvation doesn't lie in begging and begging for more aid, and as an African, I find it very, very humiliating.
George Ayittey / Economist
Aids
Begging
Humiliating
Lying
Salvation
Africa
African
Aid
Lie
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In the West, the basic economic and social unit is the individual; in Africa, it is the extended family or the collective.
George Ayittey / Economist
Economic
Extended Family
Individual
West
Africa
Collective
Extended
Unit
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The election of Senator Barack Obama brought jubilation across Africa, where millions celebrated him as 'one of their own.'
George Ayittey / Economist
Barack
Election
Jubilation
Millions
Africa
Barack Obama
Celebrated
Senator
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Getting rid of the dictator is only a first step in establishing a free society. The dictatorship must also be disassembled.
George Ayittey / Economist
Society
Dictator
Firsts
Free Society
Steps
Free
Also
First
Getting
Establishing
First Step
Rid
Step
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Just because a group does not take its decisions by voting does not mean they have no understanding of the essence of democracy.
George Ayittey / Economist
Essence
Voting
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Look at the history of peace accords in Africa. They have a terrible record. They are shredded even before the ink on them is dry.
George Ayittey / Economist
Dry
Ink
Looks
Records
Terrible
Africa
Record
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In a banana republic, one might slip on a banana peel but things do work - now and then for the people, albeit inefficiently and unreliably.
George Ayittey / Economist
Might
Now And Then
People
Republic
Now
Then
Albeit
Banana
For The People
Peel
Slip
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African history is filled with experiences of people shooting their way to power and then splintering into factions, like in Somalia and Liberia.
George Ayittey / Economist
Factions
Filled
People
Shooting
Somalia
Way
History Power People
African
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Personally, I regard myself as an intellectual 'rebel,' kicking against the 'old colonialism-imperialism paradigm' which has landed Africa in a conundrum.
George Ayittey / Economist
Colonialism
Intellectual
Paradigm
Rebel
Regard
Africa
Landed
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The reason why Botswana has done very well is because it's the only black African country which went back to its roots and built upon its own indigenous institutions.
George Ayittey / Economist
Indigenous
Roots
African
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The 'Cheetah Generation' refers to the new and angry generation of young African graduates and professionals, who look at African issues and problems from a totally different and unique perspective.
George Ayittey / Economist
Angry
Graduates
Issues
Perspective
Unique
Totally
African
Generation
Professionals
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Mugabe's become a disgrace to Africa. And I must say this because I am an African and a lot of us looked up to him back in the 1980s when he was the liberation hero. But he's now turned himself into a murderous despot.
George Ayittey / Economist
Disgrace
Hero
Liberation
Africa
African
Despot
Looked
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You have to separate the humanitarian impulse from the record of aid itself. We all want to help. Many people would say that it's the moral impulse of the rich to help the poor, but the record of aid has been terrible.
George Ayittey / Economist
People
Records
Want
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The richest persons in Africa are heads of state, governors and ministers. So every 'educated' African who wants to be rich - and there is nothing wrong with wanting to be rich - heads straight into government or politics.
George Ayittey / Economist
Government
Educated
Governors
Ministers
Rich
Want
Africa
African
Heads
Richest
Wanting
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What you and I understand as a government doesn't exist in many African countries. In fact, what we call our governments are vampire states. Vampires because they suck the economic vitality out of their people. Government is the problem in Africa.
George Ayittey / Economist
Government
Economic
Problem
States
Vampire
Vitality
Understand
Africa
African
Call
Countries
Exist
Fact
Governments
In Fact
Suck
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To be sure, dictators are crafty, evil geniuses with awesome firepower at their disposal. They are also brutally efficient at intimidation, terrorism, and mass slaughter. However, a force is able to dominate because the counterforce is either nonexistent or weak.
George Ayittey / Economist
Able
Evil
Genius
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Unlike their Western counterparts, Africans take elections very seriously - rising up early to queue patiently in line for hours under the hot sun and cast their ballots. Any misguided attempt to nullify or steal their votes will evoke a strong reaction from them.
George Ayittey / Economist
Ballots
Counterparts
Evoke
Misguided
Rising
Sun
Western
African
Attempt
Cast
Unlike
Patiently
Queue
Reaction
Seriously
Steal
Votes
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Dictators are allergic to reform, and they are cunning survivors. They will do whatever it takes to preserve their power and wealth, no matter how much blood ends up on their hands. They are master deceivers and talented manipulators who cannot be trusted to change.
George Ayittey / Economist
Change
Allergic
Blood
Cunning
Ends
Hands
Matter
Reform
Trusted
Wealth
Much
Cannot
Talented
Dictators
How
Master
Whatever
How Much
Preserve
Survivors
Takes
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Across Africa there is what I call a colonialist mentality or orthodoxy. Orthodoxy in the sense that a lot of things have gone wrong in Africa in the post-colonial period. And time and time again, any time something went wrong, the leadership claims that it was never their fault.
George Ayittey / Economist
Claims
Faults
Gone
Mentality
Orthodoxy
Africa
Time And Time
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Dictators cause the world’s worst problems: all the collapsed states, and all the devastated economies. All the vapid cases of corruption, grand theft, and naked plunder of the treasury are caused by dictators, leaving in their wake trails of wanton destruction, horrendous carnage and human debris.
George Ayittey / Economist
Leaving
Naked
Vapid
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Dictators cause the world's worst problems: all the collapsed states, and all the devastated economies. All the vapid cases of corruption, grand theft, and naked plunder of the treasury are caused by dictators, leaving in their wake trails of wanton destruction, horrendous carnage and human debris.
George Ayittey / Economist
Carnage
Cases
Debris
Destruction
Devastated
Leaving
Naked
Plunder
States
Theft
Trails
Treasury
Vapid
Wanton
Worst
Cause
Collapsed
Dictators
Economies
Grand
Horrendous
Problems
Wake
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There's a belief that since Africa got a raw deal from the colonial West, then the Chinese must be Africa's best friend. But the evidence doesn't show that, and the main criticism is that they are building infrastructure in exchange for Africa's resources in deals that are structured to favor China.
George Ayittey / Economist
Best Friend
Belief
Chinese
Criticism
Deals
Favors
Infrastructure
Resources
Africa
Colonial
Exchange
Favor
Raw
Structured
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George Ayittey Quotes - Page 1

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