The following is full text of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's remarks at the President's Forum with Young African Leaders in Washington, DC.
Thank you all so much. I am thrilled to see you. I had to come back to work to recover from my daughter's wedding. (Laughter.) And one of the reasons I came back was because I wanted the chance to welcome each and every one of you here to the State Department, and to tell you how excited we are to be hosting this Young Leaders Forum.
Now, I know that later this afternoon, you will have the unique opportunity to go to the White House and to meet with President Obama. And I think from what you heard already today and the comments of my friend and extraordinary Assistant Secretary for Africa, Johnnie Carson, this Administration, from the top, is very committed to, concerned about Africa, and especially about Africa's future, because we know that it is people like all of you and others who are not in this room today who will determine what Africa's future will be.
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I see Africa as a continent brimming with potential, a place that has so much just waiting to be grasped. Sixty percent of the population of Africa is under the age of 25. And that means that there's a lot of work to be done to make sure that those young people are educated, are healthy, are motivated, are given the tools of opportunity. But it also means that Africa has not just the potential, but the promise of becoming a leader in innovation, in design, in creativity of all that you, your families, communities, and countries can become.
Now, people in this room have already started businesses. You have started NGOs, you have made films, you have helped to make peace, you have worked with at-risk youth, you have cared for people living with HIV/AIDS, you have fought to end mistreatment of some of Africa's most vulnerable citizens. You have looked for solutions close to home. And you have seen unprecedented progress in your own lifetimes. Poverty and child mortality have declined across much of the continent. Primary school enrollment is up. Ghana, Botswana, South Africa, and others have all recently held elections that were models of freeness and fairness.
Across Africa, more citizens believe they now have the power and the duty to shape their own lives, to help their communities, to hold their governments accountable. So for all of the challenges, which we hear much about, I want to focus on these gains, because it is through this positive progress that we can motivate and incentivize even more to take place. And ultimately, it is up to you. The President and I very much believe in Africa's promise and we can do what's possible from afar to assist and to be front-row cheerleaders, if you will. But ultimately, it is up to you, and to citizens like you to make sure that we sustain and deepen the progress.
Every child, boy and girl, deserves to go as far as his or her God-given talents and potential and hard work will take that child. That means education is a right, not a luxury. It means that the best education must be made available to as many young people as possible. It means that every pregnant woman receives prenatal care and assistance for labor and delivery so the child that is brought into the world has a good start. It means that everyone has a safe environment – a house, a roof over one's head, a fair wage for the work that is done, and that everyone is free to follow his or her conscience in religion and politics to express an opinion without fear of being marginalized, silenced, or worse. We believe that you have the talents, the determination and the ability to bring these dreams to fruition.
When President Obama spoke to the parliament of Ghana a year ago he said, Africa's future is up to Africans. And he pledged then to work with Africa's leaders and citizens as friends and partners in a spirit of mutual respect and accountability. We stand ready to be your partners.
What does partnership mean? Well, it means that we have to change the way we pursue development. We have to work harder to expand trade and we have to encourage more trade among African countries yourselves. It means we have to improve private sector competitiveness. Many of you have had the privilege of traveling. You've been to Europe. You've now been to the United States. You've seen the diaspora from your countries and you often see how successful they are. We want that success to be right where you live and to break down the barriers that still exist. (Applause.)
We want to help you modernize how you deliver and create clean energy, how you get more value for agriculture which is still the life blood and the source of income for most people in sub-Saharan Africa. We want to help you strengthen democratic institutions. Elections are great, but that's only one part of democracy – free press, independent judiciary, respect for human rights and the rights of minorities, giving everybody a stake in their own society. We want to support women and girls to be full participants in their communities and countries. (Applause.) We want to redouble our global efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDs, tuberculosis, malaria. We want to respond to food scarcity and soaring food prices and growing populations with a multi-billion dollar initiative to help eradicate hunger and achieve food security. We want to join with you to fight against climate change, which will be devastating to Africa.
Meanwhile, we want to be sure that your voices are heard on the global stage. Johnnie was referring to my trips to Africa as First Lady. And I recognized then how much work there still was to be done to educate people in my own country about Africa. I held a roundtable for members of the White House Press Corps, and this was probably in – I don't know, 1997 or '98 – and one of the first questions that one of the reporters asked me – he said, what's the capital of Africa? (Laughter.) I thought, oh, do I have a lot of work to do. (Laughter.) And we've made a lot of progress there, too – (laughter) but we have a long way to go. Because you know so well that when people think too often of Africa, they think of all the tragedies, the conflicts. We want people to see a more comprehensive picture.
This forum, along with the African Women's Entrepreneurship Program, and the AGOA Forum taking place here in Washington and in Kansas City, Kansas, this week will help link African and American leaders, activists, entrepreneurs, investors, and especially young people. And we are inviting you to take advantage of that. We designed this forum not to be a one-time event; we want to create the connections that you will continue to exploit, to think about how you can tap into whatever help and skills, references and ideas that you can get from us.
We want you to take advantage of this when you go home, when you return, and maybe begin to think anew about how you can be more effective. And your generation of young Africans has already pioneered information technologies. You are connecting and empowering people in ways that we couldn't have dreamed of even five, let alone ten years ago. For example, Ushahidi crisis management platform has become a digital tool for social change all over the world.
Ushahidi was developed by young Kenyans to map reports of violence after the election of 2007. And a lot of the young Kenyans we invited were unable to come because they're staying to vote and to work on behalf of the constitution that will be voted on very soon. This new network has been used by citizen election monitors to help prevent fraud and violence in Burundi, India, Sudan, Guinea, Namibia. It's revolutionizing and empowering what citizens can do without permission, just on their own. We have seen the way that sophisticated mobile communications tools have also been used in Kenya to educate and empower voters in the lead-up to the referendum on its new constitution tomorrow.
Good ideas leapfrog languages and borders. Technology created and deployed first in Africa was used by U.S. Marines in Haiti to help rescue earthquake victims, and by a Louisiana environmental group tracking efforts to clean up the Gulf oil spill We are working hard to convey that our relationship with Africa is not a one-way street. We expect to benefit. We expect to learn. We expect to look to you for models and ideas of what we can do better ourselves.
So to ensure that new technologies are used more for good – and not for ill – we have promised to work with partners in industry, academia, and NGOs to try to harness the power of connection technologies to help you spur economic, political, and social progress.
The United States has now joined with three local partners to sponsor a contest called "Apps-4-Africa" – A-p-p-s dash 4, the number, dash Africa. Software developers in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania have proposed applications for everything from educational games for mobile phones, to interactive maps that can track shortages of blood or medicines, to a mass texting app that could broadcast emergency information to rural villages. The winning apps will be announced in September. And we hope to catalyze these collaborations between technical experts and leaders of civil society to develop practical solutions that will improve people's lives.
This concept of leapfrogging holds such great promise for Africa. You already have. You didn't have to put up telephone poles, you went right to cell phones in many parts of Africa. Your electric grid doesn't have to be massive. It can be local and regional and provide sources of energy from wind and solar as well as fossil fuels. We stand ready to help in any way we can.
I often say that talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not. Africa has no shortage of ideas, innovations, or entrepreneurial drive. We want this conference to be a start, where we work with you to help you create the conditions in which your ideas can be translated into real-life solutions for Africa and beyond.
I know you've been going to workshops and you've been talking to one another, and we will maintain a kind of nerve center after this forum to stay in touch with you, to provide assistance if you request it, to connect you up with other people. It's part of how we're trying to redefine diplomacy, development, and statecraft in the 21st century. We recently held an entrepreneurship summit in Washington where we invited young business people from predominantly Muslim-majority countries that are lagging way behind in unleashing the entrepreneurial potential of their people. And I think people came in part because they got a free trip to Washington, but also they were curious, wondering kind of what we were up to. But what we were up to was trying to empower them as we now are trying to empower you.
We're looking for leaders who know that empowering citizens is something that is in everyone's best interests. The world in which we live in today – top-down hierarchical power – is not sustainable. Oh, it can stay in place for years, but eventually, it is not sustainable. There are just too many ways people are going to get too much information. And technology is going to blow the doors down on governments.
One of my hopes is that we can move toward e-government in Africa, so that you can get more quickly whatever documents you need to start that business, or to register that car, and you don't have to go through a lot of hands to do it. We're looking for those kinds of ideas and we want to help you bring them to fruition and then take them to scale.
I'm very excited about what's possible with your generation in Africa. But you know as well as I that you're here in part because you've already succeeded. And many of you would have the option to go nearly anywhere in the world to pursue your dreams. But you're here because you care about the future of your families, your communities, your countries. And I urge you to stay with it. Change is not easy. And for many who try it, it can become very frustrating and even discouraging. But it is so worthy an effort, commensurate with your talents and your dedication.
You are educated beyond the average education of most of the people that you know or that you can watch as you drive down the road. You're here because you had the opportunities and you took them. What we want to help you do is to set forth your vision and then realize it. Because it will not be just for you – although I hope every one of you becomes successful in whatever enterprise you choose to pursue – but it will help to open doors and not go over obstacles, so that people will look at you, especially people younger than you, and believe that they too have a chance for a different future.
Godspeed as you go out from this forum back to your homes, I hope, energized and knowing that no matter how hard it is, you have friends and partners who are rooting for your success.
Thank you all very much. (Applause.)
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ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. WE "AFRICANS" HAVE HEARD WORDS LIKE THAT IN SEVERAL OCCASION AND NOTHING PRODUCTIVELY COMES OUT OF IT FOR AFRICANS OR AFRICA; INSTEAD IT WAS THE SAME MASSIVE EXPLOITATION, TRICKY BUSINESSES AND CONTROLLING MANERISM BASE WITH DESTRUCTIONS. THEREFORE, AFRICA AND AFRICANS; PLEASE BE VERY CAUTIOUS OF ANY AGREEMENT AND PARTNERSHIP REQUESTMENTS. WHY?? IF WORDS LIKE THAT WERE TRUE, AFRICA WOULD AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN WELL DEVELOP, AND AFRICANS WON'T HAVE BE SEEING AS SAVAGES AND INFERIOR PEOPLE IN THE EYES OF THE SAME WHO WANTS TO DO MORE HARMS TO AFRICANS AND AFRICA BY TWISTING IT. ANY AGREEMENT MUST BE FULLY UNDERSTANDABLE WITH FURTHER CLEARITY.
NIGERIA ELECTIONS 2011- 7 DEVILS TO BE KILLED, FOR JEGA, INEC TO SUCCEED
Critical value approach to Free, Fair and credible 2011 elections in Nigeria suggests that Professor Attahiru Jega the National Chairman of INEC is already programmed to fall and fail by the seven devils enemies of the nations progress. The seven devils that must be killed are namely the INEC officials, Traditional Rulers, States Governors, Senators/Reps, Religious leaders, The Nigeria Police and NURTW, HIRED ASSASSINS, MILITANTS, KIDNAPPERS.
The aforementioned Nationalistic Experience point of view sharing becomes compelling in the best of interest of the nation and its future developmental stability. Irrespective of the noisy pledge of President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure the conduct of a free and fair Elections 2011 by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the fact must be said aloud that under the current and prevailing electioneering circumstances and pitfalls laid for Jegas INEC, the recurring decimal points of failure sssare imperative.
It will be foolhardy for the President to continue to vouch for a free and fair 2011 elections knowing fully well that he is an accomplice of the diabolical plan by his party the PDP, Senators and the Reps. to make Jega fail.
There can be no hitch free and credible elections in Nigeria until the seven devils are exterminated from the nations electioneering system. The narratives of diabolical modus operandi of the seven devils of which President Goodluck Jonathan is aware are as follows:
INEC OFFICIALS: THE NO 1 DEVIL TO KILL 1. INEC officials normally work during elections under pecuniary and other mundane influence to over bloat the number of ballot papers and boxes to be supplied to each State of the Federation. This is usually done on the dictate of the State governors and Party leadership. The principle is clearly that of you pay up front for what you want to buy Experience and detailed information obtained at INEC HQ Abuja and at State levels during 2003/ 2007 elections are conclusive of the fact that NOTHING NEAR FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS ever took place. In the busy market of open market trading at INEC HQ Abuja floors particularly at the Legal Department showed not only the shame of the nation reveling on corruption but orgy of free money exchanging hands in Ghana Must Go bags from political party agents/ leaders and straight into INEC officials car boots. I was a living witness to a lot of these unimaginable and horrible events that went on, particularly at INEC Headquarters Legal department during the 2007 elections. Efforts made by my humble self to draw attention of the INEC leadership to this evil happening met brick walls and almost cost me participating at the 2007 Presidential elections. No wonder why the Logo of my Party National Action Council (NAC) went missing from the ballot papers and with consequential poor result at the polls 2. TRADITIONAL RULERS: THE NO 2 DEVIL TO KILL It pains one to notice the ugly participation of notable Traditional Rulers in elections malpractices in Nigeria. Non of the so called top most traditional rulers can with the fear of God Almighty in their minds deny not being part of evils of election rigging, ballot boxes stuffing particularly during the 2007 elections. The strategy was simple as A B C. Chief Kenny Martins led Police Equipment Fund (PEF) a political machinery packaged and put together to ensure and rig victory for late Alhaji Umaru Musa YarAdua at the 2007 elections, assisted by State Governors played a lot sordid role in this matter of Traditional Rulers involvement in election rigging. Prior to the 2007 elections Kenny Martins PEF assisted by notable names in the Banking Industry and at the prompting of PDP State Governors laced some of the notable Traditional Rulers with state of the art cars and choice land at Abuja metropolis simply to buy their conscience to support late Alhaji Umaru Musa YarAduas presidential aspirations. On the night preceding the 2007 elections ballot boxes were allegedly supplied to the Traditional rulers palaces and notable and as well to those of politicians where on the day of elections the boxes were stuffed and supplied back to the system. The seven ballot boxes caught in the late Alhaji Lamidi Adedibus house on the day of 2007 elections will be enough a justification for the aforementioned assertion. Blaming the late Alhaji Adedibu for that evil event without blaming the source of supply notably the INEC through the State Governor will be doing injustice to the cause of event. One can conveniently for the sake of posterity reveal that on my campaign train back to Ibadan from Sokoto State we surprisingly met at an Ibadan outskirt, a mini bus fully loaded to its roof top with INEC ballot boxes. The vehicle was piloted by an unmarked car with a known government official sitting on the front passenger seat. Incidentally the whole show was supervised by a top ranking Police Officer of a Divisional Police Officer rank who recognized me, greeted me warmly and allowed my train to pass undisturbed.
3. STATE GOVERNORS: THE NO 3 DEVIL TO KILL Abuse of power of incumbency as engine room of election malpractices, rigging, ballot boxes stuffing, political violence and political murders, pecuniary inducement et al particularly by State Governors, Senators and House of Representative members one could boldly say account as reasonable reason why the idea of free, fair and credible elections would ever be a mirage in Nigeria. The State Governors manipulative inducements backed by their ability to deploy government machinery and heavy financial means to harass and oppress the electioneering system are evidential proofs why successful ballot box elections in Nigeria would ever be impossible. Take it or leave it, most of the present people in government now lack integrity, judging by how they came to power and their reckless abuse of Rights. They are not only elemental proof of corruption and corruptive inducements in the society, a lot of them are disgrace to power usage and instruments of authority. It is through them monetary influence is deployed to corrupt and enrich INEC officials, Traditional Rulers, Religious Leaders, market men and women, hire political thugs, assassins and induce the poverty ridden masses to vote without conscience. Irrespective of their claim to religious piety they are dogs vomit an odium not to touch.
4. SENATORS AND REPS - AN INFLUENCE OF ELECTORAL SHAME: THE NO 4 DEVIL TO KILL The fact must be clearly said here and in the open that the Senators have already dug the pit for INEC Chairman to fall in. Otherwise what sense can one make of the statement credited to Senator Isiaka Adeleke at Ede in Osun State July 20, 2010 on the eve of Professor Jegas inauguration of the Residential Electoral Commissioners that INEC would not use electronic voting machines for the 2011 poll and that there was no time for a fresh voter registration to be conducted He was quoted to have added that INEC would however revise the existing register One would have expected the decision of how to conduct the 2011 elections to be that of INEC and that of Jega alone if truly INEC is independent. Prior to that, Jega at a meeting called by the Presidency on Wednesday 21 July 2010 indicated that the time available for him to conduct the 2011 elections was too short and requested for time to plan and execute elections that would be seen as free and fair if the polls would hold in January 2010 The leadership of the National Assembly comprising Senate President David Mark and Speaker of the House of Reps Dimeji Bankole had hardly allowed Jega telling the Presidency what his plans were to conduct a free, fair and credible elections 2011 when they went bang with a sledge harmer to the head of Jega dictating to their instructions on how the Independent National Electoral Commission must conduct the 2011 elections and in concert with the secret Senator Adeleke had earlier mistakenly let out of the bag. The pertinent question to be asked discerning minds here is that with these National Assembly executioners loop already wound round the neck of INECs independence, need one look far into the sky again to gaze for stars predicting the result expectations of the 2011 elections that are obvious and probably known already. With each of the nations 109 Senator s earning an embarrassing whooping sum of Naira 240 million per year and each of the nations 360 members of the House of Representatives earning Naira 204 million per annum, running at a total aggregate of about Naira 102 billion for the year 2009, this exclusive of constituency allowance of average Naira 450 million, per year per national assembly member, it will amount to time wasting going any where near the pump stations to purchase fuel to fire the war engines of election fraudsters in a nation of impoverished masses and down trodden poor. The 469 national assembly members are now stupendously rich oozing out of their mouths heat of Naira pride and arrogance. With these national assembly billionaires around, who is in doubt of adverse effects of bad money in politics, with capability enough to fuel violence, rigging, political murder et al. The influencing weight of an ordinary Naira 500 in the hand of a suffering poor voter need not be calculated on the richer scale of reality to be felt. The Senators and Reps with a few months to the 2011 elections are already in the field distributing motor cycles, generators, grinding machines etc not only to buy the conscience of the Nigerian voters but to influence the results of the coming elections. The reason the National Assembly members would not want a new voters register, using technological devices and Electronic voting machines for the elections 2011 are therefore not far fetched If the devises are used, 90 per cent of those now in power would never be re- elected. The rigging plan which comprise ballot boxes stuffing, ballot boxes snatching, figure manipulations etc would have been severely dealt with. To put paid to electoral failures in Nigeria, the best means to the path of success will be to allow Jegas INEC experiment with modern day technology to conduct the 2011 elections using new voters register and E-Voting Machines.
OPINION JUSTIFICATION: Section 28:2 of the Electoral Act 2010 stipulates that All electoral officers, presiding officers, and all staff appointed by the commission taking part in the conduct of an election shall affirm or swear to an oath of loyalty and neutrality indicating that they would not accept bribe or gratification from any person and shall perform their functions and duties impartially and in the interest of the Federal Republic of Nigeria without fear or favour
Section 111:24 of the Electoral Act 2010 frowned on the registration of fictitious persons as voters, and warned that such defaulters on conviction would be fined N100000 or risk being sentenced to one year imprisonment or both. 5. RELIGIOUS LEADERS: THE NO 5 DEVIL TO KILL Religions, the vehicle means school of thought of mans spirituality to the heart of the Almighty God unfortunately have failed course to become tools in the hand of Satanic forces. There is no need going far to look for examples of Angels in Satanic robes than at the floor of the nations polity where the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of representatives, Senators, Reps, State Governors et al are professed Christians and Muslims.
Sadly a reasonable part of the loot from the treasury by these godless politicians ended up building Churches and Mosques, enriching religious leaders and sponsoring religious adherents to Mecca and Jerusalem. Election results are mostly influenced by the religious leaders having been solidly bought in the Churches and Mosques with Naira power and other rosy inducements.
6. THE NIGERIA POLICE: NO 6 DEVIL TO KILL There is no gainsaying that electoral malpractices thrive in Nigeria with the involvement and cooperation of the leadership of the Nigeria Police. According to an highly placed and respected Ibadan based late politician, No Police Commissioner would turn his eyes away from five million Naira if given to pervert electoral results Prior to election day the usual thing is for the bribe taken out of the Security Vote to be delivered to the Police leadership. An exception was one Commissioner of Police named J.J. who refused to play game and had it rough with the late politician and his godson, till he J.J. was finally transferred out of Oyo State Police Command. The Police Commissioners are always pawn in the hands of State Governors where electoral matters are concerned. They are coercive apparatus that can not be trusted on their pay days supervising conduct of elections.
7. NURTW, HIRED ASSASSINS, MILITANTS, KIDNAPPERS: THE NO 7 DEVIL TO KILL It is only the undiscerning minds, the uninvolved and the uncommitted that will fail to realize the relativity value of money in the hands of State Governors to hire, indoctrinate, induce and sponsor miscreants and rough edge characters into political violence. Remove the wood from the fire and its capacity to glow, burn and hurt will be douched. Let it be known and accepted that the State Governors are particularly the cause unlimited of criminals and crime sponsorship not only into the polity but as well into the socio, economic clime of the nation.
Truth heals the wound inflicted by hate. Truth is love divine. Truth is light incandescent, the forces of darkness to quench. Truth is constant, an invariable force of honour, the devil always bringing to shame Olapade Agoro August 2 2010.
Dr. Olapade Agoro (Aladura Patriarch) National Chairman/ former Presidential Candidate, National Action Council (NAC)