Book Review: Things To Do…Before Your Career Disappears (ii)
Author: Tope Fasua, FCA
Date: May 2013
Price: N3000, Hard back (N5000)
Available on Amazon
Offline purchase: Wale (0703 327 9034)
Reviewed for Jarushub by:
Omotola Hakeem Abimbola
(Final Year Economics Student, OAU, Ile-Ife, Nigeria; abimbolatola@yahoo.com or abimstols@gmail.com)
Continued from part 1
With increasing population, poor governance, rudimentary technology, excessive dependence on foreign industrial goods and a fast growing “consumerism culture” promoted by the continent’s emerging middle class, Fasua opined that the African continent is lagging behind and thus badly positioned to compete favourably in the fast changing world. The brutal efficiency in the advanced world has already led to major discoveries which are direct substitute to the primary products produced in the continent. Mentions were made of the discoveries of shale oil and fracking technology, 3D printing and organic agriculture which are poised to change the global landscape of primary and secondary commodities production. These technologies are clearly direct threat to several African countries revenue and Africans needs to do more to be able to cope with the upcoming challenges. And like he noted in page 106 of the book, “the world has evolved in such a way that it will punish the slow”.
Midway through the book, I observed has a radical anti-colonial and anti-neo-colonialism part. Fasua, being a radical intellectual and innovative thinker didn’t fail to establish the link between Africa’s present underdeveloped state and the past and present actions of the imperial lords- mainly Europeans and Americans. Citing several examples, the book tells the story of Africa’s continuous exploitation, first by Europeans and Americans and now being joined by guess… China!! Reading the book, one can’t but be amazed at Fasua’s keen observant nature and ability to read underlying meanings to events and statements. In one witty article he wrote in his Sunday Trust column which he re-produced in the book, he narrated an incidence that took place at a This Day event he attended where Tony Blair and Bill Clinton were guest speakers. Tony Blair was said to have unknowingly admitted that the Chinese gets the job done when given construction contract in Africa, while the West only stuff Africans with paper documentations rather than getting their hands dirty on time. He jokingly recall of how the “swaggering Texan”, Bill Clinton promptly took the microphone from “poor” Tony Blair to offer another explanation. But it was too late; intelligent people like Tope Fasua already got the real gist!
The book also offered thoughts on other reasons for Africa’s underdevelopment, while also discussing the attitudinal and inequality problems in the continent. Few Africans have written books on Africa’s problems and solutions. Infact, one of most active western commentator on African economic issues in recent times, Paul Collier recently stated that “Africans seriously analysing Africa’s opportunities are all too rare”. I must say it also extends to Africa’s problems and solutions. Of these few however, not many have analyzed the continent’s problems and offered practical, non-theoretical solutions like Fasua did in WHAT TO DO BEFORE YOUR CAREER DISAPPEARS. They merely state theoretical solutions taken off-the-shelf from western countries which are most times not suitable to tackle Africa’s problems. I’ve read quite a number of them and after reading Fasua’s book, I must admit it is different in this respect.
It acknowledged some of the solutions used in Western countries that are adaptable to Africa and also discussed several new unconventional solutions. The book veered to practical solutions path hitherto left unexplored, challenging the wisdom behind the often too repeated mantra that deregulation, trade liberalization and free markets policies in general as well as American styled democratic system are all a necessity for Africa to overcome the deluge of problems her.
