A Kenyan professor and human rights crusader has dubbed the seventh Japan – Africa summit in Yokohama as a disgrace and said that it lowered the dignity of Africa. The recently concluded the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), which was attended by over 20 heads of state was dubbed by Prof. Makau Mutua, board chair of the Kenyan Human Rights Commission ( KHRC), was disgraceful is taste and conduct, while the African leaders vied with each other to get freebies, loans and grants. He said in a tweet on Friday (August 30) that African leaders needed to quit attending ‘begging meetings’ and focus on making the continent an attractive investment destination. He tweeted, “Let’s make Africa an attractive destination for investment so we can stop begging. I can’t understand how African leaders can celebrate this atrocity! SHAME!”.
TICAD held every five -years is co-hosted by the Japanese government and the African Union along with other development partners like the United Nations and the World Bank. Analysts have called the scramble for Africa’s resources have largely been blamed on China’s overarching infrastructure and resource interest in Africa. TICAD is seen as Japan’s own way of seeking to consolidate its influence across the continent much like the Forum for China – Africa Cooperation( FOCAC). Over 40 African leaders were in Beijing last year for FOCAC making it the most attended gathering of African leaders in the year, wherein China said its relations with Africa remain mutually beneficial.
