George Ayittey Quotes

Quotes about:

• The solutions to Africa's problems lie in Africa, not in Live Aid concerts.

  George Ayittey

  Lying, Problem, Aids

  "Expert: Africa Needs More than Foreign Aid". "Morning Edition" with Renee Montagne, www.npr.org. July 6, 2005.

  47 Copy quote

• 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

  Blood, Hands, Reform

  "George Ayittey: How to Defeat a Dictator". Interview with Thor Halvorssen, www.huffingtonpost.com.

  15 Copy quote

• 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

  Government, Want, Rich

  14 Copy quote

• 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

  Unique, Issues, Perspective

  George B.N. Ayittey (2011). “Defeating Dictators: Fighting Tyranny in Africa and Around the World”, p.209, St. Martin's Press

  31 Copy quote

• Africa is poor because she is not free.

  George Ayittey

  Libertarian, Poor

  7 Copy quote

• There was free trade in Africa. There was free enterprise in Africa before the colonialists came.

  George Ayittey

  Enterprise, Trade, Free Trade

  "Wide Angle" with Bill Moyers, www.pbs.org. July 26, 2005.

  6 Copy quote

• Traditionally, Africans hate governments. They hate tyranny.

  George Ayittey

  Hate, Government, Tyranny

  "Africa's cheetahs versus hippos". TED Talk, www.ted.com. June 2007.

  7 Copy quote

• Getting rid of the dictator is only a first step in establishing a free society. The dictatorship must also be disassembled.

  George Ayittey

  Firsts, Steps, Dictator

  "George Ayittey: How to Defeat a Dictator". Interview with Thor Halvorssen, www.huffingtonpost.com.

  7 Copy quote

• 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

  Chinese, Criticism, Favors

  5 Copy quote

• 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

  People, Shooting, Way

  9 Copy quote

• 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

  People, Records, Want

  4 Copy quote

• What Africa needs to do is to grow, to grow out of debt.

  George Ayittey

  Needs, Debt, Grows

  "African Debt". "PBS NewsHour" with Ray Suarez, www.pbs.org. June 12, 2005.

  4 Copy quote

• Virtually all of Africa's civil wars were started by politically marginalized or excluded groups.

  George Ayittey

  War, Groups, Excluded

  "Why Western-style democracy is not suitable for Africa" by George Ayittey, www.cnn.com. August 20, 2010.

  6 Copy quote

• 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

  Gone, Orthodoxy, Faults

  "Border Jumpers". Interview with Bill Moyers, www.pbs.org. July 24, 2005.

  4 Copy quote

• Western-style multi-party democracy is possible but not suitable for Africa.

  George Ayittey

  Party, Style, Democracy

  "Why Western-style democracy is not suitable for Africa" by George Ayittey, www.cnn.com. August 20, 2010.

  4 Copy quote

• 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

  Lying, Aids, Salvation

  "Expert: Africa Needs More than Foreign Aid". "Morning Edition" with Renee Montagne, www.npr.org. July 6, 2005.

  7 Copy quote

• In the West, the basic economic and social unit is the individual; in Africa, it is the extended family or the collective.

  George Ayittey

  West, Economic, Individual

  "Why Western-style democracy is not suitable for Africa" by George Ayittey, www.cnn.com. August 20, 2010.

  7 Copy quote

• The only good dictator is a dead one.

  George Ayittey

  Dictator

  George B.N. Ayittey (2011). “Defeating Dictators: Fighting Tyranny in Africa and Around the World”, p.193, St. Martin's Press

  4 Copy quote

• 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

  Leaving, Vapid, Naked

  "George Ayittey: How to Defeat a Dictator". Interview with Thor Halvorssen, www.huffingtonpost.com.

  16 Copy quote

• Socialism is always wrong.

  George Ayittey

  Socialism, Always Wrong

  5 Copy quote

• Personally, I regard myself as an intellectual 'rebel,' kicking against the 'old colonialism-imperialism paradigm' which has landed Africa in a conundrum.

  George Ayittey

  Intellectual, Colonialism, Rebel

  9 Copy quote

• 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

  Ink, Looks, Records

  4 Copy quote

• Radio is the death and life of Africa.

  George Ayittey

  Life And Death, Radio

  4 Copy quote

• Africa has more dictators per capita than any other continent.

  George Ayittey

  Dictator, Continents

  "George Ayittey: How to Defeat a Dictator". Interview with Thor Halvorssen, www.huffingtonpost.com.

  4 Copy quote

• 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

  Leader, Next, Crisis

  7 Copy quote

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