About

In his latest book, Africa Unchained, published in 2006, Ayittey proposes a controversial economic model that builds upon Africa’s existing free markets while eschewing exploitative economic structures. In his first book, Africa Betrayed, Ayittey identified a lack of freedom as Africa’s main problem.

“We traded one set of masters (white colonialists) for another set (black neo-colonialists) and the exploitation and oppression of the African people continued unabated."

In Africa Unchained, Ayittey first introduced his “cheetah versus hippo" analogy; it is the “cheetahs" that will ultimately save the African continent, empowering Africans to “take back" the continent. The cheetah generation is comprised of younger African college graduates and professionals who refuse to accept the status quo. They seek to implement change from the bottom up, by identifying and installing profitable businesses designed to tackle current social problems while also improving the economy. The hippo generation is of a different mindset. This older generation clings to the “colonialism-imperialism" paradigm and cannot separate itself from the idea of the all-powerful state. This is especially dangerous on a continent where “government" does not conform to conventional notions, and is often made up of “crooks…who use the machinery of the state to enrich themselves, their cronies and kinsmen and exclude everyone else."

Ayittey argues that the cheetah generation can prevail and modernize Africa, without the input of foreign governments who try to impose economic structures which are incompatible with local realities and may result in exploitation. He presented his revolutionary plan for Africa’s way forward at the 2007 TED Global Conference in Arusha, Tanzania. Ayittey also founded the Free Africa Foundation to further his dream of peace and prosperity for the continent. The organization seeks to free Africans from intellectual bondage, empower them to take charge of their own destiny, and devise African-based solutions to Africa's problems. The foundation advocates and seeks establishment of these solutions to help promote and safeguard intellectual freedom, political freedom, economic freedom, and religious freedom. The organization is also concerned with resisting the imposition of ideologies and systems on Africa, and providing an "African input" in international fora and the formulation of Western aid policies toward Africa. To this end, the Free Africa Foundation has tackled projects to restore democracy in The Gambia and Zimbabwe; examine the failure of World Bank programs in Africa; complete an ongoing book project entitled Africa’s Development Crisis; and restore peace and stability to Somalia, among other endeavors. His second book, Defeating Dictators, will be published in November, 2011.