BBC News, believe it or not, puts the lie to the sentimental nonsense of Galstonbury and Gleneagles.
Bob Geldof and Bono should consult the African nations they presume to represent. Nigeria and South Africa, two of the largest African nations, don’t agree with them that poverty can be eliminated by socialism’s simplistic prescription for redistribution of property, in this case via increased foreign-aid handouts.
Nigerians can see the emptiness of merely handing out more money for corrupt “leaders” to pocket. Even South Africa, transformed into a socialist enclave by Nelson Mandela, recognizes that trade liberalization is more important than foreign aid funds.
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BBC News reporter Anna Borzello wrote from Nigeria:
One in five Africans is Nigerian, and 70% of the population live on less than a dollar a day, which means any attempt to deal with poverty in Africa has to deal with the West African giant.
The Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, who is also the chairman of the African Union, has been manoeuvring since the start of the year to take advantage of the mood surrounding the G8.
His goal has been to convince creditor nations that Nigeria deserves debt relief, even though it is oil rich and one of the most corrupt countries on the planet.
He was granted his wish last month, with a 60% debt write-off.
It is a move that has been welcomed by Nigerians, who feel it is unfair to pay back loans which were largely given to military dictators.
But there is also scepticism about whether the money saved will ever be used to benefit the needy.
Many feel the root cause of poverty in Nigeria is not a lack of aid, not the draining effects of debt and not, even in an oil-reliant economy, unfair trade terms.
Instead, it is the way that the estimated $360bn (£207bn) Nigeria has earned from crude oil since the 1960s has been squandered or stolen by successive regimes.
Prime Minister Tony Blair’s efforts to put Africa high on the G8 agenda have largely been met here with pleasant surprise.
But most Nigerians, when asked the best way to tackle poverty, invariably answer: “good leadership”.
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Reporter Barnaby Phillips in South Africa wrote:
African leaders had waited a long time for the G8 summit, and were worried that the London bombs would take the focus away from their continent at the last moment.
In the event, their fears were not realised, with Tony Blair apparently determined that Africa should remain top of the agenda.
Mr Blair said that agreements reached at Gleneagles gave “real hope” that African poverty could be ended.
The increases in aid will be welcomed across Africa, although it will take time for African governments, and their people, to assess to what extent they will benefit.
Africa will also be looking for more detail on promises to write off the debts of the poorest countries.
Fourteen African countries already knew they were going to benefit from debt cancellation, while others will now be waiting anxiously to see whether they are included.
The biggest disappointment will be with the vague commitments the G8 has reached on trade - even Mr Blair admitted that he would have liked to have gone further here, to reach agreements on specific dates for the phasing out of subsidies.
Cotton farmers in West African countries like Burkina Faso and Mali, and sugar-cane farmers in Southern African countries like Swaziland and Malawi, will derive little comfort from the G8 meeting.
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