By Lily Kampani
Lilongwe, March 31, Mana: Former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo alongside three other authors launched a book in the country titled Asian Aspiration: Why and how Africa should emulate Asia.
Speaking at the launch on Wednesday in Lilongwe, Obasanjo said the book was a result of a research which brought the authors to a realization that there is nothing that Asians have done that Africa cannot do.
“We need both strong institutions and strong leadership to achieve economic prosperity. There is no magic wand that will make us into economically sustainable and developed nations except that we set it right through leadership and the essential ingredients that come with it,” he explained.
Former Prime Minister of Ethiopea, Hailemariam Desalegn who is also co- author of the book, described the Asian leaders selflessness and avoiding corrupt practices as one of the major characteristics African nations need to emulate.
“Asians are not prisoners of the past, Africans usually are stuck in the past, we need to look forward to the future and make our own destiny in order to see changes rapidly take place in our countries,” said Desalegn.
In his remarks, President Dr Lazarus Chakwera said as a country Malawians must leverage the power of good development practices.
“As Africans, we already have clarity of what we want and need to develop our countries and know what activities are being done in our nations.
As an avid reader I intend to put the book to good use for the development of this country,” Chakwera stated.
