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George Ayittey

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George Ayittey
Ayittey in June 2007
Born13 October 1945 (1945-10-13)
Died28 January 2022(2022-01-28) (aged 76)
NationalityGhanaian
Academic career
FieldPolitical economics
InstitutionAmerican University
Alma materUniversity of Manitoba
University of Western Ontario
University of Ghana

George B. N. Ayittey (13 October 1945 – 28 January 2022) was a Ghanaian economist and author. He was president of the Free Africa Foundation in Washington, D.C., a professor at American University,[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] and an associate scholar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.[9]

He championed the argument that "Africa is poor because she is not free," that the primary cause of African poverty is less a result of the oppression and mismanagement by colonial powers, but rather a result of modern oppressive native autocrats and socialist central planning policies.[10] He also went beyond criticism of the status quo to advocate for specific ways to address the abuses of the past and present; specifically he called for democratic government, debt reexamination, modernized infrastructure, free market economics, and free trade to promote development.

Early life and education

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Ayittey attended Adisadel College in Cape Coast, Ghana for his secondary education. He obtained a B.Sc. in economics from the University of Ghana, in Legon, Ghana, a M.A. from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, and a Ph.D. from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.

Career

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Ayittey taught at Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska and Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.

In 1988 and 1989, he held a National Fellowship at the Hoover Institution, and then joined The Heritage Foundation as a Bradley Resident Scholar.[9] Ayittey served on the advisory board of Students for Liberty and also worked closely with the Atlas Network.

In 1993, he founded The Free Africa Foundation in 1993 to serve as a catalyst for reform in Africa.[11] In 2008, Ayittey was listed by Foreign Policy as one of the "Top 100 Public Intellectuals" who "are shaping the tenor of our time."[12]

Political views

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Ayittey believed there are three keys to successfully rescuing Africa from oppressive despotism:

  • First, he advocated forming coalitions consisting of small groups of "elders" who have no political ties and monitor the activities of the various opposition groups. Ayittey explains, "They must be able to reach out to all the opposition groups."[13] "The council should bring all of the opposition into an alliance ", which would prevent dictators from overpowering severely divided competition.
  • Second, people have to gain control of the civil service, security forces, judiciary, electoral commissions, media and central bank from the government. Ayittey saw control of at least one of these resources as central to subverting dictatorial power in African countries. Dictators throughout Africa staff these organizations with their families and cronies.
  • Third, and finally, a nation has to use the correct sequence of reforms to disassemble the institutions. Intellectual reform should be first for freedom of expression and free media. Next, political reform for democratic pluralism. Then, constitutional reform to limit the powers of the executive. Then institutional reform, for an independent judiciary. Lastly, economic reform. Doing economic reform too early, he says, can be undermined by the civil service and might benefit only the leadership class and create oligarchs.[14] Freeing the media first allows local people to support and advocate for reforms.

Personal life

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George Ayittey's younger sister was the politician Sherry Ayittey.[15][16]

Death

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Ayittey died on 28 January 2022, at age 76.[17] and was buried on 8 April 2022.[5]

Published works

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  • Indigenous African Institutions, Transnational Publishers, 1991; 2nd ed., 2004
  • The Blueprint for Ghana's Economic Recovery, Africana Publishers, 1997
  • Africa Betrayed, St. Martin's Press, 1992 (Africa Betrayed won the 1992 Mencken Award for Best Book.)[18]
  • Africa in Chaos, St. Martin's Press, 1998.[19]
  • Africa Unchained: the blueprint for development, Palgrave/MacMillan, 2004
  • Defeating Dictators: Fighting Tyrants in Africa and Around the World published September 2011.
  • Applied Economics for Africa, Atlas Network, 2018.

References

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  1. ^ Ayittey, George Billy Nii. "Distinguished Economist in Residence". American University. Archived from the original on 29 January 2002. Retrieved 17 October 2005.
  2. ^ Ayittey, George Billy Nii (July 2014). "Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) at University of Manitoba". LinkedIn. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  3. ^ Ayittey, George Billy Nii (15 April 2022). "In Memoriam (1945 – 2022)". African Liberty. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  4. ^ Ayittey, George Billy Nii. "Senior Fellow". Independent Institute. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Famous Ghanaian Economist and author, George Ayittey dead". Africans in America: Telling the story of African immigrants living in the Americas. MyNewsGh.com. 11 April 2022. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Famous US-based Ghanaian Author, Economist, George Ayittey dead". MyNewsGh.com. 8 April 2022. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  7. ^ "George Ayittey Society Announces Second Official Meeting". Atlas Network. 31 May 2024. Archived from the original on 31 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024. Professor George B. N. Ayittey was born on October 13, 1945, in Ghana. He graduated with a degree in economics from the University of Ghana, earned his MA at the University of Western Ontario, and completed his doctorate in economics at the University of Manitoba. He taught in Canada and the United States and retired as professor of economics from the American University in Washington, D.C.
  8. ^ Ayittey, George Billy Nii (11 February 1999). Africa in Chaos (1st ed.). New York City: [[St. Martin's Press]. p. xiv. ISBN 978-0-312-21787-7. During my tenure at American University, I have been fortunate to receive critical reviews and encouragement from Professors[…].
  9. ^ a b "Bio at Foreign Policy Research Institute". Archived from the original on 7 April 2010. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  10. ^ "BBC World Service | the Forum".
  11. ^ "Free Africa Foundation". www.freeafrica.org. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  12. ^ "Top 100 Public Intellectuals". Foreign Policy. May 2008. Archived from the original on 1 October 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  13. ^ mariam, al. "Ayittey's War on African Dictators". Online article. huffingpost. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  14. ^ "How to defeat Africa's dictators (Video)". August 2016.
  15. ^ Attah, Haruna (19 October 2000). "Winning Election 2000 Opposition must unite - George Ayittey". Ghana Web. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  16. ^ "Finding flagbearers". Africa Confidential. 6 February 1998. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  17. ^ "In Memory of Prof. George B. N. Ayittey". Ever Loved. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  18. ^ "The Mencken Awards: 1982–1996".
  19. ^ Harding, Jeremy (8 March 1998). "Scapegoating History". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 17 October 2005.
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