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00:00It's a landmark development, as we see the African School of Governance Foundation having
00:07announced the African School of Governance.
00:10It's a graduate institution dedicated to advancing public policy education, research, and engagement
00:17across the continent.
00:19Joining me for this conversation is Professor Kingsley Chiedu Mogalu, who is the President
00:24and the Vice Chancellor of the ASG.
00:26Professor, thank you so much for joining us.
00:29Perhaps you can just lay the ground as to why this is such an important development
00:34for the continent.
00:38It's important for many reasons, because the co-founders of the ASG, the African School
00:45of Governance, President Paul Kagame, and the President of Rwanda, and His Excellency
00:52Hailemariam Desalegn, former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, have both identified governance
00:59as the biggest challenge the continent faces.
01:03We think many other things are our problem, but we don't realize that those things are
01:09problems because the foundational problem of competent, good governance and leadership
01:15in the continent has not yet been solved.
01:18That is what led to the establishment of the ASG, to create a pipeline for future leaders
01:26of our continent with the mindsets, with the knowledge, with the skills to tackle Africa's
01:33problems and its opportunities in the 21st century, and make the 21st century in reality
01:40an African century.
01:43I don't want to be presumptuous about what the focus is or what is the narrative that
01:50needs to be designed, because governance exists globally.
01:54How are we approaching the localization, the ownership, and the customization of governance
02:00for Africans, by Africans?
02:04This is a very important point, and it's a unique feature of the African School of Governance.
02:10We believe that at the ASG, we need to teach in Africa context-specific terms, that we
02:19need to create and drive an African narrative, an African worldview of confidence in the
02:26African identity.
02:28We need to move with the desire and the determination that Africa has good stories, homegrown innovations
02:38in governance that work, but are very too often not talked about.
02:44We need to study these things, and we stop using foreign solutions for African problems,
02:52which is the default position today.
02:55I think that's one of the reasons the continent has a lot of governance issues.
03:00Our leadership, our spaces internally in our countries must be well-governed before we
03:07can attract the kind of foreign investment, create the enabling business environment that
03:14will create prosperity in African countries and across the continent with the African
03:20continental free trade area.
03:22Now, in delivering this, you've got a number of pillars that are going to be perhaps critical,
03:27and I can leave to you to unpack any of them.
03:29One is that leadership has to be resolved because they are the implementers and the
03:35upholders of all that we see.
03:38And then you have the other component of research policy and the content that's going to back
03:43the decisions we make in governance.
03:46How are you going to manage these pillars, and what are your views on them?
03:50Yes.
03:51In terms of leadership resolve, the ASG wants to train leaders that are purpose-driven,
04:01leadership with purpose.
04:03Leadership is not just a position.
04:05It's not a title.
04:06It's a vision, the motivation, the organization for human progress and for the progress of
04:12society.
04:14That's what leadership does.
04:15And sometimes you take risks calculated and managed risks in the process of driving forward.
04:23So that's what we mean when we talk about purpose-driven leaders, ethical leaders, values.
04:30And then in terms of localizing things, our curriculum will study Africa's own context
04:39as much as we also try to understand and interpret the world through an African worldview.
04:45So the purpose is there, the curriculum that drives the teaching and the research will
04:51be very innovative and will not be simply cut and paste or a repackaging of what is
04:59taught in other countries.
05:01For example, in international relations, we will focus on the international relations
05:07of Africa, how African countries can and should and do relate to one another and how they
05:15can relate to the rest of the world from the point of view of Africa's strategic interest.
05:20If you study international relations in most schools of public policy in the world, this
05:26is not how it will be taught or presented and we will be quite innovative in our curriculum.
05:32We will use African materials in addition to other materials from other parts of the
05:38world.
05:39Professor Kingley, how do you deal with a continent that does not feel as yet united
05:44in its vision or in its strategy or positioning globally?
05:49Because you are leading the continent and yet there's unity that's required in order
05:54to lead it effectively.
05:57Yes, unity is created by a shared worldview.
06:04Unity is created by commonality of purpose.
06:09That is what's lacking.
06:11We need to see ourselves as one continent with a common and shared destiny.
06:17In our countries, we need to see our countries as one cohesive unit driving towards a future
06:25we can all agree on that is beneficial for us.
06:30This is what the African School of Governance will try to teach our students, both at the
06:35level of our core master's programs, Master of Public Administration, the Executive Master
06:41of Public Administration, which is online, and in our executive programs for leaders.
06:48Of course, through our other fellowships, the Young Leaders Program for six weeks for
06:54young graduates and senior undergraduates, and the Senior Leaders Fellowship Program,
07:00which is for retired or retiring heads of states or very senior leaders who want to share their
07:06experience.
07:08There is going to be a very clear focus at the ASG on an African worldview, on an African
07:16mindset, a mindset that is purpose driven.
07:20This is what creates unity when all the players share this mindset, but to share it, it must
07:27be purposely created.
07:31And that development is being done at the leadership level of the attendees of your
07:36program and how the institution shapes its influence and unification.
07:41But what do you then do at the senior level?
07:44And I reflect on the governing body and the board members that you have.
07:48Is there a vision to influence at the most senior levels?
07:54Yes, if you look at our co-founders, President Kagame and Haile Maria, they are very, very
08:02key players in the world, in the African Union and in various other platforms.
08:08So they do try to push this vision across.
08:11The level of our board, our governing board, which has the Managing Director of the International
08:17Finance Corporation, Macta Diop, includes also Donald Kaberuka, the former president
08:25of the African Development Bank, and also includes Kishore Mabubani, the founding dean
08:33of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, with
08:38which ASG has a founding strategic partnership.
08:42You will see this shared vision.
08:45And I, as president, leading the school operationally, we all share this view and we will be articulating
08:52it in various spaces in the continent and around the world.
08:57And a final quick question, Professor, your thoughts on how this is viewed by the West?
09:03We've been watched to see what happens, or is there other sentiments that they have expressed?
09:09Well, we have received sentiments of support from across the whole world.
09:17One of our founding partners is the MasterCard Foundation, which played a very important
09:23role in the creation and establishment of the African School of Governance, practically.
09:29And so we've received support from all over the world, including Western countries.
09:34I have been approached by heads of institutions, very prestigious institutions in the United
09:41States, in the United Kingdom, and various countries.
09:45You know, quite eager to collaborate with us because they are excited about this new
09:52approach to the study of governance that is Africa context specific and an African worldview
10:00and narrative driven.
10:01They recognize that it's been missing and it's high time it was put on the table and
10:08we are the ones who are going to do it.
10:11Thank you so much.
10:12Interesting conversation with you, Professor Kingsley, Chideu Mogalu, the President and
10:17Vice-Chancellor of the ASG.