“FEARLESS”  “NO-NONSENSE,”  says a critic of George Ayittey   Those are not my words but those of a critic. Here is what he wrote:   “George Ayittey is a piece of work. He is shockingly, gloriously no-nonsense. Ayittey has many ideas, well thought out. When you hear them, you nod your head: They have the ring of truth. He also has a bundle of phrases and terms, in the style of “briefcase bandits.” Gorbachev introduced glasnost, right? What Africa needs is “blacknost.”     Oh, is he fun, Ayittey is, and he’s also fearless, bracing, and valuable. Listening to him is like getting a bucket of cold water in the face, and healthful water, too.
	I arrived in Oslo on Sunday, May 8. I was scheduled to speak on May 10 on “How To Defeat A Dictator” on Tuesday, May 10 and then participate in an debate on foreign on Wednesday, May 11. So I thought I would have a day to rest and get over the jet lag. Fat chance.   “Everyone wants a piece of you,” I was told.“Everyone wants a piece of you,” I was told.
George Ayittey on U Tube
An impromptu breakfast talk had been scheduled. I was to speak together with former president of Peru, Alejandro Toledo. Then after that a press conference. None of this was on my schedule. My mind was on the main purpose of my trip: To give a speech on Tuesday on “How To Defeat a Dictator.” I was up early on Tuesday, read over my speech to make sure I could remember it. I was ot going to read it. Then I went to the hotel restaurant to have breakfast. As I sat there wolfing down scrambled eggs and baked beans, I was joined by a Norwegian. “I like the speech that you gave very much” he said. “Which speech?” I queried. “The one on how to defeat a dictator,” he replied. “I have not given that speech. I will be giving that speech TODAY at 10:15 am this morning,” I said. “But it is in the paper,” he said, showing me a copy and there I was: http://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/kronikker/article4116245.ece Funny, a speech I had not given was already in the paper the very day I was to give it. First time something like that has happened to me. The speech is only 16 minutes long and can be accessed at this link: http://bit.ly/k87BTK The following day (Wednesday, May 11) I participated in a debate on foreign aid. I sparred with a French diplomat on foreign aid. The terse exchange can be found here: http://www.livestream.com/oslofreedomforum/video?clipId=pla_8d509a5f-6b9c-45e6-91e1-17ea6c480a63&utm_source=lslibrary&utm_medium=ui-thumb The exchange is very short – only 3 minutes but my full address on the aid debate can be found here; http://www.livestream.com/oslofreedomforum/video?clipId=flv_1593e5dc-48bc-44bb-a599-a62fea0dc957&utm_source=lslibrary&utm_medium=ui-thumb [Push cursor to 11:21 at the bottom of the video screen.] They say they will invite me to their event every year! They must be masochists. Dr. Ayittey, a native of Ghana, is Distinguished Economist and author of "Africa Unchained" (Palgrave/MacMillan, 2005).

Phonetic Clues Hint Language Is Africa-Born

NYTimes, June 5, Ghanadot - A researcher analyzing the sounds in languages spoken around the world has detected an ancient signal that points to southern Africa as the place where modern human language originated.  More