Nigerians dominate 100 Most Influential Africans again
Nigerians once again dominate
this year’s New African magazine’s list of 100 Most Influential Africans,
followed by Kenyans.
For the first time, there’s an
equal amount of men and women in the list. Although it’s dominated by entries
from Nigeria and Kenya, outstanding personalities from several other African
countries are also featured.
The annual list has become an
industry and the magazine readers’ much-awaited collation – revealing Africans
who contributed in shaping the African narrative in the concluding year and are
envisaged to play a big role in the coming year, both on the continent and in
the Diaspora.
Collated by and from its global
network of correspondents and industry insiders, this year’s listing consists
of some regular names, and some of them returning for the second, even third
year. The final 2018 tally sees a drop in the number of entries for politicians,
but an increase in the arts and culture section at 16 and 22 entries respectively.
In terms of countries, entries
are led by Nigeria with18 names followed by Kenya (11), South Africa (10),
Egypt (8) and Ethiopia (7).
“One yardstick which we often
employ when coming up with the final list is to emphasise that influence is not
about popularity and popularity is not always influential. The influencer’s
impact on public, social and political discourse, however, is what largely
helps us determine their influence. Most importantly we focus mainly on people
who have been influential for Africa’s good,” said Regina Jane Jere, editor of
the magazine’s sister publication, New African Woman, and who leads and
oversees the 100 Most Influential Africans project.
With many reports indicating how
gender parity improves the quality of governance and accelerates development,
and in a year that has seen the emboldening of gender issues, with countries
such Ethiopia even taking a lead in achieving gender parity in cabinet, and
appointing its first ever female President under its new reformist Prime Minister
Ahmed Abiy, the magazine felt it apt to produce a 50/50 ratio in this year’s
list.
According to the editor, Anver
Versi, this happened as much by chance as it did by design. “When whittling
down the nominees and choosing our hundred, we ended with an equal number of
women and men. That was the premise of this year’s ranking but it happened
naturally!”
One other outstanding feature of
this year’s list is the increased inclusion of people of African descent making
their mark at a global level in the African Diaspora. “This is a clear
indication of the wealth of talent that our continent possesses and shows that
given the slightest opportunity, our men and women can eclipse their peers
worldwide in their chosen fields of endeavor,” explained Versi.
Also of note is the inclusion of
men and women in the seemingly unglamorous fields such as conservation and
climate change, whose work is often overlooked by the media.
The December issue of New
African is available on newsstands in 75 countries and via the app
store and the magazine’s digital channels.
To read this month’s edition and all
the archives, shop at: https://shop.exacteditions.com/new-african
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