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Sylvanus Ayeni
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Rescue Thyself: Change In Sub-Saharan Africa Must Come from Within Paperback – Illustrated, March 29, 2017

by Sylvanus Ayeni (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 8 ratings
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This book is an in-depth and bold dialogue with several constituencies about the necessity of finding alternative pathways to solve the monumental problems facing the nations of Sub-Saharan Africa. It asserts that the most formidable barriers to progress in Sub-Saharan Africa are Sub-Saharan Africans, particularly the leaders. Thus, for these nations to escape from destitution, change must originate from within. African leaders are reminded that life anchored on the pursuit of money, material wealth, and power by any means, is hollow, empty, and meaningless. The future leaders of Sub-Saharan Africa are reminded that the Creator has endowed them and the citizens of their nations with the talents they need to develop themselves and their societies. Furthermore, nature has been so kind to their nations, endowing them with more than sufficient natural resources. Thus, they need not continue the culture of dependency on the rest of the human race.
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  1. Print length
    218 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Hamilton Books
  4. Publication date
    March 29, 2017
  5. Dimensions
    6.03 x 0.52 x 9.03 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0761868917
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0761868910
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

A thoughtful, provocative, fascinating, literate, and controversial examination of the poorest region on earth, Sub Saharan Africa. -Nina Totenberg, NPR (National Public Radio) -- Nina Totenburg, National Public Radio

About the Author

Sylvanus Adetokunboh Ayeni was born and raised in Nigeria. He is a retired neurosurgeon in the United States of America. He is president and founder of Pan Africa Children Advocacy Watch, (PACAW) Inc., a non-profit organization involved in education of children in Africa. He has been involved in development issues in Sub-Saharan Africa in the education and healthcare sectors for many years.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hamilton Books; Illustrated edition (March 29, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 218 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0761868917
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0761868910
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.03 x 0.52 x 9.03 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 8 ratings

About the author

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Sylvanus Ayeni

Sylvanus Ayeni

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SHORT BIOGRAPHY.

Sylvanus Adetokunboh Ayeni was born and raised in Nigeria. He is a neurosurgeon who trained at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

He is president and founder of Pan Africa Children Advocacy Watch, (PACAW) Inc., a non-profit organization involved in the education of children and leadership training in Sub-Saharan Africa.

www.pacaw.org

He is an author and has been involved in development issues in Sub- Saharan Africa in the education and healthcare sectors for many years.

He has participated in medical missions to countries in Africa and has been visiting faculty as a neurosurgeon. He has been a guest speaker at meetings of national and international associations.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
8 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Haile
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read on the topic of Africa
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2022
Verified Purchase
It is very refreshing to read Professor Ayeni’s academic, scholarly and daring exposure of the dismal failure of generations of African leaders to serve their people. It is a must read book.
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S. G. Waller
4.0 out of 5 stars African first-hand insights on why aid has failed there
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2018
Verified Purchase
Enlightening insights from an African on a multi-generation problem that is not getting better after trillions of dollars of aid.
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Cynthia
5.0 out of 5 stars This, in my honest opinion is an absolute must ...
Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2018
Verified Purchase
This, in my honest opinion is an absolute must read. “Rescue thyself” lays out the truth about the state of sub-Saharan Africa and of Africans, but does so from a scientific, historical, political, social and even philosophical point of you. This book educates and informs us. It forces us to look in the mirror and to understand the solutions which will actually turn things around. Anyone who wants to learn African history or wants to understand why sub-Saharan Africa is in such disarray and always in need of rescue... anyone who wants to reverse that trend should read this book. It gave me goosebumps.
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Ken Godevenos
5.0 out of 5 stars Read This Before You Donate Another Dollar For Africa
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2017
Read This Before You Donate Another Dollar For Africa
I must admit over my many decades of life, I have indeed donated considerable amounts in time and in charitable dollars to improve the educational and poverty conditions of Africans, and still do. I have made two trips there to participate in some of these projects and chaired charities that are involved in the process. But something has always concerned me about the whole thing. Ayeni’s book confirmed my suspicion. The rest is up to me, and you, and the kind of African leaders which may or may not emerge in the days ahead.
Dr. Sylvanus Adetokunboh Ayeni was born and raised in Nigeria. He is a retired neurosurgeon, living in the U.S. and has for years been involved in the education of children in Africa as well as in attempts to improve Africa’s healthcare sector. If anyone knows about the ins and outs of Africa’s decades old problem of little to no progress, it’s Dr. Ayeni. He delivers his message with incredible doses of passion, love, logic, and statistics.
The book opens with a quote from Roman Statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero that reminds me of the attitude of a recent American President. I was hooked.
The author divides his work into three major sections. The first one sets out and debunks some detrimental misconceptions both Africans and the rest of the world may have about Africa and Africans. Here he deals with misconceptions related to the creation of mankind, the purpose of life, and the essence of nationhood.
Part II deals with some fundamental requirements for change, including visionary leadership, production vs. consumption (especially of natural resources), solid infrastructure, and meaningful education programs.
In Part III, Ayeni talks about some other things that need to change if even all the requirements he identified in Part II were to somehow miraculously appear. These conditions he says are “inward” ones implying they must come through the heart and through the mind. They include a change in beliefs, desires, and behavior (especially of leaders); a change in governance and the how the Rule of Law is achieved and adhered to; and a change in the roles of exterior donors and NGO’s. With respect to beliefs, desires, and behavior, Ayeni engages ancient material involving Socrates and ‘the Ring of Gyges’, which I thoroughly enjoyed and learned much from. A main idea that emerges is the need for leadership to start thinking about the masses and not themselves.
The reader reaps a lot of knowledge about each of these areas as he/she works his way through the book. Admittedly, for some of us who are more type A in our personalities, there is some repetition but the author feels, and helps us understand, how one cannot overstate what is obvious and yet no one has been willing to tackle it head on – perhaps as he himself often says, “it won’t be easy” and “there are no simple or easy answers”.
For me personally, Rescue Thyself not only taught me much, but I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s knowledge of literature and history, and his careful use of both. His quotes from many sources are appropriate and well placed. And many of his own are also worthy of being cited elsewhere. One memorable one for me, when he debunked any excuse Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) might have as to why it is still in trouble was “Except in the Garden of Eden, no society started out rich.” Another one is: “The color of the skin does not determine the quality of the output of the human brain.” I have underlined much of the book for future reference on various topics. Clearly, his focus is SSA and he explains exactly what countries are included in that designation. He very succinctly tells us what was going on in SSA while the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Age of Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution were taking place elsewhere.
His use of statistics alone is worth the price one may pay for the book. One could prepare many a presentation from what Ayeni gives us through statistics.
He goes where others have feared to tread and this is to ask the question, “Is democracy the appropriate form of government for the nations of the SSA?”
But the bottom line of the good doctor’s message is this: it is time for the foreign-aid community to rethink its strategy. That includes global organizations like the U.N., individual countries like the U.S. and Canada and others, NGO’s, missions, denominations, churches, and individuals. And if you think your support of “digging wells” in SSA or supporting foreign schools is the way to go, Ayeni will cause you to think again.
In his last chapter as well as his epilogue, the author gives some very practical suggestions as to what can be done now. And he also warns us of what may well happen if these things are not done. Scary.
This is a must read for anyone working with NGO’s in Africa. It’s also a must read for pastors and mission leaders, and of course the individual who cares about helping his or her less fortunate brothers and sisters in the world. Well done, doctor.

Ken B. Godevenos, President, Accord Resolutions Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario, May 22, 2017.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Heal Thyself - An Expose On Sub-Saharan Africa Human Greed And Need
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2017
Rescue Thyself - Change in Sub-Saharan Africa Must Come From Within, by Dr. Sylvanus Adetokunboh Ayeni, is a racist piece of literature. By necessity. Rescue Thyself is one of those rare books that slaps the reader in the face with reality, sometimes so ugly it brings tears to eyes. Dr. Ayeni pulls no punches, and lays blame where blame is due. He is not an 'outsider' providing socially and culturally illiterate commentary, he is a sub-Saharan African speaking about the world he knows on a firsthand basis. He neither points a finger of blame toward the western world, or extends an open hand begging.

Rescue Thyself takes the reader into the Sub-Saharan African mindset, and reveals a world of extreme opulence and poverty, where greed has replaced need, and corruption has so putrified politics, instead of governments serving the public, they feed off it. But, Dr. Aneyi does more than criticize, he clearly identifies the complex issues at play, encompasses them in geo-political, cultural and spiritual history, then provides insightful and viable solutions. "Change in Sub-Saharan Africa Must Come From Within" goes to very heart of Dr. Ayeni's passionate and articulate message in this fabulous bookumentary.

The reader is provided ample contextual background and social contrasts to help understand the quiet desperation being experienced on a scale that is simply stunning. However, his work is not just dry and analytical. I strongly suspect that Sylvanus had a callus on the inside of his cheek after writing this manuscript, formed by his quick wit and subtle sarcasim that slips in delightly and unexpectedly throughout the book. Still, I found it hard not to grow angry at the international corporations and govenments who have economically enslaved millions of Sub-Saharan Africans in their own nations, and chained them to deplorable and horrible conditions in order to make the rich ever richer.

I am truly grateful to Dr. Sylvanus Adetokunboh Ayeni for having the moral integrity, social responsibilty, and testicular fortitude to say what has been so desperately needed to be said. And, I respect him tremedously for putting his money where his mouth is, because in conjunction with being a neurosurgeon and author, he is also a founder and president of Pan Africa Children Advocacy Watch (PACAW), a non-profit organization involved in the
education of children in Africa (http://www.pacaw.org/).

Dr. Ayeni is actively helping to empower Africans to take control of their own destiny, and his drive to nurture future leaders is nothing short of heroic. Rescue Thyself - Change in Sub-Saharan Africa Must Come From Within, by Dr. Sylvanus Adetokunboh Ayeni, is an excellent book, written by an excellent human being. This book is more than merely a "need to read', it is political prophesy, a heartfelt cry for help for sub-Saharan lives, and a challenge to sub-Saharan national leaders to grow some moral manhood and start to lead, and cease to feed on those in need.
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Joni
5.0 out of 5 stars Making a difference the right way
Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2019
So glad to see an author taking a healthier view on giving help in the form of aid or even philanthropy. Ayeni has certainly earned the right to speak on the topic of aid in Africa, unlike many who write about it, and he brings forward an important focus on bringing the voices of those being served to the table and staying engaged with them rather than doing things to/for them. The time for "haves" dumping resources on "have nots" is over - we need this kind of thinking in policy and practice.
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