An Ivorian doused himself with fuel and set himself on fire at Rome’s Fiumicino airport after

showing officials a deportation order, police said.

The incident occurred in a customs police office at the Terminal 3 of the airport, Italy’s largest.

Police said the man had poured a canister of fuel over himself and ignited it with a lighter. The

man was taken to the hospital in serious condition while a policeman who put out the flames

sustained some level of burn to his arm.

The smoke caused alarm among travelers and a small part of the airport was briefly closed off.

No other injuries or disruption were reported.

AFRICAN STUDENTS ABROAD RETURNING HOME FOR FAST CAREER GROWTH.

In order to grow their economies, nations across Africa have long been trying to figure out how

to stop brain drain. The best and brightest African students schooling in the

United States and the United Kingdom have no plan to return with their talents to Africa.

But recent studies indicate that brain drain may finally be coming to an end. Many African

students studying abroad now findopportunities to use their training back at home.

With seven of the world’s ten fastest economies in Africa, young people are noticing that their

homes may be the place where they have the best chance of quickly establishing a career.

Though Reda Merdi, 19, of Morocco, is heading to the University of Pennsylvania in the fall

after finishing up at the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, he has no plans to stay in

the United States when he has completed his education.

“It is more exciting to work in Africa these days,” he told Voice of America. “There are way

more opportunities, a lot of space for you to work, a lot of space to prove yourself. Also

because there are a lot of exciting things happening on the African continent.”

The African Leadership Academy was created to train the next generation of leaders on the

continent, admitting just 3% of its applicants with the goal of convincing them to use their

talents at home.

“Our raw philosophy is that the main reason why people should come back to Africa is not out

of any sense of obligation , or because we are forcing them to, but because they really see the

tremendous opportunities that exist here for them. And because they see a wonderful future

and a real opportunity for them to make a difference,” said Fred Swaniker, one of the

academy’s founders.

“If you think like an entrepreneur then Africa is really your paradise. You can really be the next

African Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. No one has done that yet. You can be that person,” Swaniker

said.

The numbers show the continent’s transformation in the past few years. Whereas Nigeria was

ranked 112 in the world in 2008 for retaining educated workers, it is now ranked 48^th. South

Africa moved from 72^nd place to 48^th place in world rankings, while Ghana rose from 125^th

To the  53^rd place.

When the Johannesburg private equity firm Jacana surveyed African students pursuing master

of Business Administration degrees at leading  American and European schools, they found that

70% planned to return to Africa after graduation.

Olakunle O. Bolarinwa,

Is a Nightline Family Member Of The Voice Of America {VOA}.  

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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