I am not sure how many people still care for The Time 100 List of the World’s Most Influential People. It’s basically a meaningless popularity contest which gets the magazine some publicity once a year. It’s like high school all over again.
Like all lists of its kind, there’s little value to it. Whatever value it has can be summed up in this way: The truth it tells us–and not because we are conspiracy theorists–is who the West trusts, fears and believe warrants attention outside of the usual Western European and North American “influential people.” Some of the names won’t come as a surprise to you if you read this blog. Others, like Hadizato Mani, will.
So who made the list from Africa?
“Leaders and Revolutionaries”:
Paul Kagame
“Arts and Entertainers”
William Kentridge
“Heroes and Icons”
Hadizato Mani
“Scientists and Thinkers”
Dambisa Moyo
If you still care, here is the list of 2009 finalists.
