Chika A. Ezeanya is a Ph.D. student of African (Development and Policy) Studies at Howard University in Washington DC. She holds an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Warwick in Coventry England, with specialization in International Trade. Prior to taking up temporal residence in the United States for graduate studies, Chika worked at the Oil & Gas Desk of one of Nigeria’s foremost commercial banks. As part of a larger group concerned with portfolio management and business development, Chika was in charge of the financial transactions of the major upstream and downstream oil companies operating in Nigeria. She was able to garner invaluable firsthand experience of the Nigerian economic and business climate and the operations of multinational companies in developing countries. Her one year stint with the Foreign Operations Desk also exposed her to global import and export regulations, and the dynamics of international trade between sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, Latin America and Western Europe. She believes that the future of Africa lies with Africans and not with the morsels offered by Europe and America directly, or through their agents.