U2 frontman Bono has told African leaders to take inspiration from Ireland as they seek to tackle poverty and the food crisis.
The U2 singer turned activist was addressing a development summit in Yokohama, Japan, attended by 40 African heads of state where there were calls for urgent action to address spiralling food prices.
‘What on earth might I have to offer? Well, the first thing is I'm Irish,’ Bono joked.
‘We came out of colonisation, we had to deal with the British - we have a lot in common with Africa,’ he added.
He said that while Ireland now enjoys some of the world's highest salaries, ‘20 years ago our economy was down the toilet, the IMF was telling us what to do and the World Bank was down our pants’.
Bono blamed Ireland’s potato famine a century and a half ago on the fact that the country continued to export food to Britain.
‘So bad management is in my folk history and I think if we have to gather around this food crisis...we've got to get good management,’ Bono said.
Food prices have recently soared, triggering riots in parts of the developing world, due to a mix of factors including higher fuel costs and the increased popularity of biofuels.
