Poverty, hunger, disease, ignorance, lack of skilled manpower, poor transport and communication networks, unemployment, brain drain... There is certainly no end to the list of the many problems facing Africa today. All African states, needless to say, are struggling with one issue after another, trying to at least survive in the periphery of the global economic system, where they have been thrust. In fact one would be forgiven to wonder how Africans, and other people of the South, have been living under these conditions in direct contradiction to the vastness of their economic potential.
But why, and how, did it occur that one section of the world would live under such adverse conditions whereas other people, in another region, would enjoy the highest standards of living? A very simple question. Yet the responses it exhibits, particularly among Africans, reveals the level of consciousness amongst us. Majority of Africans, with the influence of international media and propaganda as well as subjection to Western education, always seem to insist on a self inflicted misery for Africa. They don't seem to perceive the root cause of Africa's poverty, the interrelation between its moral rot and the scarcity mentality and generally the underdevelopment caused by its integration into the world economic system. To them, Africa was the dark and mysterious continent; aloof from the rest of the world; having nothing to offer but the backwardness of its people and its culture until the Europeans 'liberated' them; full of violence, 'uncivilization' and lack of initiative and innovation. It is this, they insist, that has been translated into Africa's poverty and underdevelopment today.
This only proves the urgency for Africans to be acquainted with their glorious past and the richness of their heritage. Africans must understand that their homeland was the birthplace of man himself, and has been at the forefront of human progress ever since.
Nonetheless, the root cause of Africa's underdevelopment lies in its relations with Europe over the past five centuries. In the period hitherto the beginning of the unscrupulous trade in African captives, Africa was certainly ahead of Europe in almost all aspects of life. The civilizations of Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Kanem-Bornu, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia not to mention the coastal city states of East Africa were literally bigger and more developed than the little quarrelsome kingdoms of mediaeval Europe. Due to various circumstances, however, such as Europe's belligerence, Africa's socioeconomic and political development was curtailed.
The result was the onset of a horrific slave trade that took about 50 million Africans, roughly half of our population at the time. The economic impacts were evident. Remarked Ahmed Sekou Toure;
The relation between the degree of destitution of peoples of Africa and the length and nature of the exploitation they had to endure is evident. Africa remains marked by the crimes of the slave traders; up to now her potentialities are restricted by underpopulation.
When this trade in captives had completed its role of capital accumulation, Africa was invaded by the imperialists and active exploitation of its resources facilitated. And when Africans thought they had defeated colonialism, a more intricate form of imperialism, neocolonialism, ensued.
These factors have primarily contributed to the underdevelopment in Africa today. Is there corruption and general lack of integrity as well as other factors that have contributed to poor living standards? Yes. In fact we must be wary of the agents of imperialism within our circles. However, we must understand that exploitation by Europe and North America serves as the chief contributor to our misery.
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