SOME FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR AFRICA BEING UNDERDEVELOPED

SOME FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR AFRICA BEING UNDERDEVELOPED 

There are various factors that have affected the development of the continent Africa, however, some reasons behind the underdevelopment of Africa is highlighted below, they include

CORRUPTION AND POLITICAL INSTABILITY: - this is one factor that has affected the development pattern of Africa leading to underdevelopment. Due to the selfish nature and the corrupt practices of African leaders who only think of enriching themselves to the detriment of the population, the African continent remains to be underdeveloped. If the revenue generated in Africa was judiciously managed by the African leaders, by now, the level of development would have increased and also the standard of living in the African population. Therefore, one of the internal factors contributing to the underdevelopment of Africa is the corrupt tendencies found in the African continent. The political leaders lack the commitment and patriotism for the development strive of Africa,  due to the mismanagement of funds gotten from financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank etc, Africa still remains backward and underdeveloped.

the African continent has witnessed series of political instability ranging from military takeover to civil wars etc. these political disorders have widely affected the development process of Africa, thus enhancing the underdevelopment of Africa. The military takeover for instance brought about leaders who have no idea of how leadership ought to be administered for effective development, instead these leaders looted the revenues which would have been used for the development of Africa. (Ake 1996)

·                     THE COLONIAL MENTALITY OF CONSUMPTION RATHER THAN PRODUCTION

The advent of European colonialism in Africa was accompanied by the expansion of the needs of the African peoples as a result of the altered conditions of life in a colonial environment. Illiterates and unlettered, lacking the theoretical knowledge, technical know-how and practical skills required for the production of manufactures, the colonized Africans could not produce the expanded necessities for their changed life. Moreover, they were made to think and believe that they were inherently incapable intellectually of acquiring the knowledge, know-how and skills needed for such production, and, consequently, that their expanded needs could only be met by importation from abroad. The real reason for the official prohibition or discouragement of local industrial production and the preference for importation from abroad was to create a market in Africa for the manufactures of the factories in the imperial countries, and thereby to increase their own industrial production. Thus was implanted in colonized African a dependency mentality, a mentality that inclined the African, especially the educated African, to depend on foreign manufactures for most of its need such as clothing, medicines, and means of transportation and even for many of its food requirement. The mentality of the crave for white collar jobs to work for European mercantile establishment made Africans believe that getting these jobs and working with the colonial officials elevated them in terms of social standing, believing that the work involving manual labour, agricture in particular, was looked down upon as menial, because it was not done by the white man in Africa, it was regarded as work not meant for the educated, only for the lower, illiterate classes. (Offiong1980).

·                     THE COLONIALIST/ IMPERIALIST EXPLOITATION

The exploitation of Africa by European economic imperialism was, as earlier noted, by means of trade, which antedated colonialism by some four centuries. It began in the 15^th century when Europe, using its control of shipping on the high seas, supported by its cannon power, opened trading relations with parts of Africa. But the trade was not one between two equal trading partners. On the contrary, it entirely subordinated Africa to Europe, integrating its economies into those of Europe as a dependent or satellite part thereof. The subordination took various forms.

First, Africa was made to serve Europe as a source of cheap labour and raw materials, and as a market for European manufactures.

Secondly, the terms of trade were indicated and controlled in a manner that favoured Europe at Africa’s expense. European capitalism determined the price of African countries received for their exports, the quantities of commodities exported, and the prices charged to them for imports. There were fixed so as to ensure a large balance in favour of imports, which was then expatriated as profit to Europe. The unequal exchange was forced upon African countries by the monopolistic power of the imperialists.

Thirdly, what goods Africa could export were dictated by the changing needs of Europe from time to time; gold, ivory and slaves at first and later when the trade in slaves was stopped, then, minerals, ivory, palm produce, groundnut, rubber, cotton etc. in the result, as Walter Rodney observed, African economies “ceased to be directed exclusively or even primarily towards the satisfaction of the want of its inhabitants ;” rather their economic efforts were made to serve external interest, thereby undermining their capacity for development. But no sooner was the slave trade stopped that European colonization was foisted in the latter half of the 19^th century. The establishment of colonial rule, with its direct political control and domination bestowed upon imperialist exploitation of Africa the backing of governmental power, thus eroding further Africa’s capacity for development. Africa now served as market for investments in highly profit yielding enterprises like banking, insurance and other finance business, shipping, mining, plantation agricture producing export like palm, cocoa, tobacco etc but not manufacturing industries of course, the absence of manufacturing industries prevented the acquisition of technical know-how and industrial skills by Africans and the diffusion of skills generally. Thus, lack of skills among African was an integral part of capitalist impact on the continent thus resulting to underdevelopment. (Nkrumah 1996)

THE ACTIVITIES OF BRITTON WOODS INSTITUTION

The activity of Britton woods institutions is also one factor affecting Africa underdevelopment.  The loans given by these institutions sometimes makes one wonder if they are for developmental purposes or for under developmental purposes due to the conditions usually attached to loans from IMF and World Bank. These Britton woods institutions require that the recipient countries must not only pay for consultancy which often takes half of the loan, but also purchase the materials that would be used to execute the projects from the West, notably the major financial contributors to the institutions. The consultants who are to carry out these projects are also expatriate from the institutions or the West. This is part of the dependent nature which still exists in the African continent causing the continent to still be underdeveloped. The danger related to these loans is that consultancy alone consumes significant percentage of the loan thereby leaving little or nothing for the execution of the projects. Also, the recipient states spend huge part of the loan on importation of materials which otherwise could be sourced or produced locally. All these factors establish the fact that the Britton woods institutions also contribute to underdevelopment. ( Ake 1996)