Colonization took place almost in all parts of the world, depending on the level of civilization that societies had then. Many countries would overpower colonial agents after a series of battles towards independence. Africa, in this case, appears to be among the continents that were at the hands of colonialists in recent times, with countries such as the Republic of South Africa and Djibouti gaining their independence late. After the colonial times, it has been a challenge for African nations to have economic and political stability even when they had traditional societies with them (Boahen, 2008). Well-structured traditional societies have not yet resembled significant progress in some countries. The main challenge in Africa is corruption and the lack of expertise power to invent basic industrial processes among other issues. In Afrique Je Te Plumerai, the filmmaker, Jean Marie Teno, asked the question: “How can a country composed of well-structured traditional societies fail to succeed as a state?” This paper presents information on possible reasons why many African countries have failed to succeed with well-structured traditional society in place.
European countries such as France, Italy, Portugal, Germany, and Spain were responsible for the scramble and partitioning of Africa. These countries wanted to obtain raw materials from African states with rich resources such as gold and oil. For instance, The Republic of South Africa is known for gold production, while Nigerian counterparts have oil as their main resource (Gilbert & Reynolds, 2012). When white settlers came to these African countries, they forced the indigenous people to plant crops that were meant for the European industries.
The labor for the farmlands was forcefully gained from the same native people of Africa. For example, people in Kenya, Nigeria, and Somaliland which were all under the British rule, were subjected to long working hours in British farms so that then the Great Britain would develop its economy by manipulating the societies then. Teno’s had the concern on the African societies having a slow development rate and negligible success. The issue was caused by the exploitation that African were forced to leave their rich land to Europeans (Gilbert & Reynolds, 2012). It means that the European economy would be boosted from Africa, an issue that meant that the traditional society would not benefit more even after independence.
Some African countries have been left behind in terms of success is due to its people. Despite a well-structured society like unions formed then, there has been disorganization since the exit of Europeans. For example, when the Germans came to Tanzania, they introduced a more advanced style of war that incorporated the use of guns as opposed to the arrows and vows that people of then Tanganyika used (Urquhart, 2002). Due to the superiority, the Tanganyika society viewed whites as the only group that could define new strategies of living. Apart from the spiritual norms that the people of Tanganyika used, they failed to invent a more robust technique of fighting, an issue that is evident up today, where most people believe that a progressive activity must be overlooked from the developed countries such as the UK and the US.
The Germans were considered superior to Tanganyika residents to an event that when they gave rules to govern the colony, most people would adhere to them. Some of the collaborators of the British rule in Kenya such as Nabogo Mumia of the Wanga community led to the delayed independence since they wanted to benefit themselves from British incentives (Teno, 2012). The actions of self-centeredness that were evident are still witnessed up to today where the Kenyan government has been criticized for unfair policy to its people. Corruption issues are rampant in Kenya especially for the people in the government. They want to enrich themselves at the expense of Kenyans (Boahen, 2008). Thus, the slow rate of success could be due to the greed-centric policies which could have sprouted during the colonial period.
The lack of support to leaders who have a vision for countries is a key challenge that may make African countries to be under-developed. During the colonial period, British rule was termed oppressive when it came to labor. There came some leaders such as Kiamba of the Akamba in eastern Kenya who together with the Giriama community, fought for the end of oppression of Kenyan people (Urquhart, 2002). Other icons such as Kwame Nkurumah of Ghana, said that British rule was ‘linked to benefit the white society at expense of Ghana and other countries.’ However, despite the struggle, some of the communities did not back the leaders rather they were accomplices who dragged the fight (“Operations of the colonial system”, 2021). For instance, Masaku of the Kamba community in Kenya did not resist violence when the cattle were confiscated by white settlers for slaughtering purposes. Most people in the Kamba community wanted a reciprocity rule to apply whereby, whites would be fought violently. Due to the divided intentions, African communities find it hard to support visionary people as a result of policies set.
During the colonial period, some communities in West Africa fought not to get independence but to reform the colonial rule. Therefore, it means the slow success rate in African countries could be due to a lack of specific attention on a given issue. In Nigeria, the colonial rebels when given opportunities by the British rulers to discuss issues such as flexible labor terms, property rights, and taxation policies (“Operations of the colonial system”, 2021). If these leaders would object to the rule by presenting their views on the need to be independent as early as then, Nigeria would be far in terms of development. After the colonial system was overpowered as civilization came later, the leaders would get attached to some various rulers for materialistic incentives instead of requesting information and expertized power to run their country (Boahen, 2008). The challenge came where countries such as Senegal believed that the French were evil hence did not want to get associated with any foreign policy. It is difficult to grow as a nation when leaders do not benchmark from the developed states.
Failure to form associations that would enable enlightened ideas on the need to have self-driven countries may be a reason why success has slowed for African states. For example, the Belgian Congo did not have associations until the 1950s. In Angola, only two associations were formed which means there was lack of unity (Teno, 2012). With few or no associations, it would be hard to beat the majority rule, especially under the modern bureaucracy. Currently, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has many mines that are still under the control of French companies. Taking the example of Congo and Nigerian resource control, it means Africa has for a long time had dependence on ‘white supremacy’ for the key agendas (Lumumba, 1960). The challenge is that the countries that have developed may take advantage and deprive of what is important before they help you to get the remainder. That is a bitter truth since mostly, the civilized society would manipulate the less fortunate groups.
The contribution of the clergy in the war towards independence is also controversial. The group mostly would advocate for peace hence it would be difficult to have war happening. During the colonial time, educated Africans such as Rev. John Chilembwe of Malawi did not utilize his intelligence to help his fellow Malawians (“Operations of the colonial system”, 2021). Thus, the slow progress in Africa could be a result of unutilized education or unpracticed principles that gives insights into what should be done. The education system gives people the power to tackle difficult problems. Despite educated people in South Africa, they would not apply their learned policies to assist their fellow people in the battle of ‘white supremacy.’
In 1914, Rev. Chilembwe condemned African participation in the war, specifically Malawi. He said, ‘Let the rich men, bankers, titled men, storekeepers, farmers, and landlords go to war and get shot’ (“Operations of the colonial system”, 2021). This move was termed retrogressive by the Malawi protestors since the only way people could be free from intimidation was a bullet for bullet, or bullet for an arrow. Malawi being an African country, perhaps might have the same policies of discouraging people to strive for what is considered right, by pretending to be ‘holy’. The clergymen today are accused of using western imperialism to exploit congregants on issues such as tithe, time for church activities among others. People who follow all the preaching to bits may be significantly literal to take huge offerings which benefit the church leaders. That would be a way of slow growth since it is evident that businessmen and women would avoid paying taxes while honoring monetary requirements in church (Urquhart, 2002). Therefore, if African doctrine on theology does not have an indigenous base, it might take time before success prevails in the region.
The most prominent theme that may hinder success in African states is a dependency on Europe, Asia, and other countries for financial support. Today, the theme can be interpreted as neocolonialism that has taken roots in several parts of Africa. South Africa’s famous segregated rule known as Apartheid is a subject that may lead to the notion that the Whites were superior then Afrikaans of South Africa then (“Operations of the colonial system”, 2021). When discussing apartheid rule, most scholars would praise how South Africans struggled with the discrimination policies. Rarely can one find developmental agendas that were made to unite the two conflicting parties (Boahen, 2008). The thought on the superiority between the whites and people of Africa could be a shortcoming when it comes to the success issues.
In conclusion, the African continent’s well-structured society did not mean a success factor would be evident that easily. Due to policies that came following the entrance of British, French, Portuguese, and other colonialists, countries such as Nigeria, Malawi, Kenya, Somali Land, and others would be challenged on development agendas. The white colonizers came with power and the African countries regarded that as a sign of superiority. Currently, there has been post colonialism where Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana and others must depend on foreign countries to control their resources, an issue that may lead to slow success.
References
Boahen, A. (2008). African perspectives on colonialism (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press.
Gilbert, E., & Reynolds, J. (2012). Africa in world history. Pearson.
Lumumba, P. (1960). Independence Day Speech. Speech, Democratic Republic of Congo. Operations of the colonial system. (2021). Lecture, United States.
Teno, J. (2012). Afrique, Je Te Plumerai [Film]. Cameroon; Raphia Film Productions.
Urquhart, B. (2002). The Wind of Change (the end of colonialism in Africa) [Film]. Chad; Films Media Group.