Corruption & Greed in Post Colonial Africa

Disclaimer: All views expressed on this site are my own and do not represent the opinions of any entity whatsoever with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated.

The history of the 20th century for African states was a consistent theme of the colonial powers dire need to reconstruct, the Motherland in Western perception. At the start of the last century, there were only two nations that had independent governments, Liberia and Ethiopia. The year is 2020, and while there are 54 independent countries in Africa, we are still combating the issue of oppression and pleading for fundamental human rights.

The current distressing scenes in Nigeria with the SARS(Special Anti-Robbery Squad)and the heart-rending genocide in Congo, have made myself think? How heartbreaking must it be for the people that have witnessed their nations first independence day? How much hope they had for an optimistic future? The struggle of raising children in an uncertain society? African leaders have shown incompetence by failing time and time again, often instead driven by their financial gain and interests, than protecting their people and advancing their state. They are using God-given natural resources such as Gold, Diamonds, Oil and Platinum, which could be repurposed to transform the continent into an economic superpower, rather than selling it to the highest foreign bidder for personal profit.

Anti-SARS protest in Nigeria

My mother was born a year after the Zimbabwean independence day in 1980, for my mother's entire existence, she has never seen Zimbabwe in a time of peace and tranquillity. A total of 39 years alive on this planet, and she has witnessed the horrors of Gukurahundi which was a genocide the Zanu PF Government committed on the Ndebele people of Zimbabwe by use of the National army, where Soldiers murdered innocent people, and defenceless women were savagely raped. Another mind-blowing fact is that the British were aware, of the atrocities committed on the Ndebele people further showing corruption and misplaced trust. My mother has witnessed our country crippled by Hyperinflation, where the cost of bread once was $10 million. Zimbabwe has genuinely suffered, and it's excruciating, the fact that the next generation will also experience hardship, as the heinous, barbaric crimes continue. My country has been exploited since the days of King Solomon mines and the birth of Rhodesia, which lead to White Supremacy.

Deceased bodies after the genocide of Gukurahundi

Africans have faced hardship and trauma, by the hands of the people we put our confidence and optimism in, repeatedly. But what will it take for change ever to occur? I mean voters suppression and media censorship lead many believing that nothing can be achieved. Constant indoctrination has also suggested that these dishonourable ''leaders'' have total systematic authority. But what if somehow the current regime is removed? It's still evidently shown that the cycle of dictatorship unfortunately continues and that people are never actually free, as Joseph Kaliba ex- Congo President and Robert Mugabe ex- Zimbabwean president have both recently resigned. However, the countries still suffer, and the people are still praying to beg for a right to equal life and equal opportunities.

I've always discussed the topic of corruption and greed with my Uncle back home in Zimbabwe. As I have seen my country in a hopeless situation, my fellow countryman neglected by both the previous and current regime. From what I have witnessed, the only way us as Africans can become the continental force we were destined to become is through ownership and education. By educating, the next generation and the one after will be future politicians, doctors, engineers, law enforcers. So educating the next generation on the horrors should be a necessity, so history doesn't repeat itself. Not only educating the next generation will be a catalyst for change but educating our current one, as ignorance is strife amongst us, as we rely on information being fed to us, less now due to social media. But the info our governments provides us is all to indoctrinate us and control the way we feel about them, and the lives Africans living in poverty should be happy with what people stomach. The other point suggested was ownership, Africa is blessed with roughly 30% of the world's known mineral reserves but has approximately 413 million people living in poverty. No continent with the number of resources should be this underdeveloped, but that's the thing. I've always stated that Africa is not undeveloped but just overexploited. Western countries, the old colonial powers are built on their former empires mainly ravaging the Motherland for all she has. But still to this day, African leaders are selling off minerals to foreign governments in exchange for poorly built services such as hospitals, roads, schools etc. further hampering our countries into further debt, continuing to strip our descendants of their rightful property.

Africans need to take ownership of our culture and heritage and let the appropriate leaders use our natural riches to improve us both economically and socially. Another method of possession is for Africans to invest in value and cultural identity ahead of all else. Cultural identity promotes an African based value systems, these will, in turn, encourage the development of products for Africans by Africans that will fit nicely into our way of life and identity. To support this point, you can look at the Japanese, Chinese, Indians and British, etc., make and produce the best products and trade decisions that best suit their identities and culture. Also opening up raw materials processing plants to ensure Africa maximizes profits by using the resources to their full extent, that can be utilized in other areas such as healthcare resources.

If we don't take ownership, Africa as a continent will never heal, and the silent second colonization will continue. My thoughts and prayers are with those who have suffered and will continue to suffer under such tyranny.