Many attribute underdevelopment and poverty to Africa. Some have gone as far as to label it the “dark continent ” because of its low levels of prosperity, socio-economic growth, and general well-being. While much of what is said of the African continent is true, we mustn’t forget that most of  African countries are relatively young nations, still finding their way, making mistakes, and not necessarily going in the right direction.

Much of Africa’s underdevelopment finds roots in the colonial era when most of the continent’s resources were being plundered to satisfy the appetites of European nations in what was known the “Scramble for Africa”. Africa was divided up just as a cake was, amongst different powers, each getting their own hefty slice. Borders were being arbitrarily drawn, dividing up tribes and entire peoples, which later became the basis for much of the civil strife we have seen in recent decades, such as the Rwandan genocide and the Darfur conflict.

Even infrastructure built by the Europeans was intended for their use, such as using schools to educate but also sow into place a certain mindset. Train rails, roads and ports were constructed to direct the exporting of much of Africa’s resources towards the metropoles. Europeans were not concerned, whatsoever, about providing means for sustainable development in the land that they occupied.

The aim of this article is not to point the finger outwards, however, it is just useful to put into context the kind of Africa, we Africans inherited at our independence. If many African nations are underdeveloped today, it is a result of mismanagement, corruption and civil conflict, among other man-created ordeals. We have not handled our economies well, and many nations have neglected their peoples’ needs and this has been numerously demonstrated in the manifestation of famine and disease, the proliferation of AIDS and widespread poverty. 

Many in the West say that Africans need to produce, manufacture, build, farm. Yes, all this is true, but not in the ways being dictated from abroad. It is safe to assert today that globalization has not been particularly beneficial to Africans and the international trade arena has long catered to the highly industrialized nations. Terms of trade, tariffs, barriers, and subsidies have all been used by European and American companies and governments to stymie African products being exported.

On one hand, Africans are encouraged to produce to export and join the free market, on the other hand, our products are being sold at the lowest prices in the world and not gaining  any competitivity. This is directly a cause of  all the hindrances created by the international trade agreements including those contained in the WTO and free trade agreements African countries have signed with their European Union and American counterparts.

I believe that the way for Africa to develop is to look inwards, not outwards, at least for the time being. Africa has unlimited natural resources which are not being exploited to their full potential. The way forwards is to become self-sufficient as a continent, before looking to place our products elsewhere. Competitive advantage should be used within countries and among African nations to determine who should produce or manufacture what   in accordance with specific capabilities, costs of production, and value added. More developed African nations should kick start investments in other countries and  invest in microfinance programs in the poorest of nations. African countries should concentrate on creating programs to encourage agricultural and pastoral activities so as to create self-sufficiency in food as a priority.

Governments should invest their money in the creation of small and medium sized businesses or micro enterprises for the poorest of the poor. If international institutions want to help, they can do so by promoting these kind of activities and following through on the ground. This will prove much more viable than giving billions of dollars in aid which almost never generate the wanted substantial growth and only results in a waste of resources, especially because government corruption is so rampant in Africa.

In short, I think the way forward for more sustainable development in Africa is that nations need to to start taking more responsibility their own failures and use them to move forward. They need to get rid of learned helplessness, and look inwards for solutions for devastating issues such as the lack of water, and widespread poverty and disease.