Be Mains Ready

• Briefly describe the process of decolonization with emphasis on Africa
• Mention the social, economic and political factors which militated against development in Africa
• Conclude with optimism for Africa’s future

Answer

When the Second World War ended, large parts of the world were still under colonial rule. Over the next two decades, most colonies in Asia and Africa emerged as independent nations. Decolonisation was exultantly welcomed in Africa as after years of social-economic exploitation, these countries extricated themselves from the yoke of colonialism.

But the hope and optimism of the African people vanished, within years of their independence, as nationalist governments failed to guarantee welfare for the majority of its people.

Why decolonization did not lead to prosperity in Africa

• Social Schism: Each country contained a number of different tribes which had united in the nationalist struggle for freedom. However, as soon as the Europeans withdrew, their allegiance shifted back to their respective tribes thus leading to fissiparous tendencies within the nations. For eg. in Nigeria, the Congo (Zaire), Burundi and Rwanda, tribal differences became so intense that it led to civil wars.
• Economic Weakness: African countries were not industrialized due to colonial policies. After independence, they often relied on only one or two commodities for export, so that a fall in the world price of their products was a major disaster. For example- oil export amounted for 80 percent of Nigeria’s National Income in those days.
• Political Problems: African politicians lacked experience of working with the system of parliamentary democracy left behind by the Europeans. Most African leaders who had taken part in Guerrilla campaigns before independence were influenced by Marxist ideas, which often led them to set up one-party States as the only way to achieve progress.
• Neo-colonialism: It suggests that European powers granted only nominal political independence to colonies in the decades after World War II and they continued to control the economies of the new African countries. After independence, the main revenue base for African countries continued to be the export of raw materials; this resulted in the under-development of African economies, while Western industries thrived.

Benefits also failed to accrue to the common citizens because of endemic corruption, natural disasters, the spread of radical ideologies etc.

After decades of colonial depredation, infighting, pogroms, and tenuous democratic systems, many countries like Rwanda in contemporary times offer hope for a better future of Africa. With continuous improvement in socio-economic conditions of the people, economic leapfrogging, rising life expectancy and growth projections in future a new slogan is rising that “The future is African”.