Comments by "" (@orboakin8074) on "Triggernometry"
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As an African (Nigerian) it is so refreshing to see a fellow African address the issue of poverty here objectively and accurately. We don't have poverty or development problems because of colonialism but largely because of government corruption, terrible socioeconomic policies (like socialism), poor institutions, and other factors like bad geography. During the independence period from the 50s till the 60s, many post-colonial African leaders made the terrible decisions of abandoning the economic, political and social models left by the Europeans here. They undid things like democratic rule, liberalism, capitalism, property rights, better education standards, and civic nationalism. This was done due to lingering resentment of colonialism and also the rabid indoctrination into leftwing ideology that many of these "leaders" got in higher education. This led to social unrest, economic disruption and loss of life due to corruption and political instability that still hinders Africa to this day. Examples are in Tanzania where Julius Nyere, an avid Marxist-Leninist, began his programs of African socialism (Ujamaa) with good intentions but they ultimately ruined the economy, caused massive poverty, and led to increased authoritarianism in Tanzania. The country only began improving once he stepped down and his policies were undone. Another example is in my own country where after our independence in 1960, we had a brutal civil war and military rule for several decades. Controlled economy replaced our capitalist model and we experienced massive unemployment, poverty, insecurity, increased debt etc. This was all ended once we returned to democratic rule in 99 and onwards. President Obasanjo and subsequent governments liberalized our economy and reformed it via privatization and this led to reducing our national and foreign debt, created many more jobs, and reduced inflation.
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As a Nigerian, my opinion on colonialism will be more nuanced than that of most westerners. On one hand, it was brutal in some ways but on the other it did play a huge role in bringing much of Africa into the modern age via introduction of modern tech, medicine, western education, and nation building. My country literally wouldn't exist without the British. For all the issues we face, most of us wouldn't ever dream of not having a country of our own.
Also, one major good it did was abolish slavery. I cannot be more thankful for the British using their naval power and economic might to suppress the slave trade in Africa. Oh, I know they partook in it for a time, themselves, but it existed here long before whites ever came to Africa. Even my own ancestors of the Edo kingdom were slavers. What makes the British different is that unlike other regional African and Arab powers, they had the cultural & religious framework, wisdom, humanity and courage to actually stop the evil of slavery even at huge cost to their economy.
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@qwertyasdfgh1014 Interesting comment. You are right that some privatization has led to corruption and problems for countries e.g. Shell in my country, but for you to say all of privatization and deals with western companies is bad for Africa, is just strange🤨 In Kenya, privatization of government owned Kenya Post and their telecommunications industry, led to profits, more jobs, and the creation of Safaricom(one of the most profitable businesses in East Africa). Also, regarding France and their former colonies, you are only half correct. Some former colonies like Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso are doing poorly and French policies there have not helped and this is partly due to their own poor governments and economic policies. But in others like Senegal, Cote d'voire, and Benin Republic, their deals and trade with France and privatization have led to economic growth, stability, and better quality of life. You have to be more objective when discussing this topic and not pretend it is a simple issue.
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@steves1015 The curse of geography for Africa is real and simply having resources means nothing. If that were the case, Japan would be poor while Congo would be rich today. Our geography is a mix of arid desserts, dry savannahs, and thick jungles. This meant for a long time, much fo Africa was still in the iron age and human settlements and societal development was hindered and very few nation states or viable settlements or borders existed here. Most of our soil is notoriously poor for large scale agriculture. This didn't change until westerners brought mechanized farming, GMO crops, and fertilizer here. There was also the problem of diseases like malaria and Tse-tse fly parasite being unchecked here that lowered population growth.
Finally, the resources are more of a trap than anything due to our history of poor institutions, poor national unity and poor economic decision making. Rather than use them for development and improvement, they are used to accrue wealth for corrupt people or to fuel conflict due to tribalism. The few exception where this didn't happen include Botswana with their diamonds but that was mainly due to their pre-colonial culture that had similarities to that of the British and when they were colonized, they simply used both systems to properly develop their country and use their resources properly compared to Zimbabwe.
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@obajuluwaoluwatomisin3883 Friend, I never said the lack of development is a curse. it is our geography that is the curse. Yes, Africa is lucky that our geography protects us from things like earthquakes, tornadoes, and tsunamis but there are other problems. I mean, Botswana has bad geography too with less arable land, land-locked, less resources and less rain than Zimbabwe but they are more developed and stable because of good political, economic and social systems. This proves that many of us in Africa are not too conservative that we refuse to adopt modern things and concepts. It is usually a matter of political will, social stability, and culture. In our case in Nigeria, we have managed to rise to the top of Africa economically and are certainly more developed compared to pre-colonial times or even some other countries here. We still have many MANY problems due to political and social issues, like insecurity, corruption, and poor infrastructure but we have shown that with better leadership and management, they can be solved. Plus, the issue of geography for us can be solved with good leadership and culture. Places in the north have this problem but exceptions, like Kaduna and kano and Abuja, show that poor geography doesn't stop development with good leadership, economic policies and culture.
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