Comments by "" (@orboakin8074) on "hoser" channel.

  1. As an African (Nigerian) I really appreciate these videos you do on various African countries👍👍. Your coverage is objective, well researched and presented, and fun to watch. You also don't use the same excuses that most westerners and Africans give when discussing Africa's issues i.e. you don't just blame colonialism or racism for our problems but focus on geography, corruption, national unity, and economic systems. I truly appreciate that. Also, this video is a perfect comparison with your Botswana video. While Zimbabwe has more resources and better land, their terrible leadership undermined their post-colonial development while Botswana used good leadership and socioeconomic policies to improve themselves.
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  2. Thank you so much for making this video. The sad story of the DRC is pretty common for many African countries. As an African myself (Nigerian, specifically) it always annoys me when most people only attribute Africa's current problems to "colonialism or racism", effectively removing personal responsibility of us Africans, and ignore more important factors like geography, climate, socioeconomic systems, political unity, corruption, and leadership. Thanks for focusing on those areas.
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  3. Another great video, friend. As a African myself (Nigerian) it annoys me when most people only attribute Africa's current problems to "colonialism or racism", effectively removing personal responsibility of us Africans, and ignore more important factors like geography, climate, socioeconomic systems, political unity and leadership. Thanks for focusing on those areas.
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  4. 7:40 I remember watching a documentary on the Vietnam war and one thing really surprised me: A commentator said, "The Vietnam war with America was a short-phase in the greater war with China". It basically showed me that Vietnam views China as a greater existential threat than all the other countries it has gone to war with. It certainly explains why they have good relationships with the USA even despite their war.
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  5. 7:10 As an African (Nigerian), Botswana's story is so inspiring. So very few post-colonial African leaders managed to lead their countries onto better heights after colonialism. Many simply went the route of marxism and "anti-western" and destroyed their nations with authoritarianism and incompetence. The best one I know is Seretse Khama of Botswana. He and his fellow officials managed to negotiate for a peaceful transfer of power from the British and actually kept the systems of economics and government and even maintained good relations with the white population and the British government. Today, Botswana is one of the freest, economically prosperous and stable countries in Africa.
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  6. As an African (Nigerian, specifically), i will never stop saying that dictatorships have never EVER done anything good for Africa. As flawed as democracy is, it is far better than tribal authoritarianism.
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  7. As a Nigerian, i will tell you straight that de-dollarization is not going to happen within any of our lifetimes😕 It's the world's reserve currency for a reason. Most countries, evwn hostile ones like Russia and China, prefer US dollars because of guarantees and trust in the American economy compared to theirs. Even us here in Africa. Plus, America spenda a lot and lets thw dollar float in the market to make it more attractive to others. No other country can do this.
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  8. Mexico is a beacon for other developing nations to follow, especially us in Nigeria, and the rest of Africa. One thing I absolutely admire about them is that they used their proximity to the USA as a way to get more developed. Through their legal migratory workers (and even some illegal ones) and through sponsored training programs and improved education, their citizenry got more educated, more financially strong and used their new knowledge and wealth to reinvest and develop their country. Now Mexico is industrializing on a rapid scale and since their labor cost less than China and they're closer to the USA, more factories and industries are relocating to Mexico. Absolutely genius and we'll earned success.
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  9. I am Nigerian and agree 100% with you on South Africa. They are a failing state and they have no one to blame but themselves. They inherited a country with everything lined up for greater success but are turning into Zimbabwe 2.0. They have no excuse. Botswana is literally next to them, has less resources but is politically stable and has better economics and infrastructure (they can actually keep the lights on!)
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  10. Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires and also the graveyard of Afghanistan (it's people, it hopes and dreams and any potential it could ever have) Even without foreign intervention, Afghanistan would still be a messed up place. Geography, climate, and demographics have doomed it from the beginning.
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  11. I have no doubt the world is in for some turbulent (or as the Chinese say, "interesting") times but I have a good feeling most of us will make it and it will be grueling and hard but necessary. Heck! My grandparents and my great-grandmother, along with my parents and their respective families, made it through the colonial era of Nigeria, our civil war, military juntas, the cold war, and even I made it through the 2000s, the great recession, the SARS, Ebola, Avian flu pandemics, and much more. We humans are a stubborn and resilient species and many of us have experienced so serious stuff and I am damn sure we will survive what's coming, Amen.😊😊
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  12.  @rizkyadiyanto7922  That is a solid point. As bad as colonialism was, one good thing no one can deny is the fact that national unity and identity was created in many places it previously didn't exist, like my Nigeria for instance. As imperfect as it is, it is infinitely better than the alternative of balkanized, underdeveloped and fragmented tribes and kibgdoms.
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  13.  @TheDJGrandPa  Yeah, I see your point there friend. Even I, at many times in the past, would try to simplify complicated situations, especially of the political variety until I got more mature and actually did my research.
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  14.  @JcoleMc  Okay, so what? No really, so what? You want me to mail you my birth certificate or Nigerian passport? Look, Believe whatever you want, friend. You are not the first westerner to generalize all of us Africans by assuming we all think the same or that my kind of opinions could only be held by a white person. It means nothing to me.
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  15. I just hope you are not trying to excuse what they did.
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  16. 2:01 This is one of the reasons I will always be largely grateful that the British were the ones who colonized and effectively created my country of Nigeria. The British tended to not just focus on resource exploitation in their colonies but they actually tried to develop them for their own benefit and indirectly, the benefit of the people they controlled. Thus, they also brought their social systems and economic systems to their territories and this usually led to better socioeconomic and political stability afterwards, compared to most of Africa that was colonized by non-British. Oh, and let us not forget that the British were one of the few colonial powers to outlaw and forcibly stop slavery in Africa.
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  17. 2:22 This is one of the biggest reasons why much of Africa degraded after colonialism. So many of the post-colonial leaders were marxists who decided to do away with the systems left by folks like the British and impose authoritarianism to secure their own power and status and it led to many countries failing. Very few African countries had the benefit of having good visionary and sound leaders like Seretse Khama of Botswana.
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  18.  @spacecraftcarrier4135  You said it. I think the reason most people use the "colonialism/imperialism" excuse and talk of Africa as a monolith is due to convinience as researching all individual countries takes time for the average joe but still it is better if they do the bare minimum. Thankfully, this is changing.
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  19.  @crystalcat1002  Oh no, you are not entirely wrong, friend. A major reason the current borders and ethnic lashes in Africa exist today is due to the imperfect way they were constructed. But border issues aside, Africa's problems existed long before European colonialism and they mainly stem from geography, climate, biological (prevalence of diseases) and societal reasons. And the current state of Africa is, indeed, largely due to the terrible leadership and ethnic schisms that are still present in many countries here but that also existed long before. I can go into more detail if you'd like.
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  20.  @AwedJR  Because criminals are still criminals. You can understand why they turned to crime but you would have to be a fool to excuse that behaviour.
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  21.  @salamantics  You have a point, friend. Monarchism does work but in special circumstances and locations. Why it doesn't work for much of us in Africa on a large scale is that our nations are too tribally diverse for it to work. Hence why civic nationalism, democracy and federalism is what you usually see here, especially in Nigeria.
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  22. Woah! 😳 As a Nigerian, i am glad for Somaliland getting closer to full on nationhood. They deserve it since tgey are the only stable part of the hirn of Africa. Also, i was not fully expecting this😂 I know Trump has been trying to reduce China's influence in East African waters, especially Djibouti, but this makes sense. Recognize Somaliland and make them a full on American ally and have bases there.
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  23. This low valuation of currency would really be beneficial to my country, Nigeria, were it not for the idiots we have as politicians and their mismanagement of our infrastructure and industry and economy.
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  24.  @TheZackofSpades  The borders are an issue but it is mostly due to the politicians and some really regressive cultures. For example, in my country, the south is very ethnically diverse with different tribes and a mix of Christians and muslims but despite this there is more secularism here and as a result, we tend to co-exist with each other and our region is more developed and the economic powerhouse of Nigeria. Ethnic issues still exist but never enough to cause serious rifts. Part of this is due to the fact that the British spent more time in the southern part of Nigeria and imposed their social and economic systems on the region much longer. Comparatively, in the northern part of Nigeria, they are more ethnically homogenous and culturally and religiously similar there but that region is more rife with illiteracy, insecurity (frequent incursions by terrorists/bandits of the same tribe from Chad, Niger Republic etc), rampant corruption, social disunity and underdevelopment. The reason is due to the fact that the British, despite colonizing that part of Nigeria, did not impose their own social and economic systems on the region. The traditional rulers made this deal to secure their own positions but in the long-run, it made their region worse off. The borders are an issue but the culture and the leadership in the areas plays a much bigger role.
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  25.  @namso3772  Friend, if colonialism was the main factor behind Africa's long period of underdevelopment and other issues, South Asia, East Asia, Central Asia, South East Asia, South America, and even African countries like Botswana, Kenya, Tunisia, Morocco and Namibia would all be desolate and backwards places rivalling Afghanistan. Africa's problems stem from much more than colonialism. Almost every country and continent on earth was colonised repeatedly throughout history. What makes a country or a region develop is not the lack of colonisation but having good socio-economic systems, national unity, and smart political leadership. Also, the CIA is not the one who installs every dictator in Africa. Most of the time, they ceased power or people just voted for them. Please, don't try and remove personal responsibility form us Africans. Your point about Africa potentially being better without colonialism doesn't hold weight because most of Africa, prior to western colonialism was in the iron age, had subsistence farming, and we had no established nations, no modern technology, no strong economies, no unified national identities, slavery and conquest from other African tribes and Arab conquerors, no modern medicine or infrastructure etc. Western colonialism (yes, because Arabs were colonising Africa before them and doing much worse to us) was not a black and white affair. It had many negative impacts but one would have to be a fool to disregard the actual positives it did result in. For example, slavery was actually abolished in much of Africa thanks to colonialists like British.
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  26. I agree. Haiti is a serious special case. They have good land, good geographic location and potential as a tourist hub and shipping ports, proximity to the USA. the only serious issue is their tendency for earthquakes but honestly the really should be doing better as a country. And I refuse to believe the lazy excuse of "slavery, exploitation, racism" etc. They have also received more financial aid than most countries in that region. Something else is clearly wrong that country.
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  27.  @Dracon7601  Actually, Botswana was not "unnoticed." What made them such a better country pre and post colonialism is that their culture and socio-political style was similar to what the British had i.e. more representative form of traditional government with Chiefs having to be elected and rule via merit and good will of the people. That ensured that stuff like meritocracy and even individual rights were upheld. Also, they were almost assimilated into apartheid/white-ruled Southern Africa, especially for their diamonds, until their leaders actually asked the British to take colonial rule of their country because the British were a far better option than apartheid Afrikaans (Look it up, I am not lying). And as I mentioned, their socio-cultural way of life was already similar to what the British had and when they started imposing stuff like democracy, capitalism, etc, Botswana adopted to all of them very well compared to many other African colonies. That is why till today, they remain one of the most politically and economically stable countries in Africa.
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  28.  @eireifix  Yeah, I never said the British never profited or partook in slavery. I said they played a major role in ending it compared to even many African kingdoms or societies back then. Everyone was involved in slavery and conquest back then; even my own ancestors. That doesn't mean that I will not the British credit for the good that they did. Also, the amount of negative things they brought to other places is way less than what you are assuming. The way countries like India have benefitted and grown in power and how places like Hong Kong were (before the CCP subjugated them) just shows what benefits the British model did for those places.
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  29. As a Nigerian I can tell you that Average Brit isn't wrong. Most former British colonies tend to do better socioeconomically and politically compared to French ones. The British had a habit of importing and imposing their political and economic and social ideals on their colonies which tended to help them after colonialism. Yes, my country still has issues aplenty but compared to many other countries here in Africa and like Haiti, we are so much better economically and socially and politically and getting better still. Thank you British.
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  30. Welcome to human nature and mammal biology. What exactly shocks you about this? Pretty sure we, as a species, have made great progress by moving away from this style of thinking compared to our past. Maybe appreciate that fact?
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  31.  @guishenStreetB  Again, no one is denying that the scramble for Africa was based on the need for resources by the west. That is true. Resistance was also severely repressed. No one denies that. No one also denies that the basis and foundation for nation building, economic systems, basic infrastructure, societal development and national identities were borne out of that era of colonialism. Like I have said, it was not a black-and-white affair. It had negatives and positives. The ancestors of the British, French, and even Germans were colonized by the Romans. The South Americans colonized each other and were colonized by the Spanish and Portuguese. Much of sub-Saharan Africa was dominated by west African Bantu people and then later some Arabs, then the Europeans. Colonialism is a sad reality of the human experience and has resulted in negatives for those involved and many positives but ultimately, being beholden to it is pointless because it's in the past and using it a an excuse for all present problems is even more pointless.
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  32.  @jeremias-serus  Well said. Many of us in Africa know full well how pointless it is to blame the past or Europe for our current issues. We understand how our own corrupt and failing leadership/politicians cause many of these problems and we want to change that.
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  33.  @guishenStreetB  Nope, didn't forget that. Just didn't bother to include it because it really wasn't nearly as impactful to Africa's current issues as people think. Also, There was the Arab-African slave trade that existed before that, where Africans sold other Africans as slaves, and lasted much longer.
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  34.  @omarrgab1090  democracy is not perfect (nothing is) but it is far FAR BETTER than anything else a d what was before.
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  35.  @second2none914  I see the points you are trying to make but rather than coming to the same conclusion I arrived at i.e. that Africa's issues are due to multifaceted reasons, beyond colonialism or racism, you seem to rather fall back on simply attributing them mainly to colonialism and racism. First off, on the point of Congo, absolutely. Leopold and Belgium did horrible things to the people and the country during colonialism but you forget to mention the real reasons why the country is so unfortunate. Prior to colonialism, other factors hindered them. Their geography (thicketed jungles) prevented proper agriculture and human settlements and coalescing of people into more unified groups and this led to division and exploitation from their own tribal rulers via slavery and ethnic wars. Post-colonialism, that factor still hinders them, not the Belgium's. Rwanda also had tribal issues prior to Belgium colonialism, then had the tragic genocide, and now are a burgeoning economic power in East Africa simply because of good leadership. Even Botswana with less resources, a history of different tribes that united and that were colonised, is now a beacon of political and economic stability and progress in Africa. What is Congo's excuse? As for Nigeria, our civil war happened not due to religious reasons but tribal reasons. The Igbo people felt very under-represented in the post-colonial government. Various attempts to resolve their grievances failed and thus the war happened. Should we just keep blaming the British or the inept corrupt Nigerian government that caused it? Or do you suppose we, In Nigeria, should just balkanize or actually work together for some semblance of unity? I am from a minority tribe, myself. Do you think we should break away and create our own country or just blame all our woes on the British? Cameroon and the Francophone-Anglophone war. That is tragic but I need to ask you this, what do you think about the Ethiopian-Tigray war? Ethiopia was never colonized and yet still has inter-ethnic clashes. Are you saying both of these wars are simply due to the difference in languages? What about the fact that Cameroon has economic problems, insecurity problems and corrupt leadership? Don't you think those are more responsible for the current disunity that you are trying to simplify down to language? If tat were the case, India would have a civil war every few months given how most of the country has different ethnic languages besides Hindu. Sorry but you may be trying to straddle the middle but it's clear that you still hold the narrow-minded view that all of Africa's problems are simply due to colonialism.
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  36.  @second2none914  Okay, here's my response: 1. I never said the Congo lacked agriculture. I said they lacked "proper agriculture" due to geographic reasons (thicketted jungles in most of the landmass ) and the main form of agriculture was subsistence farming which is terrible for society building or economic growth. 2. My country's civil war did, indeed have a tribal issue that I didn't deny while you simply assumed it was down to religion. I stated why the Igbos felt disenfranchised due to economic reasons and lack of proper political representation by the military government and how the inept military leadership collapsed any chances of reconciliation and caused the war. ALso, unlike what you may think, Nigeria is not homogenous in all regions. The north is a mix as well. We have mainly muslims but majorly Hausa who actually get on well with us southerners and even Igbos. We also have Tiv, Kanuri and northern Christians there. It's teh Fulani minority who rule much of the north that is at fault for the schisms and you clearly disregard this reality. Even we in teh south are diverse. We have our ethnic schisms but we still manage to work together here. It's a leadership issue, not a tribe or religion issues as you blindly think. 3. On the point of Cameroon, you tried to simplify their civil war as a French-English issue, the same way you tried to simply my country's civil war as atribe and religion issue. If taht's the case, why not use that to explain Ethiopia's ongoing civil war? They were never colonized but they do have leadership and economic issues liek most of us in Afirca. SO is their civil war also due to language and tribal differences? 4. Finally, if you feel I am carrying water for the colonizers, that's your interpretation. The reason I don't use the excuse of colonialism to explain all of Africa's problems is because it doesn't make any sense. There are several African countres who were colonized and had less resources but had good leadership, social unity (even with multiple ethnic tribes) and were able to manage their countries well. For example, Botswana and now Zambia. WHat is their excuse? WHat Africa needs is good political leadership and economic policies; not more victimhood and blame passing or obsession over the past of colonialism. Most countries on earth were colonized by others. Teh ones who did well afterwords are the ones that focused on improving their countries politically, economically, and socially.
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  37.  @guishenStreetB  Yes, the west has, and does meddle, in regions like Africa but not to the degree that people imagine and much of their meddling is not largely responsible for socio-political issues all of Africa faces. For example, Idi Amin was not imposed by western powers. he simply used tribalism and strongman tactics to cease power and ruined Uganda. Same thing with Mugabe. In my own country, Nigeria, the current high insecurity and economic hardships are due to the government and president we elected, not due to CIA meddling.
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  38.  @guishenStreetB  You are right that the Americans, French, and British did partake in slavery but they did more to abolish it. Yes, they didn't do it solely for altruism but to extend their influence. Regardless, it led to the ending of slavery in places like the Benin empire, various Yoruba kingdoms, the kingdom of Dahomey, the Sokoto Caliphate, the Zanzibar sultanate etc.
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  39. ​ @samuelolwe2909 Guy, I am Nigerian and even I am confused after reading your comments. Despite colonialism, my country didn't collapse and has been improving because of good socioeconomic policies like capitalism and democracy here. We have also surpassed South Africa as Africa's largest economy despite them being more "developed" than us. What exactly is their excuse?
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  40.  @evilmurlock  But you just admitted that the "tribes are less violent" Isn't that a good change? Compared to the long past that was worse, the recent present is infinitely better. Tribalism and group conflicts are, sadly, an intrinsic part of humanity due to a combination of evolutionary factors, cultural factors and geography. We cannot escape it. Even ethnically homogenous countries like Japan still find ways to heighten various differences within themselves and cause friction but rather than just condemn human nature outright, why not be thankful that we have found ways to mitigate the harm from such nature? We can never get rid of it so thank goodness we are adapting and controlling it.
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  41.  @guishenStreetB  Oh yeah, again, we all agree with this. The ones throughout human history who had the most impact in terms of conquest or empire building or colonialism or regional/global influence usually had the best technology, or the most people, or the best socio-economic systems. The Europeans just happen to be the ones who had most of these factors to their advantage at that time.
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  42.  @jackholman5008  Again, if population growth was the issue, then why are countries like Niger Republic, Madagascar, Congo, freaking Afghanistan and other smaller countries with far FAR less populations not richer than Nigeria? Heck! India has population greater than all of west Africa combined and they are rich and developing. How do you explain that? Even in the Americas, Bolivia, Columbia, Venezuela all have less populations than the USA and are all poorer. Population growth is a major factor in a country's economic development. Government policies are what matter more.
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  43. Just goes to show that what makes a country last is not ethnic homogeneity but good and stable social, economic and cultural systems. That is why my country of Nigeria, despite our many issues, is a much better place than Somalia or Zimbabwe who have more ethnically homogenous populations than we do.
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  44. As a Nigerian, this video and history of Haiti makes me appreciate the fact that the British were the ones who colonized/created my country and not the French. Most former British colonies tend to do better socioeconomically and politically compared to French ones. The British had a habit of importing and imposing their political and economic and social ideals on their colonies which tended to help them after colonialism. Yes, my country still has issues aplenty but compared to many other countries here in Africa and like Haiti, we are so much better economically and socially and politically and getting better still. Thank you British.
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  45. Just discovered your channel and I am instantly a fan. Love the objective and well presented videos and also the humor in your art. SUBBED!
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  46. I really cannot thank you enough for this objective and well researched and humorous analysis of my country. Kudos for emphasizing the regional differences due to geography, ethnicity and religion (something that most westerners never even consider) It is absolutely true that my country pretty much owes it's existence to the British but we are striving to maintain and strengthen the bonds of national unity.
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  47.  @rubinortiz2311  Okay, very fair point you make, friend. Even as a guy who was born and raised in Nigeria before emigrating to North America for college, I can say that I have met many people back home and even here who have checkered pasts due to circumstances but have managed to change for the better.
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  48.  @scaryhobbit211  Good observation, friend. the answer for how India has managed to remain a unified country, despite the diverse ethnicities and sub-cultures within it, is simply because they are a federation (i.e. each state/province/region has some level of self-autonomy/administration) Basically like the republic United States. That is the solution to Africa's issues; true federalism/republicanism. Another thing that helps India is the fact that their civilization had an early start at coalescing its various peoples and forming a unified identity, unlike much of Africa (with a few exceptions). In fact, the British colonisation of the region actually had a positive effect of accelerating that coalescing. With Africa, sadly, due to geographic and climatic factors that limited agriculture and development of human settlements, the coalescing and blending of multiple ethnic groups into unified groups was not happening here on a large scale. As bad as colonialism was, one major effect it had, and still continues to have on much of sub-Saharan Africa, is that national identities and unity (no matter how imperfect) were created.
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  49.  @proxy4620  yeah, I already know all this. I know their efforts were largely self-serving and that is okay because back then, others (not just the Europeans) were doing the game of conquest and colonialism for their own benefit. The British model just worked better for them and for their various former colonies afterwards as socioeconomic stats show. For me, it's a clear case of the ends justifying the means. Heck, were it not for the British, the Hausas would have invaded further into the southern part of what eventually became Nigeria and enslaved everyone, including my ancestors. I am glad the British prevented that.
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  50.  @Dodsodalo  wow, I never even considered these points you just brought up. Well said, friend.
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