Comments by "" (@orboakin8074) on "History Scope" channel.

Thank you so much for making this video. 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 and leadership. Thanks for focusing on those areas.
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Another great video, friend. As a Nigerian, i appreciate seeing this kind of objective, well researched discourse on African history. Plus, i am so glad to see someone mention the role that Africans played in perpetuating the slave trade. So many people believe the false narrative that slavery never existed here in Africa and that only Europeans brought it, while ignoring the role of our African ancestors and Arabs had in the evil practice 😔 Thanks for helping to dispel that fallacy.
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Great video, friend. As an African (Nigerian), it is refreshing to see more objective coverage of the history of slavery in Africa. I appreciate how you point out how the slave trade already existed in Africa long before Europeans came and how it is was facilitated by other Africans and Arabs, and the Europeans just used that to establish the trans Atlantic trade. Most people here, and elsewhere, wrongly assume all slavery in Africa started with the Europeans but thanks for not being like that.
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@sandran17 yeah, a lot of ancient history is. I mean, my ancestors back in what became Nigeria were known for human sacrifice. Ancient history tends to be dark sometimes.
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@HausamanB1 Actually, yes, I am giving that a pass. Friend, you are right in saying that Arab and European slave trade was bad but by you trying to excuse African slavery, you are so wrong. African slaves was brutal and not good. Worse was that it predates the Arab and European slave trade and was what helped facilitate the other two and African slavers were reluctant to end their slavery since it was part of their culture and economy e.g., Dahomey. Also despite Europeans only participating in African slave trade for a few centuries, they managed to abolish it in records time compared to my African ancestors who practiced it for millennia. Why should I not be grateful to the Europeans and Menelik II of Ethiopia for that? Good outcomes can come from unexpected people.
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@sandran17 you have a point. Plus considering how most of our African ancestors were also doing the "10 years" of torture and forced labour to each other, it was equally horrible. At least with the Europeans, they actually abolished slavery that they were doing and that other Africans were doing to each other.
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@Justin3x3 why does it seem weird for you to hear someone glad that more accurate and objective history is being discussed? Are you somehow implying that we black people only like revised history? Also, your example is even more weird because in reality, there are women who help traffickers and it's sadly not more widely known.
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@garygnu8775 Oh, i know colonialism is still present; mainly from the likes of China. But I am not naive enough to think colonialism is the main reason why much of Africa still has problems.
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@pugdad2555 Wow, so you can see my I.P address? Are you going to upload my bank details next? Look, I was born and raised in Nigeria. If you don't want to believe that, it is really none of my concern. Also, what does anything you mention have to do with my main points? or how does it negate them at all? Can you honestly tell me with a straight face that many of them issues plaguing Africa are because Americans and Europeans are "funding war groups" or is it mainly because of our own failed and corrupt governments and social issues? So we have no agency and it is all the fault of foreigners? Are foreigners the reason why boko haram is stull a menace in my country? Are they the main reason why Rwandan genocide happened? are they the reason why Jacob Zuma and the ANC are so corrupt and have ruined South Africa? and so many other examples?
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@buddermonger2000 You know, I have to agree with you. Having actually seen countries like Botswana, Israel, Chile, Morocco, and a few others who do not have the most adequate climate and geography, yet still have very good economies, social and political stability it definitely becomes more apparent how important social unity and political leadership is.
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@buddermonger2000 Woah! I actually just started watching his content a few days ago. Nice! I had no idea he talked about geopolitical stuff like that. I have only seen his alternate history stuff. I am definitely excited to see what else he has regarding geopolitics. thanks, friend!
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Thank you so much for making this video. 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 and leadership. Thanks for focusing on those areas.
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@aaronmfonyo6801 Thanks, friend 👍
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@Anthony-lr4bk Very well said, friend. The lack of good institutions and leadership in Nigeria and much of Africa is such a hinderance. And to further show proof of what you typed, the countries of Botswana is a perfect examples of a sub-African country run right. It is such an amazing country and an underrated one, even in Africa. After colonialism, the leadership under Seretse Khama didn't simply do as other post-colonial African leaders did i.e. he didn't go full marxist authoritarian and instead kept the institutions and socio-economic model the British had built up and even modified it. Plus, he maintained good diplomatic relationships with the west and due to his sound leadership, Botswana continues to be a politically stable and economically stable and growing country in Africa and this is despite having less resources and good land like Zimbabwe.
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@surfingbrrrd Far more brutal? Interesting observation from you, friend, but considering African slavery here involved millennia of atrocities, genocides, human sacrifice, cannibalism, mass forced copulation, and Arab slave trade here also involved mass castration of men and forced copulation of women and was only stopped because of direct and indirect intervention of Europeans, I really doubt you understand the levels of brutality African slavery had. Plus, at least Europeans and Americans actually acknowledge how evil slavery was and they actually worked to stop it compared to Africans and Arabs (except Menelik II of Ethiopia)
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@0kah645 um, I'm confused. Why do you assume I am not a Nigerian because I don't think as you expect? Also, where did I downplay slavery in Africa? You see my comments condemning it from Europeans, Arabs and Africans. Where did I downplay it?🤔
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@oyoo737 you are correct, friend. However, let's not pretend our African ancestors treated their slaves well too. Look at what the Dahomey and the Oyo kingdoms and Edo kingdoms did to their slaves or the Sokoto caliphate or Songhai empire. Look at what the Arabs also did to them. Also, if you want to be objective about the history of slavery in Africa, you also have to admit that the Europeans were the only ones who actually worked to abolish slavery here despite the majority of African and Arab powers wanting it to continue for their own benefit. That's how to be objective of history
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@arthas640 This is so sad but so true. I mean, the richest man on earth is Elon Musk; an African by birth and he would never have been a quarter as successful had he remained in Africa. This is genuinely sad.
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@davidb2206 Good point. That is important too.
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@oyoo737 okay, I can understand but in my reply, I did already emphasize how brutal and inhumane European slavery was here. Or didn't I? Also, my main points are to simply be objective regarding history. So many people believe the false narrative that slavery only started in Africa with the Europeans or that African slavery was somehow "better" than European or Arab slavery. That's historical revisionism which I am against. We should be objective with history and not let emotionality cloud our judgement. For example, slavery still happens here, sadly, in places like Congo and the Sahel and Maghreb but due to historical revisionism and emotional subjectivity, hardly anyone in Africa talks about this.
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@emanuelneagu14 so what point are you trying to make exactly?
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@delharry4392 Believe me, friend, I have no doubt that America and the west in general has corrupt politicians and institutions. The main difference between their corruption and our corruption in sub-Saharan Africa is that your corruption works and ours doesn't. At least in America, infrastructure is beyond decent. The economy is strongest. Most people's rights and liberties are respected (the simple fact you have a 2nd amendment is beyond proof. We cannot even defend ourselves from islamists in Nigeria without getting arrested). Meritocracy is more established. Even when one of your politicians, like pelosi who has stock investments or something which is supposed to be illegal as it creates conflict of interest, her state still functions better than any African country at least. In sub-Saharan Africa, our governments are mainly focused on skimming as much as they can without building anything to ensure long-term economic development and growth.
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@klauslunde Oh, you are not wrong. Food scarcity and poor agriculture is a factor in Africa's poverty issue. The problem is a geographic one. Africa has a mixed kind of geography i.e deserts to the north, savannah grasslands, and thick jungles. Due to this, in the past, and sadly sill continuing in some pars today, subsistence farming is what most of us Africans have used and that is not very sustainable for feeding a population or even for export and trade. It was ironically during and after the advent of colonialism that stuff like mechanized agriculture, biologically enhanced crops and animals, animal medicine against tse-tse flies, and fertilizers were introduced here and that help improve agriculture yields. Sadly, poor government policies and economic mismanagement still continue to make agriculture poor here. heck! Most African countries still import fertilizers rather than make them for themselves.
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@Anthony-lr4bk you said it. My father once told me something as a kid. He said "Africa has corruption that doesn't work while the west and Asia have corruption that works" he basically meant how even though the first world is corrupt too, they still maintain good infrastructure and institutions and strong economies. That is our big problem.
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@0kah645 again, where did I downplay slavery in any comment? What exactly are you talking about?
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@oyoo737 friend, can you see how weird it is to try and rationalize slavery done by our African ancestors just because Europeans also did slavery to us?
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@captainzeppos you are correct, friend. Sadly, the more common narrative now, especially among Pan-Africanists here, is that slavery never existed in Africa or that our slavery was "better"😔 They now lie that only westerners did slavery and worse is that they now downplay ongoing slavery and human trafficking that still exists in Africa today.
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That Camel-Horse bit was a nice reference to Cyrus's conquest😂
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@andredeketeleastutecomplex Believe me when I say that if corporations like Shell controlled Nigeria, we would be in better straits. For starters, the electricity supply would be more constant. No. Nigeria is controlled by tribalist politicians who want to enrich themselves at the expense of the populous.
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@andredeketeleastutecomplex Yeah, that doesn't sound like capitalism. Sounds more like Oligarchy i.e. the corrupt stuff you see in places like Russia. We need real capitalism, privatisation, decentralization and more foreign and domestic investment and private sector growth in Nigeria. That is what will create and ensure more prosperity. So far, our government has failed to facilitate more privatisation and efficiency in our country because of special interests and said tribalism I mentioned and this encourages more corruption, even from corporations like Shell. I am not going to pass the blame to others. This is my government's responsibility and they have failed grossly!
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@qhayiya252 Thank you for this kind sentiment and many of us in Africa hope for this as well, and are also working towards it.
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@Anthony-lr4bk Well said, friend. Well said.
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No country suffered more due to the USSR than RUssia. Tsarist Russia was achieving great economic progress and societal reform and liberalism. It had high birth rates, entrepreneural and growing middle class and was an innovator in culture, art, science and economics. After the communists took over, all that progress was destroyed and Russia has not recovered since.
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@ibrahimbello5546 uh huh. Friend, if I had a dollar for every time some random online assumed I am white because of my opinion on my country or the history, I would be rich🤣 So many of you idiots assume all of us black people, especially us Africans, think alike😕
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@EstaJeanette-nk7fj So are you telling me that the slavery done by the Dahomey was not real or brutal? They enslaved members of the Oyo tribe in my country. Are you telling me the slavery done by Mauritania was not real? They were the last country on earth to abolish slavery in 2000s but it is still there. Are you telling me the slavery done in Ethiopia before Menelik abolished it was not real? Are you telling me the slave trade in Zanzibar that the British crushed was not real? There are pictures of British sailors freeing black slaves from Zanzibar. Africans like you disgust me. You deny our history because you are either ignorant or genuinely evil.
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@0kah645 did you actually read my comments or are you just trolling like an idiot? My original comment is literally stating how I appreciate that this video dispels the notion that slavery didn't exist in Africa before Europeans came here. Where exactly did I downplay slavery in any way? Please, disagree but don't be dumb. Also, you think all Nigerians think the same? You want me to send you my birth certificate as proof?
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@anthonytillman6363 no, I lose sleep when I hear people in institutions push lies about history of my continent, like any normal person. Also, considering how many dictators and corrupt politicians here use historical revisionism as a means to fool people and hold on to power, it is a genuine concern for me. Maybe you don't care but I do.
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@dianasohn2515 yes, their slavery was bad but what about the slavery Africans or Arabs did? The Dahomey literally sacrificed it genocided villages they conquered. Arabs c*strated males and r*ped females and continued for far longer. At least Europeans came to realize how evil slavery was and worked to abolish while Africans and Arabs had to be forced to do so and still practice it, sadly 😔
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@Sadiqi you insult me but you don't call me wrong 🤣🤣
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