Africa’s Underdevelopment: An Issue of External Influence

Abstract

Prior to the coming of the Europeans to Africa, Africans were happy and had an acceptable medium of communication and administration, no matter how savage and obscure it was and would be described. The partitioning of Africa under the guise of bringing Christianity and civilization by European (Colonialism) and the conscription of our able bodied men to work in their plantations laid the sad foundation for our woes. The continent in spite of its manifest and latent potentials have continued to lag behind in the scheme of development, economically and politically, as it is bedeviled with legion of crisis ranging from political instability, poverty, maladministration, high rate of infant mortality, serial unemployment and low life expectancy among others. This review opined that all the hydraheaded problems threatening the extinction of the continent is not and was not caused by Africans themselves rather by Europe and America who continue to interfere, proffer and prescribe policies and solutions that are alien to African problems. Hence, enforcement of Corporate Social Responsibility among multinationals and resistance to military aids and assistance among others can go a long way in repositioning Africa’s pride of place in the global habitat.