Africa: Driving Against Traffic

Africa, South of the Sahara has come to represent everything gloomy and appalling. As soon as you hear the term Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), you need not wait to hear what follows. It is almost certainly negative. Somehow, Nigeria has worked its way up to become the capital of SSA.

Now let us consider a twenty years statistics (1981-2001) of the one billion people in the world who were said to be living in extreme and the notorious roles of SSA in general and  Nigeria in particular during that period. Of the one billion people, as at 2001, East Asia accounted for about 250m, South Asia a little above 400m and SSA 300m. The balance of less than 50m was shared in varying proportions by Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and Caribbean and Middle East and North Africa.

However, as at 1981 the number of those living in extreme poverty in East Asia was 800m, South Asia 475m and SSA 150m. Therefore, between 1981 and 2001 East Asia reduced the number of its extremely poor from 800m to 250m(a whopping 69% drop), South Asia, from 475m to 425(11% drop) while the sore footed elephant, Sub-Saharan African increased its extremely poor population from 150m to 300m (an incredible 100% increase).

The above evidence shows that for over 20 years, SSA has been driving against traffic on the economic development highway. What is the role of Nigeria in this disturbing account? Our dear country contributed about half of its population, which is 70m to make up 23% of the 300m extremely poor people in SSA. In other words, of every 4 persons drooping hopelessly in extreme poverty in SSA, chances are that one of them is you, someone you know or a fellow Nigerian. Given that it takes only 25% of a country to be in extreme poverty for the entire country to be so classified, what would you think of a country that offers 50% of its population at the alter of poverty? Little wonder why our reputation has plunged precipitously among other African countries, including those who may literally feed from our palms.

 Why is Sub Saharan Africa so backward with Nigeria playing an ignoble leading role? You may find some answers in Walter Rodney's classic "How Europe underdeveloped Africa". But when you dig just a little further, you will realise that the fault lies in us not in our stars. Jeffrey Sachs in his 2005 book: "The End of poverty: How We Can Make It Happen In Our Lifetime" said that just about two hundred years ago, poverty was universal. "Just about everybody was poor, with the exception of a very small minority of rulers and a large land owners", said the author. An economic historian, Angus Maddison, also stated that "the average income per person in Western Europe in 1820 was about 90 percent of the average income of Africa today. Life expectancy in Western Europe and Japan as of 1800 was about forty years."

These comments point to the fact that a few centuries ago, the vast divides in wealth and poverty observed in the world today did not exist. So, how did Africa get where it is today and more importantly why is it both stuck in some respect and gliding backward in others? In a way, you can blame it on the incursion of Europeans into Africa via the Walter Rodney school of thought.

But we indefinitely hold Europeans responsible for our current predicaments. The Europeans were also in other continents that have made progress. Granted, they still have their hands in some of the crisis going on in Africa but it has been over 50 years since the Europeans left the so called Dark Continent.

Winston Churchill once said that "the further you can see back, the further you can see forward." Martin Meredith’s 2006 book: "The state of Africa: A history of 50 years of independence" unveils the silly, ridiculous and outrages things that our leaders have done in the past 50 years. Disturbingly, as we have seen in Nigeria, nothing much has changed. In addition to the havoc Africa’s political leaders have wrecked on their various countries, they continue to go out there to bring in the worst western companies and collaborate with them to loot their fatherland. As I said in another piece, the Chinese can build railways over mountains in their country but cannot build railways over flat land in Nigeria. I recommend that African economic and political history be made  compulsory courses in the continent. Our children need to know the enormity of the burden that have been built into their future if they are lucky enough get there. It is bad enough for the continent to be driving against traffic. But to do so on reverse exposes us to a lot more danger.

If Africa’s post independence next 50 years, which in any case has begun, will be different from the last, there has to be a spectacular change in attitude, orientation and direction. 

This change has to be driven by Nigeria and Ghana (West Africa), South Africa and Zimbabwe (Southern Africa), Kenya and Uganda (East Africa). Central Africa, an almost God forsaken region, will have to depend on the above three regions to be lifted out of chaos. Those countries hold the keys to how the vellified Sub-Saharan region will be viewed by the rest of the world at the end of the 21st century. Those at the helm of affairs in those countries (especially Nigeria) need to quit clowning around and assume the onerous responsibility on their shoulders. To do otherwise will be dangerous and deadly for the region. The choice is ours to make now. 

Robot  # 1 | 04.10.2009 20:30

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