Africa and challenging development - Essay Example

Challenging Development The question on whether there is still a chance for Africa to be in the proper place in the competing world is still a question that is left unanswered. It can be remembered that the very cause of Africa's challenges and crisis as a whole and for several decades already is the colonialism of different empires due to space expansion and the quest for power. But because it has been a long time now and Africa still seemed to be in need of development, the better question to ask is that is it still valid to blame colonialism or neocolonialism for Africa's dependence to the colonialist Before we can truly answer this, it is important to look at this neocolonialism or the small hands coming and going in and out of the country. It is true that the powerful empires have ceased literally in holding the people of Africa and there was a turn over of flags to the elite African leaders recently. But still, many people say that it was all just a turning over of flags, the powerful colonialists who play in the big world of capitalism are still at work through the elitist process of education. Education works in a way that Western oriented way of the colonialist inform and teach Africans to be more loyal to the Western way of living. This is the very simple yet powerful way of controlling the country which continuously causes Africa's dependence to other countries. (Abubakar 1989) The challenge of development can also be placed in the hands of the elite leaders of Africa who tend to control development and focus on projects that can benefit only their families and relatives. There is also another way of looking at Africa's position in the world. The people and the leaders for a long time have settled to the idea that they are already buried to the power of neocolonialism and because of this, lesser action is being done. People have already ceased to question if there is still a possibility to attain freedom in their own country. The hope as we can see still relies on the idea of becoming independent and relying on Africa's resources to be self-sustaining. (Abubakar, 1989) In the book Africa and the Challenge of Development, the writer quoted specific internal solutions to the problem and that's all coming from the preamble of African LPA. Africa's almost total reliance on the export of raw materials must change. . . . Africa must, therefore, map out its own strategy for development and must vigorously pursue its implementation. . . . Africa must cultivate the virtue of self- reliance [and] efforts toward African economic integration in order to create a continent-wide framework for the much needed economic co-operation for development based on collective self-reliance. . . . The primary responsibility of developing their economies remains with the African least developed countries themselves and the total political commitment of the Member States to the pursuit of these objectives is necessary . . . [and] social and economic reforms should be undertaken . . . to ensure full participation of the people in the development process. . . . [We] confirm our full adherence to the plan of Action, adopted at the Assembly of Heads of State and Government for implementing the Monrovia Strategy for the Economic, Social and Cultural Development of Africa and to adopting, among other measures, those relating to the setting up of regional structures and strengthening of those already existing for an eventual establishment of an African Economic Community. (Abubakar, 1989) At present though, self-sufficiency is becoming the goal of Africa and aside from the above suggested points, there is also a need to focus on external affairs more than just collective effort to attain the so-called self sufficiency. The external affairs that can be attained and is being talked about here is that Africa, more than just being affiliated in different international organizations where help form other countries are being sourced, African leaders who are in charge of coordinating with these organizations should be honest enough to deliver the help and the goods being given to the country. Also, it is important that the expectations from these organizations must be at a normal level and not become too high that Africans will be so dependent on. In addition to this, Africa should also put its attention to agricultural production which can obviously become its lifeblood. (Abubakar, 1989) Ahmad Abubakar, the writer of the book Africa and the Challenge of Development also mentioned or something about rural development as one f the strategies to improve the future of Africa. Rural development is defined as "activities in rural areas designed to improve living conditions with a view to stemming rural-urban migration." However, he also noted that such kind of strategy may cause crowding of the cities and raising crime rates as well. (Abubakar, 1989) Many strategies are still left unexplored by Africans. More than just hoping for self-sufficiency and being affiliated with international organizations for donations of ideas and connections, there is still a more valid solution to survival and development in Africa that would be collective effort to rise from crisis and not just mere hope from the people. Leaders especially must act not only for themselves but also for the whole of Africa. SOURCE Abubakar, A. 1989. Africa and the Challenge of Development: Acquiescence and Dependency Versus Freedom and Development. Praeger Publishers. New York. Read More