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African economy and global politics
 

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 Monday, June 19, 2000



 Ritchie Ejiofor
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International trade and relationship has always been dictated by the demands of national interest, allegiance and other factors. Walter Rodney in his celebrated treatise "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" tried to show through historical narratives how the wealth of Africa was used to build and develop Europe through the introduction of cash crop economy. It also highlights the greed factor and how the developed countries to maintain that status quo use the protection of nation interest. Frank Fratzon's in his book "The wretched of the earth" remains the melting point for understanding why Africa economy will remain still birthed unless drastic and revolutionary measures are taken to counter this grand design by the developed countries which sought to make Africa their dumping ground.

International trade politics are so designed to promote imperial development and making the third world countries to depend on the advanced countries perpetually. This dependency theories are reinforced through various make shift alternatives and financial theories propounded by various international agents like the IMF, world Banks, IFC to the ailing economies of the third world countries as a prep to make them grow. In reality, these theories are not more than providing medicinal prescription without providing any remedy or cure for the affected economies and consequently, they are emasculated and strangulated and end up forever indebted to these developed countries.

In proffering reasons why these theories don't work in third work countries, particularly in African countries, or why the economies of African countries refuse to grow inspite of all their "supposedly" inputs, proponent of this dependency theories are quick to point out that Africans are lethargic and corruption's needs to be eradicated in addition to un safe political cum economic enviroments. At the fore of this lethargic theorist are Eurocentric economists whose views can easily be debunked with reference to the flourishing economy witnessed in Africa prior to their devastation by the imperial invasion. Secondly, corruption admittedly is prevalent in Africa and most third world; it is not to say that they don't exist in the developed world where various huge corruption scandals are coined "gate" to drowse their importance. Sociologist are agreed that poverty breeds corruption and it is too well know that the unsafe economic environment in Africa today are a product of the internal hostile political climate caused largely by the Berlin conference partitioning where Africa was divided based on interest that was not beneficial to Africans.

Deliberate efforts geared to reinforce this dependency syndrome where followed up after independence and this has made Africanist historians to aver that inspite of granting African states independence, they are still dependent on their colonialist hence the term used to describe this post independence dependency is Neo-Imperialism.

Neo -imperialism is further promoted through the forming of economic and pseudo-political block with this newly independent nation to be tied with their erstwhile colonialist. Among the British colonies was formed the common wealth of nation where in theory, equality of status remains it greatest cardinal point. But in practice, the influence of Britain on other member nations are too well known to deserve further mention here. The French colonialised nation like their anglophone counterpart clinked tightly to France and owed primordial loyalty to France than to their fellow African nation. It was not different with the North African nation who were encouraged to see themselves first as an Arab nation first before being called Africans. For it is understood that once Africa nation remains divided, it will be easier to manipulate their economy and consequently controlled their untapped market potentials to the advantage of the developed countries.

The partition of Africa following the Berlin conference gave eminence to the unresolved "National Question" in Africa. This fact has been well stated by Bala Usuman, a historian and emeritus professor Ade Ajayi. The splitting of Yugoslavia and the Bosnia crisis are just as similar to what to expect in Africa in future .the most recent being the Tutsi and Huti crisis that rocked the stability of two countries. It only goes to show how the policy of divide and rule selfishly adopted by the imperial power had the multiplier effect consequence of keeping African nation politically unstable and forever economically dependent on them.

Almost every news about African countries today, are either political crises, intrafraticidal war or more often debt crisis to which strangulating loans, aids are dangled as a bait to rope them in. With no option left, these African nations accept whatever bait is thrown to them thereby making their next one hundred generations perpetually debtors. These loans come with such conditions as devaluation of currency, free trade, trade liberalization, removal of import restriction etc. However, while African nations are told to abide religiously to this "miraculous" economic theories of trade liberalization, the EEC and it NATO ally adopts a different singsong to trade outside their region or zone. What happens is that, instead of practicing free trade with African nation, they adopted Import restriction to determine what they allow to be imported. And in all cases it is semi-processed agricultural products. This clearly is like our leaders asking us to listen to Moses. But they go back dancing round the golden calf.

The consequences of devaluation of currency, free trade, trade liberalization on the economies of African nation, is that it is stifle the infant home industries, inflation as being currency witnessed in almost every African nation is a product of this grand design. Unemployment rates will for ever be high since by allowing free trade, these African countries will become dumping ground for inferior imported goods and while this continue, they will only help to provide employment for the exporting countries .The experimentation of export processing zone in Africa was not allowed to see light of the day because the huge success of Asian economy who tried this EPZ, greatly made them self reliant. This accounts for why the EPZ in calabar will die without having the opportunity to be tested since it is unlikely that the developed nation would feel comfortable having another "Japan" in Africa. The effect of that on their "protected " economy would be too grave a consequence to contemplate.

Similarly, The Iron and steel company in Nigeria, the Ajaokuta steel mill suffers the same fate. Knowing that steel plays a vital role in attaining technological development, being aware of the role of Krupp Iron and steel company to the advancement and growth of German during the World war 2 and the role steel played during American post depression era, it is not surprising to understand the role of Global politics and international interest in still birthing this laudable project in Africa for nearly 20 years waiting to move past phase one of its original plan. Even though the various steel rolling mill producing billet rods are completed to that of Aladja and Ajaokuta plants that would produce flat sheet steel is still uncompleted following international conspiracy between the US and Russia.

To chronicle the tales of global conspiracy against Africa nations and the third world countries is only fair to bring to fore the deliberate efforts to make African dependent. An equitable proposition is to write off the various debt burdens militating against the economic development of these countries. International financial organization ought to do more than they are presently doing to alleviate the state of backwardness of third world economy. Less stringent loans and aids should be given as reparation for previous exploitation of their resources. African leaders on the other hand should focus more on long-term benefit and resolve to forge African unity to provide a common voice to advance their cause. They should articulate policies geared toward economic development and to provide safe environment for the economy to grow. Manna will not fall from heaven. Too much reliance on sympathy from developed nations has diminished their confidence of tackling their problems by them selves. A good example to copy from is the Asian miracle.

Ritchie Ejiofor

The writer, a historian, is a commentator on global issues




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