Bad and corrupt political leaders have succeeded in perpetuating poverty, disease, hunger and wars all over the continent of Africa mainly for their selfish interests. The living conditions of majority of Africans today, are perhaps worse than living conditions during the colonial days.
United Nations and World Bank statistics on standards of living in Africa may suggest some improvements in living conditions among Africans. But quantitatively, the number of people whose lives are affected by the numerous wars, diseases, HIV/AIDS and other indicators of poverty, are more than the numbers affected during the colonial era. Living Conditions cannot therefore be justifiably said to have improved.
Africa’s Colonial Rule Debate
Africa’s colonial rule debate is focused on whether the continent would have been better than it is today if it were still under colonial rule. The surging debate has been triggered by the poor and suffering conditions under which millions of Africans live at the moment due poor leadership and lack of sustainable development despite numerous development interventions through foreign aid and charities.
Those who insist that white colonial rule would have served Africans better than black self rule, maintain that their arguments are mainly informed by the current poor conditions under which the majority of Africans live.
The colonial rule advocates insist that though Africans were not living in the best of situations during the colonial days, considering the fact that most African leaders only come to power to enrich themselves and their families, being under colonial rule with minimum levels of corruption and better administrative systems could have made conditions better than they are now.
For those who support black self rule, the reason is simple: being a hungry freeman is better than being a well-fed slave. Advocates of self rule in Africa therefore argue that western colonial masters were not in anyway helping to develop Africa. For black self rule advocates, anything good that was done in Africa by the colonial masters was for their own wellbeing and development and not for the progress of Africa and her citizenry.
The supporters of self rule say, all the railway lines, harbours, schools, hospitals, roads and the other social amenities that were put in place by the colonialists in Ghana, Nigeria, Congo, Kenya and all other African countries except Liberia which was never colonised, were just projects that were aimed at enhancing the exploitation of Africa’s numerous natural resources and human capital.
The South African Case
South Africa is currently Africa’s economic giant. The country can boasts of modern western-standard cities like Pretoria, Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Port Elizabeth, among others. In fact, living conditions in South Africa are not much different from conditions in several developed or western countries. The 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa is a further boost to the image of the country.
Officially, South Africa finally ended apartheid in 1991 resulting in the abolishing of race laws and culminating in black majority rule by the African National Congress (ANC) led by Nelson Mandela.
For now, those who are of the view that white colonial minority rule is the best for Africa, attribute the good conditions in South Africa to the white minority rule that was in the fashion of colonialism and continued until 1990. For those of this view, after years of black rule in South Africa, conditions are likely to deteriorate to the levels currently prevailing in other African countries. They cite the ongoing leadership crises in the ANC and the corruption allegations against Jacob Zumah as indicators of negative developments that will unfold after years of black rule in that country.
Optimists of black self rule are however convinced that South Africa will prove that Black Africans are capable of ruling themselves with success and that the country will continue to experience sustainable development and improved living conditions for its citizenry.
A critical observation of ongoing and future developments in South Africa will only be the basis for judging the debate and knowing whether Africans would have been better placed being well-fed slaves or living as hungry freemen.
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