by Galfato Wonago

Created on: August 20, 2010

Africa: Unfinished Transitions and the Road Ahead

Many researchers and academics have explored the question “Why is Africa still under developed?” from various angles. The slave trade (1), poorly drawn colonial borders, unfavorable natural environment and lingering effects of colonialism (2) are the most common factors  suggested  to be the primary causes of Africa’s underdevelopment. However, I take a different view. I believe, series of unfinished transitions due to lack of leadership and failure to let go of the past are the primary causes of destructive, violent patterns that have negatively impacted Africa’s development.

Transition is the time between an ending of status quo and a new beginning. It is the time required to establish a new state/system or to create an environment that fosters a new way of thinking. It is the time required for psychological reorientation.

The best way to visualize a transition process is imagining that you are trying to swim across a river from shore1 to shore 2 against its main current and you are being pushed back to shore1 time and time again and you drift down the stream between each trial. The transition process is further complicated because shore1, shore2, the course of the river and the current of the river are constantly changing. These changes, if not identified properly, make differentiation between modified old system /state and the real new beginning less clear. The danger of not differentiating the modified old from the real new is that we end up with incomplete or delayed transition.

It is possible to argue for or against each and every one of the factors suggested above to be the primary causes of Africa’s underdevelopment.  However, I have no intention to get into that debate. Africa is a vast and very diverse continent and its underdevelopment is a far more complex matter than a linear cause to effect result of any one or combination of the above listed factors.

Another factor that has been introduced into this discussion is the issue of race, even though it has no place here. Anybody who is joining this discussion to engage in Africa bashing or to spread his/her racist views should change his/her calendar from 1735 to 2010. Similarly, anybody who likes to pull out a race card each time somebody points out Africa’s poor performance/short comings has no business in this discussion.

The three phases of change I will be referring to throughout this article

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