afam4eva:
Most times when we say Africa, we're referring to black Africans and not south-african whites, egyptians, Tunisians etc.

afam4eva:
I heard this in a movie.

niyo_zanl: Africans.

goodnewz4u: POLLS:
What is Africa's Biggest Problem?
1, Poverty
2, Corrupt Leaders
3, Lack Of Cooperation
4, Colonial Influence
5, Ineffective African Union

merengue: Africans are Africa's biggest problem, pure and simple.

odumchi: I think everything started with colonial influence. Had the European man never set foot on African soil, things would've been much better for us.

Here's my theory of why things are the way they are:

The advent of Europeans brought negative colonial influence which resulted in corrupt leaders. Corrupt leaders resulted in poor administration which resulted in poverty. Poverty resulted in rivalry and a lack of cooperation between social classes and countries (on a much larger scale). This lack of cooperation between countrymen and countries then resulted in an Ineffective African Union.

Don Diara: Our biggest problem is the Colonial Influence, maybe i need to take us back to this post: https://www.nairaland.com/73798/legendary-harold-smith-speaks-about.
For those who don't agree that our problem is from colonial influence please read the bold part of the story.

The man Harold Smith is not new in Nigerian history. He is one of the architects of colonial foundation that midwife Nigerian independence in 1960.

I met him in a meeting three weeks ago where he opened up a bit about the lingering problem in Africa especially; Nigeria unbalanced protracted social political situations. We asked if he could make this known to the media. His response was “I am in my 80s now; I have agreed but in the past ‘they’ did not want me to say anything, but now I don’t want to go to my grave without telling the truth about the atrocities perpetrated in Africa by the colonialists.


Brothers and sisters; on Ben TV last Thursday, Harold Smith was on a program to reveal what went behind the scene before the independence. The Oxford University graduate had this to say about his role in Nigeria pre and after independence era.


‘Our agenda was to completely exploit Africa. Nigeria was my duty post. When we assessed Nigeria, this was what we found in the southern region; strength, intelligence, determination to succeed, well established history, complex but focused life style, great hope and aspirations… the East is good in business and technology, the west is good in administration and commerce, law and medicine, but it was a pity we planned our agenda to give power “at all cost” to the northerner. They seemed to be submissive and silly of a kind. Our mission was accomplished by destroying the opposition at all fronts. The west led in the fight for the independence, and was punished for asking for freedom. They will not rule Nigeria!


Harold Smith confessed that the Census results were announced before they were counted. Despite seeing vast land with no human but cattle in the north, we still gave the north 55 million instead of 32 Million. This was to be used to maintain their majority votes and future power bid. He stated that the West without Lagos was the most populous in Nigeria at that time but we ignored that. The north was seriously encouraged to go into the military. According to him, they believe that the south may attend western education, but future leaders will always come from military background. Their traditional rulers were to be made influential and super human. The northerners were given accelerated promotions both in the military and civil service to justify their superiority over the south. Everything was to work against the south. We truncated their good plan for their future. “I was very sorry for the A.G; it was a great party too much for African standard. We planned to destroy Awolowo and Azikwe well, the west and the east and sowed a seed of discord among them”. We tricked Azikwe into accepting to be president having known that Balewa will be the main man with power. Awolowo has to go to jail to cripple his genius plans for a greater Nigeria.

However, Harold Smith justified the British agenda of colonialism in Nigeria, which he believed was originally to help build Africa after the ruins of slave trade, but lamented that the British only looked after themselves and not after Nigerian interest. The British really let Nigeria down. When I see Nigerian been accused of fraud and from what I saw on the streets of Lagos; the British were worst fraudsters.

Looking at the northern leaders now he said, “If they have any agenda in Nigeria at all, sadly it is only for the north, and nothing for Nigeria. He stated that the British look after the British people and this is so all over the world. He said the time has come now to see people of intelligent minds with an open and inclusive agenda for all Nigerians in power…people who will really look after Nigerians large population…but ”I still curiously and sorrowfully see now that the British has not let go of Nigeria…her wealth,. her potentials, her future. He opined that the Caucasian people now assert themselves as the keeper of the “New Age” keys. He therefore said that it is only logical for Europeans to maintain their position of power, scientific superiority, economic exploitation, they must continue to perpetuate their lies and falsehoods and this is the most unkindest cut of all in relation to Nigeria situation!

According to him, Nigeria, a great nation was crippled not because of military juntas or corrupt leaders alone but by the British and American fear of Nigeria great future. He confessed, “The fear of the place that will be our ‘dumping ground’ really occupied our minds”.


Some of the things he said were not new to Nigerians or to the whole world but hearing it from the horse’s mouth is quite revealing and established more reality zones. He finally submitted that the colonial masters have caused havoc while they were in Africa, and planted timed bombs when they finally left. What we see since independence, the administration of new internal colonial masters by fellow Nigerians holding sway in power is doing more damage to Nigeria. Instead of detonating the time bombs planted by the British, the north is planting mines.


He added that ‘It was my duty to carry out all of the above and I was loyal to my country. Nigerians should try to be loyal to their country leaders and followers alike. Love your country. You have got the potentials to be great again and the whole world knows this’.

My question is, where do we go from here ? How can we fight against the colonial influence ?

MsDarkSkin:

Exactly.



No. if Africans weren't so divisive and used their heads rather than greed there would be no way imperialists could damage Africa the way they did. Corrupt leaders are the same as their predecessors, the corrupt chiefs. Africans allied with (or should I say employed the aid of) whites in a fight against other Africans. That is the problem with Africa. Always has been, and until the people understand what UNITY is about, it always will be.

igbo2011: 1. Neocolonialism
2. Religion
3. Education
4. Import everything instead of buying locally made products

Join the movement to fix Nigeria www.nigerianedp.com

Dede1: The example of wicked colonial influence is the country called Nigeria. There is no basis for unity in Nigeria. Even one of the British Governor-General, Sir Arthur Richard, said that “it is only the accident of British suzerainty which has made Nigeria a country”.

Yet many dingbats out of Nigeria will shout tribal bigot when a person suggests disintegration of cesspit called Nigeria into nation states.

odumchi:

What you just wrote is the essence of neo-colonialism. Our former colonial masters ravaged our lands and used our materials to develop and improve their native-lands, leaving us with whatever we have today.

That's exactly what France is doing to much of French-West Africa. Look at Guinea. Everything there is French backed; the government, the currency, the military, the economy. And at the same time, France has a share in Guinea's resources and continues to sell goods (often on credit) to poor Guinea, furthering the cycle of economic-colonialism.

I'm telling you, were oil a valuable product back in the 19th century, the British would've found a way to suck up every drop of it and send it back to Britain.

abubaka101: Africa's biggest problem is definitely Lack of Co-operation. Lack of Co-operation causes the other factors the op mentioned, to come into existence.
Cause when everyone is co-operating, they'll be doing things accordingly, and when they do these things constitutionally, Africa will be great.
If we had co-operated, there would have being no reason for NATO, to invade Libya and blow "unarmed" areas, killing innocent civilians.
If we can co-operate, poverty will be easily eradicated.
If we can co-operate, the African Union would'nt be so "Incompetent".
If we can co-operate, there'll be no reason why will need "AID" from "WESTERN DONORS".
So its definitely "LACK OF CO-OPERATION"!

9jadelta:
hatred and racism is not only an african thing... Its world wide thing