peace loving culture

Blackteeth:
Whenever the question of why Africa/Nigeria is behind the rest of the world, the usual answers we get is; "because our leaders are selfish and corrupt". But this doesn't sound like the ultimate answer because it failed to explain why selfishness and corruption is preventing only Africa from developing and excluding other continents. Some say its colonization, but that doesn't still sound reasonable because africa hasn't been colonized from day one. Therefore the reason I started this thread is to get contributions that can best explain why Africa is so much underdeveloped when compared to other continents.

Personally my own theory to explain the african situation boils down to what I will call the default culture. Each race has a default culture of their own; meaning the original culture they were created with. We ask ourselves why africans don't behave like europeans, but why don't we ask ourselves why africans don't behave like arabs, indians or asians? Each race came with a different established culture which is responsible for dictating how the the entire race fares in any aspect of life. These cultures are not genetic but acquired through learning and passed through generations. Therefore the difference in development between the white and black societies has nothing to do with superior intelligence. The reason why the white society is what it is today is due to the default culture they were created with which involves the zeal for exploration, innovation and adventure. The African default culture is different and lacks these three features. The African culture values tradition so much that they dont give room for changes, improvement and innovation. They wouldn't mind doing the same thing for 2000 years. Though africans are trying to copy the west, but the copying wouldn't work because the default culture is seriously clashing with the invading culture. All the races are equally intelligent. If they say africans have low IQ then it was conducted in a way that is not in favor of Africans considering the mass illiteracy everywhere. Africans can put a man in space, it is their default culture that stops them and not their brains.

This is my theory to explain the African situation. You may come up with yours or criticize mine.

OzReal:
This is a multifaceted question that gives me sleepless nights; I'm really sure that if we had a certain answer to this particular question we would all be millionaires by now. I cannot state to a certainty that all African nations share the same problems we have in Nigeria; however, there are some similarities to these problems. Here are my own theories:

1. The culture as you rightly stated above is one of the problems. The particular aspect of culture that I believe to a certain extent is a continuous bane to our development is the unquestionable respect we have for elders. While this is an admirable trait among we Africans, there is no doubt that it has resulted in the continuous plundering of the national treasury by the self-acclaimed elder statesmen. These men have never been challenged or held accountable by the youth of this country partly due to this particular trait.

2. I honestly cannot give a logical explanation for this, but I just can't shake the feeling that there is something inherently amiss with the black man. We as Africans pride ourselves on having a strong sense of community as opposed to the Europeans' individuality, yet we have no sense of commonality. Hence the simmering, and sometimes overt ethnocentrism that permeates our country. We have shown time and time again that we have the propensity to harm ourselves and brothers due to selfishness right for the time of the Atlantic slave trade to this current time(look at the current politicians all over sub-Saharan Africa).

3. The effects of colonialism still reverberates in Nigeria, and all around Africa. As much as I believe that we are our own greatest enemies and cause of most of our problems, the 'invisible' hands of the colonial masters cannot be dismissed lightly. We all know the saying that: "He who pays the piper, call the tune"; in the case of Africa, this is very true. We already know that our continent possesses vast resources and all, but we also know that we are in a very weak position against the West and if I might add, China. This weak position has put us in a situation whereby we cannot easily dismiss or go against their(powers that be) vested or potential interests in the continent, otherwise the results of doing so could be more devastating than they already are.

how are we in a weak position
they need us
we don't need them

These are some of the reasons I believe that Africa is in a backward state.

too much grammar is another reason

same the world over
lazy ppl

AmakaG29:
Economic exploitation
Political unrest
Violence towards women
Poor national infrastructures
Lack of quality, accessible education for all
Lack of quality, accessible health care for all
Stunted technological advancement
Extreme instances of poverty and disease

Certainly different countries are experiencing different rates of growth and improvement in some areas over others, but these are the things I've noticed

I would never use the term "backward," because the "West" damn sure ain't forward...I would say that the continent is in a state of economic, political, and social warfare where most of the violence is experience by the poor.

laziness

Nothing could properly explain the backward states of Africa.

ril19:
Most of the responsible commentators have basically touched on the fundamental issue responsible for the current and seemingly perpetual backwardness of Africa. For the sake of emphasy, prior to the scramble and resultant colonization of Africa, the black man have always wanted to remain the way he was. The typical African man is afraid of change, exploration, and quest. Take for example the area of medicine. Africa only discovered the roots and herbs in their immediate environment but could not go further than that. Today, on the other hand, as a result of education, the white man is able to prepare such roots and herbs and convert it to more convenient substance for consumption. Someone stated that all other continents already had education before their colonialists came. You can imagine the shock that greeted the Europeans as they entered into a completely unexposed and uneducated black world.
The psyche of the black after the colonial era has not not even helped the issue any bit. Neo-colonial slavery has taken over. The African man, somewhat naturally, considers "himself" inferior to the white man. The African man sees his home as not "home enough" and that is why there is a continuous push for Europeby young people in Africa.

That is totally not true.

Australia , large parts of the Americas , New Zealand , and melanesia were operating at either the same level or at a lower level than we were .