By Larbi Arbaoui
Taroudant, May 29, 2012
The Shackled Continent: Power,
Corruption, and African Lives, by Robert Guest – former Africa editor
for the Economist – is an exhaustive and lively book that tries to
explain the reasons behind Africa’s poverty.
It accounts for the hard economic
situation in African and how to make it better «Africa- is in a bad way
and this book is my attempt to explain why.» R. Guest. The author makes
it clear from the beginning of the book that he means by “Africa” the
sub-Saharan Africa, excluding the Arab countries of North Africa. Africa
is a mineral-rich continent, with tourism potential and a fertile
ground advantageous for agricultural. However, despite these strengths,
it is growing poorer. Guest notes that so many factors are the stumbling
block to the development of African nations: geography, the legacy of
slavery and colonialism, AIDS and bad governance, to name but a few.
Another factor to blame for Africa’s
misfortune is slavery. Although Guest doesn’t consider slavery a serious
element contributing to Africa’s poverty for the reason that « the
Trans Atlantic slave trade ended in the 19th Century,” so that can
hardly explain 21 st Century problems, but, in fact, it has tremendous
negative aspects on the history of most of African countries.
Guest admits that it is « easy to find
colonial roots for modern problems ». South Africa, for instance, was
one of the first African countries to gain independence; however, it
remained under the control of a white minority through a biased and
unfair system of racial segregation known as apartheid until 1994.
African countries have gained their independence, but the colonialists
have left most countries under ethnic conflicts and disputes over
borders that were intentionally left ambiguous with neighboring
countries. Guest claims that the colonialists « left deep scars.» but he
adds « they also left behind some helpful things such as roads, clinics
and laws.» Despite all these problems handed down from the
colonialists, Guest still doesn’t consider all these unfortunate defects
as excuses for the modern problems believing that «If colonialism was
what held Africa back, you would expect the continent to have boomed
when the settlers left. »
AIDS in Africa is the most threatening
disease, regardless of all the advances achieved in modern medicine.
Guest points out that not only do soldiers and migration help the virus
to cross borders, but prostitution, witchcraft, and some cultural
beliefs worsen the problem «some young African women believe that
without regular infusions of sperm, they will not grow up to be
beautiful » these myths must be « rebutted » he adds.
Guest, with powerful arguments and an
exceptional lively style, is able to convince the reader that the misery
of Africa is caused by African themselves. To solidify his statements,
he quotes from the great African Novelist, Chinua Achebe: “The trouble
with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is
nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing
wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything
else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its
leaders to rise to the responsibility, of the challenge of personal
example which are the hallmarks of true leadership. » In fact, all the
external factors mentioned so far can be successfully overcome if the
people in power were not corrupt. African countries would have
progressed, he added, if their leaders believed in democracy and engaged
seriously in promising projects.
In conclusion, Robert Guest in his
amazing book has shed light on the major problems hindering Africa’s
improvement. He clearly believes that African countries can improve. It
is through access to primary education, reducing bureaucracy,
privatization and fundamentally embracing the free market that these
countries will prosper.
Previously published in Morocco World News
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