By Olakunle Agboola – The continent of Africa is rich in natural resources that have been extracted and exploited for centuries. However, many African countries still rank among the poorest nations globally.
There is no doubt that Africa is rich in natural resources, but the wealth has not been evenly distributed. There is so much focus on Africa for the transaction of essential raw materials for industries in Europe, Asia, and America. This could have been perceived as a great opportunity for African states to make a lot of money which will reflect in the living conditions of citizens.
Tomfoolery, selfishness, myopic vision, corruption, and poor leadership are the norms for many African states to transform the wealth of the nation into remarkable measures that can change the life of average citizens. Government officials in many African States have failed in their capacity to serve the people rather they embezzled and accumulated wealth for their selfish interest.
The economic vitality of African States highly depends on natural resources, but how do the transactions become a huge advantage if democratic states or governments fail to put the interests of their citizens first? Many governments of resource-rich nations violate the social contract between them and the people.
The natural resources of a country are the propriety of those who hold the title of citizen. The citizens give up their right to these resources hoping that it is in their best interests, but the government appointees rob them of these goods and sell them to western corporations, and the sale price usually does not reflect the true value.
Greedy officials divert public revenues to their pockets, and as naive as they are they put the money in a foreign account, which in turn may not be useful for the development of their states or improve the living conditions of the people. Over time, anger and frustration grow among the people. Therefore, backlashes erupt which often lead to civil war, clashes between clans, distrust of the government, and coup d’états.
Corruption occurs at all levels in African states and has greatly destabilized their economy. Western companies highly depend on the raw materials of the continent; therefore, they play in different forms of corruption, and the most common is bureaucratic corruption. This is when officials of government establish laws and policies through the political system to accumulate wealth for themselves. In many cases, corporations bribe the officials to implement policies that would help them access the natural resources of the land easily, and at cheaper prices. This shows to what extent these companies care less about the prosperity of the people, not to talk of the credulous government officials destroying the future of their children.
The destiny and prosperity of African states highly depend on the act of their governments. If the governments do not have the interest of the citizens, then foreign countries won’t think otherwise. Likewise, if they do not respect or venerate their citizens, no other nation will honor them. The government will have to be responsible for the living condition of the citizens, and it starts by enforcing policies that will serve the interest of the people.
Kindly follow us on twitter:@AfricanVoice2
