Tag: NIIA

In our past review of the book, Looting Africa: The Economics of Exploitation by the South African political economist, Prof Patrick Bond, we found out how Africa has been the object of the most vicious forms of brutalisation, domination, repression and exploitation, beginning with the slave trade that lasted over 400 years and another century of colonial rule culminating in the present stage of neo-colonialism and globalisation in which the continent continues to remain the foot mat of the rich and powerful actors on the global arena.

Today, we focus attention on another book, which also critically examines the place of Africa in the contemporary global political economy. Entitled New Scramble for Africa, this book published in 2010 by the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), is based on a conference organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in April 2007. Yet, the issues raised by the various contributors remain germane as Africa continues to look for a way out of the quagmire of underdevelopment, retardation and mass misery.

If there is indeed a new scramble for Africa, many of the contributors posit, there must have been an earlier older scramble for the continent. The old scramble for Africa, they aver, began in the 19th century starting with the Berlin conference of 1884 to 1885 – a forum at which the continent was partitioned and arbitrarily divided among the colonial powers. Unlike the old scramble, which was for physical control of specified territories by competing imperial powers, the new scramble refers to the fierce competition by global powers to gain access to Africa’s rich resources including gold, diamonds, timber, oil, uranium, ivory and natural gas among others.

In addition to the old colonial powers that engaged in the first scramble, new emergent powers have joined the race to benefit from Africa’s trove of mineral and natural resources. These include China and India, who desperately need natural resources to fuel the on-going rapid industrialisation of their economies. In his foreword to the book, Professor Osita Eze, identifies two paradoxes of the contemporary African condition.

Firstly, Africa is one of the most richly endowed regions of the world in terms of mineral and natural resources. Yet, the continent is one of the poorest and most backward in the world. Secondly, Africa plays a marginal role in the global economy despite the fact that she supplies the strategic and critical resources necessary for economic growth.

Distinguished political scientist, Professor Adele Jinadu, in the first chapter of the book, entitled: Conceptual and theoretical issues in the scramble for Africa, contends that there is some continuity between the old and new scrambles for Africa. He posits that the success of the first scramble for Africa in the 19th century was facilitated by the technological superiority of the European powers and “an evangelising, racist and crusading psychology of domination which assured the cultural, moral and racial superiority of Europe over dominated peoples in Africa and Asia”. Like the old globalisation of the 19th century, Jinadu contends that the new one is also predicated on technological superiority of the industrialised world, world trade regimes and the universalisation of borrowed cultural and intellectual institutions.

Arguing that the end of European colonial rule did not imply the termination of empire, Jinadu agrees with the Afrocentric authors who “view contemporary globalisation without forced empire as a continuation of the historical and structural process of capitalist and imperialist domination on a world scale”.

He laments the fact that globalisation has deepened the marginalisation of Africa making it difficult for the continent to achieve ‘auto-centred’ development. To make matters worse, African countries are perceived and treated as ‘follower-societies’ in the image of the globalizaing west. He gives the dire warning that: “The new scramble and new imperialism both pose serious possibilities for the re-colonisation of Africa, for they confer power without political responsibility and accountability to us”.

Writing on Historical perspectives of the scramble for Africa, Professor Mike Kwanashie, agrees with the view that the present condition of Africa is largely a function of historic injustices and exploitation which continue up till now. In his words: “The world which depended on African raw materials, markets and even slaves to build an economic system in the 19th century, today is unable to create the conditions under which the continent can sustain meaningful development.” According to Kwanashie, the situation of most of Africa today can be traced to the evolution of the African economies from the pre-1894 period to the partition of the continent along western interests in the 19th century to the present stage of capitalist domination of the global economy.

Kwanashie argues that the relationship between Africa and the colonial powers resulted in the gradual destruction of the hitherto non-capitalist economies of Africa and their transformation into dependent capitalist economies. Consequently, the economic crisis of most African states today is only a reflection of the generalised crisis of global capitalism since the economies of the continent were incorporated into the world capitalist economy in the 19th century on an unequal basis.

In his contribution, The new scramble for Africa: A strategic policy framework, Prof C. C Nweke, agrees with the view that the new scramble for Africa is a new phase in the neo-colonial exploitation of the critical resources and markets of the African continent by European, North American and now non-European powers. He believes that any attempt by African countries to seek benefits from this relationship of exploitation will only deepen the continent’s dependency and slavery in the international division of labour. He articulates policies to win maximum economic policy making space for African countries “to take full control of Africa’s resources and economic activities towards regaining sovereign control of our destinies”.

Among Nweke’s suggestions to thwart the new scramble for Africa and launch the continent on the part of genuine, self -reliant development are the enthronement of national leadership with a sense of mission and who cannot be stooges or collaborators with imperialism; Insistence by African countries on being allowed maximum economic policy-making space in accordance with their sovereign autonomy; placing emphasis on food security and basic needs such as shelter, clothing, access to clean water, sanitation, public transportation, health and education as well as production- based regional integration with emphasis on production rather than trade.

He also advocates a Natural Resource- Based strategic planning for African countries, which will involve more substantial and effective control of the minerals sector by African countries; processing of natural resources before export; gradual and progressive phasing out of minerals export which are non-renewable energy sources and the establishment of indigenous Technological Research and Development Centres of Excellence. Given the emergence of China as a global economic power and her aggressive incursions into different sectors of African economies in recent years, it is not surprising that three chapters in this book are dedicated to various aspects of Chinese-African relations. Indeed, Professor Ogaba Oche suggests optimistically that: “The Chinese model presents itself as an alternative to the neo-liberal consensus because Chinese aid comes without political strings attached and because China concentrates investment in Infrastructure and human capital rather than primary products, and addressing developmental problems that are not solved by market fundamentalism”. But is China’s engagement with Africa motivated by benevolent altruism or considerations of her own national interest just like the western powers? Time will tell.