Colonialism and Victimization Narratives in the Context of Africa's Development

Abstract

The chapter appraises the implications of victimization inherent in colonialism for the development of Africa. It analyses pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial (decolonization, neo-colonial, meta-colonial, globalization, and meta-decolonization) periods. It holds that post-independence development failure of Africa is rooted in its history of predatory colonialism. The vestiges of colonial norms, institutions, and society are the perpetual contraptions that made postcolonial development bottlenecks inevitable in Africa. It suggests that Africa must liberate itself from the violence of cognitive imperialism that impedes the emergence of truly African development values. It should discard the existing bourgeois decolonization and adopt the meta-decolonization option which this chapter proposes. This will truly Africanize a development agenda in Africa, by Africans and for Africa. Thus, Africa's abundant resources will promote a broad-base for her inclusion in the global development contest as a productive independent key player.