Why African Nations Remain Poor – Despite Vast and Rich Resources

Photo Credit: Wikipedia (Zuma Rock in Abuja, Nigeria)

2013 Statistics from the Population Reference Bureau, PRB, tells us that the African continent is blessed with human resources, having a gross population of 1.1 billion people, and a nominal GDP of $2.39trillion. Further analysis from the same source show that only 1% of the population (100,000) is worth more than a million dollars, with 36.2 % of the population of the continent living below a dollar a day. It will amaze you to know that 2015 statistics are not at all different despite the continent being the fastest growing continent in 2013. We can concur that there is a ‘black pit’ where most of the resources of the continent goes to, explaining why almost half of the continent live below a dollar a day- corruption.

The corruption in the continent has dug in deep into the way of life, leaving people with aspirations of not fighting it, but nurturing ambitions to one day share in the ‘national cake. ’ The psychological acceptance of this ‘way of life’ has been made possible by the lack of corruption-check and prosecuted systems that work.

The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria, is a locus classicus. Over the past three years until the recent economic backlash, Nigeria has been the country with the largest economy in Africa, however the country with the largest gap between the rich and the poor proportionally having a small middle class. This is because the ‘chosen few’ rotate themselves in power and governance and openly share the nation’s wealth amongst them. Most indicted for corruption and embezzlement are usually political opponents so they are victimized.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s national security adviser Sambo Dasuki’s case is a perfect example. He was arrested in late 2015 for allegedly stealing $2 billion through a fake arms deal. Some see this as deserving; others feel it is a political witch hunt. These different conclusions come about because there is no adequate system in place that investigates and prosecutes people of Dasuki’s nature when the crime is committed. Most will concur that if he was on the same side as the ruling party he would be a free man living his life, like most of its ministers and governors. The government agencies like the Economic and Financial crimes Commission, EFCC, are corrupt in their arrest and prosecutions. The agency amongst others is not independent and shows extreme bias towards the government in place.

A look at the officials in the current administration of Nigeria, President Buhari, associates himself with individuals that are allegedly ‘fantastically corrupt’. His Minister of Transport, Rotimi Ameachi, caught headlines when he left office as Rivers state’s Governor. There are unproven allegations by a commission of Sale of State Assets from his state of misappropriating about $500 million. There are further allegations of same person diverting about $300 million into the Buhari’s campaign for president. All these allegations have never been investigated by the police or the EFCC. They would evidently have to wait for a different administration not in alignment with the current to attempt such ‘sacrilege’.

Simply put, African nations are poor because the enormous amount of resources that the countries are endowed with have been squandered for decades by greedy, selfish, corrupt and ruthless military regimes, and civilians (primarily politicians), who lack positive vision for their nations and who could care less about the future generations.

References:

http://www.prb.org/pdf13/2013-WPDS-infographic_MED.pdf

http://www.prb.org/pdf13/2013-WPDS-infographic_MED.pdf

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34973872

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3590934/Is-Nigerian-leader-s-pal-fantastically-corrupt-Friend-African-president-accused-stealing-500million.html

http://www.xtremeloaded.com/2268/list-of-current-nigerian-ministers-2015-2016-updated

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Ernie J. Burgher is a bi-lingual freelance journalist and author, and speaks English and French. Ernie writes for SitiTalkBlog.

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