The Factors That Impaired African Development: A Nigerian Historical Perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to examine the the factors that impairs African development such as slave trade, colonization, neocolonization and corruption which played a vital role in stagnating African development. This study is conceptual one, utilizing secondary source of data, and the method of analysis was analytical. This study revealed that apart from slave trade, colonialism and neo-­‐‑colonialism, corruption is the most devastating factor that stagnate African development. The study recommends that corruption should be fought from all angles and severe punishment should be meted on corrupt officials. This study argues that African underdevelopment could be traced to slave trade era where about 15-­‐‑20 million of able bodied men and women were carted away from Africa to Europe and subsequently to America. Africans were colonized and their mineral resources were exploited, and in order to continue the exploitation of the African resources neo-­‐‑colonialism was introduced through their stooges and multi-­‐‑National Corporations. The African leaders on their part embezzled public funds which has greatly affected the development effort negatively.