Africa: Are its resources the seat of evil?

Posted by: Dr. Joseph Ozigis Akomodi

Written by: Miriam Ikunaiye

Africa is extremely endowed with natural resources however the continent has remained impoverished. Lack of education, ethnic conflicts and unscrupulous and 'unpoliced' international corporations are the 'circle of evil' responsible for the Africa decay.

High level of illiteracy caused African people to undervalue Africa’s worth in all circumstances. In Africa, school system does not mandate the study of African history, its contribution to the developed countries before, during and after slave trade. Hence; Africans are least aware of the historical records Africa holds. This lack of knowledge chips away the depth of individual commitment owed to the continent; even when one becomes the leader. These chains of uncommitted African leaders are quick to succumb to pressure from the ethnic groups and the unscrupulous international corporations whose only motive are to gain control over the natural resources.

Ethnic control over diamonds, gold, timber, oil and minerals has being credited for the decade long horrendous wars in Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Liberia and Sudan. “The more a country is enriched by the extraction of primary resources and the more its dependency on them deepens, the lower its rating for human development drops. Thus while the soil is rich with diamonds, the average Sierra Leonean can expect to live for just 34.5 years.5 Angola, too, has diamond and oil wealth of enormous value, yet a quarter of all Angolan children die before the age of five. Angola’s diamonds and oil were used by rebels and the Government to enrich themselves and to buy arms to fight one another at the expense of an impoverished, brutalized population” said economic analyst.

International corporations have instigated warfare in African over the past decade as they compete for control over valuable resources; they can swear to get for almost free. Trading arms for gem, these warmongers exploits the African’s disunity and the lack of self worth and drains African valuable resources by the shiploads. They corrupt the local chiefs with a token of bribery and arm him against his own people. Of course, who can forget the Sierra Leone rebels who terrorized people by amputating their hands – were selling diamonds that were ending up on the world market.

How do diamonds get from a Sierra Leone mine in Africa to a ring on a finger in Britain? How does the mineral coltan get from a mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo into a mobile phone in USA? Why does Africa have so much resource yet, wallows in poverty? Through vicious circle, resource exploitation fuels war, and war facilitates continued exploitation of the resource. Groups making money from war have a vested interest in perpetuating conflict. Thus these wars are less about one side winning, than about the ability to engage in profitable crime under the cover of warfare. It is a fact, without unification economic viability will be impossible in Africa


By Miriam Ikunaiye