Are the Challenges Facing Contemporary Africans the Product of Research Paper

Are the Challenges Facing Contemporary Africans the Product of Internal or External Historical Forces - Research Paper Example This despite a lot of efforts being channeled towards solving these problems, a lot of foreign aid is used to help these particular societies. Even though many non-stake organizations put of attention towards trying to solve these problems, still there are a lot of challenges. The main problem remains as the most potential strategies to salvage Africa from the problems; what or when will Africa much other continents social, political and particular economic strength? Many African scholars such as Ngugi wa Thiongo and Chinua Achebe1 have always associated the problem facing the African continent today as a result of the coming of Europeans to Africa. The introduction of western culture and civilization, which according to these writers brought the continent to its knees and began to creep into Africa when foreigners mainly Europeans started arriving into the continent. They criticize Europeans as having the quest to impose imperial ideologies and pilfering African resources, and it is this foundation that African scholars fill continued to infiltrate the continent even after independence. In the 21st century, the following are some of the principle challenges facing Africa as a continent. External Factors Economic constrains The economic effects laid down by colonialism continue to be felt by the five million inhabitants of Africa. Many African scholars such as Dr Ibrahim Farah do maintain a strong feeling that colonialism should be viewed as a progressive integration of Africa into the world capitalist system where it was given the role of producing raw materials for the western industrial products. This colonial economy also diverted Africa societies to divert Agriculture to production of primary goods and cash crop which have led to the continuous hunger situation in the continent. Africa elites blame the colonial economy for encouraging Africa to produce ''more of what was needed least rather than more of what was needed most'', this is what explains why Afr ica has continued to sink into the balance of payment deficit e because the income they fetch from their exports is far much less than the revenue they spend on imports2. Rodney goes further to echo the same sentiments when he argues that the systematic corrupt enterprises established by the colonies to expropriate African natural resources to Europe. This facilitated what is today seen as under-development of Africa while it engendered the development of Europe. It is how the colonial master led to the re organs action of African economy that has today altered the manner in which people produce, consume and create things within the continent-colonialism came with new-liberalism a phenomena that seeks to enforce the principle law of demand and supply that is forces of demand and supply should be left to make the leading role in the market structure distorted the African way of life, which was communal and appropriate for the African setting. In addition this system substituted it wi th liberalism which was foreign and in this case alien for the African societies. Socially, colonialism as an external factor responsible for the problems facing African continent today greatly affected the close knit family structure and fragmentation of social relation. Colonialism is also responsible for urbanization that led to rapid exodus of masses from rural areas to urban centers. This had two