Challenges faced by Old African States

Challenges faced by Old African States

 

Challenges faced by Old African States

During the fight for independence, most of the African states experienced several challenges that made them reliant on foreign powers for survival. One of the issues was inadequate funding resources to help boost their security levels. This meant that these countries had to constantly rely on the Europeans to help in providing security both within and outside their borders yet they also wanted to be independent states. Looking at an Algeria as an example the African state had little resources to have required firepower to keep its border safe (Chabal, 2016).  They were forced to turn to the French liberation army for support both within and outside the state’s borders. This worked for them at some point but also proved to be a hindrance towards development at some stages in the coming years. The foreigners also had a personal interest in these types of countries where they could explore resources in exchange for the services provided to these people.

Secondly, some of the African leaders by then were driven by personal interests rather than the countries interests. This made them make decisions that would come later to harm the people, such as the signing of treaties without thinking on what impact it would have on the coming generations. Most of the leaders were based on kinship succession interests where one would only think of doing things that would make would ensure his next heir as a leader successfully takes over the throne. Some of the African leaders went ahead to accept European proposals to utilize their resources without knowledge of colonization they were introducing into their country. Liberia is one of the affected countries because of the greed of its leaders with everyone wanting power by him or herself (Chabal, 2016). This turned the country into a battlefield for power leaving the innocent citizens affected by hunger and deaths of their lost ones.

Slavery was also a major challenge facing African states during the historical times. The vice had taken deep routes into African states where people would be mistreated by European who were deemed as their masters to work in plantation under hardship conditions with minimum benefits coming along their way. A good example is when the Amistad rebellion is developed because of the way African were being mistreated in slavery being forced to work in plantations for a lot of hours under heavy punishment if one failed to work as expected and also being given less food and water. They were always ferried in ships stacked together at the lower deck. It was a psychological weapon used by the Europeans on Africans at this stage to make them feel inferior to their white counterparts (Mamdani, 2018). This meant Africans had to take a longer duration to realize their potential is equivalent to other people around them despite the difference in their skin color.

Overcoming these problems was essential in African states quest for independence. Looking at Amistad rebellion it was at a point when slaves decided they had enough of the whites and decided to revolt against their master when being transported by ship. The unification of slaves within the vessel under the same goal of freedom to save their coming generations from the bondage of white masters proved that anything was possible for African states as long a people united to work together to achieve a specific goal.

 Influence of newsreels and films on understanding African political history

            The use of newsreels has had a positive impact on my view and understanding of the African political history. Some of the few leaders such as Johnson and Blahyi are few of the inspirational individuals who proved to the world that despite being famous war loads in Liberia. They were willing to lead by example with the help of media in reconstructing Liberia. It exemplifies the change in the type of leaders rising from African states. Initially, the states had greedy war loads that only cared about their well-being. However, we realize that at some time they are in a position to change and help in taking the country to a new level of development and sustainability. Considering the economic condition of Liberia s a country by then we realize the two leaders went an extra mile to provide services the country was not able to do considering the main source of power by then was generators. However, this did not stop Johnson and Blahyi from reaching people through media. They were aware of the importance of utilizing media as a unifying tool as the country was under the reconstruction period (Chabal, 2016).

Some of the historical stories such as the one on the day Amistad rebellion developed has challenged my opinion about African politics over the years. Initially, Africans were viewed as an inferior group of people with no right to even having the required amount of food and drink. However, they manage to undertake self-civilization process by understanding themselves and developing their identity (Mamdani, 2018). This was crucial in making a turning point for the slaves to say enough was enough to slavery. It is a great challenge regarding the success rate of unity and self-belief in achieving specific goals amongst individuals. Initially, there were many civil wars within African states, with time people realize they should be fighting a common enemy of economic retrogression rather than bringing the war to their neighbor’s doorsteps.

In conclusion, Africans political history has changed for the better from the individualistic type of leadership to one which leaders are able to work towards achieving unified goals rather than personal objectives. This change in leadership attitude in Africa’s history has been instrumental in encouraging the rapid economic growth and development witnessed currently in most of the African states.

Works Cited

Chabal, P. (2016). Power in Africa: an essay in political interpretation. Springer.

Mamdani, M. (2018). Citizen and subject: Contemporary Africa and the legacy of late colonialism. Princeton University Press.

Challenges faced by Old African States

 

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