Colonial capitalism and politics of underdevelopment in post-colonial Africa. the case of Nigeria, 1960-1990, 1993
Udoko, Nsikitima J.
1990-1999
Historically, the hallmark of "independent Africa" is inextri cable underdevelopment crises. Thus, the fundamental objective of this study is to determine the causality of politics of underdevel opment and evolving stiffening crises in post-colonial Africa, by using Nigeria, a former British colony, as a case in point. Nigeria was chosen whereas its economy personifies the pre-colonial African kingdoms, empires, fiefdoms, and states, as well as arbitrary created colonies by a model European colonial power - Great Britain. Thus, the findings in the Nigerian dilemma could manifest a profound comprehension of the raison d'etre of continuous political in cohesion, cum facts and factors of underdevelopment crises in "independent Africa." And ipso facto enabled us to evolve generalizations indispensable in establishing an authentic theory of development in Africa at the dawning of the 21st century. Based on African historiography, the fact evolved that precolonial Africa/Nigeria was developing and transforming on its own accord from tribal organizations to magnificent kingdoms, empires and "city" states. Additionally, authentic universal history resolved that African Kemetic (Kmt) kingdom - Egypt, evolved continental and universal model of civilizations before the imposition of colonial capitalist mode of production by European powers, two critical issues were raised. The first striking issue was whether or not colonial capitalism originated contemporary unobtainable political incohesion with astronomical underdevelopment dilemma in Nigeria. The second issue was why are the post-colonial leaderships unable to minimize or reverse underdevelopment? To that end, we hypothesized that - (i) colonial capitalism catalyzed contradictions of underdevelopment crises in post-colonial Africa.(ii) that failure to Africanize the post-colonial development strategies frustrates the resolution of underdevelopment crises, or authentic and sustained development in postcolonial Nigeria and (iii) that the perpetuation of colonial superstructure by "post independence" regimes catalyzed politics of underdevelop ment in Nigeria. The study, using a dialectical materialist method, affirmed the hypotheses. Consequently, we recommended an authentic democrati zation of governmental procedures, as well as a scientific indigenization of contemporary mode of production by a leadership committed to concrete reactivation of the latter as a viable way out. In this context a scientific development of Afrocentric paradigm and evolving theory of development was asserted as a priority.
text
application/pdf
1993-07-01
dissertation
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Clark Atlanta University
Political Science
Gibrill, Hashim
Georgia--Atlanta
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/cau.td:1993_udoko_nsikitima_j