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ISSN : 1744-2532 E- ISSN 2516-5305
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Africa, among other continents, is expected to have been transformed from its description as givers or producers of raw materials by the colonial imperialists, who scrambled for the survival of their countries after the Second World War. To be specific, Africa has been a solid yielding ground for the industrialization of what is today known as Europe and the West through her natural resources, yet it has remained largely impoverished and most backward among the continents in the global system. The continent’s inability to effectively harness its resources for sustainable development is multifaceted, ranging from the despotic influence of the colonial imperialists in the management of Africa’s resources, the nefarious activities of successive African leaders, who ascend power after colonialism, and the spoilt systemic political structure bequeathed to Africa by the colonial government to incessant military interventions in African politics. Research on why Africa is still very poor, despite its massive endowment of resources, has either blamed colonialism or the activities of successive African governments, including both the military and civilian governments.
Africa’s negative experience under colonialism has partly contributed to its slow pace of economic development. Relative to any plausible counterfactual, Africa is poorer today than it would have been if colonialism had not occurred. Colonial imperialists bequeathed to Africa what appeared remarkably different from how they looked in 1880. And, albeit with some exceptions in some African countries, these countries are among the poorest in the world today. Post-independence Africa didn’t fare any better in the absence of colonialism. Indeed, in most cases, post-independence economic decline in Africa can be explicitly attributed to colonialism because the types of mechanisms that led to this decline were creations of colonial society. Most successive African governments followed patterns of colonial administration. This alignment has caused more damage than good to the continent. Today, Africa still faces problems such as corruption, poor service delivery, the oil curse, land grabbing, a governance crisis, military incursions, electoral mal practices, a leadership problem, violence, climate change, lawlessness, mediocrity, ethnic identity, and xenophobic issues, among other ravaging challenges. Africa is diverse, and her challenges can vary widely across different countries and regions. Although efforts to tackle these challenges have been coming from African governments, regional organizations, and international partners, there is also a need to address these challenges from a well-researched perspective.
African Renaissance is a journal with a proven record of discussion and dissemination of research findings on African issues and challenges. This current issue of African Renaissance covers topical African issues such as ethnicity, ethnic identity, military intervention in politics, fiscal federalism, service delivery, governance, extraction of natural resources, oil politics, environmental justice, brain drain syndrome, migration and electioneering issues, development administration, poverty alleviation, politico-administrative nexus, state reconstruction, oil discovery, and curse, among other contemporary issues affecting Africa. It is a collection of well-articulated research findings on contemporary problems confronting Africa. Africa needs to wake up from its slumber and re-strategize towards the sustainable development of the continent. The African Renaissance provides the needed platform to publish multi-disciplinary research articles that can provide the information needed by African leaders to transform the continent from its current low-speed drive to a more rapidly desirable developmental level. It is hoped that the findings from this current issue will go a long way toward contributing to the transformation of Africa.