We scream about colonialism, shake our fists at the West, and blame outsiders for our stagnation. Meanwhile, we elect thieves, celebrate mediocrity, and sabotage ourselves at every opportunity. The hypocrisy is suffocating. The same people who cry about "foreign interference" will gladly fly to Dubai for shopping sprees, send their kids to Western universities, and beg for loans from the same nations they claim are out to destroy them.
Let’s be brutally honest—Africa is not poor. It is poorly managed. It is not oppressed. It is oppressing itself. And the worst part? We refuse to admit it.
The Pride That Kills
There is a sickness that runs deep in the African psyche—a twisted form of pride that values "doing it ourselves" even when we are clearly failing. It is the kind of foolishness that makes us reject solutions simply because they come from foreigners, while embracing our own disastrous policies with blind loyalty.
China comes in and says, “Let’s build you roads, railways, and ports.” Instead of negotiating smart deals, we either sell out completely or scream about "neocolonialism" while doing nothing. Meanwhile, the same leaders criticizing China are quietly taking their cut and stashing it in Swiss bank accounts.
The West comes in and says, “Let’s invest in your industries.” We cry about imperialism while continuing to export raw materials for pennies, only to buy back finished goods at ten times the price.
We talk about self-reliance but refuse to invest in our own infrastructure. We brag about sovereignty but can’t even manufacture our own medicine. We shout about African unity but spend more time pulling each other down than lifting each other up.
And worst of all, we are comfortable in this mess.
The Hypocrisy That Stinks
Ask any African leader what the problem is, and they will give you the same tired speech: “The West is exploiting us. The foreigners don’t want to see us develop.” Yet the same leaders will turn around and:
Send their children to Harvard while local universities rot.
Get treated in London hospitals while their own citizens die in crumbling clinics.
Bank their stolen billions in Europe while their economies collapse.
Buy bulletproof cars while their people drink dirty water.
And the people? They clap. They cheer. They defend these thieves like loyal dogs, blaming "external forces" for their misery. A politician will steal money meant for a hospital, and his supporters will fight anyone who criticizes him. Tribalism over truth. Loyalty over logic.
Meanwhile, the same West we claim to hate keeps progressing. China keeps building. The Middle East keeps advancing. Even small Asian countries that were once on our level have now left us in the dust.
But we? We are still here. Still complaining. Still waiting for some magical day when Africa will "rise" without actually doing the work.
The Fear of Outsiders and the Love of Failure
One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is that Africa must develop without foreign help. Who told you that? Which country on Earth has ever built itself alone?
America rose to power by stealing land, importing European knowledge, and using African slaves. China lifted itself by copying Western technology before surpassing it. Even Europe itself took centuries of trade, war, and learning from others to become what it is.
But Africa? Africa wants to be special. Africa wants to prove a point. Africa wants to "reject" foreign influence while sitting on the floor doing nothing.
Instead of making smart deals, we choose blind rejection. Instead of learning from others, we cling to outdated methods. Instead of using foreign investments to our advantage, we create policies that drive investors away. And then, when nothing works, we blame the same foreigners we chased out.
Tell me, who is really the problem here?
The Hard Truth: No One is Coming to Save Us
The West does not owe us development. China does not owe us infrastructure. The world does not owe us anything. And if we keep waiting for some external force to fix our problems, we will still be here in another hundred years, making the same complaints, telling the same stories, and watching the rest of the world move on without us.
It is not colonialism that is holding Africa back—it is African stupidity. Stupidity in leadership. Stupidity in policies. Stupidity in the way we treat success, innovation, and progress.
We romanticize struggle and demonize wealth. We laugh at those who try to do things differently. We make life hard for those who actually want to build something. And when someone dares to succeed, we pull them down with jealousy, gossip, and endless obstacles.
How do we expect to grow when we kill every opportunity that comes our way?
The Solution? Brutal Honesty and Real Action
The first step to fixing a problem is admitting that you have one. Africa must admit, loudly and clearly, that we are our own biggest problem. Until we do that, nothing will change.
We must stop making excuses. Stop blaming colonialism for every failure. Stop rejecting progress out of pride. Stop treating politics like a tribal game instead of a responsibility.
We must learn to make deals that benefit us. Negotiate smartly with investors instead of chasing them away. Build industries instead of selling raw materials. Value competence over connections. Elect leaders who actually give a damn instead of thieves who feed us empty promises.
Most importantly, we must stop waiting for a savior. No one is coming to fix Africa except Africans. And if we don’t wake up, we will remain the continent of wasted potential—forever complaining, forever blaming, and forever stuck in the past while the world moves on.
The choice is ours. Keep crying, or start building. But one thing is clear—if we keep doing what we’ve always done, we will keep getting what we’ve always gotten. And that, my friends, is the definition of insanity.
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