Page 82 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 11

Energy
COMMUNITY

RE-STORYING AFRICA:

A NOTE ON IDENTITY AND TRANSFORMATION

Anselm Adodo

espected Nigerian Po- Ake, colonialism in Africa was mark- relations of production, the atom-
litical scientist, the late edly different from the Americas, ization of society and the process
Claude Ake, argued in his Europe, and Asia's colonial experi- of proletarianization. It built roads,
R1995 book, 'Democracy ences. railways, and ports to facilitate the
and Development in Africa', that the collection and export of commodi-
major problem responsible for much To begin with, he says, it was ties and the import of manufactured
of the chaos and underdevelopment unusually statist. The colonial state goods. It sold commodities through
in Africa is the foreign-made politi- redistributed land and determined commodity boards. Indeed, it con-
cal system imposed on Africa by the who should produce what and how. trolled every aspect of the colonial
Western colonial powers with no It churned out administrative instru- economy tightly to maintain power
consideration for existing traditional ments and legislated taxes to induce and domination and realize coloni-
social and political structures. For the break-up of traditional social zation's economic objectives.

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