This article may seem a little controversial, but the truth is, imperialism had contributed greatly to the growth and development of Africa. Just like a bright twinkling star in a dark cloud, colonization had been a source of light to the African continent. Many people argue this, and of course you should, especially, if you are from African. But I this article, I will advise you to put on your analytic hat because we going to logically analyze those that you are afraid to hear.
Now, speaking of darkness, generally there had been a tough time when the whole world was covered with darkness— troubles, wars, and sicknesses. An unhappy time in human history when it was more terribly challenging to be a human. When men who managed to be alive had a very little hope for the future (this was about A.D. 410). It was called the dark age. This has nothing to do with Henry Stanley who named Africa “The Dark Continent” in his 1878 travelogue. Remember, at that time, even the Europeans or the Portuguese were not exempted. Now, Europe is ahead of Africa simply because they were at first able to face the struggles and managed to figure out ways to solve the world’s problems during those dark age which enabled them to see the light, the same light which they extended to other nations and continents in exchange of making them colonies, indirectly.
Existing but Not Living
The beauty and the outstanding benefits of colonization started with how the British audaciously solved the problems which Africans couldn’t solve for themselves for centuries. Yes, you heard me well, for centuries, not decades. Perhaps, you did not know that some tribes and parts of Africa has been existing hundreds and thousands of years even before the arrival of the British. For example, the first tribe to inhabit the country we know today as Nigeria is the Igbos, and that was because, some parts of it called IGBO UKWU in Anambra State in Nigeria had already been there, inhabiting that territory for over a hundred thousand (100,000) years before the arrival of the British. That was a long vista of time enough for an illuminated mind to significantly build a city and transform their generation. So for me, that is longevity without productivity. How could a people live that long with nothing tangible to show for it that is capable of changing the world, until they waited for an outside force to come forth to determine their destinies? Are they that dumb? That means Africa has been be existing, yet not living, really. Just like the Biblical Methuselah who lived almost a thousand years, and that was the only thing we knew he did on the planet earth. Just existing!
I strongly believe that a hundred thousand years is more than enough for a people, a city, or a nation to build something significant for themselves. Let’s be honest, if Africa as a continent could still be existing for that long with no significant improvements in infrastructures, literacy, science or technology and with none of these things that made our lives easier today, do you think Africa still has what it takes to bring the level of change such as we have today even if being offered a million years of existence without colonization? I don’t think so. Look at the magnitude of change that had occurred in Africa since 1884. Look at how far Nigeria has gone since 1960 of independence. Generally, it has never been more than three centuries since the inception of imperialism in Africa but the change is so huge to compare to what had happened in the last hundred thousand years of existence. And Africa is yet to see more progress and development in the years, decades, and centuries to come as long as they keep in contact with what colonialism brought.
Most people resented imperialism and refused to acknowledge it because, they were grossly beclouded with negativity, hence they focused more only on its limitations and downsides, especially because of the transatlantic slave trade. I understand, but let’s leave that aside. Zoom out a little bit from some of those flimsy limitations you created in your mind to embrace the excellence that came with colonization.
The Intrinsic Benefits of Colonization
The fundamental benefits of colonization came from giving Africa and Africans the self-awareness and the identity they have today. You are also free to argue this, but colonization gave Africa an identity, and it wasn’t really a bad identity. These two are just the intrinsic advantage of colonialism which no one would rarely think of. But as we delve in, we are going to look at the other more obvious benefits of colonization in Africa. But you may argue that Africa as a continent had an identity before the colonization, but to what degree? We were already self-aware, okay, but to what extent? Colonization gave Africa an identity. And speaking of Identity, I do not only just mean the name, ‘Africa’ as given by the Greeks and romans. I mean what she represents and what she is known for.
Let’s take Nigeria as an example, before colonization in 1884 by the British, what was Nigerian known for? For the name? It was given by a British journalist, Flora Shaw in the late 19th century. Although before Flora Shaw came up with the name, ‘Nigeria’, there were few other proposed names which included Royal Niger Company Territories, Central Sudan, Niger Empire, Hausa Territories and Niger Sudan. But at the end of the day, she finally managed to give Nigeria her identity. That was just the intrinsic contribution of colonization that may not necessarily play a significant role in the colony. But what about those major benefits that were so conspicuous in today’s world which we cannot deny, which included the swapping, the integration and improvements of the African’s former ways of lives and cultures. The amazing things were, these changes and developments never happened by accidents. As we can see through some of the great historical novels like in Chinonso Aguzie’s The Mind of a Hero, most of these changes came very slowly and subtle, yet their effects could not be denied. However, those changes smoothly transcended as a replacement to an unwanted and outdated systems.
The Obvious Benefits of Colonialism
Apart from the intrinsic benefits of colonization which allowed us to know who we are. There are other benefits of colonialism which tremendously focused on the improvements of our standard of living which included;
- (Christianity).
The smooth replacement of African traditional religion and spirituality with Christianity, removing ambiguity by taking away smarmy sacrifices and rituals from the African religious system. Hence abolishing bad cultures and horrid traditions that potentially posed harms to the lives of the people.
- Improvement in infrastructure:
Colonization brought the road systems, railroads, water, pipelines, water, electricity, and faster communication system which was never possible in the past.
- Literacy: The ability to read and right, thanks to Christianity. Christianity as a religion was a game changer which gave life to other infrastructures by building systems that transferred knowledge—such as schools. And systems for legal institution—such as Law Courts. Systems for safety and security— such as the Military Force.
- Health Care Systems: these include the hospitals and other systems set up to oversee the fitness and longevity of the people to prevent diseases. Of course, African’s had their effective traditional ways of taking care of themselves from sicknesses, but the modern health care system has proven to be way more superior.
In fact, the benefits of colonialism are almost interminable.
Something to Ponder.
In Conclusion
In spite of all these beautiful seeds of colonization, today, Africa is still arguably behind the rest of the world, then imagine how it would have been if there was nothing like colonization in Africa? You already know. Think about that. Thank you for reading this article, next, we would be talking about THE DARK TRUTH OF COLONIZATION AND ITS DISADVANTAGES.
You can also watch the video
