| Peer-Reviewed

A Single Factor Theory of Africa’s Underdevelopment

Received: 1 September 2018     Accepted: 29 September 2018     Published: 29 October 2018
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Africa is in dire need of economic, socio-political and infrastructural developments that will take it out of abject poverty and other forms of backwardness that have made it a subject of scorn among its peers in spite of its vast natural and human resources. Many scholars have attributed the economic and developmental state of the African continent to a number of factors including colonialism, poverty, poor leadership, illiteracy, war and ethnic rivalry. This study, while not disputing those reasons as identified by earlier scholars, is rather of the view that there is a singular factor that is fundamental to Africa’s underdevelopment and all other factors aside this singular factor are somehow offshoots of that singular factor. The study established that the first step ever towards any significant development in the history of mankind was prompted by the climate. Therefore, the development of Africa could not have been at the same pace with the rest of the world that were not equally endowed with favourable climates like those in Africa. The early discoveries and developments in the history of mankind encouraged more advanced developments. It became obvious from this study that the creative and problem resolution ability of the early African man was greatly incapacitated by the continent’s favourable climatic conditions whereas the less favourable conditions of his counterpart in other continents turned out to be an advantage to his counterpart’s early and progressive developments over the ages. African leaders need to be more people oriented in their economic programmes, promote national interests above their personal and foreign masters’ interests for the good of the continent that has not only become a mockery but also a global problem in view of the high influx of its people on illegal migrations to the rest of the world for the purpose of seeking better lives. The continent should therefore be both economically and politically independent.

Published in International Journal of Business and Economics Research (Volume 7, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijber.20180706.11
Page(s) 175-182
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Africa, Climate, Colonialism, Theory, Underdevelopment

References
[1] AbdelreheemEad, H. (2014). History of science in Egypt (1). IOSR Journal Of Humanities and Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 19(1, VIII): 94-97.
[2] Abeltina, A. (2007). The role of innovation in economic development. Ekonomika ir vadyba: aktualijos ir perspektyvos, Vol. 2(9): 5–9.
[3] Adesina, O. A. and Obinna, E. (2014). Invoking gender: The thoughts, mission and theology of Mary Slessor in southern Nigeria. Africa in Scotland, Scotland in Africa, Vol. 14: 201–227.
[4] Afaha, J. S. and Aiyelabola O. O. (2012). Foreign trade and economic growth: Evidence from Nigeria. Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review (OMAN Chapter) Vol. 2 (1): 26–48.
[5] Alcott, W. (2017). The underdevelopment of Africa by Europe. Revealing histories. http://www.revealinghistories.org.uk/africa-the-arrival-of-europeans-and-the-transatlantic-slave-trade/articles/the-underdevelopment-of-africa-by-europe.html
[6] Allard, G. (2015). Science and technology capacity in Africa: A new index. Journal of African Studies and Development, Vol. 7 (6): 137–147.
[7] Asafa, J. (2015). The triple causes of African underdevelopment: Colonial capitalism, state terrorism and racism. International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, Vol. 7(3): 75–91.
[8] Awan, A. and Anum, V. (2014). Impact of infrastructure development on Economic growth: A case study of Pakistan. International Journal of Development and Economic Development, Vol. 2 (5): 1-15.
[9] Awojobi, O. N. (2014). Corruption and underdevelopment in Africa: A discourse approach. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, Vol. 2(10): 1–14.
[10] Bakari, S. (2017). The impact of domestic investment on economic growth: New evidence from Malaysia. MPRA Paper No. 79436, Munich Personal RePEc Archive. https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/79436/1/MPRA_paper_79436.pdf
[11] Bhattacharyya, S. (2014). Root causes of African underdevelopment. Journal of African Economies, Vol. 18(5): 745-780.
[12] Blankley, W. and Moses, C. (2009). How innovative is South Africa? South African Journal of Science, Vol. 105:15-18.
[13] Bloom, D. E and Sachs, J. D., (1998). Geography, demography and economic growth in Africa. Brookings. Papers on Economic Activity, Vol. 2: 207-295.
[14] Burnham, A. (2017). Earth was barren, flat and almost entirely under water 4.4 billion years ago. Phys. Org. https://phys.org/news/2017-05-earth-barren-flat-billion-years.html
[15] Clark, J. D. (2008). The Cambridge history of Africa. From the earliest times to c. 500 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[16] Colman, A. (1972). Scientific racism and the evidence on race and intelligence. Race. 14. 137-153.
[17] Cruz-Inigo, A. E; Ladizinski, B. and Sethi, A. (2011). Albinism in Africa: Stigma, slaughter and awareness campaigns. Dermatologic clinics. Vol. 29. 79-87.
[18] Demetriades, P. and Hussein, K. (1996). Does financial development cause economic growth? Time-series evidence from 16 countries. Journal of Development Economics. 5: 387-411.
[19] Ebegbulem, J. C. (2012). Corruption and leadership crisis in Africa: Nigeria in focus. International Journal of Business and Social Science Vol. 3 (11): 221–227.
[20] Edim, M. E. and Saba, I. A. (2014). Socio-cultural variables of religion and sports participation among secondary school students in northern states of Nigeria. Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies (JETERAPS) 5(2): 232-235.
[21] Eleojo, E. F. (2014). Africans and African humanism: What prospects? American International Journal of Contemporary Research, Vol. 4(1): 297–308.
[22] Fagerberg, J., Srholec, M., Verspagen, B. (2010). The role of innovation in development. Review of Economics and Institutions, Vol. 1 (2): 1–29.
[23] Friedman, T. L. (2006). The world is flat. A brief history of the twenty-first century. Allen Lane.
[24] Fryer, R. G. and Levitt, S. D. (2006). Testing for racial differences in the mental ability of your children. American Economic Review, Vol. 103(2): 981-1005
[25] Gallup, J., and J. Sachs. (2001). The economic burden of malaria, American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 64(1-2): 85-96.
[26] Gemery, H. and J. Hogendorn. (1979). The economic costs of West African participation in the atlantic slave trade: A preliminary sampling for the eighteenth century, in Gemery, H. 21 and J. Hogendorn (eds.), The uncommon market: essays in the economic history of the atlantic slave trade, Academic Press: New York.
[27] Gould, D. M and Ruffin, R. J. (1993). What determines economic growth? Economic Review (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas): 25–40.
[28] Greig, A., Hulme, D. and Turner, M. (2007). Challenging global inequality: Development theory and practice in the 21st century. Palgrave Macmillan.
[29] Haller, A. (2012). Concepts of economic growth and development: Challenges of crisis and of knowledge. Economy Transdisciplinarity Cognition, Vol. 15(1): 66 – 71.
[30] Hanson, K, D'Alessandro, C. and Owusu, F. (2014). Managing Africa's natural resources: Capacities for development. Springer.
[31] Hanushek, E. A. (2013). Economic growth in developing countries: The role of human capital. Economics of Education Review: 204–221.
[32] Hayden B. (1981). Research and development in the stone age: Technological transitions among hunter-gatherers. Curr. Anthrop., Vol, 22: 519-548.
[33] Hazen, R. M. (2010). How old is earth, and how do we know? Evo Edu Outreach, Vol. 3:198–205.
[34] Heldring, L. and Robinson, J. A. (2012). Colonialism and economic development in Africa. Working Paper 18566. NBER Working Paper Series. http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/jrobinson/files/colonialism_and_development_nber.pdf
[35] Herrnstein, R. J. and Murray, C. (1994). The bell curve: Intelligence and class structure in American life. Free Press.
[36] Hill, C. A. and Moshier, S. O. (2009).Flood geology and the grand canyon: A critique. Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, Vol. 61(2): 99–115.
[37] Ikechukwu, O. B. (2016). African theories of development and the reality of underdevelopment. International Journal of Development and Economic Sustainability, Vol. 4(4): 12 -19.
[38] Inikori, J. E. (1992). The Atlantic slave trade: Effects on economies, societies and peoples in Africa, the Americas, and Europe. Dukepress. https://www.dukeupress.edu/The-Atlantic-Slave-Trade/
[39] Janick, J. (2014). Agriculture: Origins of agriculture in Egypt. Spring Reference. http://www.springerreference.com/index/chapterdbid/395305 9
[40] Jensen, A. R., and Figueroa, R. A. (1975). Forward and backward digit span interaction with race and IQ: Predictions from Jensen's theory. Journal of Educational Psychology, 67(6), 882-893. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.67.6.882
[41] Kohil, A. (2009). States and economic development. Brazilian Journal of Political Economy. Vol. 29 (2).
[42] Lawal, G. (2006). Globalisation and Development: The Implications for the African economy. Humanity & Social Sciences Journal, Vol. 1 (1): 65-78.
[43] Leplongeon. A (2017) Technological variability in the late palaeolithic lithic industries of the Egyptian Nile Valley: The case of the Silsilian and Afian industries. PLoS ONE 12(12): e0188824. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188824
[44] Lombard, M. (2013). Hunter-gatherers in Southern Africa before 20,000 years ago. The Oxford Handbook of African Archaeolog, edited by Peter Mitchell and Paul J. Lane. Oxford Press.
[45] Longman, T. (2001). Church politics and the genocide in Rwanda. Journal of Religion in Africa, Vol. XXXI(2): 163 – 186.
[46] Lynn, R. and Meisenberg, G. (2010). The average IQ of sub-Saharan Africans: Comments on Wicherts, Dolan, and Van der Maas. Intelligence. 38. 21-29.
[47] Madavo, C. (2005). Africa: The development challenges of the 21st Century. The Africa program: The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. [Online] Available:http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/OP004.pdf
[48] Manning, P. (1981). The enslavement of Africans: A demographic model. Canadian Journal of African Studies 15: 499-526.
[49] Masanja, M. M. (2015). Albinos’ plight: Will legal methods be powerful enough to eradicate Albinos’ scourge? International Journal of Education and Research Vol. 3(5): 231–244.
[50] McCarthy, C. (1994). The 1980s – A lost decade for the South African manufacturing sector? South African Journal of Economic History, Vol. 9(2): 66–83.
[51] Mills, G. (2010). Why Is Africa poor? Center for Global Liberty & Prosperity. Development Briefing Paper No. 6. December 6, https://www.cato.org/publications/development-briefing-paper/why-is-africa-poor
[52] Mortenson, T. (2004). Philosophical naturalism and the age of the earth: Are they related? TMSJ 15/1 (Spring 2004) 71-92.
[53] Negussie S. (2018). Why Africa remains underdeveloped despite its potential? Which theory can help Africa to develop?. Open Acc Biostat Bioinform. 1(2): 1 – 5. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325104326_Why_Africa_Remains_Underdeveloped_Despite_its_Potential_Which_Theory_can_Help_Africa_to_Develop
[54] Nicolaides, A. (2014). Research and innovation – the drivers of economic development. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Vol. 3 (2): 1-16.
[55] Nunn, N. 2008. The Long-term tffects of Africa’s slave trades. Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol.123(1): 139–76.
[56] Nunn, N. and Wanchekon, L. (2011). The slave trade and the origins of mistrust in Africa American Economic Review, Vol. 101: 3221–3252.
[57] Nyandoro, M. (2011). Innovation opportunities in irrigation technology for using virtual water in 21st Century South Africa: Reflections from the past to the present. New Contree, Vol. 61: 201–226.
[58] Nzongola-Ntalaja, G. (2014). Pan-Africanism since decolonization: From the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to the African Union (AU). African Journal of Democracy and Governance. Vol. 1(4): 31–47.
[59] Ogbeide, E. N. O and Agu, D. O. (2015). Poverty and income inequality in Nigeria: Any causality? Asian Economic and Financial Review, Vol. 5(3): 439-452.
[60] Ogundipe, A. A., Ojeaga, P. and Ogundipe, O. M. (2014). Is aid really dead? Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 4(10, 1):300–314.
[61] Ojo, E. O. (2015). The Atlantic slave trade and colonialism: Reasons for Africa’s underdevelopment? European Scientific Journal, Vol. 11 (17): 107–130.
[62] Okeowo, O. (2018). We are not wired to produce because we are black. http://amibor.com/lord-we-are-not-wired-to-produce-because-we-are-black-okeowo-olasubomi-presidential-aspirant/
[63] Onebunne,, J. I. (2017). Slave trade, colonialism and neo-colonialism: Revisiting critical issues in African underdevelopment. An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 3(7): 98–112.
[64] Ramadani V. and Gerguri S. 2011. Innovation: Principles and strategies. Advances in Management, Vol. 4 (7): 7-12.
[65] Rodney, W. (1983). How Europe underdeveloped Africa. Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications, London and Tanzanian Publishing House, Dar-Es-Salaam 1973, Transcript from 6th reprint, 1983.
[66] Rodrick, D. (2008). The new development economics: We shall experiment, but how shall we learn? HKS Working Paper No. RWP08-055. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1296115
[67] Roys, N. and Seshadri, A. (2014). On the origin and causes of economic growth. Working Paper: University of Wisconsin-Madison. https://www.ssc.wisc.edu/~aseshadr/working_pdf/growth1.pdf
[68] Salewi, D. H. (2011). The killing of persons with albinism in Tanzania: A social-legal inquiry. A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of LLM (Human Rights and Democratization in Africa), Faculty of Law, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. http://www.academia.edu/2185661/The_killing_of_persons_with_albinism_in_Tanzania_a_social-legal_inquiry
[69] Smith, T. W. (1990). Ethic Images. GSS Topical Report No. 19. National Opinion Research.
[70] Solomon, H. (2015). African solutions to africa’s problems? African approaches topeace, security and stability. South African Journal of Military Studies, Vol. 43(1): 45–76.
[71] Tanner, R. (2010). Ideology and the killing of albinos in Tanzania: A study in cultural relativities. Anthropologist 12(4): 229–236.
[72] Ubaku, K. C. Emeh, C. A. and Okoro, K. C. (2015). Imperialism and underdevelopment in post-independence Africa: Focus on Central African Republic. International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education (IJHSSE) Vol. 2(6): 1-9.
[73] Uwa, O. G; Lanrewaju, A. S. and Ojeme, S. (2014). Globalisation and Africa crisis of development in the 21st century. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 4(4): 273–285.
[74] Van der Westhuizen, M. and Swart, I. (2015). The struggle against poverty, unemployment and social injustice in present-day South Africa: Exploring the involvement of the Dutch reformed church at congregational level. Stellenbosch _ eological Journal 2015, Vol 1 (2): 731–759.
[75] Van-Peer, P. et.al. (2003). The early to middle stone age transition and the emergence of modern human behaviour at site 8-B-11, Sai Island, Sudan. Journal of Human Evolution Vol. 45: 187–193.
[76] Whyte, R. M. (2009). Necessity the mother of invention– A reflection on the requirements for successful innovation in the metallurgical industries. The Journal of The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Vol. 109: 685 – 689.
[77] Wilson, A. (2005). Rwanda and South Africa: The Effect of Colonialism on Citizenship, Comparative Politics, Fall. https://www.scribd.com/document/19509669/Rwanda-and-South-Africa-The-Effect-of-Colonialism-on-Citizenship-Fall-2005.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Ezekiel Oseni. (2018). A Single Factor Theory of Africa’s Underdevelopment. International Journal of Business and Economics Research, 7(6), 175-182. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijber.20180706.11

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Ezekiel Oseni. A Single Factor Theory of Africa’s Underdevelopment. Int. J. Bus. Econ. Res. 2018, 7(6), 175-182. doi: 10.11648/j.ijber.20180706.11

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Ezekiel Oseni. A Single Factor Theory of Africa’s Underdevelopment. Int J Bus Econ Res. 2018;7(6):175-182. doi: 10.11648/j.ijber.20180706.11

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ijber.20180706.11,
      author = {Ezekiel Oseni},
      title = {A Single Factor Theory of Africa’s Underdevelopment},
      journal = {International Journal of Business and Economics Research},
      volume = {7},
      number = {6},
      pages = {175-182},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijber.20180706.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijber.20180706.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijber.20180706.11},
      abstract = {Africa is in dire need of economic, socio-political and infrastructural developments that will take it out of abject poverty and other forms of backwardness that have made it a subject of scorn among its peers in spite of its vast natural and human resources. Many scholars have attributed the economic and developmental state of the African continent to a number of factors including colonialism, poverty, poor leadership, illiteracy, war and ethnic rivalry. This study, while not disputing those reasons as identified by earlier scholars, is rather of the view that there is a singular factor that is fundamental to Africa’s underdevelopment and all other factors aside this singular factor are somehow offshoots of that singular factor. The study established that the first step ever towards any significant development in the history of mankind was prompted by the climate. Therefore, the development of Africa could not have been at the same pace with the rest of the world that were not equally endowed with favourable climates like those in Africa. The early discoveries and developments in the history of mankind encouraged more advanced developments. It became obvious from this study that the creative and problem resolution ability of the early African man was greatly incapacitated by the continent’s favourable climatic conditions whereas the less favourable conditions of his counterpart in other continents turned out to be an advantage to his counterpart’s early and progressive developments over the ages. African leaders need to be more people oriented in their economic programmes, promote national interests above their personal and foreign masters’ interests for the good of the continent that has not only become a mockery but also a global problem in view of the high influx of its people on illegal migrations to the rest of the world for the purpose of seeking better lives. The continent should therefore be both economically and politically independent.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - A Single Factor Theory of Africa’s Underdevelopment
    AU  - Ezekiel Oseni
    Y1  - 2018/10/29
    PY  - 2018
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijber.20180706.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijber.20180706.11
    T2  - International Journal of Business and Economics Research
    JF  - International Journal of Business and Economics Research
    JO  - International Journal of Business and Economics Research
    SP  - 175
    EP  - 182
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-756X
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijber.20180706.11
    AB  - Africa is in dire need of economic, socio-political and infrastructural developments that will take it out of abject poverty and other forms of backwardness that have made it a subject of scorn among its peers in spite of its vast natural and human resources. Many scholars have attributed the economic and developmental state of the African continent to a number of factors including colonialism, poverty, poor leadership, illiteracy, war and ethnic rivalry. This study, while not disputing those reasons as identified by earlier scholars, is rather of the view that there is a singular factor that is fundamental to Africa’s underdevelopment and all other factors aside this singular factor are somehow offshoots of that singular factor. The study established that the first step ever towards any significant development in the history of mankind was prompted by the climate. Therefore, the development of Africa could not have been at the same pace with the rest of the world that were not equally endowed with favourable climates like those in Africa. The early discoveries and developments in the history of mankind encouraged more advanced developments. It became obvious from this study that the creative and problem resolution ability of the early African man was greatly incapacitated by the continent’s favourable climatic conditions whereas the less favourable conditions of his counterpart in other continents turned out to be an advantage to his counterpart’s early and progressive developments over the ages. African leaders need to be more people oriented in their economic programmes, promote national interests above their personal and foreign masters’ interests for the good of the continent that has not only become a mockery but also a global problem in view of the high influx of its people on illegal migrations to the rest of the world for the purpose of seeking better lives. The continent should therefore be both economically and politically independent.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of Banking & Finance, Faculty of Administration, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria

  • Sections