KWAME NKRUMAH’S NEO-COLONIALISM AND POVERTY IN AFRICA: A STUDY OF NIGERIA

CHINEDU P. BOSAH, Ph.D

ABSTRACT

Some African states including Nigeria are today independent of colonialism, but they remain heavily dependent and exploited under the effects of internal political failures, neo-colonialism and neo-liberalism. This dependency and exploitation particularly through the activities of Trans National Corporations, adversely affect the living conditions of millions of people in Africa, creating economic hardship and in some cases encouraging political repression. This study therefore investigated Nkrumah’s thought on neo-colonialism and Poverty in Nigeria. The two following research questions guided the study; how has neo-colonialism orchestrated poverty in Nigeria? How has Kwame Nkrumah addressed the issue of neo-colonization and poverty in Africa? This study is qualitative in nature and adopted explanatory research design. The data generated in the course of this study were analyzed using descriptive analysis while dependency Theory served as the theoretical framework of analysis. The study found out that neo-colonialism has made Nigeria to be in theory independent and has all the outward trappings of international sovereignty but in reality, its economic system and political policy is directed from outside. During the course of this study, it was discovered that neo-colonialism as a system of economic, political, military and other relations imposed by the imperialist states on the developing countries has kept Nigeria down within the framework of the capitalist economic system. It is based on the economic backwardness, unequal and dependent states of the neo-colonial countries within the scheme of the world capitalist economic and political systems. Transnational corporations have created unemployment and poverty in Nigeria by usurping the employment opportunities of Nigerians. The study recommends that all the ideas, belief, norms, values, practices, structures and institutions introduced by the respective colonial imperialist powers in Africa before independence, should be dismantled since the colonial days is over in Nigeria. Nigeria should guarantee internal measures to direct their economic systems and political policies internally in order to be free from the shackles of neo-colonialism. The contributions of the indigenous companies should also not be neglected.

Key words: Neo-colonialism, Colonialism, Imperialism, Dependency and Poverty