Dor centuries, the West has considered Africa, and more particularly sub-Saharan Africa, as a source of raw materials and cheap labour. This necessarily translates into exporting wealth out of the continent rather than expanding it. When there is an injection of wealth in the form of investments, this results in larger volumes of wealth to be exported. The period of slavery led to the massive export of labor as a virtually free factor of production. For Africa, this was a very big loss of human capital that seriously damaged the ability of African communities to generate wealth. In fact, the enrichment of the West was based on the impoverishment of Africa. Colonialism also sought to enrich itself by procuring mining and agricultural raw materials at the lowest possible cost:
- Using cheap local labor to produce these raw materials
- By reserving African markets for the products of the colonizing country as exclusively as possible
This resulted in a further weakening of the capacity of African countries to develop their economies, which thus became mere extensions of the economies of metropolitan areas. The destruction of the productive capacity of African colonies is a clear illustration of the decline in domestic agricultural production, with the exception of cash crops. As a result, many African countries suffer from food shortages and have become net importers of food. The post-colonial period did not fundamentally change this situation. In reality, the diversion of resources from wealth creation accelerated in a way in the post-colonial period, as more resources were needed to finance the new state machinery and to respond. to the pressing social needs of the people. Conditions of employment in the public sector cause people to abandon agricultural activities in particular to find work in urban services or the public sector. This has resulted in the strengthening of a vicious circle which has only accentuated Africa's peripheral and diminishing role in the world economy. The more Africans played the role of source of raw materials and cheap labor, the less able they became to break the mold in which they were locked. It also reinforced a certain image of Africa, namely that:
- The continent has no other role in the world economy than that of supplier of raw materials
- There is no need for Africa to have access to modern technology and contemporary human skills
- The socio-economic problems facing the continent must be contained in Africa and resolved as social problems
- No contribution to human civilization can be expected from Africa, except for the visual arts and the spectacle and the natural habitat
- The continent has no major role to play in the global governance system
In fact, over the centuries, Africa has by necessity been defined as a marginalized continent. This definition leads to actions that further marginalize the continent.
The more this marginalization mechanism works, the more difficult it becomes to reverse it. This difficulty also applies to the production, by the continent itself, of significant resources enabling it to reverse this mechanism. It is therefore not surprising, in this situation, that the hope of the African peoples for a better future has come to depend on the magnanimity of others. This is what changes the objective powerlessness of African peoples into a subjective acceptance by themselves of their inability to take charge of themselves. This is why they are becoming less and less capable of being conscious and determined actors to free themselves from dependence, poverty and underdevelopment. To put an end to this human tragedy, the African peoples must succeed in convincing themselves that they are not and should not be the wards of benevolent guardianship, but rather the instruments of their own destiny and the actors of improvement. continues to their living conditions. The African peoples must have the conviction and this is essential, that as Africans, they have contributed to the progress of human civilization and that they still have a unique and precious contribution to make.
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