LESSON NOTE FOR DEGREE 400 LEVEL AFRICA AND DEVELOPING NATIONS

 

LESSON NOTE ON SSE 421 AFRICA AND DEVELOPING NATIONS

Course content/outline  

Historical content of development in Africa, National development, problems of African development, Developmental theories, Politics and crises of development in Africa, and   Importance of development.

Main Content

Ø  Historical Content: the course shall examine at the colonization of Africa, developmental strategies of the colonial masters either positive or negative etc.

 

Ø  National Development: definition of national development, the concept of development/underdevelopment, political development, economic development, Social development for instance human rights, education, communications, health services, electricity, water supply, housing.

Ø  Problems of African developments: leadership and governance, the effects from colonization, greed and selfishness, promotion of mediocrity, lack of manpower, corruption etc.

Ø  Developmental theories: Political, economical and social developmental theories should be studied from various scholars like; Walt Rostow, Neoclassical, Keynesian, and Marxian, Aristotle on political development, Pythagoras on economic development, Leo Vygotsky on social development and Erikson etc.

Ø  Politics and crises of development in Africa: politics in Africa from countries that are facing a lot of challenges. Like Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan

             Tanzania, Uganda etc. and the way forward

Lesson Objectives:

At the end of this lesson students should be able to know:

a)      The historical content of how French and British colonized Africa

b)      The type of developmental strategies of the colonial masters to Africans

c)      How the colonial masters under develop Africa and how Africa underdeveloped Africa

d)     the political crises in Africa

e)      the theories of development by various authors

f)       how African politics are played and some countries that suffers political crises and development

 

Textbooks:

i.                    How Africa Underdeveloped Africa by Igwe S.C. 2010 edition

ii.                  Current development in social studies education by Edinyang, S. D, Meziobi, D.I., Igbo, D. I., and Yaro, L. 2014 edition

iii.                How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney

iv.                Rostow, W.W. The Five Stages of Growth. Development and Underdevelopment: The Political Economy of Global Inequality 2003 edition

v.                  Foreign Aid to Africa: Conceptualising Socio-Economic and Political Development Applying Complexity Theory

 

 

The colonization of Africa,

French and British Colonial Styles 

                                                                                                
Africans were seen as being inferior to the British and their belief was that there is nothing good from the blacks and that was why many of them, encouraged racism. They believed that  the white is superior in nature and that no matter what the blacks becomes in life even act, speak and behave like the whites cannot be equated to them. Simply put it that the black men are not qualified to be rated as human. To the whites the blacks are kind of people from the jungle close to animal. If they are not rated as animal why where they sold as slaves to work for them any time any day whether they are sick or not. What they did to the Africans was man’s inhumanity to man.

The French, by comparison, were prepared to treat Africans as equals, but only if they learn to speak French properly and adopt the values of French culture. If they reached a sufficient level of education Africans might be accepted as French citizens. To fall below the required level was to invite charges of racial inferiority. France encouraged an increasing closeness with her colonies on the eve of independence and thereafter, Britain took the view that it would give limited support to its colonies as they moved into independence; for the British independence meant being independent of Britain.

 

At a military level, there was a continued reliance on African soldiers by the French. Senegalese soldiers continued to be in the French army after World War II. This stands in contrast with the British, who immediately de mobbed African soldiers after the war. Acquiring the values and language of the French, brought opportunities and prospects for people in the French colonies.  The growing number of nationalists found this not enough for them.

Therefore, in the 1950s African delegates in the French National Assembly came together to form the Rassemblement Democratique Africain (RDA) under the leadership of Felix Houphouet-Boigny from the Cote d’Ivoire. Senghor broke with the RDA in 1948 and formed the Bloc Democratique Senegalais, or BDS. He was determined that Senegal should be the leading political force in that region. The 1960 independence came to most of the French colonies. In the same year in Nigeria, the Gambia, Cameroun and Somalia became independent of British rule. Nigeria, because of its size and strong regional power bases, opted for a federal structure at independence.

 

Developmental strategies of the Colonial Masters

 

Western education is the most powerful agency for modernization. In fact it was described as the “the key that unlocks the door to modernization”. This is applied to individual as well as to the nation. The contemporary world in our society today has shown that education helped to equip the educated ones than the uneducated. It has been shown too that education correlates with power, wealth and deference. In order words it is the major factor of stratification. Education also helps for the stability of every nation.

 

Ø  The type of education given to Africans during the reign of colonial masters does not favour the people why because first, education was handed over to the missionaries and secondly the educational system was not technically or vocationally oriented. We may see this type of education that it is there that our social as well as political and economic problems have emanated from. Moreover, the problem has not stopped up until now.

 

Ø  Furthermore, having left education in the hands of the missionaries that is the church has been the greatest challenges that faced African development; by 1942 according to Amucheazi quoting Professor Coleman, he stated that 99% of all the educational institutions in Nigeria were controlled by the Christian missions.

 

Ø  Another problem is the issue of churches: the church was split into denominations; thereby villagers were polarized along denominational line. Be sides the colonist has no intention of providing education for the sake of it, but used it for recruitment into the church. This means that they are educating people that will work for them in the church

It also created rivals among the various denomination; for instance one village or town or a section of it accepted the protestant church because its neighbor and rival had embraced the Roman Catholic or vice – versa. because of the rival groups of Roman Catholics and protestants it was discovered that by 1950s and 1960s many village and development projects in Eastern part of Nigeria came to a standstill because of these rivalries.

 

Ø  There was also sectional antagonism between the people  of the then Anambra state particularly between the “Wawa” and “non Wawa”  (Agbaenu)

 

Ø  Another consequence of the educational situation was more detrimental to peace and stability of the eastern region thus elections were fought on denominational line.

 

Ø  At the national level the northerners were backward in terms of education due to the colonial government discouraged the expansion of Christianity into the northern parts of the country in an effort to sustain the existing social structure of the area and thus utilize the Emirs to administer the vast and unfamiliar northern terrain.

 

Development and National Development

Development is the transitional process sustaining a multifaceted improvement in human condition resulting from positive structural and functional changes in the social, economic, political, techno scientific and every conceivable sphere of human endeavour ( Igwe in Schaff:5 and Sanda :5 )

The concept of development is tied to positive change. it is the process of change; the process of changing and becoming larger, stronger, or more impressive, successful, or advanced, or of causing somebody or something to change in this way ((Unegbu, Otagburuage & Ohia 2010 )

 

Development for some Gross National Product (GNP) is the main parameter for the measurement of economic development. in order words, development is defined as “a rapid and sustained rise in real output per head and the attendant shifts in the technological, economic and demographic characteristics of a society” Iffih in Easerlin (1968:395).

 

Development is fundamental. It has a foundation. Rather than imported, it comes from the bowels of the earth and from the brains of citizens to the outside world. It is permanent. Among the indices of development are productive education (i.e. is creation of jobs and sustains a nation); natural resources that are not left inert, but are mined, refined, processed and exported for the progress of the nation, the utilization and facilitation of creative talents in the country.etc. (Unaegbu, 2009).

 

Development is a process that creates growth progress positive change or in other words, having the process of physical, environmental, social demographic components, and improved economy.

 

Another theory of development by the Marxist scholars sees development as nothing other than a radical transformation of the mode of production from capitalism to communism resulting in an egalitarian society.

 

National development  

According to Unegbu, Otagburuagu & Ohia in  Nzimiro(1976:9) defines national development as the objective at which a society aims in the improvement of the material, social, and the cultural life of its people. Nzimiro in agreement with Okadigbo (1977) states, that national development involves movement from poverty to relative richness, from colonialism to political independence, from political independence to economic independence; from tribalism to nationalism.

 

National development encompasses all spheres of national life. it can be seen as the aggregate of development in the different sectors of an economy translated in practical terms as positive changes that make life better and worthwhile for the citizenry. National development implies that all the human and material resources available in a society are not only meaningfully and optimally developed but are also tacitly exploited by a responsive and responsible leadership or entrepreneurship for the ultimate good of the society.

 

National development implies that factors of production are properly utilized for the realization of goals that meet common welfare needs of the society. Therefore national development is people oriented, people-driven, and nation or society—specific. it can draw from capitalist or socialist ideological frameworks to attain its objectives.

 

Political development

Political development is basically a process that is concerned with the improvement of institutions, attitudes and values that form the political system of a society or nation. we can also state that political development is an increase in national political unity and an increase in political participation.

Agents of socialization can be referred to as agent of political development such that institutions, work together to influence and shape people's political and economic norms and values. Such institutions include families, media, peers, schools, religions, work and legal systems, occupation, educational institution etc.

 

Furthermore, the development of the institutions, attitudes, and values forms the political power system of a society.

Political development enhances the state's capacity to mobilize and allocate resources, to process policy inputs into implementable outputs. This assists with problem‐solving and adaptation to environmental changes and goal realization. The contemporary notion of good governance also dwells on efficient, effective, and non‐corrupt public administration.

Many Marxists define political development in advanced industrial societies in terms of the growth of the class consciousness and political organization of the proletariat, leading, ultimately, to the overthrow of capitalism and the approach of communism. A more common (though ethnocentric) and currently very fashionable view is progress towards liberal democracy, involving accountable government, and opportunities for participation (also seen by some as an aspect of modernization, rather than development), through the exercise of such freedoms as association and expression.

More recently democratization and good governance have been portrayed both as constitutive of political development and as conditions for sustained economic development in developing areas and post‐communist societies. The rule of law (and thus respect for property rights) and the development of civil society are also included.

 The enduring problem of political development for some divided societies, as in former Yugoslavia and especially in what the World Bank calls low income countries under stress, remains how to combine political stability with political liberalization and democratization. Another challenge is safeguarding democratic transition and consolidation in the midst of drastic economic restructuring where that engenders popular dissatisfaction and threatens a rise in political extremism. Political development touches not just on formal constitutional and organizational arrangements but also on such informal institutions as actual political relationships, for example patron client. Thus changes in attitudes and the political culture are relevant too. All this places limits on how far political development can be imported or imposed from without.

Economic development

Economic development refers to social and technological progress not merely an increase in production but the way and manner goods and services are produced and which consequently leads to increase or improvement in the standard of living of the nation or society in question. Its scope includes the process and policies by which a nation improves the economic, political, and social well being of its people ( Igwe in O’Sullivan & Sheffrin,2003:47)

Economic development is defined as an increase in a country's wealth and standard of living. For example, improved productivity, higher literacy rates, and better public education are all consequences of economic development in a country.  Economic Development is programs, policies or activities that seek to improve the economic well-being and quality of life for a community.

Economic systems can be categorized into four main types: traditional economies, command economies, mixed economies, and market economies

An economic system is a means by which societies or governments organize and distribute available resources, services, and goods across a geographic region or country. Economic systems regulate the factors of production, including land, capital, labor, and physical resources. An economic system encompasses many institutions, agencies, entities, decision-making processes, and patterns of consumption that comprise the economic structure of a given community.  Igwe in Mansell and When further advance that economic development has been understood since the Second World War to involve economic growth, increases in per capita income, and attainment of a standard of living equivalent to that of industrialized countries. it also involves improvement in variety of indicators such as literacy rates, life expectancy, and poverty rates.

Though economic development priorities vary, economic development strategies often aim for common, positive results, such as:

• Creating more jobs and more job variety
• Keeping businesses and getting new ones
• A better quality of life
• More people and businesses paying taxes
• More productive use of property
• Promoting your community’s assets
• Making and selling more local products
• Getting more skilled workers living in your community

 

Social development:  entails normative and organizational changes in the society resulting in:-

i.                    The improvement and expansion of the mental horizon of the population arising from functional education and

ii.                  The sustenance of positive and highly functional values, customs, and practices relating to all aspects of life and living.

Social development means the process by which the well-being of any society and its people is ensured through collective action vis-à-vis the changes taking place in the politics, economic and social life of the people. it is a means of ensuring that the quality of life of the people reaches an acceptable minimum standard.  it is also the development of the people by the people. more technically it may be defined as those formally organized and socially sponsored institutions, agencies, programmes, exclusive of the family and private enterprise, which function to maintain or improve the economic conditions, health (physical, mental and spiritual), or interpersonal competence of some part or all of a population (Wilensky and Lebeaux: 7)

 

 

The concept of underdevelopment

 

Thus the meaning of absolute poverty is equivalent to the meaning of an underdeveloped economy. Some of the common characteristics of the underdeveloped economy are low per capita income, economic inequalities, the slow growth rate of per capita, low-productivity labour and lower level of living, rudimentary techniques of production, low rate of capital formation, lack of resource utilization and similar things as such. 

Countries are divided into two major categories by the United Nations, which are developed countries and developing countries. The classification of countries is based on the economic status such as GDP, GNP, per capita income, industrialization, the standard of living, etc. Developed Countries refers to the sovereign state, whose economy has highly progressed and possesses great technological infrastructure, as compared

BASIS FOR COMPARISON	DEVELOPED COUNTRIES	DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Meaning	A country having an effective rate of industrialization and individual income is known as Developed Country.	Developing Country is a country which has a slow rate of industrialization and low per capita income.
Unemployment and Poverty	Comparatively Lower	Generally Higher
Rates	Infant mortality rate, death rate and birth rate is low while the life expectancy rate is high.	High infant mortality rate, death rate and birth rate, along with low life expectancy rate.
Living conditions	Good	Moderate
Generates more revenue from	Industrial sector	Service sector
Growth	High industrial growth.	They rely on the developed countries for their growth.
Standard of living	Generally Higher	Comparatively Lower
Distribution of Income	Equal	Unequal
Factors of Production	Effectively utilized	Ineffectively utilized

https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-developed-countries-and-developing-countries.html

Human development without an environmental cost is not possible. In order for us to develop, we need to ‘take’ resources from our environment for us to ‘make’ new goods and products. Therefore, no, it’s not possible that human development is without any environmental cost. The process of development harms our environment in every way possible. First, we use the raw resources that were taken from the environment to produce more complex goods. Secondly, the factories that are spread around the world cause harmful smoke that causes air pollution as well as the remnants of chemical plants that make up the great danger to the environment surroundings such as humans and animals and plants, the spectrum of serious damage caused by pollution in water…show more content…

Globalization comes hand in hand with development, the more developed a country is, the more globalized it becomes. Globalization is when different countries connect and have a relationship by exchanging knowledge, culture or even by international trading. When a country is developed, it is more likely to build relationships with other countries, as their productions become of a high demand and wanted by other countries all over the globe. Another advantage of development is having better medical services; better education and an overall better living standard. Lastly, countries, which are developed, have a better economy, as production increases, the wealth of the country increases as…show more content…
What is an Underdeveloped Economy?

Importance of development: Restoration of peace, love, security, attracting foreign investors, boosting the economy,

Underdevelopment

An "underdeveloped country" is a country characterized by widespread chronic poverty and less economic development than other nations. "Underdeveloped country" is an unofficial term, but countries that would qualify as underdeveloped are generally classified as developing countries or least-developed countries (LDCs) by the United Nations, which lists 46 nations as least-developed as of 2021. Underdeveloped countries are alternately called low-income countries (a term growing in popularity) by World Bank and called emerging markets, newly industrialized countries, or members of the "Global South" by various other organizations.

Underdeveloped countries and the Human Development Index (HDI)

One common method used to categorize the development of a country is the United Nations' Human Development Index (HDI). The Human Development Index evaluates each country's human development by tracking indicators such as life expectancy, education, and per capita income. Human Development Index ranks countries on a scale from 0-1, from least developed to most develop. There are four tiers:

low human development (0-.55),

medium human development (.55-.70),

 high human development (.70-80),

 a Useful as HDI is as a predictor, it is worth noting that a low HDI does not guarantee that a country will appear on the list of least-developed countries, and a relatively high HDI does not guarantee a country will not be classified as an LDC. For example, Nigeria does not make the list despite its HDI of 0.539, but Bangladesh is on the LDC list with an HDI of 0.632. This is because the least-developed list is based upon a similar, but different set of criteria than HDI, so some variances exist between the two lists. In the case of Nigeria, its income may not be the most efficient, but it is large enough to not be at risk, so the country is not considered least-developed.

Characteristics of underdeveloped countries

Underdeveloped countries have very low per capita income, and many residents live in very poor conditions with little access to education or health care. Additionally, underdeveloped countries tend to rely upon obsolete methods of production and social organization. These nations often experience high birth rates and population growth, which strains their infrastructure and supply chains, further contributing to their widespread poverty. In fact, these seven common economic traits appear in most every underdeveloped country:

1.      Low income per capita and widespread poverty—The citizens of underdeveloped countries tend to make very little money. For example, the United States per capita GNP in 2006 was $44,970 (US$). The average for low-income countries was $650 (US), less than 1.4% that of the U.S.

2.      Lack of capital, both public and private—Not only do very few citizens of underdeveloped countries own lumberyards, factories, and other businesses, the government is nearly as impoverished and lacks funds to properly build and support roads, railways, schools, hospitals, and so on.

3.      Population explosion—In most underdeveloped countries, the birth rate far exceeds the death rate, leading to excessive population growth. If the growth happens too quickly, systems such as infrastructure, food supplies, and social services may fail to keep pace.

4.      Excessive unemployment—One of the most impactful results of disproportionate population growth is skyrocketing unemployment, caused by a slow-growing job market matched with a quickly expanding population.

5.      Predominance of Agriculture—Agriculture still makes up 40-50% of national income in most underdeveloped economies, as opposed to 2-8% in developed economies.

6.      Small and unproductive investments—Both the citizens and the governments in underdeveloped countries have little extra income to save or invest, and the little they do have if often invested in ways that do not lead to national growth (physical treasures rather than business investments, for example).

7.      Diminished productivity—In underdeveloped countries, the land, labor, and capital all tend to produce less than in developed countries. Labor (workers) are undereducated, underfed, and have poor medical care. Existing resources tend to be managed less well or with less-technological solutions.

and very high human development (.80-1.0)

Economic development is a critical component that drives economic growth in an economy, creating new job opportunities and facilitating an improved quality of life that includes increased access to opportunities created by economic growth for existing and future residents. The Orlando Economic Partnership’s economic development team works to attract and retain jobs for the Orlando region as well as grow existing industry sectors. The Partnership also works to align the region with a vision for the region’s growth that increases participation in the local economy (a vision the Partnership has termed Broad-Based Prosperity^TM). While the work of economic developers often falls under the radar, building and sustaining the regional economy is a critical component to a successful community.

These are the top six reasons why economic development plays a critical role in any region’s economy.

1. Job creation

Economic developers provide critical assistance and information to companies that create jobs in our economy. We help to connect new-to-market and existing companies with the resources and partners needed to expand, such as industry partners like CareerSource Central Florida and the Florida High Tech Corridor, utilities, and local government partners.

2. Industry diversification

A core part of economic development works to diversify the economy, reducing a region’s vulnerability to a single industry. While tourism plays an important role in creating jobs in the Orlando region, economic development efforts help to grow industries outside of tourism, including advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defense, aviation, autonomous vehicles, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, business services, gaming, entertainment technology, financial technology, life sciences and healthcare, logistics and distribution, medical technology, and innovative technology.

3. Business retention and expansion

A large percentage of jobs in the Orlando economy are created by existing companies that are expanding their operations. The Partnership’s economic development team executes numerous business retention and expansion visits to local companies just last year to assist with their operational needs.

4. Economy fortification

Economic development helps to protect the local economy from economic downturns by attracting and expanding the region’s major employers. For example, when the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted the global leisure and hospitality industry, many technology companies transitioned focus to clients in the region’s modeling, simulation and training sector.

5. Increased tax revenue

The increased presence of companies in the region translates to increased tax revenue for community projects and local infrastructure. Economic development can also support major job creation initiatives such as the semiconductor research and development campus NeoCity, positioning the 500-acre development opportunity for critical funding for domestic semiconductor research and manufacturing through advocacy for the CHIPS and FABS Acts.

6. Improved quality of life

Better infrastructure and more jobs improves the economy of the region and raises the standard of living for its residents. Quality of place is more important than ever to attract a large talent pool in the era of increased remote workers.

In addition, inclusive economic development works to support the community’s quality of life through initiatives such as supporting the regional transportation network, affordable housing, innovation and entrepreneurship as well as upskilling opportunities for the local workforce. These initiatives help to provide access and capabilities for existing workforce to take advantage of the new high-wage job opportunities created by economic development efforts.