Political science professors Dr. S.T. Akindele, T.O. Gidado, and O.R. Olaopo, from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria, write:

“It is rather by design than by accident that poverty has become a major institution in Africa despite this continent’s stupendous resources. Indeed, the developing countries/world burden of external debt has reached two trillion dollars (World Bank, 1994). In the process, it has enlivened the venomous potency of mass poverty and, its accompanying multidimensional depravity of the citizenry of all the requisite essence of meaningful living. It has disintegrated or disarticulated the industrial sector of most, if not all polities in Africa. This has been particularly evident in the areas of cost of production which has become uncomfortably high in most of the developing countries (e.g. Nigeria); also in the lack of government’s incentives to encourage local production; subversion of local products through high importation, currency devaluation; and depletion of foreign reserves. This clearly raises the problems of marginalization which, according to Ake (1996: 114), is, in reality, the dynamics of under development – the development of under development by the agents of development…”

Source: Akindele, S.T., T.O. Gidado, and O.R. Olaopo. “Globalisation, Its Implications and Consequences for Africa.” Globalization. 2.1 (Winter 2002).

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