Africa’s Problem Isn’t Corruption but Incompetence
Black Africans struggle to grasp concepts such as countries, civic duty, and altruism. They tend to view countries as never-ending ATMs and mainly as opportunities for personal gain for themselves and their immediate families. The black African is excessively egoistic, inheriting a tribal culture that has shaped their worldview for the last 500 years. Our forefathers lived in tribal settings that were, in effect, the nations or countries of the time. This was what the Europeans encountered when they arrived. This is also reflected in the diverse languages spoken across the continent, which indicate the different nationalities associated with these tribal structures.
Moreover, many black Africans do not deeply ingrain the idea of self-sacrifice for the greater good. This notion is not part of their historical lineage. It’s important to distinguish between tribe and ethnicity, as they are often used interchangeably in Africa, leading to misunderstandings about their meanings. A tribe refers to a small group of people from the same village, town, or community, while an ethnic group is a larger collective characterised by a shared language, culture, and history, and its members may not come from the same locality. Essentially, a tribe is a subgroup of an ethnic group, while an ethnic group comprises people of a particular race—these are fundamentally different concepts.
In 1600, the total population of Africa, including North Africa, was approximately 50 million. By 1700, this number had risen to less than 60 million; by 1800, to 85 million; and by 1900, to about 133 million. Over the span of 400 years, Africa gained a total of 83 million people, fewer than what Nigeria alone gained between 2000 and 2020, or what Kenya, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo combined gained during the same period.
In comparison, Europe had a population of around 110 million in 1600, more than twice that of Africa. This increased to 127 million in 1700, almost three times Africa’s population. In 1800, Europe’s population reached 200 million, and by 1900, it had ballooned to 400 million, which was three times the population of Africa.
Corruption is not the reason why black Africans are unable to produce refrigerators or washing machines. It is also not the reason they lack clean streets, decent pavements, street lights, parks, and other recreational facilities. Corruption is not exclusive to black Africans. Countries such as Brazil, South Korea, Israel, the USA, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE also face corruption. However, the difference lies in infrastructure: many countries, despite corruption, have decent roads, housing, airports, and trains, while many African nations struggle in this area.
Additionally, it does not explain the absence of proper hospitals, schools, or emergency services. Instead, this disparity highlights that incompetence and the culture rooted in the continent’s historical and developmental context may be the underlying issues. There is a complete lack of civic responsibility in black Africa.
Consider North Korea, which has been under sanctions and isolated from the rest of the world for over 50 years. Nonetheless, North Korea maintains clean streets, parks, pavements, and hospitals and is capable of manufacturing trains, washing machines, refrigerators, mobile phones, and a wide range of other technologies. No black African city can compare to Pyongyang, except white-built ones in South Africa.
The world of black Africans was centred around small tribes, usually led by a chief or king. Their primary focus was on their immediate family and community, with little thought given to the outside world. There was no standardised education system, and as a result, literacy rates were low.
The men had many wives and produced many children. This pattern of high birth rates has deep historical roots in Africa. A high infant mortality rate of 35% limited population growth. Additionally, the average lifespan was under 30 years, meaning that the death rate in many regions of the continent during the 15th and 16th centuries closely matched the birth rate.
People living in peripheral tribal settings were suddenly confronted by Europeans, who brought them from the Stone Age into the Modern Era. The Europeans, having left the Iron Age in the 1st century BC, entered the Modern Era around the early 16th century. At that time, many Africans were still in their tribal settings, often unaware of technologies like the wheel or even the existence of written language. The Europeans interrupted the natural progression of African societies, leading to the confusion we see in Africa today.
Essentially, Europeans believed they could fast-track this development. However, mere decades cannot accelerate human developmental stages. The average length of European colonisation in Africa ranged from 60 to 80 years, which was too brief for such a significant transformation. Africans did not have a structured system of countries; instead, their world was defined by chiefdoms and kingdoms. Daily practices included eating and littering, as seen today, and defecating in latrines or bushes, leaving waste to decompose into manure.
The reality varied among the thousands of chiefdoms and kingdoms that made up the African continent before European contact. For example, the inhabitants of Gedi and Kilwa, in present-day Kenya and Tanzania, were more advanced than the Gbaya and Mandjia people in the Central African Republic. Likewise, the Kingdom of Kush, located in present-day northern Sudan and southern Egypt, was more advanced than the Efik and Banyangi groups in present-day Nigeria and Cameroon. Thus, while the overall narrative holds true, the experiences of different groups were not uniform.
The civic responsibility to engage with one’s community to promote the common good and social welfare is often not emphasised in the worldview of many black Africans. For instance, there is a tendency among black Africans to brag about Mansa Musa, the 14th-century emperor of the Mali Empire, being the wealthiest man in history. However, this assertion highlights a troubling lack of civic responsibility, as Mansa Musa accumulated all the wealth of his land as personal riches. If Donald Trump concentrated all the wealth in America in his hands, he would surpass the record for the wealthiest person ever.
Black Africans display less altruism compared to other groups, such as black Britons, Colombians, Canadians, or Dutch people. This is because Western blacks have long-standing interactions and integration with Europeans. Altruism is both inherent and teachable. Research indicates that humans have an evolutionary predisposition towards altruistic behaviour, but these tendencies can be significantly enhanced through education, social norms, and personal experiences. In many cases, however, black African cultures do not prioritise teaching these qualities to their children. Instead, there is often an emphasis on individualism, contributing to a notable short supply of altruism in many parts of black Africa.
The tribal structure of the black African worldview is characterised by a focus on immediate gratification and an egoistic approach to life. In this context, many black Africans in positions of power or leadership tend to accumulate wealth. This often occurs because they lack civic responsibility, altruistic values, and a tradition of accountability to their country’s people. This does not imply that they are evil; rather, it suggests that a natural sense of altruism and civic duty can differ from what is taught or instilled in a person.
While an individual may possess inherent goodness, care, and generosity, they may lack the mental capacity to govern a nation of millions effectively. Conversely, a person who has been raised with strong values is more likely to apply those principles broadly across a country. For a black African minister, governor, or president who steals from their nation, it may not feel like theft; instead, it is viewed as a natural consequence of their privileged position. It reflects the environment they inherited rather than a personal failing.
You can pass Singapore, Austria, or Japan over to black Africans; in ten years, these places would start resembling Nigeria, Zambia, Ghana, or the Democratic Republic of Congo. The issue isn’t corruption, but rather a fundamental incompetence rooted in our evolutionary history.
Let me tell you about a city that is younger than most of you watching. It is a city in Africa that was conceived by black Africans. They initiated a unique act of visionary foresight, which is quite rare among black Africans. They planned, agreed, and outsourced the design to a Japanese architect, while a German company handled the construction. This city was completed in 1991, boasting new roads, solid foundations, water, electricity, public buses, and a decent airport. In 1991, Abuja was more impressive than Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Manama, or Muscat.
Today, 35 years later, that city has transformed into a typical African city. It has become a place where grown-ups urinate in public and litter carelessly, and where the public buses last only a few years. The roads, buildings, and overall infrastructure now resemble the rest of black Africa.
Black Africans are incompetent. While we may have flaws, it’s not solely corruption that shapes who we are. Our failure stems from the code in our culture and the worldview we embody.
Watch the video version on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/VgD6xiUxfQ0
By Ikechukwu ORJI
