Africa's Perennial Predicament: Always on the Menu, Rarely at the Table
The notion of Africa 'grappling with the new world order' is, charitably speaking, a gross mischaracterization. It implies a recent shift, a novel challenge. In reality, Africa has been 'grappling' with imposed external order since at least the late 19th century, if not earlier. FIRST INSTANCE: The Scramble for Perpetual Underdevelopment (1884) This 'grappling' began in earnest with the Berlin
Conference of 1884-1885, where European powers carved up the continent without a single African representative present. This was not about finding a seat at the table; it was about defining the menu. The declared purpose: to 'promote civilization' and 'commerce.' The actual outcome: a continent subjected to brutal resource extraction, artificial borders, and the systemic dismantling of indigenous
governance structures. The legacy of this initial carving-up (BBC, 2017) continues to fuel conflicts and instability, making 'grappling' a constant state of being. REPETITIONS: The Cold War Chessboard & Structural Adjustment (1960s-1990s) Post-Independence Proxy Wars (1960s-1980s): As African nations gained nominal independence, they quickly became battlegrounds for Cold War superpowers. From the
Congo Crisis (1960-1965), where Patrice Lumumba's assassination was facilitated by Belgian and US intelligence (Declassified CIA documents, 1975), to proxy wars in Angola and Mozambique, the 'new world order' was simply a reshuffling of colonial players under new ideological pretexts. The goal remained the same: secure resources and strategic advantage. The continent was on the menu for