Title:
Africa is Poor and Underdeveloped by Design: The Western Management Plan for Africa

Authors:
Ukeyima Adams, MBA, PhD., Nigeria

Abstract:

Africa’s persistent poverty and underdevelopment are not accidental but the result of deliberate Western economic and political strategies designed to maintain the continent in a subordinate position within the global system (Rodney, 1972). This paper argues that Africa’s underdevelopment is a structural consequence of colonialism, neocolonialism, and exploitative global capitalism, which have systematically extracted Africa’s resources while stifling its industrial and institutional growth (Amin, 1974). Western powers, through mechanisms such as unfair trade agreements, debt dependency, and corporate exploitation, have ensured that Africa remains a supplier of raw materials rather than a competitive industrial economy (Bond, 2006). The imposition of structural adjustment programs (SAPs) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank further entrenched Africa’s economic subjugation by enforcing austerity measures, privatization, and deregulation, which weakened state capacity and deepened poverty (Cheru, 2001). Additionally, Western-backed political interference, including support for authoritarian regimes and destabilization of progressive governments, has perpetuated governance crises and conflict (Nzongola-Ntalaja, 2002). Contemporary Western aid and investment frameworks, often framed as developmental assistance, continue to reinforce dependency rather than fostering self-sustaining growth (Moyo, 2009). This paper concludes that Africa’s liberation from underdevelopment requires dismantling these exploitative structures, reclaiming economic sovereignty, and pursuing alternative models of development centered on pan-African solidarity and equitable global partnerships (Nkrumah, 1965).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51505/IJEBMR.2025.9605