Africa’s struggle is not only political. It is also psychological, cultural, and moral. Long after the lowering of colonial flags across the continent, many African nations still wrestle with systems, attitudes, and structures shaped by centuries of domination. One of the deepest of these problems is the imperialist mindset — the belief that power exists to dominate, suppress, exploit, and control others.
Ironically, this mindset is now often reproduced by Africans themselves against fellow Africans.
It appears in corrupt leadership, ethnic superiority, xenophobia, economic exploitation, political oppression, and the treatment of ordinary citizens as disposable tools rather than human beings with dignity. It is visible when leaders cling to power while their people suffer, when tribes view one another with suspicion, when wealthier Africans despise poorer ones, and when African nations undermine each other instead of cooperating.
Many of these patterns resemble the very systems Africa suffered under during colonialism.
This raises an uncomfortable but necessary question: Did colonialism leave behind more than damaged economies and artificial borders? Did it also leave behind oppressive ways of thinking? Many African thinkers believe it did.
Africa’s pre-colonial era
Before colonialism, African societies were not perfect. There were conflicts, empires, and injustices. Yet many traditional African cultures were built around communal values that emphasised shared humanity, responsibility to one another, respect for elders, dignity, and collective survival. The African philosophy of Ubuntu expresses this beautifully: “I am because we are.”
Ubuntu teaches that a person’s humanity is tied to the humanity of others. One does not become fully human by dominating people, but by living in relationship, compassion, mutual respect, and responsibility toward community.
Colonial systems disrupted many of African values
European colonial administrations were largely designed for extraction and control. Their objective was not to build flourishing African societies, but to secure labour, resources, and political dominance. To achieve this, colonial powers often divided ethnic groups, elevated some communities above others, weakened indigenous institutions, and centralised power around coercion rather than communal accountability.
Over time, many Africans were taught — directly or indirectly — that foreign systems, languages, cultures, and standards were superior, while African identities and all of its traditions were backward or inferior. The result was not only political colonisation, but also psychological colonisation.
The anti-colonial thinker Frantz Fanon argued that oppression can reshape how people see themselves and others. The oppressed may eventually imitate the methods of their oppressors because domination becomes normalised as the language of power.
That legacy still lives.
In several African countries, power is too often treated as a license to intimidate rather than serve. Citizens are brutalised by institutions meant to protect them. Political opponents are treated as enemies rather than fellow citizens. Economic systems enrich a few elites while millions remain trapped in poverty. Even among ordinary Africans, tribalism and xenophobia frequently override solidarity.
The xenophobic attacks periodically witnessed in South Africa reveal how dangerous this mindset can become. Africans fleeing hardship in one country sometimes become targets in another African nation, accused of “taking jobs” or “invading” communities. Such hostility contradicts the Pan-African dream of unity and shared destiny.
A continent divided against itself cannot rise together.
Independence requires reclaiming Africa’s humanity
This is why many African intellectuals and liberation leaders consistently emphasised dignity, self-determination, and solidarity. Kwame Nkrumah warned that Africa’s fragmentation would leave it vulnerable to continued domination. Thomas Sankara challenged African leaders who merely inherited colonial systems without transforming them. Sankara believed true independence required more than changing flags or presidents; it required reclaiming African humanity and sovereignty.
Today, many Africans see echoes of Sankara’s ideas in what is happening in Burkina Faso under the leadership of Ibrahim Traoré.
Burkina Faso has increasingly presented itself as pursuing a path of sovereignty, self-reliance, and reduced dependence on foreign-controlled systems. The government has promoted development plans focused heavily on domestic financing, state participation in strategic sectors, and local economic control. Reports indicate that much of the country’s ambitious development agenda for 2026–2030 is expected to be financed through sovereign resources rather than heavy reliance on external funding.
The country has also introduced reforms aimed at increasing national participation in mining and strengthening state ownership over natural resources. Supporters argue that such measures represent an attempt to reclaim economic sovereignty after decades in which African resources benefited foreign interests more than local populations.
There have also been efforts to recognise and integrate traditional institutions into the national framework. Burkina Faso recently adopted legislation formally acknowledging traditional and customary leadership structures as part of the country’s legal and social order. To many observers, this reflects an attempt to reconnect governance with indigenous realities and social cohesion rather than relying entirely on imported political models.
Across Africa and online, many people — especially young Africans — have reacted strongly to these developments. Some see Burkina Faso as symbolizing resistance to neo-colonial dependency and a desire to restore African agency. Discussions on social media and public forums frequently describe the country’s recent direction as an effort to break cycles of dependence and prioritise African interests.
True liberation: Dismantling culture of domination At the same time, Burkina Faso’s path remains controversial. Critics point to concerns over political freedoms, security challenges, and the risks associated with concentrating power. Others caution that rejecting foreign domination should not become an excuse for authoritarianism or intolerance. These concerns matter because Africa cannot defeat oppression by creating new forms of oppression.
True liberation is not merely replacing foreign rulers with African rulers. It is dismantling the culture of domination itself.
That means rejecting the idea that leadership equals control, fear, or superiority. It means rebuilding societies where human dignity matters more than political power. It means valuing African lives beyond their economic usefulness. It means seeing fellow Africans not as competitors, threats, or subjects, but as partners in a shared future.
Africa’s future will not be secured simply through slogans about anti-imperialism. It will require rebuilding institutions rooted in justice, accountability, compassion, and service. It will require education systems that teach African history honestly, adequately prepare our young people for the world we live in and restore confidence in African contributions to civilisation. It will require economies designed to develop people rather than merely extract resources. It will require leaders who understand stewardship rather than domination.
Most importantly, it will require moral recovery
The values many Africans speak nostalgically about — dignity, hospitality, communal care, reverence for life, responsibility toward others — cannot remain cultural memories. They must become living principles again.
Ubuntu does not represent weakness. Caring for people is not backwardness. Respect for human dignity is not anti-development. In fact, societies that lose these values often descend into corruption, violence, greed, and instability no matter how wealthy they become.
Africa does not need to return to the past in a simplistic sense. The continent must still innovate, industrialise, strengthen institutions, and engage the modern world. But it must do so without abandoning its humanity.
Modernisation without moral vision simply creates more sophisticated oppression.
The task before Africa, therefore, is deeper than economic growth. It is the dismantling of inherited systems of domination — whether colonial, political, tribal, or economic — and the rebuilding of societies rooted in human dignity.
The real battle is not only against foreign influence. It is against the oppressive mindset that survived colonialism and continues to reproduce itself within African societies.
And perhaps Africa’s greatest hope lies in rediscovering a truth it once understood deeply: A people rise higher when they see one another not as tools for power, but as human beings worthy of dignity, respect, and care.
GODSWILL ERONDU
Godswill Erondu, a Pan-African cultural renaissance advocate and founder, Brisk Legacy Group, is the promoter of Africa Workplace Leadership Summit, and a leadership consultant who works with organisations – public and private – to transform their leadership and culture for superior performance and increased profit. He can be contacted at godswillerondu@gmail.com
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