DOI: 10.11648/j.aas.20261103.16 ISSN: 2575-1514

The Question of Africa’s Underdevelopment and Coexistence

Joshua Mamza
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Africa's chronic underdevelopment and struggles for peaceful coexistence fuel endless, competing explanations. Scholars and commentators blame grinding poverty, escalating climate change, religious divisions, dysfunctional politics, rampant corruption, or outright leadership failures, especially in religious narratives. The blaming game has been intense; some Muslims see Christianity as a colonial tool that facilitated domination and exploitation. Conversely, certain Christians point to Muslim groups allegedly collaborating with colonial powers, often via jihadist elements, to sustain illegal mining. Adherents of African Traditional Religions (ATR), alongside secular critics, condemn both Islam and Christianity as methods of control and modern colonialism, which undermined indigenous knowledge systems and extended imperial rule. Amid these debates, many analysts insist that the core issue remains systemic corruption and political mismanagement, sustained by foreign countries to continue exploiting the continent. This article does not seek to disprove any of these explanations. Instead, it calls for closer empirical examination of the nature and outcomes of our education, its true nature, and tangible outcomes across the continent. The central point of this article is that Africa’s problem may lie not in the absence of education, but in a misunderstanding of what education truly means. Too often, emphasis falls on certificates, being employed, classroom settings, and many schooling years, while relevancy in productivity and problem-solving erodes. Students may spend years in school yet graduate lacking basic understanding of what education means, critical thinking, or practical skills suited to local needs and global opportunities. This gap traces back to colonial education systems built for control and assimilation rather than empowerment, a legacy visible today in rote memorization, irrelevant curricula, and alienation from cultural knowledge. A productive education centered on skill and empowerment could slash poverty, lift millions, and fuel economic growth, yet Africa grapples with dismal learning outcomes: Limitless certificates, limited outcomes. Highly educated, highly unproductive. Big profiles, yet unproductive.

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