Africa Must Move Beyond Colonialism, Says Cornell Professor

During a ‘Nextier Development Discourse with Patrick Okigbo III’, Professor Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò from Cornell University argued that Africa should stop using colonialism as the primary explanation for its contemporary development challenges. He stated that while colonialism disrupted Africa's political and institutional development, it should not excuse current failures.

He noted that modernity was already emerging in parts of Africa before colonial rule, citing the return of educated liberated Africans from Sierra Leone to Lagos and Abeokuta in the late 1830s as a significant channel for introducing modern ideas. Táíwò pointed out that Africans had previously built institutions, schools, and political organizations, demonstrating their capacity for creating modern institutions.

He criticized the tendency to view “decolonisation” as an endpoint, urging a focus on developing productive capacity and strengthening institutions. Using the example of raw cashew nut exports, he questioned why African countries continue to export raw materials while importing processed goods at higher costs, advocating for investment in knowledge and industry similar to South Korea and Japan.