New pattern of Africa's Neocolonialism; Nigeria, China as a case study by Gbadegesin Onyekachukwu John

The issue of development in the African continent is one that can never be concluded thus new processes of its existence and dynamics are theoretical and intellectually inquired per time in the continent. In a world where intellect is becoming the value for positive reward, an ideal state is therefore beacon to acquire a palatable standard of intellectual superiority in all sectors of its public life in order to attain the good life(Develop) and also to either be ahead of other sovereign states or become an equal where exploitation on a side is minimized to an extreme. Sovereign states such as China, Brazil and other second world countries are practising this currently while the ripple effect of this is on the African continent. You might ask that how does the good of another contributes to the evil of another? the answer lies in the undeniable fact that capitalist development in the sphere of subjugation brings about underdevelopment for lesser capitalist countries.

This article might be a lengthy one but will be worth the while as it exposes the lopsided relationship of Africa and the second world states.

Trade is a phenomenon that ties the world together in a larger respect thus making a "global market". Just like humans, it is impossible for sovereign  states to be fully self-sufficient in regards to all its needs thus in a bid to satisfy this needs, sovereign states therefore come in contact with other states. This relationship may take different forms. Sovereign States thus trades with other states or requests for loans in carrying out certain projects. This we would say is a natural phenomenon of interrelation but it has long been manipulated. A party, (Africa) allows the subjugated one at the closure of each trade suffers a trade deficit or runs into debt crisis due to 'floating rate'.

Africa and other States were colonized in the nineteenth/twentieth century. Formally it started after the regions in Africa were partitioned by the European colonist in Berlin Germany 1884/5( Berlin conference). This period saw the extreme exploitation of Africa; according to Claude Ake, "we were made to produce what we don't eat and eat what we don't produce. The African natives were forced to sell their produce due to lack of industries at very cheap prices and later bought them( finished stage) at higher prices. The establishment of local industries was not promoted. The economy was taken over by the Europeans who according to Walter Rodney had monopoly of knowledge of the 'international trade'. Africa was thus forced into the capitalist system without knowledge of the system.  During post world war II, Africans began agitating  for self government. From the year 1951( Libya) African countries began gaining independence but one would think the exploitation would have ended there. The Europeans could not leave the African economy alone thus created a new form of colonisation known as 'neocolonialism'. This form of colonialism did not take the direct one as before but employed different means such as the use of Multinational Companies, Loans and also Aid in the exploitation of this African States. The Europeans successfully created a form of dependency for the African continent upon European goods and also the finishing of African raw materials. Following the trend from colonisation, African countries lacked industries and only engaged in primary materials (Raw materials) which price was decided also by the international trade which is controlled by the Europeans.

Today, in analyzing Africa's  contemporary economic dependence  position, it could be observed that with  the current global economic crisis and economic advancement  of some  countries previously perceived to be  underdeveloped, there is a shift in Africa's dependency pattern or loyalty.  Countries such as China, Brazil and even Singapore have become  integral components economies which  Africa seems to depend on for some  form of survival. This dependency which is not different from the immediate post-colonial experience has same effect for the continent (Underdevelopment). To drive this home, this paper would will identify certain dependent relationships of Africa and these countries.

In Nigeria alone Sino-Nigeria trade is  expanding, as well as assuring economic  and political ties. The volume of trade  between Nigeria and China in 2010 reached 7.5 billion U.S  dollars while  Nigeria maintains the position of the  fourth trade partner of China in Africa  and second exporter market in the continent(Okoh, 2011). By November 2010, the total contract investment by  China in Nigeria reached 13.3 billion US  dollars of which most investment was  concentrated  in the oil and gas sector  (Williams,2011). Since the early 2000s,  the  number  of Chinese  multi-national  corporations investing/working  in  Nigeria has increased with  this  geometric leap in bi-lateral trade  volume. To  guarantee these economic benefits, Nigeria acceded to China’s  “One China Policy”which has always  been the pre-requisite of Chinese  engagement with other countries.
Recently, China borrowed certain corrupt regimes in Africa ( Knowingly, hiding under the noninterference policy) money to carry out certain developmental programs and as identified by Alexander Sack 'the odious debt', this money has been misappropriated; being channelled to certain tribes thus the reason for borrowing such money won't be accomplished and yet, a debt crisis would occur. A major element of imperialism is putting the language of a country in another. During the fashola administration, he wanted to introduce the Chinese language in Lagos state government schools because money was borrowed to the Lagos government.

More recently is the Two(2) billon dollars China is planning to borrow The Federal Republic of Nigeria in yuan ( the Chinese currency). This is another form of imperialism; a device of devaluing our naira more and creating a dependency on the yuan for trade with China. The amazing thing here is that China is placing Nigeria under a condition, that is all materials needed for the project to be undertaken will be purchased from China and according to governor Fayose of Ekiti in his letter to the Chinese government of recent, the country's debt burden would increase and the implication of this is a 'increasing floating rate' and a ridiculously compound interest that the country would then need a debt relief to pay back at the end of day.  What we should know also is that China is devaluing her currency intentionally in order to gain favourable market for the African states. It is predicted that the Chinese currency may appreciate against the dollar in the near future thus creating a problem for African countries that borrowed money; implication of this can be linked to the 'petrodollar recycling of 1970s'.

The African community needs to begin a futuristic/predictive inquiries based on their historical mistakes using experimental inquiries to know the implications and then try to avoid it. The pattern should be studied by political scientists and economist in order for the States to notice this trend immediately. Neocolonialism would continue to rain in Africa until her leaders become credible and her economy become less mono-cultural, establishing industries for every primary product a country naturally has and can import. Existing industries should be enlarged in order to produce more output and also trade internationally at an advantageous point.

Gbadegesin Onyekachukwu John, a student of Olabisi Onabanjo University Department of Political Science.