Lumumba's Africa. Foreign Narratives Of African Underdevelopment. Episode 60 | RT Documentary

Despite the formal decolonization of Africa, some Western powers have continued to exert control over the continent through economic means. France, for instance, has insisted on purchasing African resources at artificially low prices, while Britain has used the Commonwealth to maintain economic advantages over its former colonies.

Today, Western media often portray Africa as a continent overwhelmed by poverty and disease, ignoring its broader progress – its schools, universities, and growing industrial base. This narrative serves neocolonial interests: by presenting Africa as ‘underdeveloped’, it becomes easier to justify the continued extraction of raw materials without adding value locally.

Visionary African leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah and Julius Nyerere once proposed transformative solutions for the continent, including a single currency, a unified military, and the removal of internal borders. Yet Africa’s fragmentation and the enduring influence of neocolonial powers continues to obstruct its full development. Can Africa finally shed the ‘third world’ label and realize its path to genuine independence?