Some decades after the independence of African countries, some scholars still point to the negative effects of colonialism as the cause of our underdevelopment. They argue that as a result of the exploitation of both human and material resources of Africa by major European powers, the continent has found it difficult to pursue positive economic and technological development. And scholars in this category still point out that the continent is still under indirect colonialism (neocolonialism).
Proponents of this school of thought believe there is no way Africa could develop and stand unless the ties that bind Africa to the major powers of the world are broken. The proponents of this school also point out that the aid given to Africa by the major powers continues to cement the tie which they refer to as unequal.

It is a known fact that colonialism is a contributory factor to the underdevelopment of Africa. But after some decades of independence of African countries, should we still hold on to colonialism as a problem and neglect the obvious? The obvious fact remains that corruption is ravaging the continent, and the cause is not from the colonial masters but Africans themselves. We as Africans should look beyond our colonial past to search for the causes of our backwardness and underdevelopment. We also need to ask ourselves some salient questions. What measures and strategies have our leaders taken and adopted towards achieving positive development? What is the actual level of development in most African countries decades after regaining independence? What measures have African leaders taken to check the intrusion by the major world powers into Africa” s internal affairs and foreign policy decision making? If the answers to these questions are justified, colonialism should be held responsible for Africa” s underdevelopment. But, if it is otherwise, colonialism should be left alone and let us solve the problems we are still allowing to linger on after decades of independence. We should not forget that United States was one time colony of Great Britain. But today, United States is at the helm of world affairs.

After the independence of most African countries, our leaders were busy pursuing their personal interests and embezzling public funds instead of planning ways of developing the continent. Our leaders left the continent to be exploited by major world powers for their own gains and to the detriment of the masses. The level of corruption in most African countries continues to increase on a daily basis. The military on their part did not help matters as the corruption which they claimed they came in to fight against became a way of life after their exit.

If Africa must grow and develop, our way of thinking, our approach towards values and our attitude towards development must change.