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Showing posts from January 29, 2017

Colonialism and Corruption: How European Rule Institutionalized Graft in Africa

Corruption remains Africa's most formidable challenge—a hydra-headed monster that manifests in police shakedowns, fraudulent elections, embezzled health funds, and rigged university admissions. While corruption exists globally, its systemic nature across African governments demands historical examination. This analysis reveals how European colonialism didn't merely exploit Africa's resources but implanted governance models where corruption became the operating system rather than a bug. The colonial administration's foundational sins—land theft, institutionalized racism, and economic extraction—created behavioral templates that post-independence leaders would replicate. Through literary evidence from Chinua Achebe and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, government audits, and contemporary case studies, we trace how colonial strategies of control evolved into today's corruption crises. Part I: Colonialism as Grand Corruption European powers established governance systems where abu...