Colonialism and Corruption

Corruption is the opposite of integrity. It is the practice of engaging in fraudulent or dishonest behavior when holding a position of authority. It is an abuse of power or authority for personal gains. This abuse is why corruption is a crime in many jurisdictions. The most common examples of corrupt activities are the embezzlement of funds and bribery. However, corruption goes beyond these two common occurrences. The act or failure to act for personal gain is also considered corrupt. For example, a president may choose to ignore the corrupt activities of the ministers in his administration due to the fear of losing their support. In such a case, the president is also considered a corrupt leader.

 

 an officer receiving a bribe

 

After the European colonizers left Africa, corruption became one of the continent’s biggest problems. Corruption is present in every sector of the many African economies. For example, in Kenya, the transport sector is marred by corruption. Police officers mainly patrol Kenyan roads to take bribes for motorist traffic offenses. In the education sector, parents pay large sums of money to high school principals for their children to get admission. In the healthcare sector, doctors and nurses prioritize patients whose relatives can bribe them with large sums of money. Companies that give large sums of money to government officers in the trade sector receive trade licenses and contracts. There is more to this list than you can imagine.

 The main question is, why does corruption plague African countries? One explanation is that humans are naturally selfish, a concept argued by Ayn Rand, a Russian-American philosopher, novelist, and playwright, in most of her work. Borrowing from Rand’s argument of natural selfishness, one may assume that Africans are very selfish, which is why their countries have the highest incidences of corruption than any other continent of the world. Chinua Achebe almost supports this argument in his novel, “Arrow of God,” where he writes about a certain man made chief of a particular community by the British colonizers. Days after the man lands the chieftainship, he starts taking bribes from members of his community in the form of cattle. This new chief is using the power he had just received a few days ago to exploit his fellow “poor” community members because they fear the punitive expeditions of the British military. Later, to stress the greed of Africans, Achebe writes about how the British officer in charge of the area is surprised by the intense greed exhibited by the newly appointed African chief. This British officer claims he has never seen such greediness anywhere except in Africa.

 However, it is unfair to claim that Africans are greedier than the people of other continents. A deep analysis of Achebe’s “Arrow of God,” other works, and the African colonial history makes it fair to claim that colonialism played a more significant part in creating and encouraging corruption in Africa. This is due to the reasons discussed below.

 

 European missionaries being served by Africans.

 

When the colonizers arrived in Africa, they forcefully drove populations out of their lands and enslaved them. They created unfair labor practices and segregated themselves from the African communities, which they marginalized. They exploited African labor and controlled African economies, mainly built by free African labor. All these acts show the immense greediness and selfishness of the colonizers. In short, colonization in itself was corruption. 

 

 The colonizers exploited their powers to drive “poor” Africans out of their lands and enslave them. These actions led the Africans to believe they could do anything with power and authority, such as displacing and enslaving people. Additionally, the few colonizers, who enjoyed the economic benefits of free African labor, created a feeling within the Africans that personal economic success was all that mattered regardless of how a person achieved it. This is commonly quoted as “the end justifies the means.”

 After African countries gained independence, the new African leaders continued the corrupt practices they had learned from the colonizers. In Kenya, the leaders of the new republic allocated themselves the lands that the colonizers held after grabbing them from the Africans. They also continued displacing populations as they took their lands. This is one of the significant reasons why land clashes are common in Kenya today. Moreover, the new African leaders started practicing nepotism by appointing friends in government positions who helped them loot public coffers. This was a repetition of the colonizers’ actions, who only appointed Europeans in government positions to increase their control of the African populations. The new African leaders continued to stifle disgruntled African voices that opposed the poor management of their countries in the same way the colonizers had done before them. Political opponents were murdered and assassinated. Moreover, in the same way, the colonizers were reluctant to grant Africans freedom; today, African leaders are reluctant to hand over power even after suffering defeats in free and fair elections.

 Chinua Achebe and Ngugi wa Thiong’o vividly elaborate on the effects of colonization on corruption in the African continent in their books, “Arrow of God” and “The River Between.” In the “Arrow of God,” Achebe narrates about an African priest who sends his son to a missionary school to learn the ways of the white man because the future lies in learning “the ways of the white man.” In this case, the ways of the white man are the ability to displace populations, grab land and control people to work for you freely. Similarly, in “The River Between,” Ngugi narrates about an African father who sends his son to a missionary school to learn “the ways of the white man,” which is the future of the African people. 

 

 Africans are learning the ways of the white man.

 

Another good illustration of the colonial effects on corruption is in the novel “No Longer at Ease” by Chinua Achebe. In this novel, Achebe writes about a community that sends one of their sons to study in London. The community hopes that when the man returns, he will get a top government position and bring a larger share of the national cake to the community. The thought of the community wanting a larger share of the national cake illustrates colonization’s effects on the African minds about governance. In the same way, the colonizers were reaping the economic benefits of free labor and colonization. The African people wanted to reap the benefits of “free money” by having their people in the top government positions to allocate them national resources fraudulently.

In short, colonization took a toll on the concept of leadership in Africa, resulting in widespread corruption. The displacement of populations, the enslavement of people, and the segregation of people created an image in the African mind that success through selfishness is right regardless of how one achieves it. Colonization contributed immensely to the spread of corruption in Africa.

Capitalism and Xenophobia

Xenophobic tendencies have increased across the globe. The US has been the latest country to show xenophobia by electing a president who openly dislikes immigrants. He immediately embarked on constructing a wall that separated the US from Mexico. Britain led the way last year by pushing for her exit from the European Union, which allowed the establishment of a borderless Europe. These occurrences have led dormant parties that oppose immigration to re-surge across Europe. These parties believe that immigration is the cause of their problems in Europe, and it must stop as soon as possible. This belief is a fallacy and should be condemned at all costs.
 
 protesters showing xenophobia
 
Great countries, like the US, Canada, and Australia, can attest that immigration is the primary cause that has propelled their growth and development into what they are today. These countries were built through the sweat of immigrants, and they should understand the importance of immigration. They should lead the way in encouraging immigration and discouraging xenophobia.

 Britain has demonstrated double standards through Brexit. When President Mugabe of Zimbabwe unsettled white settlers and forced some of them to leave Zimbabwe, Britain vehemently opposed this move. Today, Britain tolerates xenophobia, yet she has forgotten that British and other white settlers are found worldwide. They are welcomed and given the respect they deserve as fellow humans.

 Moreover, it is unfortunate that a wave of xenophobia is sweeping across Europe. Yet, it has been the most significant source of emigrants to other continents and countries in the past centuries.
Immigration is the scapegoat for the poor performance of the economies in Europe and North America. However, the economic downturn should be blamed on the extreme capitalist tendencies practiced by these countries. It is a time that the US and Europe question their capitalist policies and practices.

 The number of family-owned businesses in the US has decreased significantly. These businesses were the primary source of permanent employment for many US citizens. Today, corporates have taken over family-owned businesses. They are more focused on profit maximization. This is why they shift their production abroad to get cheap labor, which causes unemployment in Europe and US. Immigration has nothing to do with this occurrence.

 Additionally, developing countries have significantly improved their infrastructural facilities over the past few years. India and China have infrastructural facilities that rival those of the developed world. They are attracting multinationals into their countries. The movement of MNCs (multinational corporations) into these countries is causing unemployment in Europe and North America.
 
 Kenyan roads. Developing countries are improving their infrastructure.
 
Finally, developing countries have more favorable policies that attract investment than developed countries. Developing countries are often ready to compromise the environment and labor standards for economic growth. MNCs prefer developing countries to the developed world because developing countries have little regulation. Their movement into developing countries causes unemployment in the developed world.

Immigration has nothing to do with poor economic performance. The pursuit of profit by MNCs is the primary reason for unemployment and slow economic growth in the developed world. Politicians should develop policies that help the developed world keep their MNCs and jobs to spur economic growth and development. It is unfair to promote xenophobia based on unjust reasons. Instead, the US and Europe need to restructure their extreme capitalist tendencies.

Colonial Organizations

I remember a book in Swahili that I read after finishing high school. The book is a play titled "Amezidi" by Said A. Mohamed. This play is set during the colonial periods in Tanzania at a particular firm where workers have gone on strike due to the poor working conditions, which they suffer at the hands of the firm's management. 

The strike was called and enforced by the firm's workers' union, chaired by a brave woman, the main protagonist of the play. Unfortunately, the protagonist's leadership faces many challenges due to betrayal from other leaders of the union, who secretly meet the management and negotiate better packages for themselves at the expense of the workers. The actions of the management and the few greedy leaders of the union show how the "divide and rule" rule policy is employed by the firm's management to oppress workers.

Sadly, colonial organizations still exist today, especially in African countries. In Kenya, workers still suffer at the hands of organizations' management.

Recently, I had a conversation with a friend who is a lecturer at a local college. He informs me of how the management of the college works with the Heads of Departments to stifle their voices in the organization and make their working conditions unbearable. Witch-hunting is the order of the day in the organization for dissenting voices. The rate of employee turnover in the organization is very high. Moreover, management comprises authoritative leaders who are not ready to tolerate different and diverse views on running the college. 

This occurrence reminds me of the theory X managers, defined by Douglas McGregor, a professor of management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Like the theory X managers, the management at the college where my friend works believes that lecturers lack the intellectual capacity to contribute heavily to running the organization. It assumes that the lecturers are lazy and high productivity can only be achieved when tightening the work conditions for the lecturers. Its cooperation with the Head of Departments (HODs) and exclusion of lecturers is a prime example of "divide and rule," a significant feature of colonial organizations. 

People must condemn colonial organizations and their "divide and rule" policies. Research and many studies have proved that cohesive organizations where people work cooperatively and with mutual respect are the best. Firms and managers should know that when their workforce is divided, their potential as managers and the potential of their firms are curtailed.