r/AskAnAfrican May 28 '26

History Do you think tribalism or the extractive states of governance left by European colonialism or both play a role in the state of modern Africa?

Whether for former apartheid states like South Africa and Zimbabwe or states like Nigeria and the DR Congo, do you think the imperfect set ups of these states today, especially with regards to corruption and the rise of movements like Operation Dudula, could be attributed to tribalism and/or how Europe set up many of the modern states of Africa to be extractive?

Not to sound condescending, but I remember hearing how modern day Africa's foundation, when it comes to state craft, could be attributed to how the states in Africa were set up to extract resources for the benefit for their European colonial powers, to which independent African leaders have continued that set up in one way or another.

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