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GLOBALIZATION AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA   

 
Okechukwu, Groupson-Paul UC. PhD 

groupsonpaul@yahoo.com 

Department of Political Science 

Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo (FUNAI), 

Abakaliki – Ebonyi State, Nigeria 

 

Arua, Christopher Chukwu 

ceejakchioma@gmail.com 

Department of Political Science 

Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo (FUNAI), 

Abakaliki – Ebonyi State, Nigeria 

 

Abstract 

Globalization is a choice in an effort to solving the worlds’ problems, even against riots and 

protest on the issues. This paper surveys trends in international economic integration and 

inequality in development as a result of the emergence of globalization. It distinguishes among 

the different dimensions of globalization (trade and capital flow). The negative impact of 

globalization on Africa development is analyzed using the dependency theory framework. The 

study notes that there is evidence on the link between inequality and globalization. Africa as a 

continent had been manipulated by the policies of Western political actors; this is because market 

opportunities are more limited for low technological nations like ours. Again, Africa was totally 

ignored by the North who have more interest in profit(s) than developing the continent. The study 

utilizes analytical concepts and documentary approaches.  The study suggests that much more 

focus has to be placed on changing economic policies; policy conditions imposed through 

Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) have to be loosened and some of the multilateral 

disciples exerted on developing countries through the World Trade Organisation (WTO) 

agreements be re-examined.  

 

Keywords: Globalization, Underdevelopment, Structural Adjustment Programme, 

Modernization, Western political actors. 

 

INTRODUCTION 

Africans indebtedness to international 

financial institution/organization and 

developed countries of the world has 

reached an alarming and catastrophic 

stage. The appalling stage of Africa’s 

technological development; the exit of 

developed minds from the continent 

acronym “Brain-drain” and avalanched 

of protests against the political regimes 

and the concomitant political instability 

in African states, are all causative 

variables and symptoms of 

underdevelopment in African continent 

(Gunder, 1982). 

  

These multitudinous problems which 

stare Africa in the face are weighty 

enough to sink the continent even deeper 

in the mesh of underdevelopment and 

 

 

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mailto:ceejakchioma@gmail.com


 

 

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misery. Even the certainty of political 

redemption becomes a dilemma, as the 

political leadership which ought to 

redefine the focus of developmental 

strategies are ignorant of the intricacies 

of African developmental problems. 

Added to this grim statistics of Africa’s 

wretchedness are all series of interstate 

conflicts; the menace of inter-tribal 

wars, the sanguinary disaster occasioned 

by religious fanaticism (Boko Haram 

insurgency and ISIS) and the 

vulnerability of African states to 

external powers influence (Offiong, 

2001). Accordingly, the United Nations 

population projections in 2014, affirm 

that African population will be more 

than double from 900 million in 2010 to 

1.9 Billion in 2050. Looking further 

ahead, African share of world 

population is projected to double from 

15 percent in 2050, with over2.1 billon 

people living on the content (UN, 2010). 

Clearly, if current levels of low 

economic growth persist, the vast 

majority of Africans will remain 

desperately poor throughout this century 

and the wealth gap with other regions of 

the world will widen. While Africa’s 

population surges ahead, population 

growth in other regions are projected as 

slowing and particularly in Europe 

decreasing. 

  

Interestingly, no nation in contemporary 

history has developed in isolation of the 

international economic system or 

without trading. None of the Asian 

countries that have reduced poverty 

during the past four or five decades 

achieved the economic growth that made 

this possible by relying solely on 

internal resources. And as such, any 

economic success of any sort has 

reflected openness to trade and the 

acquisition and adaptation of modern 

technology (Offiong, 2001). Yet African 

case is different, the marginalization of 

Africa by the world aiden business 

leaders and their multinationals (captain 

of industries). Thus, Africa has been 

handed over to the international 

financial institutions; the World Bank 

and the International Monetary Fund 

(IMF), to handle as they will. The 

resultant effects have been the iron-

fisted economic policies associated with 

the Structural Adjusted Programme 

(SAP) engineered executed by the Word 

Bank and IMF. Funny enough, the 

sovereign nations of the third world 

countries, particularly, Africa have been 

de-soverignised and the financial 

institutions are managing their 

economies (Ogbuagu, 1995). 

  

The structural adjustment programme as 

a policy was a carefully but 

systematically brought into play by the 

G-7 and their allies to reverse 

nationalistic policies of the south 

(Africa) by providing loans in exchange 

for significant and fundamental changes 

in their political economy, changes that 

further tie these countries inextricable to 

the industrialized nations (Ogbuagu, 

1995). SAPs have accentuated poverty 

in Africa, because their institution is not 

meant to help African countries, bearing 

in mind that technology is not 

transferable. Instead, they are among 

other things designed to impose strict 



 

 

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conditonalities to any new credits or 

rescheduling of debts, and force Africa 

and other third world nations to adjust to 

the whims and imperative of the 

inequality at the global market, thereby 

opening up their markets to the North 

and other industrialized countries. This 

orchestrated global economic 

interconnectedness or economic 

globalization is deeply hurting Africa 

badly and this spells unconscionable or 

if like unbearable poverty for the 

continent. This paper is arranged into 

four parts. The first is on the 

conceptualization of major concept(s) of 

the topic; the second part is the 

theoretical framework of the paper. 

While the third is on the effect of 

globalization through SAP as a policy, 

and the last section is recommendations 

and conclusion. 

 

CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION 

Attempts will be made to clarify these 

two concepts: Globalization and 

underdevelopment. 

 

What is Globalization? This question 

has assumed ever-greater importance 

with the emergence of the World Trade 

Organization as a force for trade 

Liberalization throughout the world, 

with the increased economic integration 

of Europe, with the collapse of 

Communism in the late 1990s. The 

concept of globalization has attracted 

public debate by scholars and as such, 

the issue can be frustratingly confused. 

Most seriously, scholars often define 

globalization as encompassing many 

different phenomena, some of which 

little or nothing to do with globalization 

as economists define it (Rourket, 2002). 

Accordingly, Globalization as 

economists define it encompasses 

declining barriers to trade, migration, 

capital flows, technology transfers, and 

foreign direct investment. Gracia (1998) 

assert that globalization implies 

changing the way production is 

organized as required by the general 

dismantling of trade barriers and the free 

mobility of financial and productive 

capital, in the context of accreted 

technological change. He stated further 

that technological development in the 

sphere of information and electronic 

services have been a catalyst for 

speeding the process; bring about global 

production, distribution and 

consumption. Ademola (2003) refers 

globalization to be the increase 

integration across countries of markets 

for goods, services and capital. 

Buttressing further by stating that 

globalization implies in turn 

acceleration expansion of economic 

activities globally and sharp increases in 

the movement of tangible and intangible 

goods across national and regional 

boundaries. With that movement, 

individual countries are becoming more 

closely integrated into global economy. 

  

Akpakpan (1999) equally refers 

globalization to be the increasing 

integration of national economies into 

the world economy, it showed up in the 

increasing importance of the external 

sector to domestic activities. It is usually 

measured by comparing importance of 

 

 

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the ratio of exports to the Gross 

Domestic Product (GDP) overtime. 

  

Shevardnadze (2002) sees globalization 

as the new epoch offers new challenges 

and new global problems such as 

environmental catastrophes, exhaustion 

of resources, bloody conflicts and 

poverty. Mucchiell, (2004) argued that 

globalization for countries and firm is 

characterized by openness of economies 

and a global market in which “firms” 

strategies focus on resources, seeking 

along with synergies and standardization 

in market offering. Reduction of 

technology and policy related barriers in 

FDI, trade and communication, which 

have combined to produce a rise in 

international integrated production. 

 

Globalization is generally considered by 

Porter (1999) as a new stage of 

international economic integration  in 

specific markets where the competitive 

positions of the main actors (that is the 

MNCs in an oligopolistic environment) 

are increasingly internationalizing their 

operators and are deeply affected by 

their mutual interdependence, and by the 

strategic behaviours of their 

competitors. Khor (1993) in his book 

titled “Globalization and the South: 

some critical issues” examined the 

implications of some of the main 

features of the globalization process for 

developing countries. He made several 

proposals for developing nations in 

considering national levels policies to 

face the globalization challenge(s) as 

well as for coordination among 

developing countries in facing 

negotiations or making proposals at the 

international level. In other words, he 

stated that while there are many aspects 

to globalization among, the most 

important is the recent globalization of 

national policy-making not only through 

the normal of orthodox theories, but 

more importantly, through international 

agencies, such as the Bretton Woods 

institutions and the World Trade 

Organization, through which the North 

has leverage or dominance over the 

South. It is also argued that, while there 

are some advantages to an open regime 

for developing nations, the impact of 

openness depends on a country’s level of 

development and preparedness to take 

on the challenges of subjecting local 

production units to foreign competition, 

of being able to break into world 

markets, and of weathering the vitality 

and fickleness of private capital flows 

and their propensity for leading recipient 

countries into a trap. It is therefore 

imperative that Africa continent will be 

given the chance to have an adequate 

range of options, of when, how and to 

what extent to open their economies foe 

African countries to maintain flexibility 

in policy option, they have to 

collectively press their case in 

international fairness and institutions 

where decisions on the global economy 

are made. 

  

Understandably, Human Development 

Report (2012) explain the dilemma of 

economic globalization is the way it has 

widened the gulf between the haves and 

the have-nots; stressing that people also 

fret about their jobs. Both jobs and 



 

 

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income have become more precarious, 

as global mergers and intense 

competition pressure companies into 

streamlining their operations. Hiring and 

firing workers according to the current 

needs of the market makes sense for a 

company concerned with increasing its 

profit, but plays havoc with peoples’ 

lives, a situation which is not healthy for 

Africa as a continent. 

  

Having clarified the concept of 

globalization, it is pertinent at this 

juncture to equally digest the second 

concept “underdevelopment”. It will 

sound unreasonable to discuss the 

concept of underdevelopment without 

grasping what development is all about. 

This is because both concepts are like a 

simens twins, and as such they cannot do 

without one another. Amartya (1999) 

whose work has been central to the 

broadening of perspective on the 

meaning of development and poverty 

reduction, in his book, “Development as 

freedom” embodies the key idea of 

development as the enhancement of 

individuals’ abilities to shape their own 

lives. Nyerere (1993) sees development 

as a process of profound structural 

transformation that cannot simply be 

imported.  He stressed that there is 

ample evidence that successful 

development is vitally linked to the 

resilience of the economy, polity, and 

civil society, all functioning in a spirit of 

harmony to promote shared goals and 

objectives. Thus, the success of the 

South’s (Africa’s) struggle against its 

underdevelopment will depend on the 

ability of the continent of Africa to 

reform and regenerate its economies, 

polities, and societies in line with its 

basic developmental goals. Rodney (19 

86) equally said that development in 

human society is a many-sided process 

to implies increased skill and capacity, 

greater freedom, creativity, self 

discipline, responsibility and material 

well-being. 

    

However, to many, development is a 

means as well as an end. As a means, 

development is often viewed as the sum 

total of those activities directed towards 

the attainment of certain goals, such as a 

developed economy and equitably 

distributed social services, human 

mastery of his environment and free 

individual participation in the affairs of 

the state (World Bank, 2000). As an end, 

development is often regarded as a 

quantitative realization of human 

happiness and well-being or simply, the 

satisfaction of basic needs in an 

economically, politically and 

structurally transformed society. For 

example, in the field of development and 

underdevelopment, a number of 

variables can serve as indicators; birth 

rate, death rate, literacy, income, 

calories can be used.  Death rate may be 

used to indicate the level of development 

in public health in political system 

which in turn may be employed to 

analyze the overall development level of 

social welfare services and consequently 

the level of general development in the 

country. 

  

Similarly, Wood (1994) believed that 

development indicators may also be 

 

 

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used to mean any qualitative or 

quantitative measures of some factors or 

characteristics of development that is 

identifiable as part of the process of 

development. It constitutes the 

measurement of the salient features or 

particular aspects of development 

recognized as the central value choice of 

the gals of development. For example, 

whatever the specific definition of 

development a certain level of: 

 Standard of living 

 Literacy 

 Social welfare services 

 School enrollment 

 The reduction of infant mortality 

 Increase in per capita GNP 

 Active participation in the political 

and economic process, are 

considered to be the goal of 

development. 

Having tactically, but systematically 

defined development, it makes it easy 

to comprehend the concept of 

underdevelopment. Although the term 

underdevelopment seems ubiquitous, it 

is rarely defined with much rigor. One 

reason for lack of precision is that the 

term is being used in so many different 

issue areas. Obviously, 

underdevelopment is not absence of 

development, because every people 

have developed in one way or another 

and to a greater or lesser extent. 

Underdevelopment makes sense only 

as a means of comparing levels of 

development. It is very much tied to the 

fact that human social development has 

been uneven and from a strictly 

economic view-point some countries 

have advanced further by producing 

more technologically ahead and 

becoming wealthier (Rodney, 1986). 

 

Interestingly, the concept of 

underdevelopment has no straight 

jacket definition(s), rather, it is better 

explained through its structures than 

define. Hundreds of millions of people 

living in Africa suffer from hunger, 

malnutrition, and preventable diseases, 

and are illiterate or lack education and 

modern skills; that is to say that there 

are gaping disparities in education, 

literacy, population and life 

expectancy. For example, among the 

less-industrialize countries in Africa, 

sixty percent of the population is 

undernourished and over 10,000 die 

daily as a result of prolonged 

malnutrition; Africa’s economies are 

highly dependent of the North for trade, 

investment and, as well as money 

policies (Effiong, 2001). 

  

In line with the view expressed above, 

Okolie (2015) remarked that 

underdevelopment is linked to the 

blind, chaotic and unregulated 

administration of curative tablets 

purchased for cancer patients and 

wrongly administered to Nigeria 

patients; noting that the adverse effect 

of the drugs will be volume. Therefore 

itemized some of the basic features of 

underdevelopment economies to 

include: 

 Personalization of state power 

 Planning without execution 

 Abject poverty 

 High elasticity of socio-economic 

inequality 



 

 

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 Devaluation of currency/inflation 

 Over dependency on foreign 

aids/grants 

 Budgetary deficit and deficit 

financing etc. 

 

The aforementioned characteristics are 

not mutually exclusive and exhaustive 

but noted that a good number of the 

citizens living in the underdeveloped 

economies are subject to abject poverty 

and penury (Okolie, 2015). Having 

mention that majority of African states 

are highly dependent on countries of the 

North for trade, investment and money 

policies. Majority of them were formal 

colonies of the West and are mainly 

agricultural countries in the sense that 

they rely on agriculture and have little 

or no industry. But their agricultural 

yield are far less than those of the 

developed countries and highly 

unscientific. African countries are 

suppliers of primary products and 

importers of finished goods (Ogbuagu, 

1995). 

 

Theoretical explanation of 

globalization and underdevelopment 

of Africa 

In the theoretical explanation of 

globalization and African 

underdevelopment, it is necessary to 

bring into focus various theories of 

thought of political analysis which will 

serve as a guide to understanding of this 

paper. The “Dependency theory” 

perspective is adopted for the paper. 

Just like modernization theory, 

dependence theory is a model of 

economic and social development; but 

the difference is that dependency theory 

explains global inequality in terms of 

the historical exploitation of poor 

societies (Africa) by the rich and 

powerful ones. 

   

Dependency theory is a Marxist 

critique of modernization theory which 

focuses on internal factors created by 

external factors rather than external 

factor in themselves. The argument of 

the dependency theorists is that, 

historically, no state sets up any 

universal standard of development. The 

gap between the developed nations and 

the underdeveloped states has nothing 

to do with differing political cultures 

but the historical impact of industrial 

revolution in Europe which ushered in 

industrial capitalism which 

subsequently made for imperialism, 

colonialism and forceful integration of 

pre-capitalist into world capitalist 

system (Effiong, 2001). The 

propanders of dependency theory are 

Paul Baran (1957), Andre Gunder 

Frank (1966), Theotonio des Santos 

(1970), and others.  

  

They are of the opinion that 

dependency place primary 

responsibility for African poverty and 

underdevelopment on Western 

imperialist powers. It holds that these 

powers have impoverished Africa and 

the rest of the third world so that today 

poor countries are dependent on rich 

ones. The development of rich 

countries paralleled the 

underdevelopment of the poor 

countries. The roots of this ruinous 

 

 

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process extend back several centuries. 

In other words, the ultimate outcome of 

this process according to O’Conner 

(1971) is that 

“The underdeveloped nations assumed a 

dependency status (the last step before 

outright control) I relation to the 

Western powers chiefly because the 

former were in debt to the latter. What 

was significant about the shift from 

consumer goods to capital goods in 

world trade was that the colony-to-be 

needed long-term credits or loans to pay 

for the capital goods, and that finally, the 

relationship between the backward 

country and the metropolitan country 

one of debtor and creditor. And this was 

but a small step to dependence and 

dominance” 

 

From this theoretical explanation, it is 

clear that, the dominance of the US and 

its allies in the world capitalist economy, 

coupled with the introduction of 

international financial institutions 

namely; World Bank and International 

Monetary Fund (IMF) through the much 

propagated and re-invigorated 

globalization and its 

conditionalities/process, Africa are 

trapped into unrealistic development 

policies or strategies. These as a result 

compounded the development policies 

of Africa into accepting and swallowing 

the pill(s) of trade liberalization, foreign 

direct investment, privatization, 

deregulation etc. 

 

Arguing further, Ihonubere & Ekekwe 

(1988) observed that underdevelopment 

in Africa is pervasive, dynamic and 

enduring; that it is rooted In history, 

reinforcement and reproduced through 

structural and institutional articulation 

with global capitalism. In addition to 

external dimension, underdevelopment 

is fundamentally reinforced, intensified 

and deepened through internal relations 

of production and exchange, parasitism 

and non-authonomization of the state 

structure.   While policies like self-

reliance and indigenization programmes 

which sought to put the African 

bourgeoisies in charge of the 

commanding weights of the economy 

have been viciously subverted by 

internal and external interests, policies 

of structural adjustment which seek to 

integrate peripheral economies 

structurally of the IMF and the World 

Bank and in some cases made available 

such facilities as the Enhanced 

Structural Adjustment Facilities 

(E.S.A.F.) and External Fund Facility 

(E.F.F.). 

 

STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT 

POLICY AS AGENT OF 

DEEPENING DEPENDENCE 

It is important to note that the increased 

contact between the developed and he 

underdeveloped countries of Africa and 

the globalization of the world economy 

has been a frontal attack on the 

dependency theory which has all along 

contended that such relationship have 

always survived to the detriment of the 

poor continent of Africa. By 

emphasizing that trade liberalization and 

interdependency as the recommendation 

of Walt Rostow, yet, Africa is the region 



 

 

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worst affected by Structural Adjustment 

Programme. 

  

It will be recalled that the lingering 

economic crisis of Africa in the 1980s 

namely debt burden and debt service 

obligations, adverse balance of 

payments and huge and rising trade 

arrears, as well as excessive dependence 

on agriculture. In addition, worsened by 

scarcity and high dependence on 

external sources for industrial inputs, 

galloping inflation exacerbated by 

inappropriate policies, unproductive 

investment, deterioration infrastructure 

and productive capacity, limited 

administrative and technical and 

corruption (Ogbuagu, 1995). 

  

Besides, the above difficulties faced 

debilitating external economic 

difficulties which had to do with its 

declining ability to attract new foreign 

aids, loans and investments and to 

maintain a reasonable level of credit 

worthiness in the international market 

economy. Against the background of the 

heavy foreign debts and deteriorating 

economic performance, Africa countries 

were pressured by multilateral financial 

organizations, commercial banks and 

donors’ countries to accept intervention 

by international financial institutions; 

World Bank, IMF and the likes (Ghai, 

1991). 

  

Interestingly, this pressure was quite 

timely and effective because African 

countries were in dire need of foreign 

exchange to honour their debt 

obligations and also maintain level of 

imports (Offiong, 2005). In return for 

debt rescheduling and new credits, the 

international financial institutions 

(World Bank and IMF) and other foreign 

creditors insisted on a wide-ranging but 

generally uniform package(s) of 

economic reform. 

  

As at mid-1990s, a little above 40 

countries including Nigeria had adopted 

structural adjustment programme(s) 

(SAPs) aimed at relieving external and 

internal imbalance and facilitating the 

resumption of growth. Given this 

imperative, SAPs are not designed to 

either solve or aggravate the economic 

crisis in Africa. Osakwe (1993) sees 

SAP as a policy package which focuses 

on demand management and the supply 

side of economics. It seeks, at macro-

level to employ some demand 

management strategies in order to 

influence, at micro-level, the response of 

production units of the economy. 

According to Ould-Mey (1996) 

Adjustment Policy in Africa is the 

manifestation of the Western countries 

to expand their markets, increase their 

exports, and secure debt payments 

through a carrot-and-stick programme of 

providing loans to fiscally bankrupt third 

world government particularly African 

continent in exchange for fundamental 

reforms in their political economy.  He 

stated further that, adjustment policy or 

policies and liberalization policies are 

sweeping the entire South, thereby 

opening and re-strengthening the 

relationship between developed nations 

and that of Africa in particular, through 

what many scholars describe as debt 

 

 

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trap, where a country seek new loans to 

pay old ones. 

  

At this juncture, let us summarize the 

main objectives of SAP, and what is 

globally referred to as International 

Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World 

Bank conditionaliies. The objectives of 

Structural Adjustment Programme 

(SAP) are: 

 To restructure and diversify the 

productive base of the economy in 

order to reduce dependence 

 Elimination of price distortions in 

different sector of the economy  

 More trade liberalization, and 

 Promotion of domestic savings in 

the public sector, improve the 

sector’s efficiency and intensify 

the growth and potential of the 

private sector. 

 

For government to overwhelmingly 

achieve the above stated objectives, the 

International Monetary Fund/World 

Bank (financial institutions) must adopt 

the following policy instruments or 

“standard conditionalities” for doing 

business with African countries with 

shaky economies; 

 Exchange rate adjustment which 

centers on currency devaluation, 

coupled with liberalization of the 

external trade and payment 

system. 

 Further rationalization and 

restructuring of public expenditure 

and custom tariffs. 

 Control of money supply and 

credit. 

 Interest rate policies to enhance 

domestic savings and achieve 

appropriate allocation of 

resources. 

 Fiscal policies to reduce 

government expenditures and 

deficit financing regulation of the 

prices of goods and services and 

factor input (Offiong, 2001). 

 

However, the aforementioned 

conditionalities are not exclusive, as 

more continued to be added and these 

have adverse effect(s) to the 

development of the third world, 

particularly, African countries. 

  

Consequently, in view of all these, 

African countries are being forced to 

adopt pro-Western policies because they 

can hardly make any political or 

economic decisions which are not 

approved by the Western powers that 

controls and also dominates the IMF and 

World Bank (financial institutions). The 

resultant effect of the above statement is 

that African leaders can never be 

liberated from the dependency 

syndrome or economic restructuring 

measures of the North. Unfortunately, 

such economic reforms championed by 

the IMF and World Bank are capable of 

undermining or cause severe 

development problems to African 

countries. 

 

GLOBALIZATION AND ITS 

CONSEQUENCES ON AFRICAN 

DEVELOPMENT 

All over the world globalization as 

raised fear that the market could rend the 



 

 

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social fabric of societies. Anti-

globalization protestors proclaim that 

“the world is not for sale” (World Bank, 

2009). Globalization has made Africa to 

be caught in an international poverty 

trap and this means that pervasive 

poverty and lack of economic growth 

within African nations has effects that 

cause economic underdevelopment to 

persist and even increase. 

  

The consequence of globalization in 

Africa is not limited to currency 

devaluation, and economic 

liberalization, and the disaster it brings 

upon the poor, the widening gap, among 

others. In the economic sector, the 

distribution of global wealth has never 

been fair, but globalization has widened 

the chasm between rich and poor. In sub-

Saharan Africa and some other less-

developed regions, income has actually 

decreased in the past three decades. The 

international community allows nearly 

three billion people; almost half of all 

humanity, to subsist on and 2 or less in a 

world of unprecedented wealth (Anan, 

2002). One of the major causes of this 

huge social divide is financial self-

interest. 

  

Moreover, globalization has also 

favoured the growth of rich 

multinational companies that have 

practically taken over the world market 

for certain products (Amnesty 

International, 2014). In 2012 for 

example, just twelve companies 

controlled 86 percent of the $362 billon 

telecommunications business. 

   

The globalization of culture is another 

area of concern, which involves clashes 

of culture and the spread of materialistic 

values. The interchange of ideas is an 

important feature of globalization, and 

nothing symbolizes this phenomenon 

more than the internet. Unfortunately, 

the internet is not merely used to spread 

beneficial information, culture, and 

commerce. As Friedman (2013) points 

out that some web sites promote 

pornography, racism or gambling. A few 

even give specific instruction on how to 

make homemade bombs. Television and 

films also have an enormous influence 

on how people think. The messages on 

the world’s screens often come out of 

Hollywood, the world principal factory 

of make-believe. The values that this 

vast entertainment industry reflects 

often promote materialism, violence or 

immorality which at the long run affects 

or bring negative development to 

African countries. Nevertheless, 

governments, educators and parents 

invariably find it extremely impossible 

to hold back the tide. 

  

To a large extent, globalization has 

magnified African countries problems 

that already existed in our imperfect 

world. Rather than offering solutions to 

underdevelopment in Africa, it has 

become part of the problem. For 

example, in the areas of “crime” and 

“Terrorism”. 

  

Unfortunately, tools of trade and 

commerce can easily be converted into 

tools of crime. As the multinational 

corporations have led the drive to 

 

 

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globalize the world’s economy, so the 

“crime multinationals; organized crime 

syndicates have been quick to exploit it” 

(Human development Report, 2009). 

The elimination of many customs 

controls and the increasing movement of 

people also make it much easier for drug 

cartels to transport illegal drugs from 

one country or continent to another. 

Interestingly, drug cartels have found a 

host of new opportunities to launder 

their billon-dollar profits. Again, 

international mafia groups have also 

developed a lucrative business in 

prostitution. Every year, they ship nearly 

500,000 women and girls from the shore 

of Africa to Western Europe for this 

purpose; the majority against their will 

(Human development Report, 2000). 

  

Terrorists are not left out. They use the 

tools of globalization. All these 

atrocities mentioned have an adverse 

effect to the development of Africa, 

particularly Nigeria. The world has 

rapidly become much more vulnerable 

to the eruption and, most critically, to the 

wide-spread and even global spread of 

both new and old infectious diseases. 

Such diseases in the like of Zika virus, 

HIV/AIDS and EBOLA, as well as 

people can travel around the globe; the 

dramatic increases in worldwide 

movement of people, goods and ideas is 

the driving force behind the 

globalization of diseases (UN 

Programme on HIV/AIDS). 

In some countries of Arica, microbes 

and viruses are not the only unwanted 

global travelers, intentional dumping of 

toxic waste are efforts by the western 

countries to undermine development in 

Africa. 

  

Arising from the above explanations, it 

is obvious that the principal problem is 

that economic globalization is driven by 

the desire to make money. The profit 

motive rarely takes into account the poor 

and the disadvantaged continent of 

Africa. An unregulated global economy 

dominated by corporations that 

recognize money as their only value is 

inherently unstable and is impoverishing 

humanity in real term. 

 

CONCLUSION 
Globalization is a serious challenge to 

Africa. Globalizing is not an even 

process. The rich are in the mainstream. 

For the poor Africa, they Africa need to 

be rescued from the specter of 

marginalization. Repositioning Africa in 

a globalized economy calls for both 

policy and intellectual review of the 

trends and patterns of African 

substructure production system in terms 

of export capacity and infrastructural 

facilities. Without productive 

technology, Africa has nothing for the 

world trade except to consume foreign 

goods and services. Africa in a 

globalizing era hinge s on basically 

articulating anew export development 

strategy and policy package for the 

continent, particularly as globalization 

has been accompanied by widely 

diffused technological progress in 

transportation and communication. 

More specifically, globalization has 

been created and continues to be 



 

 

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maintained by liberalization of 

economic policies in several key areas. 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS  

The prospect(s) for Africa in a 

globalized economy must include: 

 Governmental discipline, politics 

to revitalize growth, diversity and 

promote exports and improve 

market access abroad for African 

experts. 

 A viable export development 

strategy for Africa should exploit 

the regions comparative 

advantage, particularly in primary 

production (first). 

 There is also a need to strive for 

governance at a national level that 

combines economic development 

and social justice. 

 If democratization/development 

process in Africa is to be relevant 

to Africa, it must reflect the values 

of its operational environment, and 

must originate from within African 

continent. This shows the 

irrelevance of those 

conditionalities stipulated by 

Western World as prerequisites for 

development and democratization. 

 Finally, the policy conditions 

imposed through structural 

Adjustment have to be loosened, 

and some of the multilateral 

disciplines exerted on developing 

countries through the WTO 

agreements have to be re-

examined. 

 

 

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