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Abstract
African economy in contemporary times is described as one that is highly dependent on the Global North for its sustenance despite, the enormous resources of the continent. This paper provides empirical evidence that African solutions remains better option to African problems. It employs the "False Paradigm Model" which is a variant of the Dependency theory. It also employ analytical tool in its investigation. It argues that despite the experimentation of external approach/strategies to development, African economies have not made meaningful progress in term of economic development. It suggests that African states must look inward for it developmental needs rather than on the Global North. The Asian Tigers (Newly Industrialized Countries) such as Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea among others were at the same level of underdevelopment in the sixties but have developed leaving African countries behind. It further argues that African states must address the issue of corruption, political instability, poverty, bad governance, seat tight leadership. And embark on critical economic and political reforms that are people oriented that will address the weak state of private sector in Africa as well as good leadership style. Lastly, this paper argues that African states will not develop as long as they continue to depend of the Global North for it developmental needs African states will perpetually remain underdeveloped and indebted to the global North.
Keyword: Africa, Development, Structural Adjustment Programmes, Global North, NEPAD
1.Introduction
The African economy in contemporary times can be described as one that is highly dependent on the Global North for its sustenance despite its enormous resources; commodity prices have shaped its economic growth. Although, the African continent according to the Economists (2015) is a home to a third of planets mineral resources, a tenth of the oil and it produces two-thirds of the diamonds in the world. Moreover, since the late 50's and 60's when most African states had their independence from their respective colonial masters, they have been experimenting with different developmental frameworks aimed at addressing their developmental problems. Besides, there were developmental frameworks initiated and design by the Global North and International Institutions such as the World Bank Groups, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Trade Organization (WTO) to assist African states from their respective problems. The policies r...