CONTENDING ISSUES AND AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT IN THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY

AN OVERVIEW

Abstract

Development is essential in the life of a state and continent. The imperative of development is traceable to the positive impacts it brought on the wellbeing of the people in particular and state in general. However, despite this imperativeness and positive impacts on the wellbeing of people and productive system of a state, many African states are facing contending issues that are serving as obstacles to realization of sustainable development in this globalized era. The theoretical framework for the analysis is underdevelopment theory. The objective of the study is to investigate the nexus between development and contending issues that are causing dearth of sustainable development in Africa. The study adopted qualitative research methods in which secondary data is employed for analysis. The study identifies fragile statehood and weak institutions, prevalent intrastate political conflicts and insecurity, primary production and dependent economy, debt peonage, poor regional integrative policy, overdependence on foreign
development plans, brain drain of the best human resource, poor funding of education and research institutes, low per capita income/ poverty, wrong ideology of technology transfer and globalization. The study recommends action centered and pragmatic leadership, geo-economics strategy, good agricultural policy, removal of Anglo francophone dichotomy, good governance that will stimulate stable and strong political institutions, adequate funding of education and academic research, improvement of citizens per capita income to reduce poverty level and desertion of wrong ideas of technological transfer to technological inventions and innovation. The study concludes that addressing these constraints of poverty, political instability. Conflict and insecurity, over dependence on Eurocentric development plans can usher in much needed sustainable development in Africa.