Africa Is in a Mess: What Went Wrong and What Should Be Done

Book Description
Diagnosis and prescription. What went wrong since independence in the sixties, and what can be done to alleviate misery and suffering on the least developed and poorest continent, yet one endowed with an abundance of natural resources and hundreds of millions of people. The author critically examines the views of many people on the subject, including "recolonization" of the continent as advocated by some - among them a number of African diplomats and scholars as well as politicians including the prime minister of Sierra Leone in the nineties - and offers innovative solutions to Africa's perennial problems. A hard-hitting book by a Tanzanian academic author, the work is written in simple yet captivating prose, without scholarly pretensions or jargon, and is intended for members of the general public as much as it is for those of the academic community. Brutally frank and lucid in argument articulated from a Pan-African perspective.

From the Publisher
THIS WORK focuses on the failure of leadership in post-colonial Africa to address the continent's problems. The author belongs to a new breed of African intellectuals who, without exonerating the imperial powers who colonized Africa, focus on internal causes of Africa's problems and how to tackle them. This is the era of of the African renaissance, one would hope, and these post-colonial intellectuals and their fellow countrymen are determined to rescue Africa from its misery. While those of the preceding generation fought for independence, and worked hard to maintain national unity and succeeded in doing so, those of the renaissance era focus on good governance without which development is impossible in this post-Cold War of era of globalization and free market policies. An American-educated academic author from Tanzania, Godfrey Mwakikagile contends that Africa had a false start in the economic arena in the first decade of independence which led to many problems that remain unsolved today. One of the most tragic results of all this, caused especially by bad leadership, is the brain drain; a hemorrhage that has had a profound impact on the continent across the spectrum. This is only one of the many subjects the author addresses in the book. A formidable task lies ahead for Africa. But the author believes it can be tackled. As he states, "We have lost an entire generation since independence. We can't afford to lose the next." This is one of the most important books written about Africa at the dawn of the 21st century, and one of th most honest and inspiring. But the author's startling candor also is bound to inflame passions in any honest discussion of Africa's predicament. Highly recommended for academics and policy makers, donors and relief workers, and for members of the general public. Submitted by: National Academic Press

About the Author
GODFREY MWAKIKAGILE has written many books found in public and university libraries around the world. He writes about economics, politics, history, race relations and international affairs. Most of the books he has written are about Africa and race relations in the United States.


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Author Bio: GODFREY MWAKIKAGILE has written several books found in university and public libraries around the world. They include Economic Development in Africa; Africa and the West; Ethnic Politics in Kenya and Nigeria: A Comparative Study; Military Coups in West Africa Since the Sixties; The Modern African State: Quest for Transformation; and Nyerere and Africa: End of an Era, all of which are used as college text books.


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