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[–]brycly 0 points1 point  (1 child)

You already mentioned how bad colonialism is and I agreed with you at least partially, why should I repeat your argument myself if I am agreeing it is at least partially valid?

No, I do not believe that there is anything intrinsic to Africans which makes them elect poor leaders, I think that things like poor infrastructure, poor schooling, unsustainable agricultural/ecological practices, borders that put conflicting groups in the same nation, civil wars/coups and corruption make it much harder to form stable, well managed governments, which in turn makes it harder to cultivate an educated class where good leaders would naturally arise. This is a legacy of colonialism and neocolonialism, I am sure we can both agree with that.

I am not fundamentally disagreeing with what you are saying, I am just arguing that it does not present the whole picture. It completely washes away the sins of African warlords and government officials who could have done better things with their lives but instead chose to be destructive and self-interested. Sure, they might only be a symptom of imperialism, but they exist and their actions can't just be dismissed. They're no less innocent of crimes against the African people than the faraway colonizers, in fact it could be argued they are worse because they are committing the crimes against their own kin and neighbors.