What happened to post-imperial development in Africa during the last fifty years? Re-thinking the post-colonial turn in creative art, social ‘writings’ and films

Abstract

This paper argues that post-colonial theory in its classical usage is limited. However, when its premises are employed
as a point of understanding, they can be very useful for comprehending the situation of contemporary developments in
Africa. From this light, it contends that, after the fiftieth anniversary of Africa’s independence, the continent’s
development could not really take off the ground because its anti-colonial strategy was prone to various
susceptibilities. These included dependency on a new global order, a re-visitation of colonialism from the past, the
dictatorship of ruling elites, the question of definition of development, misrepresentation, and the influence of power. It
argues, nevertheless, that the continent is generating its own public narratives that are redefining the content of its
development.