Socialism Is Colonialism

Stop Buying The Socialist Lies That Keep Africa Poor

Let me tell you a secret—something that Westerners, politicians, and many academics never talk about or admit: 

Markets were NOT invented by Europeans.

They were NOT transplanted into Africa. 

Before a colonist ever stepped foot on our continent, trade routes crossed Africa, and towns like Timbuktu, Salago, Kano, and Mombasa surged with power and wealth. Our markets bustled, and our economies boomed. 

From its earliest history, the traditional marketplace formed the beating heart of African society. 

A market woman in Lagos, Nigeria. Photo by Omotayo Tajudeen.

So, why the hell are we so eager to sabotage that magnificent cultural heritage? 

Why are so many Africans willing to cling to the myth that we are powerless and weak? 

Africans have been sold a pack of lies. 

We’ve been told for years that we’re inferior. That we lack entrepreneurs. That business just isn’t in our blood. 

Nothing could be further from the truth. 

“We must identify socialism as a poison that kills our people and seek alternative solutions—not in the propaganda of the past century, but in the free-market legacy of indigenous Africans. That’s why we must create Startup Cities in Africa.” -Magatte Wade

Entrepreneurship is in my DNA, just as it is in all of my fellow Africans. 

Do you know why we bought into the myth that free trade will destroy us and socialism will save us? 

Because the West told us it would. 

Let that irony sink in. In the early twentieth century, Lenin proclaimed that socialism was an anti-colonialist project, whereas capitalism allied itself with imperialism—and by 1945, most African intellectuals believed it. 

Allegedly, socialism would “reverse poverty” and create a new, thriving Africa. 

Except it didn’t. Decades of socialist policies didn’t bring prosperity to our people. 

Instead, these policies created suffering for hundreds of millions of Africans, and by extension, the entire world.

Our potential was not only limited, it was stomped out. 

We all continue to pay the price for this poisonous ideology to this day. 

You might think this realization—plus the fall of the Soviet model in 1989—would have made intellectuals question the validity of socialism. But no. Our military leaders simply claimed that it hadn’t been applied firmly enough. They blamed market women, labeling them as “profiteers” because they charged higher prices than those authorized by the government. 

Just thinking about it makes me furious. These women had carried our continent’s wealth for centuries, and their labor financed our independence. Yet, they were the ones government officials blamed for socialism’s failures. 

Western ideologies—and the people who accepted and spread them—distorted the true character of many Africans’ cultural heritage. 

Yes, Africans are interdependent. We rely heavily on our communities and families and follow the spirit of Ubuntu—”I am because we are.” But that doesn’t make us socialists. 

The conflation of Ubuntu, an honorable indigenous African moral tradition, with state-led socialism is one of the worst things ever to happen to Africa. 

This is not an exaggeration; it was as pernicious as colonialism and slavery. 

Be honest. When you look at our continent today, do you see a thriving, prosperous place? 

No. Socialism has caused immense damage in our countries. Damage that will take decades to undo.

As you know, I believe that Africa can prosper. And I have made it my life’s mission to realize that vision.

If you need proof that this is possible, look at how quickly Singapore became a world-class powerhouse in commerce, finance, and tech. In 1960, they were about twice as prosperous as Senegal. Now, they’re almost forty times as prosperous as we are. 

We can do it. Africa is ripe for an economic revolution. 

But, before we can move forward, we must repudiate our dreadful socialist legacy. 

We must identify socialism as a poison that kills our people and seek alternative solutions—not in the propaganda of the past century, but in the free-market legacy of indigenous Africans. 

That’s why we must create Startup Cities in Africa. 

Together, we can bring wealth and prosperity into our homes. We can give our families security. We can build companies that inspire respect and admiration and attract the largest investors in the world.

Are you ready to return to your true cultural heritage? I know I am.