For decades, African athletes have been among the world’s best, dominating global sports like football, basketball, athletics, and boxing. Their immense talent and skill have contributed significantly to the international sports landscape. But despite their success, many African athletes face systemic exploitation in European and American sports industries. Today, we’ll look at how the structural inequalities in these industries create conditions where African athletes often receive unfair contracts, inadequate support, and limited control over their professional careers.

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In many cases, foreign aid to Africa has fueled corruption rather than alleviated poverty. The influx of large sums of aid money into African countries without sufficient accountability and transparency mechanisms has led to widespread mismanagement and embezzlement of funds. Corrupt officials and political elites often use aid funds for personal gain, leaving little impact on the communities that need development assistance the most. This has deepened the trust deficit between African governments and their citizens.

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Corruption remains one of the most significant barriers to Africa’s development and continues to play a crucial role in its marginalization on the global stage. Weak governance structures, lack of accountability, and entrenched political patronage have allowed foreign corporations and governments to extract immense wealth from Africa with minimal benefit to the local population.

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One of Africa's most significant challenges in global trade is the imposition of unfair trade agreements. Many African nations enter deals with Western powers or multinational corporations that set conditions that prioritize foreign interests over the local economies of African countries. Take, for example, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). While it offers African countries preferential access to U.S. markets, it also imposes conditions that force these nations to align their policies with U.S. foreign interests and economic priorities.

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This experience at the UN and VOA gave me deep insights into how Africa is perceived in decision-making spaces. In international institutions, the overarching view of Africa is often one of dependency rather than agency. The continent is constantly framed as a region in perpetual need of aid, intervention, and external governance. This perception, unfortunately, is deeply rooted in the historical power dynamics that have shaped global governance and media narratives. And what’s worse, this narrative is perpetuated by the disproportionate influence that Western countries continue to wield in these institutions.

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Why has Western media held such dominance in telling Africa’s story? To answer this, we need to understand the historical context. During the colonial era, Western media outlets were used as tools to justify imperialist interventions, portraying Africa as uncivilized and in need of European guidance. As time passed, that narrative evolved but remained entrenched in the perception of Africa as a land of dependency rather than a place of self-sufficiency.

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Western powers often prefer interventions that align with their own geopolitical interests. In many cases, Western countries—through media and diplomatic channels—present African institutions as incapable of managing conflicts, thereby justifying foreign-led missions. This narrative of African inefficiency and weakness contributes to the continued reliance on Western interventions, sidelining African initiatives.

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Despite being a continent of 54 nations, Africa has historically been underrepresented in major international institutions, particularly the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank. These institutions play a pivotal role in shaping global security, economic policies, and development strategies, yet Africa’s influence remains disproportionately low relative to its population, resources, and geopolitical importance.

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