Africa’s Crisis of Modern Mimicry
The sun rises over Victoria Island, casting a golden glow on glass towers and co-working spaces that hum with the energy of a new day. Inside one such hub, the air is thick with ambition. Young entrepreneurs huddle over laptops, their screens flashing with code, pitch decks, and dreams of unicorn status.
The walls are adorned with motivational quotes — “Innovate or Die,” “Build the Future” — and the Wi-Fi is lightning-fast, a rare luxury. Here, Africa feels like the next Silicon Valley.
Meet Amina, 24, a software engineer with a vision. She’s building an app to streamline healthcare access in rural areas, a problem she knows too well. Her prototype is sleek, her pitch polished, and investors are circling. As she sips her latte — imported, of course — she glances out the window. Beyond the manicured lawns of the tech park, the real Lagos sprawls: a city of 20 million, where power cuts are as common as traffic jams, and bureaucracy can choke even the brightest ideas.
Later that day, Amina steps out for a meeting with a government official, hoping to secure a permit for her pilot project. The contrast hits hard. The roads are a maze of potholes, and her Uber driver weaves through hawkers selling everything from SIM cards to smoked fish. At the ministry, she waits three hours for a five-minute meeting, only to be told her application is “under review” — a polite euphemism for “pay up or forget it.”
Back at the hub, the lights flicker. The generator kicks in with a roar, a reminder that even here, progress is fragile. Amina stares at her screen, frustration mingling with resolve. She dreams of a Lagos where the systems match the structures — where innovation isn’t stifled by red tape, where power flows as freely as ideas, and where the future isn’t just a slogan on a wall.
But while Amina builds, the systems around her tell a different story. A recent news report caught my eye: a local government chairman had appointed 19 aides — no clear reason, just the familiar clan mentality of making sure everyone around you benefits. But when your income comes from the people’s welfare, what does that say about your priorities?
Just take a second to count to NINETEEN.
That’s a lot of Aides.
While writing this, I found another article about yet another Local Government Chairman announcing the appointment of 100 Special Assistants.
ONE HUNDRED Special Assistants all on taxpayer funds.
It’s the kind of decision that makes you question not just the individual, but the values that make such a thing acceptable.
What could drive someone to act so shortsighted, so self-serving, and so obviously detached from responsibility? These are people widely respected in society, yet their actions reveal little thought, discipline, or accountability.
Leadership here has become more spectacle than service, more greed than guidance.
For Amina, and the many others like her, it’s a stark reminder that ambition alone isn’t enough. True progress depends on systems that match the vision — and in Lagos, as across Africa, those systems are still catching up.
This is Africa’s paradox: a continent racing toward modernity, yet tethered to outdated systems.
The continent is brimming with potential — abundant resources, a youthful population, and growing ambition. Tech hubs pulse in Lagos and Nairobi, success stories captivate online audiences, and our leaders wield elite credentials. With diamonds, oil, and talent, it seems poised for greatness.
Yet, beneath this promise, challenges persist: aging infrastructure, unemployment, and a disconnect between appearance and reality. The World Bank in 2023 pegged youth unemployment in sub-Saharan Africa at 20%, a figure that belies our capabilities.
I’ve witnessed this paradox firsthand.
We’ve adopted modernity’s trappings — smartphones, startups, smart cars — but too often, the systems underneath lag. Many “opportunities” dangled before us serve as benchmarks for exploitative potential, extracting value while leaving Africans none the wiser, focused on short-term survival rather than long-term vision.
T̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶c̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶a̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶!̶!̶
(I’ve heard that so many times I could almost puke. Every headline screams about urgent action, yet so much of it is a farce, a performance that changes nothing for the people it claims to serve.
Nope, these are rants of someone trying to figure out what the heck is going on.
With AI and innovation reshaping the globe, Africa can potentially redefine progress — by turning to whatever untainted subsets of its youth might still exist, the only hope for a society truly civilised in thought, not just appearance.
The Facade of Modernity
Walk through Accra or Johannesburg, and modernity dazzles: buzzing co-working spaces, looming 5G billboards, and fashion industries rivalling global trends. African startups secured $5.2 billion in 2023, signaling momentum.
But too often, this sheen masks mimicry. Fintech apps proliferate, echoing Western templates while sidestepping core challenges like healthcare or agriculture. Many initiatives prioritize quick wins over lasting impact, serving as tools for extraction rather than advancement.
This mimicry runs even deeper. Education produces over 10 million graduates annually, but 60% lack job-ready skills according to the African Development Bank.
We’ve imported curriculums, not their ethos of innovation, leaving rote learning to overshadow creativity and critical thinking.
History sheds more light on this. Post-independence, we adopted Western frameworks — governance, finance and law without the civic culture to sustain them. Nigeria’s biometric voting shines technologically, yet elections hinge on allegiance, not ideas. Lagos’ $136 billion GDP outpaces a number of smaller nations, but gridlock drains $1 billion yearly according to the World Bank.
That’s not to say progress isn’t being made.
Ethiopia’s $4.8 billion Grand Renaissance Dam promises power for millions, despite rural electrification below 50%.
The challenge is moving beyond symbols to substance, a shift only possible with new thinking.
The Entrenchment of Dysfunction
Systemic flaws compound the issue. Colonialism bequeathed extractive governance and arbitrary borders, a legacy many post-independence leaders perpetuated. The hoarded power, rewarded personal loyalty, and sidelined merit. Zimbabwe’s GDP plummeted from $22 billion in 1998 to $13 billion by 2020, a stark example of prioritising patronage over progress.
Culture plays a role too. In relationship-driven societies, personal bonds often trump rules. While this is a boon in close communities, it’s a major problem in urban sprawls.
According to Transparency International, bribery affects 50% of transactions in some nations. Leadership becomes a privilege, not a responsibility.
In tech, I’ve seen contracts, funding and grants awarded as a result of connections, instead of competence. For the participants of such schemes, thats easy money for the next lavish purchase.
For the rest of society, thats millions of dollars that could have created exponential value over the next few years.
Today’s opportunities often follow this pattern, marketed as progress but designed to extract resources, labor and value while the continent remains a step behind, too focused on immediate survival to see the bigger picture.
The current adult generation, steeped in these old ways, is unlikely to pivot. Entrenched in short-sightedness, they prioritize their own existence over collective futures, making real change from them a pipe dream.
Our hope rests with the youth — impressionable, unburdened by outdated habits, and capable of rethinking what progress means.
The AI Revolution and Africa’s Position
Globally, AI’s $1.8 trillion market by 2030 promises upheaval — 85 million jobs lost, 97 million gained by 2025 (World Economic Forum).
Meanwhile, Africa’s stake is undecided. Rwanda’s Zipline drones deliver medical supplies, and Kenya’s M-Pesa serves 51 million users (2023), proving our capacity.
Yet, only three nations crack the top 100 in the 2023 Government AI Readiness Index (Mauritius, South Africa, Tunisia). Internet penetration sits at 40% , and UNESCO puts AI research output at just 1% of the global total.
AI could empower or exploit. If harnessed by the well oriented youth, it’s a tool for innovation through innovative local solutions in agriculture or health. With proper support, they can ensure AI serves Africa’s interests, not others’. But left to external hands, it risks becoming another extractive “opportunity.”
The Potential Result:
This could go one of two ways. As much as I hate to admit it, the former is much more likely.
The Default Path: The Mimicry and Mediocrity persists — apps multiply, systems stagnate, opportunities extract more than they give, all while AI amplifies inequality and by 2040, unemployment hits new highs and more of the already rare talent flees. In a few decades we might be no beter than glorified mining colonies.
The Youth-Led Shift: A new generation rises — small, focused, visionary. They reject exploitative benchmarks, building systems that endure: education fostering critical thought, businesses solving real issues, governance valuing results. By 2040, hubs like Kigali or Dakar could potentially rival global peers.
The shift demands action:
- Education: Prioritising STEM, creativity, and AI literacy. Partner with real tech leaders for expertise.
- Mindset: Valuing merit over networks and instilling accountability.
- Focus: Empowering promising subsets of the youth through targeted initiatives, not pointless mass appeals.
Too many “opportunities” simply exist for the sole purpose of value extraction led or coordinated by foreign firms eyeing resources, and local startups chasing quick exits while the governments remain too short-sighted to notice.
The youth, however, are our lifeline. Impressionable and open, they can forge a civilisation built in thought and civilised in its systems and values. it.
Startups and skylines mark progress, but true civilisation requires systems that match the sheen.
The current generation, stuck in old patterns, won’t lead us there because they’re too entrenched, too focused on the now, so the youth are our only shot.
By equipping the capable ones among them with education, innovation, and purpose through focused, action-oriented groups, we can spark a transformation that ripples outward.