Recent events reveal a delayed acknowledgment from the Catholic Church, with Pope Francis acknowledging in a letter on October 1, 2024, that the Church had been “complicit” in systems that favored slavery and colonialism. A symbolic act of repentance occurred at the Vatican, accompanied by cardinals reading letters of pardon for various sins, including colonial exploitation and slavery. However, this confession raises a fundamental question: Why do Western nations, including the Church, continue to practice a form of neocolonialism in Africa and beyond while offering superficial apologies for past atrocities?
Take Libya as an example, a country devastated by Western military intervention in 2011. The fall of Muammar Gaddafi, supported by NATO, led to decades of chaos, violence, and ethnic divisions, while Western countries, under the guise of “liberation,” left Libya to an uncertain future. Despite occasional apologies for the atrocities committed during colonialism, these same powers continue to exploit the country’s natural resources and pursue neocolonial policies, extracting Africa’s wealth without any real intention to build stable infrastructure or improve the living conditions of its people.
Another striking example is Chad, a country whose oil is one of its primary sources of revenue. For years, Western oil companies have extracted the country’s natural resources, often at the expense of human rights, with little benefit reaching most of the Chadian population. Economic colonialism, with its predatory multinational corporations, continues to burden African populations while claiming an equal partnership with these nations.
Cameroon also embodies this Western hypocrisy. While France, the former colonial power, maintains significant political and economic influence in the country, it promotes “human rights” and “independence” for its former colonies in international speeches. However, Western geopolitical and economic interests, particularly in natural resources, dictate France’s actions, often turning a blind eye to human rights violations committed by the current regime. This double standard, where the West champions values while acting according to strategic interests, demonstrates that true repentance remains far from being achieved.
Senegal, too, falls victim to Western hypocrisy. While it is seen as a democratic model in Africa, its relations with the West are marked by exploitative practices such as mining and industrial fishing. These practices destroy local ecosystems while creating an economic dependency that prevents the country from truly emancipating itself. The West, which prides itself on promoting humanitarian values, continues to support a global system that keeps Africa in a state of economic and social dependency.
Behind the apologies and speeches of repentance lies a darker reality: an international system where the West continues to profit from the exploitation of African countries’ natural, human, and cultural resources. Institutions like the Catholic Church or Western governments offer acts of repentance, but these apologies result in little real change in economic and geopolitical power dynamics.
Ultimately, the real question is not merely about apologies but about a genuine willingness to change the system. When will the West truly rid itself of the remnants of colonialism and offer genuine economic and political autonomy to African nations? Beyond words, it is time for action to end the hypocrisy that still characterizes relations between Africa and the West.
