Michael Bibi, Bishop of the Cameroonian diocese of Buea located in south-west Cameroon, has blamed western states for their neo-colonial attitude towards African nations in an interview with Crux.
According to the bishop, the only signs of independence African countries have are "flag and anthem," whereas "the purse strings" are kept in the hands of their former colonial overlords.
“Many wonder whether we should even use the adjective ‘former’,” Bibi said.
The statement comes after Pope Francis' visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, earlier in February, during which he slammed economic colonialism and the exploitation of Africa.
"Political exploitation [of the Congo and more generally of Africa] gave way to economic colonialism that was equally enslaving,” Pope Francis said during his February trip to Africa. “As a result,” he continued, “this country, massively plundered, has not benefited adequately from its immense resources."
"It is a tragedy that these lands, and more generally the whole African continent, continue to endure various forms of exploitation," Francis said.
Bibi believes the Pope's statement referred to the practice of neo-colonialism.
The Cameroonian bishop described that interference of former colonial powers in the economic affairs of African states differ by degree, adding that former colonies of Britain, such as Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana are the biggest economies in Sub-Saharan Africa and the leading democracies on the continent.
“When you compare their lot with that of the former French [and Belgian] colonies, you begin to see that France, more than any other former colonial power, continues to have an iron grip on the economic and political affairs of its former colonies,” he said.
Bibi also mentioned that African nations had often sought help from China, but they are often too weak to "strike a fair bargain with the Chinese government". The construction must be executed by Chinese companies only if the loans are allocated, which he criticized, calling it a means of commercial influence.
The bishop has pointed to the fact that France uses "a complicated network of financial economic policies and political control through the threat of regime change and their military presence to maintain the status quo."
The Americans, said the bishop, also use "their influence over the United Nations Security Council and the International Monetary Fund and similar international organizations to have their way over many issues.”
Bibi characterized the Francophonie and the Commonwealth of Nations as instruments in the hands of western powers used to interfere in African affairs.
“Another major instrument used by the players, especially the former colonial masters, is the formation of associations ostensibly to celebrate the same culture," he reaffirmed.
Bibi stated that "colonization" affects the economic life of Africa and the lives of people.
“The economic life of the African continent will not change if foreigners continue to make all the decisions,"" he said, adding: “If Africans must be the first beneficiary of the economic decisions of the continent, then they themselves must make the decisions."
In his point of view, one of the consequences of the present state of affairs in Africa is the mass migration of Africans to Europe and America.
"They should stay back and contribute towards the development of the continent," Bibi said.
He also emphasized that there are African leaders playing the role of accomplices of their former "masters". "It is often said that the oppressor would not be so strong if he did not have accomplices among the oppressed,” Bibi believes.
African leaders “must use this opportunity to seize control of their economic affairs because it will never be handed to them on a goldej salver. Freedom, whether economic or political, must be seized," Bibi said.
According to the bishop, there is a need for African leaders to show the courage to outline policies contributing to their own people and countries.
"The people who will make Africa great are not those who travel out, but those who remain to work: to open up businesses, whether farms or factories," Bibi proclaimed, adding that Africans must love their land enough to want to stay and make efforts to uphold the development of the continent.
France was among the key colonial powers which sought new lands to exploit their natural riches. It had colonies in South America, North America, and Asia, some of which are still considered French territories de jure and called French overseas departments.
The West European country came to the African continent in the 17th century and had the main stage of its colonial expansion in the 19th, creating at the peak of its colonial power French West Africa - a federation of its eight west African colonies which included Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Niger.
The last colony to be freed from the French rule was North African Algeria, whose independence was obtained only in 1962 through a war with its "master".