Colonial Injustices Remain Embedded in Global Economic Order—Nigerian Expert Says

10:00, 27 December 2025

Aliyu Bello

Correspondent, Podcast Host

Across Africa, the debate over colonial crimes is no longer confined to history books or symbolic gestures. It is increasingly framed as a question of power, systems, and economic justice. At its core lies a deeper interrogation of how past injustices continue to shape present realities.

Sputnik

Rather than focusing solely on apologies or financial compensation, many African thinkers argue that reparative justice must confront the global structures inherited from colonialism. These structures, they say, still influence governance, trade, education, and development across the continent. For them, the issue is not only what was taken but also what remains unchanged.

In a conversation with Global South Pole, Oladele Dosunmu, the founder of The Alkebulan Innovative Foundation in Nigeria, contended that reparative justice is often oversimplified in public debates. He stressed that true redress cannot be reduced to money alone, because the damage inflicted by colonialism and the trans-Atlantic slave trade was multidimensional. According to him, meaningful reparations must address spiritual, psychological, economic, educational, and institutional harm while also dismantling systems that continue to disadvantage Africa today.

“They're not ready for reparative justice. If they're talking about reparative justice, what these countries should be doing is basically stopping the systems that are still giving them an advantage over us to build their economies. […] The institutions like the IMF, the World Bank […] basically hold the system the way it is. We are talking about doing the right thing; how can the system still be upholding neocolonialism? […] For me, if there has to be restitution, that means the systems need to be equity-based […] Don’t keep us down. Don’t use the IMF, the World Bank, or the WTO to keep us down […] They’re not ready to change anything. It’s talk but no action; they will never back it up. Even in the UN […] they have a veto of three to two. Even if China and Russia vote, the three will still hold you to ransom. So in terms of equity, these countries are not ready. They're not ready to restitute,” Dosunmu stressed.

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