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Target Africa: Ideological Neocolonialism in the Twenty-First Century

Obianuju Ekeocha

4.41 · Rating details · 120 ratings · 26 reviews

Since the end of colonization Africa has struggled with socio-economic and political problems. These challanges have attracted wealthy donors from Western nations and organizations that have assumed the roles of helper and deliverer. While some donors have good intentions, others seek to impose their ideology of sexual liberation. These are the ideological neocolonial mast ...more

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Paperback, 225 pages

Published February 2018 by Ignatius Press

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Aug 10, 2018 booklady rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018, autobiography, biography, favorites, history, political, health, women

It is so ironic Obianuju Ekeocha and her book, Target Africa are not more widely known. Almost everything she is writing about Africa—all that she values—is what Dr. Martin Luther King wanted for black Americans in the 1960’s, minus the additional information she had to include about gender/birth control/homosexuality, issues which have exploded in the last sixty years and become so enmeshed with racial questions as to be inseparable. How quickly things change! How quickly we forget our own hist ...more

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May 29, 2018 Alicia rated it it was amazing

Fascinating. I love this author, a well-spoken pro-life Nigerian woman. Her book is very readable and full of studies and footnotes to back up her assertions. Sad to see how wealthy westerners try to push promiscuity on Africans. Aid donors promise that legal abortion in Africa will decrease maternal mortality, but that has not proven to be true. In South Africa (after 20 years of legal abortion), maternal mortality remains higher than in other African countries that did not legalize abortion. C ...more

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May 07, 2018 Chris rated it it was ok

This book is a blatant facade that hides behind its abuse of how the "West" is viewed. 90% of this book pretended to have a point but somehow preceded to rotate back to the dull dull point that "abortion is sin". While I understand this is a touchy subject, the entirety of this book pretending to hide behind well thought out argument to simply imply that the West is bringing the impending doom to Africa got stale after the 50th time it was brought up by the author. I've never read such conservat ...more

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May 30, 2018 Irena Tippett rated it it was amazing

Shelves: politics

This is an excellent book, so clear and so challenging to our Western attitudes as we 'help' the people of Africa. Policies and attitudes need to change! ...more

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Mar 29, 2020 David rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2020

It is a case of bad intentions creating bad results (surprise, surprise). Meet the new colonialists, same as the old colonialists, yada yada yada....

Obianuju Ekeocha has written an important book about how rich Western donors sometimes use aid to poor African nations to manipulate their leaders and enact unwanted policies that degrade Africans and their culture. These donors tend to view Africans as pets or mascots, ignorant children sorely in need of firm guidance from wiser Western heads. The ...more

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Feb 15, 2019 Lana rated it it was amazing

I saw this author speak at John Carroll recently and was very moved by her message. I am happy she will be at the University of Notre Dame next month so Molly can see her as well. The situations she describes in Africa with foreign ‘aid’ being poured in to fund contraception and abortion while other basic needs like clean water and education are not addressed is just disgusting. Donors like Bill and Melinda Gates are interested in population control but mask it as ‘women health’. Sadly, it flys ...more

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Jan 29, 2019 Casertalaura rated it it was amazing

An eye-opening, beautifully written, well-researched book. Ekeocha brings to light some disturbing trends in foreign aid to Africa - aid that often comes with strings attached that go against traditional African beliefs and values.

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Apr 05, 2019 MB rated it liked it

2.8./5.0

There is a difference between dogma and argument, and an even greater difference between dogma and good argument. Both logic and evidence must be present for an argument to not only be convincing but also sound, and that is where Target Africa undoubtedly falters, if not fails—argument does not match its passion. Ekeocha convinces us she believes in what she is saying, eyes, but does not convince us there is reason to join her.
Ekeocha is primarily culpable of using fact and theory to c 2.8./5.0

There is a difference between dogma and argument, and an even greater difference between dogma and good argument. Both logic and evidence must be present for an argument to not only be convincing but also sound, and that is where Target Africa undoubtedly falters, if not fails—argument does not match its passion. Ekeocha convinces us she believes in what she is saying, eyes, but does not convince us there is reason to join her.
Ekeocha is primarily culpable of using fact and theory to critique, while dubiously leaving out similar evidence when presenting her own solution. Take, for example, one of her core arguments: that population boom in poor countries—such as the countries in Africa—is not a liability or a “bomb” but a definite asset. Ekeocha begins her argument n critique, as she often does. The current ideology of population control is rooted in, what she argues, is an archaic model formulated by Malthus. She claims Malthus is wrong, and that Western powers have used this framework to subjugate African countries. And yet in doing so, she neither draws on theory nor fact to bolster her view. If Ekeocha is so convinced Malthus’ framework is wrong, why is she silent on presenting evidence as to why she believes so? Where are opposing theorists, demographers, economists who align with her statement, that more children within the context of poverty is a boon? It is only in dogma, in the human vitae, she finds an ally. And for a scientific book, this is wholly inadequate. Given this skeletal argument, it is no wonder we are skeptical when she suggests more births is what is needed, as they will be critical for building up Africa’s workforce, helping to boost Africans out of poverty.
Similar to her argument against population control is her staunch opposition to contraceptive availability and use in all of Africa. For Ekeocha, it is an indubitable fact that contraceptive use causes “social depravity”, which she defines as promiscuity, homosexuality, multiple partner sex and consequently the rise of HIV/AIDS. Setting aside the clearly religious undertones of such an argument, one must ask: where is the evidence, the scientific evidence, mind you, of such a belief? If such evidence exists—which is highly doubtful, as such a causal relationship is not only unlikely but impossible to prove—it is also wholly absent from her book. There is no mention of the fact that promiscuity and polygamy have long existed on the African continent, and that a record number of HIV/AIDS positive individuals are women—women, who, without contraceptives, have no recourse to protecting themselves from husbands who contract and share the disease. For a book that claims itself to be a voice for African experiences, such examples are sorely lacking. It seems, for Ekeocha, the voice of the Pope is worth more than the voices of African women.
This, in turn, leads into the next critique of Ekeocha’s work: the way in which Ekeocha presents “African culture”—and hence African beliefs, thoughts, and experiences—in her book. According to the author, African culture and tradition reject contraceptives, abortion, and other aspects of “sexual liberation”. This is an argument of spatial and historical conflation: the current beliefs and attitudes of some Africans are equated with all Africans and as having been so for all of time. Hence, Ekeocha takes a stance of cultural purism—to stray from “African belief”—as defined by Ekeocha, of course—
is to stray from being African. The simplest critique of this view is to remind Ekeocha that African culture is diverse and incredibly heterogeneous, at times conflicting, and also not perfect. In her conscious choice to point “African” culture as being only one entity, i.e. completely opposite to sexual liberation, Ekeocha silences the multitude of African voices that disagree with her. Similarly, Ekeocha supposes that what is “traditional” is also what is “right”, a moralistic conflation, once again, that stands in stark opposition to other African theorists such as Chimamanda, who argue that culture is constantly changing. If one argues for the preservation of cultural norms, it is a result of deliberate choice and an extension of power. And if this choice results in the harm of one’s people, it is the wrong choice. One must ask, then, why Ekeocha wishes to exercise her power as a leader in the pro-life community to construct African culture as one that rejects “sexual liberalism” into the present and future. Who gains, and who loses from this paradigm? One answer is African women who, Ekeocha admits, carry the heaviest burden of HIV/AIDS on the continent. They are, ultimately, the ones that lose, while misogynistic religious leaders (who are mostly men) win. It is hard to see how anything other than patriarchal dogma can persuade thinkers such as Ekeocha to push policies that ultimately damage their own African sisters.
But there is an additional argument against Ekeocha, and it is this: “sexual depravity” as Ekeocha calls it, which I would like to rename sexual freedom, has long existed in African countries, and as such can arguably be considered part of “African”—if not “human”—culture. Take abortion for example. There is a history of abortion in the continent of Africa as there has been in all areas of the world. Ghana, for example, was facing great difficulty due to a record number of women taking concoctions in an attempt to abort fetuses, and dying from hemorrhages as a result. Yes, Ghana is a country where abortion is taboo and the unborn are precious. Ghana is also a country where the poor, who are the vast majority, are living in abject poverty, where mothers seeing the lack of economic and social options for their families decide to make difficult decisions. It is not as Ekeocha portrays it; it is not a continent “pure” of abortion: it is already happening, has been happening, and is killing the women of West Africa and Africa as a whole because while there is “abortion”, there is no access to safe abortion. What are we to make of Ekeocha, then, when she says that the “people of Africa”, all of them, in one fell swoop, do not want abortion? Whose experiences are she ignoring, and why?
Even with a strangely thin evidence base for many key arguments, Target Africa is not without its merits. The book’s greatest contribution is the notion that sexual health policies in the continent of Africa are often a direct result of economic and political strong-arming by Western powers. That policies are value-laden and that foreign aid is an avenue for foreign manipulation are not new ideas. However, Ekeocha situates these ideas in a contemporary historical analysis that provides important insight into current policies and initiatives on the continent.
Overall, the book is a useful read, yet it is not as rooted in evidence as it purports to be. It is too quick to grasp at facts in surface-level critiques and ground itself predominately in conservative dogma. For a slim minority, Catholic dogma may be enough to make a series of policy recommendations seem steadfast. For the majority, it is a weak attempt at what the author herself critiques: ideological manipulation.

...more

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Mar 21, 2021 Alex Strohschein rated it liked it

Shelves: sociocultural

As an evangelical in North America, I often lament the trends toward secularizaton and the liberalizing of sexual morality in my nation. As church property is sold to be converted into housing, as I learn a new pronoun every hour (which quickly becomes obsolete due to gender-fluidity), as I grieve the tens of thousands of abortions each year performed in Canada (approximately 85,000 in 2018), I have looked to the Majority World with hopeful admiration - the future of Christianity no longer seems As an evangelical in North America, I often lament the trends toward secularizaton and the liberalizing of sexual morality in my nation. As church property is sold to be converted into housing, as I learn a new pronoun every hour (which quickly becomes obsolete due to gender-fluidity), as I grieve the tens of thousands of abortions each year performed in Canada (approximately 85,000 in 2018), I have looked to the Majority World with hopeful admiration - the future of Christianity no longer seems to be in the West but in Brazil, China, and Africa. Yet Nigerian activist Obianuju Ekeocha presents a troubling narrative of African countries being manipulated by the "ideological neocolonialism" of Western liberals, particularly in matters relating to the sanctity of life, gender, and sexuality. Many of Africa's leadership are enticed by foreign aid to modify their laws to loosen restrictions on abortion and liberalize sexuality laws in exchange for funding (though having said that, I definitely don't want people to be put to DEATH for their sexual acts). In a clever rhetorical move, Ekeocha reprimands the West for once again invading and interfering in African affairs, even as they decry the cruel legacy of colonialism that their ancestors once inflicted on the continent. Ekeocha recommends advancing education to lift Africans out of poverty and for African countries to become independent of foreign aid. Her passion and conviction stand out.

I believe that the author and I would have much more in common than what separates us, one of which is a shared faith. Having said that, at times I felt that Ekeocha relied a bit too much on generalizations (at least without giving enough evidence), as she tended to present Africans as one homogenous group with universal values and mores that affirmed the sanctity of life, the blessing of children, strong and stable families, etc...I think these are all GOOD things but on a continent with so many different peoples, languages, beliefs, and customs, I wonder if as many Africans hold to traditional beliefs as Ekeocha claims (I also wonder if these beliefs PRECEDED Christianity in Africa or if they are now widespread DUE to Christianity; Ekeocha's detractors would likely say Christianity was simply an earlier ideological neocolonizing force though Thomas C. Oden and others have pointed out how Africa shaped the Christian mind from the very beginning and the area that is present-day Ethiopia has been Christian since the 300s. As one negative reviewer noted, the book does tend to keep cycling back to abortion in every chapter yet Ekeocha is right to criticize Western philanthropists and organizations like Planned Parenthood for pushing abortion as if that were the solution to all of Africa's problems.

This book is published by Ignatius Press and while I am not sure if Ekeocha is Roman Catholic, one place I would diverge from her is on the distribution and use of condoms. It is fuddy-duddy to champion abstinence as an effective defence against HIV/AIDS and other STDs but I affirm the traditional Christian teaching that sex is to be enjoyed between a man and a woman in a lifelong marriage covenant. Having said that, I see no biblical reason to prohibit the use of condoms and if believers fall away from practicing the Christian sexual ethic, at least condoms would provide SOME means of defence regarding sexual health. Though I think the Bible does not prohibit the use of condoms, I also believe that Western organizations need to respect the fact that millions of Africans ARE faithful Catholics who will refuse to use condoms because it goes against Roman Catholic teaching; to truly respect these Africans, Western organizations need to invest in and propose alternative programs that will encourage healthy sexual practice.

"Target Africa: Ideological Neocolonialism in the Twenty-First Century" is an eye-opening book, worthy of wide readership, though at times it gets repetitive. Still, Ekeocha (a biomedical scientist) provides a good diagnosis as to the causes of Africa's ideological neocolonialist infection and gestures towards treatments to heal her land in the form of education and reducing foreign aid. But it is not just secular liberal organizations that Africans need to resist. Ekeocha's book matches the bold spirit and conviction of the African United Methodist theologian Jerry Kulah. At the fractious 2019 UMC synod, Dr. Kulah gave an impassioned speech (the transcript of which can be found here) in which he declared:

"And then please hear me when I say as graciously as I can: we Africans are not children in need of western enlightenment when it comes to the church’s sexual ethics. We do not need to hear a progressive U.S. bishop lecture us about our need to 'grow up.' Let me assure you, we Africans, whether we have liked it or not, have had to engage in this debate for many years now. We stand with the global church, not a culturally liberal, church elite, in the U.S...Unfortunately, some United Methodists in the U.S. have the very faulty assumption that all Africans are concerned about is U.S. financial support. Well, I am sure, being sinners like all of you, some Africans are fixated on money. But with all due respect, a fixation on money seems more of an American problem than an African one. We get by on far less than most Americans do; we know how to do it. I’m not so sure you do. So if anyone is so naïve or condescending as to think we would sell our birth right in Jesus Christ for American dollars, then they simply do not know us. We are seriously joyful in following Jesus Christ and God’s holy word to us in the Bible. And in truth, we think many people in the U.S. and in parts of Europe could learn a great deal from us. The UM churches, pastors and lay people who partner with us acknowledge as much. Please understand me when I say the vast majority of African United Methodists will never, ever trade Jesus and the truth of the Bible for money."

Self-autonomy is one of the most prized values of Western liberals - "my body, my choice." If Western liberals truly want to abide by their own self-declared values, they will heed Obianuju Ekeocha's words and cease their ideological neocolonialist agenda in Africa. ...more

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Jul 18, 2020 Stan rated it it was amazing

A Nigerian woman explains how the West is guilty of neocolonialism through aid that comes with strings attached. She pleads with the West that if they want to help, they should redirect their aid to actual problems in Africa instead of patronizingly funding corrupt governments in exchange for the opportunity to inject their ideologies and agendas (which are demonstrably harmful to African societies). If you are interested in understanding neocolonialism, the leftist global population-control age ...more

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Jun 21, 2020 Joelle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Clearly The Western World Has An Agenda

Ekeocha is brilliant as she pleads for her fellow Nigerians, and all the fellow member states of Africa, to join her in standing together by their own principles, and resist the "Western Agenda" (my term). Logical, researched, and never once resorting to emotionalism or religious bias, the author shows how Africans - the term she uses - have a strong sense of what they believe is right and wrong, and they resolutely live their lives by it. It is the Western ...more

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Dec 15, 2018 Louise rated it it was amazing

Excellent book, readable and well researched. From the book "If Africa is to protect itself from the social breakdown taking place in the West, which the West is intent on exporting to us, it must stand up for marriage and for children, who are the future of the continent." ...more

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Jun 11, 2018 Almachius rated it it was amazing

Challenging, well researched, and passionately written. I hope Obianuju Ekeocha writes more soon.

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Sep 04, 2020 David Alexander rated it it was amazing

Shelves: cultural-analysis

Ekeocha makes the point that despite Africa receiving about $400 billion of aid from the developed world in the first forty years of independence, about six times what the United States pumped into the reconstruction of Western Europe after World War II, the economic well-being of Africans has not improved. On the contrary, the per capita GDP of Africans south of the Sahara declined at an average annual rate of 0.59 percent between 1975 and 2000. Africa receives $50 billion from Western donors e Ekeocha makes the point that despite Africa receiving about $400 billion of aid from the developed world in the first forty years of independence, about six times what the United States pumped into the reconstruction of Western Europe after World War II, the economic well-being of Africans has not improved. On the contrary, the per capita GDP of Africans south of the Sahara declined at an average annual rate of 0.59 percent between 1975 and 2000. Africa receives $50 billion from Western donors every year at present. However, corruption is rampant among its leaders and the illicit financial outflows far exceeds the official aid and development inflows. Ekeocha asks the reasonable question, "But is it not possible that donors do not care so much about African corruption so long as they get what they really want out of the bargain? Their willingness to give money to corrupt leaders may be matched by the willingness of these leaders to allow a new, ideological colonization of the African people."
It seems that the pattern of Western donors parallels the divide and new class struggle in the United States, and more broadly in the West. We have a managerial overclass whose rule increasingly should not be described as democratic in any meaningful sense. Not only do they impose their will on the majority and disregard majority views in the United States, they also are imposing their will by utilizing the corruption of African leaders to forward their population control plans in Africa by letting them use their massive donor funds without accountability so long as they let them impose their sexual revolution programs on the recalcitrant African peoples against their deep set cultural beliefs. Western donors appear to be bankrolling decadence like that of the gaudy depraved in the Hunger Games. They think their population control programs are the best way to fight poverty, but this looks like a gross misapplication of funds when one considers how much could have been done with such funds to provide clean water and other basic needs to Africans, rather than trying to make them sterile like the dying West.
Ekeocha points to the Mexico City policy of the United State, which required NGOs receiving American funding to agree that they would neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations, as a good example showing how the political priorities of Western governments, and therefore the projects they fund through these agencies, are determined by the current ideological bent of their leaders. She notes that the since 1984 the policy has been instated by every Republican president and removed by every Democratic president. Democratic leaders oppose the Mexico City Policy despite a majority of Democrats apparently being against federal funding of overseas abortions. According to a comprehensive Knights of Columbus- Marist poll released in January 2017, 83 percent of those surveyed said they opposed such funding. Most revealing about this poll was that 70 percent of the respondents who identified as pro-choice or Democrat said they opposed the use of tax dollars to pay for abortions in other countries. Ekeocha reasonably concludes, "Given that a significant proportion of Americans are against funding abortions overseas and that many people in the developing world do not want foreign funding for abortions in their countries, the Mexico City Policy is reasonable; but these commonsense considerations have never stopped pro-abortion presidents from promoting and exporting their worldview under the labels of 'women's healthcare', 'international development', and 'humanitarian aid.'" (pg. 146). I would further add that it seems to indicate that Democratic bent favors the "managerial elite", using the phrase Michael Lind uses in his book The New Class War. The managerial elite have been winning the class war and the divide is growing ever wider.

--
There is something morally ugly about offering boatloads of contraception to women suffering from a high maternal mortality rate and lack of access to clean water, etc. It smacks of "mean girl" logic. When logic gets detached from the Good, it becomes repugnant or, frankly, evil.

"In 2012 I stumbled upon Melinda Gates' plan to collect pledges for almost $5 billion to ensure that the African woman would be less fertile, less encumbered, and, yes, more 'liberated'. With her incredible wealth she wanted to replace the legacy of an African woman (which is her child) with the legacy of 'child-free sex'. I was so outraged that I wrote a public letter to Melinda Gates, which went viral on the Internet and is not posted on the webpage of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Laity…
And, of course, there are bound to be inconsistencies and failures in the use of these drugs and devices, so naturally, there will be many more unplanned pregnancies as well. How convenient, then, that the West has been pressuring African governments to loosen their abortion laws.
As if this were not enough, I sadly realized that the pro-contraceptive media blitz that will accompany these drugs and devices will not tell Africans the whole truth about them. They will not be told about failure rates, adverse side effects, and the increased risks of cancer and heart disease. They will not be told that promiscuity itself is the leading cause of sexually transmitted diseases, which hormonal contraceptives such as the pill and the patch do nothing to prevent [especially given that the pill is a type 1 carcinogen]. Given that women in Western societies are left in the dark about these things, the chances that African women will be respected enough to be given these facts are rather slim. But unlike most Western women, African women tend not to have regular doctor visits; if African women suffer from negative consequences of contraceptive use, they will suffer from them without follow-up care.
In short, I concluded in my letter to Melinda Gates, I saw her billions of dollars as buying Africans not the real health care they need but only misery. Needless to say, my letter did nothing to stop the Gates Foundation's full-speed-ahead push for contraceptives.
…the availability of contraception does not necessarily mean that a country has adequate maternity care. What African nations need is not a massive infusion of contraceptives into their communities but a renewed commitment to building up the various branches of the dilapidated healthcare systems across the continent." -Ekeocha Obianuju

…as of 2014 Western donor nations and organizations had contributed more than 102 million injectable contraceptives, and 50 percent of them had been given to African countries.
An example of the injectable-birth-control trend is the agreement between Pfizer Inc., the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation to expand access to Pfizer's injectable contraceptive, Sayana Press, for women in the world's poorest countries…
How does practically sterilizing the poorest women in the world give them control over famine, draught, disease, and poverty? It does not make them more educated or more employable. It does not provide food or safe drinking water. It does not make African women happier or more satisfied in their marriages. No. This extensive contraception project will only make them sterile at the cheapest rate possible. This is certainly not what we African women have asked for. It is not the help that our hearts crave amidst the trials and difficulties of Africa. But in a world of shocking cultural imperialism, it is what our 'betters' have chosen for us.
What makes the massive exportation of injectable contraception downright insidious is that while it is being pushed on African women, it is being questioned in the developed world after having been shown in various studies to carry dangerous and even lethal side effects….The push for use of DMPA in Africa proves that the Western proponents of population control willfully ignore the glaring reality of the hazardous side effects of contraceptives so that they can impose their views and their dangerous products on Africans. In their campaign, conference, and summit speeches, I have never heard any serious mention of these side effects or of the inadequacy of healthcare systems in Africa to deal with the health problems that are sure to follow widespread use of injectable contraceptives. The insistence on reducing the population of Africa, no matter what the cost to the Africans themselves, is racism, imperialism, and colonialism disguised as philanthropy."

-Ekeocha Obianuju, Target Africa ...more

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Sep 09, 2018 Tirzah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction

Target Africa was referenced in an article I read (I don’t remember which one – I read so many and I possess minimal retention skills). The title caught my attention and I placed it in the back of my mind as a book to read when I was in the mood for heavy, serious reading. The mood came to me one day and I headed to Amazon. Obianuju Ekeocha is a smart lady. From page one, the reader understands Ekeocha is passionate about her beliefs and cares deeply for the future of Africa. She is very well-re Target Africa was referenced in an article I read (I don’t remember which one – I read so many and I possess minimal retention skills). The title caught my attention and I placed it in the back of my mind as a book to read when I was in the mood for heavy, serious reading. The mood came to me one day and I headed to Amazon. Obianuju Ekeocha is a smart lady. From page one, the reader understands Ekeocha is passionate about her beliefs and cares deeply for the future of Africa. She is very well-researched in the topics she discusses as she cites statistics, resources and personal experiences that support her writing. This was such an eye-opening, significant read for me that I recommend it to everyone. While her focus is on Africa and the negative consequences of decadent Western ideologies that are being bullied into African cultures, it can be applied to any country who wishes to prosper economically and morally as a free nation. Below are three paragraphs from the book. The first two are found in Ekeocha’s introduction and the third one is the last paragraph of the last chapter. I think they sum up her book quite well and all the words in between are profound and worth reading.

Africans by and large believe that sex is sacred, that human life is precious from womb to tomb, that children are blessings, that motherhood is desirable, and that marriage between man and woman is life-generating. These are the basic family values that our parents and grandparents transmitted to us. They are embedded in our customs, enshrined in our laws, and even encoded in our native languages. To take them away from us amounts to invasion, occupation, annexation, and colonization of our people. (p.29)

There is a new colonialism in our time – not of lands or of natural resources but of the heart, mind, and soul of Africa. It is an ideological colonialism. (p.29)

If Africa is to protect itself from the social breakdown taking place in the West, which the West is intent on exporting to us, it must stand up for marriage and for children, who are the future of the continent. The corrupting influence of aid from sex-obsessed nations and organizations must be curtailed by building our countries on a firm foundation of good schools that develop not just minds but also character, market economies that free up trade and resources for the benefit of all, and accountable leaders who respect the culture of their people more than the opinion of wealthy donors. We must resist the new ideological colonizers before they rob us of our very selves. (pp.. 192-193) ...more

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Aug 17, 2020 David Gersten rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A Must Read for the world to begin to understand Africa

Fantastic book; for a very long time I have felt that all we in the West know (or believe) about Africa is poverty and incredible wildlife. I saw and heard a video with Obianuju Ekeocha and was captivated. From one video I had learned more about Africa than I'd ever learned elsewhere. I then bought her book, and it's amazing. Uju details the values that have been part of Africa for many generations, including large loving families, the sacre ...more

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Aug 15, 2020 Jodi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Eye opening

This book was really eye opening for me. It’s shameful enough that liberal ideologies are shoved down the throats of Americans, but to force them on other countries under the guise of “aid”? I’m beginning to understand why we are hated by other cultures.

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Nov 17, 2020 Tutankhamun18 rated it did not like it

Chapter 1: I totally disagree that the availability of contraceptives leads to promiscuity- promiscuous behaviour has been present in society since the ancient egyptians at least. Birth control allows women to pursue serious of fleeting (depending on their personal preference) relationships with a physical aspect even before they are ready for children or before they want to close the door to opportunities that require too much time to pursue at the sime time as being a sole child rearer. Howeve Chapter 1: I totally disagree that the availability of contraceptives leads to promiscuity- promiscuous behaviour has been present in society since the ancient egyptians at least. Birth control allows women to pursue serious of fleeting (depending on their personal preference) relationships with a physical aspect even before they are ready for children or before they want to close the door to opportunities that require too much time to pursue at the sime time as being a sole child rearer. However, I did think her point about the West wanting to solve Africas problems through contraception only and not through investing in infrastructure that creates opportunities for women was highly interesting. It is true that contraception can help a woman make the most of her opportunities, but if there are no opportunities available, then having children at any given time does not interfere.

Chapter 2: It is really interesting to think about how contraception is being pushed onto Africa without much thought for the social structures that exists there. One cannot go somewhere and assume to help using ones own framework. The framework must be adapted to the local community. However the author is very judgemental regarding sexuality, which is ironic given her message is that a western standard should not be forced on Africa. Most of the time while reading, I found myself thinking - interesting point.... wrong conclusion!

Many of the issues raised, such as how Feminist brochures distributed do not mention FGM or child marriage, that are problems in parts of Africa, do hold a first world privilege to the realities many women face. But her conclusion to this is wrong. This does not mean that it is wrong to strive for sexual freedom and autonomy of body and life choices, but that it is naive to think that this message must not come second to that of remove practices such as FGM and child marriages. The author is too judgemental.

What was highlighted to me from reading this is the fundamental point the author does not make: the differences in individualistic and clan based societies. One is not better than the other but they are different. In an individualist society people have more personal responsibility for themselves and only themselves and thus contraception and abortion are the tools to female choice, but in clanish societies it is more normal to conform to the group and also for the group to support you, therefore such individualist society options may not be needed.

This is the kind of rare book that i almost totally disagree with and yet reading it was educational and helped me/forced me to articulate my arguments more and cemented the fact that some of the things that work in the western society will not work in Africa and vice versa and this does not mean one is inferior. The West needs to listen to how African Countries want to be helped and give aid and knowledge accordingly rather than assume western standards will solve everything. We need to prioritise the types of assistance African countries are sating they need, for example blood transfusion infrastructure instead of legal abortion. Both of these have the same end; to lower the death of mothers and would be mothers, but one is the solution the west uses and the other is the solution African countries would like to use (according to te research cited in this book). Having said that, I do think Women need to have control over their bodies and tha all people of any sexual orientation deserve the human rights we all do. The chapter about homosexuality really offended me. I thought it was terrible that the author thought that not accepting homosexual behaviour does not necessarily mean you are homophobic- that is literally what phobic means. The author is a too judgemental in her vilaneous word choice and does not understand how objective conclusions are made from facts. ...more

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Sep 12, 2019 Katie rated it really liked it

I think Target Africa is a much needed source of truth when it comes to foreign aid. When you hear her speak in interviews, she often says, "I am against most foreign aid," because most of it comes with strings attached. An excerpt:

“There are African governments that are, in effect, addicted to donor funds and would not be able to finance their own domestic budgets without any infusion of cash from external actors. Aid has a powerful effect on state institutions in Africa.

For example, in 2005 I think Target Africa is a much needed source of truth when it comes to foreign aid. When you hear her speak in interviews, she often says, "I am against most foreign aid," because most of it comes with strings attached. An excerpt:

“There are African governments that are, in effect, addicted to donor funds and would not be able to finance their own domestic budgets without any infusion of cash from external actors. Aid has a powerful effect on state institutions in Africa.

For example, in 2005 the Ugandan government collected only 57% of the taxes due from its citizens. Rather than fix whatever the collections problem might be, leaders turned to foreign aid to make up the budget shortfall. With such an easy fix, the state has limited incentive to improve its tax collection.

Aid sustains several African countries but in doing so it deprives them of the autonomy necessary to make decisions that are genuinely in the interests of their people. This gives donors the power and leverage to direct key aspects of the government’s economic and political agenda. Aid packages tend to be filled with conditionalities that perpetuate a kind of paternalism towards the recipient and undermine the autonomy.”

In the end, Uju includes a letter she wrote to Melinda Gates asking that she refocus her efforts on issues that African women truly need, education, good healthcare programs, food programs for children, etc. I'm glad she includes this but I'm not sure shifting the focus would remove the heavy personal/political agenda behind the aid.

I think there are a lot of gray areas in the topic of foreign aid and the best thing we can do it educate ourselves about both "sides" and use critical thinking and collaboration to come to a better solution. What that looks like specifically, I don't know. But I look forward to continued study on this topic.

I gave four stars because, although many of Uju's points are backed up by facts, she also does a lot of generalization. She speaks for the "African woman." This is obviously better than a non-African speaking out, but I would love to hear more African voices as a whole. ...more

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Mar 29, 2021 Daniel Millard rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, history

I purchased this after having a conversation with my mother about forcing birth control on African nations, and then realized that I didn't really know what I was talking about.

I'm not sure I can really comment on the "quality" of this book per se, as I am not deep into the politics of Africa or medical science like the author, but I am familiar with scandal and the militant ideologies of the Western world, and Ekeocha has a long and varied index and bibliography for such a relatively short work ...more

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Jan 26, 2021 Heather rated it it was amazing

This is an excellent book. So eloquently written and tediously researched, the author does not mince words in her analysis of present-day neocolonialism by wealthy Western nations and their donor groups. Not only does she prove that Western values are foreign to most Africans, she shows the millions in aid pouring into Africa from these same nations and their organizations, falls miserably short of its goals. She also demonstrates how African representatives at the UN are regularly bullied by We ...more

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Nov 26, 2020 Gonzaga Escauriaza rated it it was amazing

Estaba en duda en darle 4 o 5 estrellas, pero como hace una maravillosa defensa de la vida a través de luchar contra el aborto y sobretodo con impedir que los progresistas occidentales actuales obliguen a los países africanos a no solo a defender sino también a preconizar el aborto e imponerlo a toda costa, finalmente no he dudado en darle las 5 estrellas.
Se lee muy fácil y te cuenta las cosas muy claramente.
Muy recomendable.

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Mar 18, 2021 Marial Fecke-Stoudt rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Eye Opening

This book opened my eyes to the problem of Western societies trying to export their ideology into countries that don't want or need it. All cultures have their problems, but that is no reason to try to destroy what is good in a culture while trying to build the necessary infrastructure. ...more

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Aug 01, 2020 H. S. Kylian (Hannah Killian) rated it it was amazing

READ. THIS. BOOK.

That's all I can really say right now, because WOW. ...more

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Apr 01, 2020 Abubakar Kabiru rated it liked it

To examine the book Target Africa: Ideological neocolonialism in the twenty first century

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Jan 24, 2021 E.M. Albano rated it it was amazing

This is a wonderful and insightful book. It is unapologetic, but the arguments that Obianuju Ekeocha presents are compelling, especially in the continuing debates on life matters and colonialism. There will be some who will refute her arguments, but the patterns and effects of neocolonialism on the African continent reveal that adage, “hell is paved with good intentions.”

Anyone looking for a book that reveals how power and wealth can destroy culture and life in modern times will find this work t ...more

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Michael Gurath rated it it was amazing
Feb 21, 2018

Simon Godwin rated it it was amazing
May 12, 2018

Koreen rated it really liked it
Aug 24, 2020

Amanda Rae rated it it was amazing
May 03, 2020

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“Expressive individualism is at the heart of the secular progressive worldview that now functions as the religion of many Western elites.” — 0 likes

“In theory, condom promotions ought to work everywhere. And intuitively, some condom use ought to be better than no use. But that’s not what the research in Africa shows. Why not? One reason is “risk compensation.” That is, when people think they’re made safe by using condoms at least some of the time, they actually engage in riskier sex.” — 0 likes

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