Have you ever pondered as to why rich or average blacks or Africans became poor along the way? Africa as a whole has almost all the natural resources. The reason behind this is called Black illusion of success.

According to Chika Onyeani, the author of Capitalist Nigger, the black illusion of success is measured by the kind of car we drive. Fortunately or unfortunately, the Cadillac is no longer the measure of success for most Africans. It is now the Lexus, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Jaguar or Acura.

In Africa, there are more Mercedes Benz, BMW, Jaguars than there are people. This is a continent which has been declared the poorest continent of the 20th century. Most of the countries gained victories, which may have been at too great a cost, and independence from their former colonial masters.

This is a continent that has been unable to provide basic necessities to its citizens, such as good roads, pipes with clean water, good light, good health care or even good governance. In most cases, you see a huge squalor of strewn, dirty garbage piled high, and mosquito infested waters. And yet all around it you see grand cars like a Lexus, Mercedes Benz, BMW and other luxury cars.

Africans live for today, they live for the present and the now. Let tomorrow take care of itself and be damned. Our success is not measured by the amount of foreign reserves our respective countries have, but by the bulge of our individual bank accounts or by the sold structure of our investments. All these indices which others use are not the same for blacks. Ours are measured by material things which have no value in the long run.

Africans are considered the most loyal to products brands. It is a herd mentality. Whether it is in politics or in business, people know the Black mentality. Because of this herd mentality, companies discount Africans when it comes to advertising campaigns. Blacks are considered afterthoughts or to bridge the gap for certain so-called ‘quotas’, ‘Blacks will always buy our products, whether we market to them or not,’ has been the confidential report to many companies.

Companies like Timberland, the shoe company, have expressed the fact that allowing marketing to Blacks would ‘cheapen’ the image of their products. Fortunately for them, Blacks prefer to buy top of the line, anything that costs a lot of money is considered the best. It is a status symbol.

Black illusion of success is even translated to the kind of drinks that are consumed. Africans drink a lot of Heineken. They think drinking Heineken shows that they are successful. It is a drink of success. It is a status symbol to be seen drinking Heineken. We spend millions of rands drinking Heineken. Heineken doesn’t give a damn. They don’t consider Blacks a market they should go after. They believe that whether they court that market or not, Blacks will always drink Heineken.

It takes great sweat to make a buck. In many cases, you have even been dehumanised as a Black in making that buck. Doesn’t it stand to reason that before you spend that money you should ensure that it is intelligently spent?

I think now everyone understands why Blacks suffer the most in the entire world, especially Africans.

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Tell us: Do you believe that Africans suffer the most? Why or why not?