Brand strategist and leadership advisor David Coleman thinks the African continent should be allowed to walk before it is forced to run.
He argues that the continent is being strangled by imported debates and Western agendas at a time when it is still struggling with the basics of development.
He explains that the continent is being lectured on the direction it should take with its development by those who created the imbalance and are still profiting from it. To him, the West is still struggling to solve it in its respective countries, a situation he describes as a definition of hypocrisy dressed as virtue.
David Coleman’s remarks have sparked conversation about whether Africa should stop borrowing the world’s battles and instead focus inward.
The Weight of Borrowed Battles
Coleman’s central argument is very blunt and clear. The young continent is being forced into premature debates and commitments about climate change, digital rights, AI regulation, gender politics, plastic bans, and mental health safeguards.
Meanwhile, millions of the residents on the continent still lack basic necessities of life such as reliable electricity, clean water, decent healthcare, and functioning roads.
“Africa is constantly told to run before she can walk. She is under steady pressure to adopt Western priorities: climate pledges, AI regulation, digital rights, gender politics, plastic pollution, and mental health safeguards. All while still struggling with the basics of water, electricity, and food security,” he noted in a LinkedIn post cited by The High Street Journal.
In other words, Africa is being asked to solve 21st-century dilemmas with 20th-century infrastructure, leaving the continent spread too thin to deliver on its most urgent needs.
Lessons from the West’s Own History
To drive home his argument, David Coleman draws sharp parallels with Europe, America, and Asia’s development journeys. He notes that every great economy had its season of prioritizing basics, what he describes as “dirty growth” before “clean growth,” industry before identity debates.
He says;
1910: The United States resembled Nigeria’s current GDP.
1913: The United Kingdom was at Ghana’s level today.
1925: Germany was where South Africa is now.
1960: Japan mirrored Kenya’s economy, while Spain resembled Egypt’s.
He explains that back then, none of these nations were drafting treaties on digital governance or policing each other’s inclusion frameworks. They were laying foundations for industrialization, expanding literacy, building roads, power grids, hospitals, and stable governance systems.
Coleman’s point is that if the world’s current powers were not compelled to prioritize borrowed battles at Africa’s stage of development, why should Africa be pressured now?
The Hypocrisy of “Virtue Lectures”
Beyond misplaced priorities, Coleman calls out what he sees as hypocrisy. Western governments condemn corruption in Africa, yet protect tax havens that enable illicit flows.
They preach inclusion and human rights while tightening borders and benefiting from unfair trade. They condemn Africa’s governance failures while laundering stolen wealth through their banks.
And perhaps most painfully, Coleman argues, many of the loudest defenders of this unequal arrangement are Africans themselves, who he says are“fully bought into the hype that disadvantaged Africa can do what no other developed nation ever did.”
Africa’s Call to Courage
David Coleman is not rejecting progress on global issues. Instead, he insists on clarity of sequence and courage of persistence. Africa, he argues, must not allow distorted priorities to cripple its already weak systems. Instead, it must chart its own path. He calls on African leaders to prioritize a number of issues;
First, stabilize governance and the rule of law.
Second, guarantee basics like electricity, food security, and healthcare.
Third, industrialize and build the infrastructure to sustain growth.
Only when these needs are fulfilled, he suggests, should Africa devote energy to the advanced global debates that wealthier nations can afford.
“Africa doesn’t need pity, shortcuts, or saviors. But she does need clarity of sequence and courage of persistence. Because distorted priorities can cripple our already weak systems. And that’s not the intention… Right?,” he rhetorically quizzed.
He continued that, “What was not the priority for Europe, America, Russia, and China, back when they were at our stage, will not work for Africa today. Perhaps the best thing Africa can do for the world is to ignore the world to focus inward long enough to solve her own basics before adopting borrowed battles.
Why This Matters Now
Coleman’s argument resonates at a time when Africa is the youngest continent, with over 60% of its population under 25. The choices made today will define whether that demographic dividend is harnessed or wasted.
For him, he is cautioning that Africa’s best chance at sustainable growth may lie not in sprinting to keep up with Western agendas, but in setting its own pace, laying its own foundations, and building from the ground up.
