Nigeria, May 15 -- The conversation around aid in Africa is not new. It has long featured prominently in broader debates on African liberation and development. Over time, three major arguments have shaped this discourse, each corresponding to different phases of Africa's developmental trajectory.

The first argument, widely held in Pan-African and academic circles, views aid as a mechanism of imperialism and neocolonial control. According to this perspective, aid serves as a tool for the continued subjugation and exploitation of Africa, with its ideological roots traceable to the transatlantic slave trade and colonial rule. In this view, civil society organisations, NGOs, and even governments involved in the aid ecosystem are perceived as...