This chapter interrogates Africa’s enduring “paradox of plenty”—the coexistence of vast resource wealth with persistent underdevelopment and economic dependency. Grounded in dependency theory and world-systems analysis, it argues that the so-called resource curse is not a natural aberration but a structural legacy of colonial extractivism, now institutionalized through neo-colonial mechanisms such as unequal trade, exploitative investment, and conditional aid. Drawing on the works of Samir Amin, Walter Rodney, and Dambisa Moyo, the chapter shows how IFIs and donor regimes continue to enforce neoliberal reforms that undermine sovereignty, entrench debt, and erode public welfare. Far from fostering development, foreign aid often operates as a soft instrument of control, aligning African policy with external interests. In response, the chapter advances a radical vision of economic sovereignty rooted in Pan-Africanism, regional integration, and endogenous development models that prioritize value addition, intra-African trade, and epistemic autonomy.