Gaddafi’s Legacy: Why the West Feared Him Muammar Gaddafi is remembered in the West as a dictator, but across much of Africa he is remembered as something else: a leader who challenged colonial domination in a global system designed to keep Africa dependent. This contrast reveals less about Gaddafi alone and more about who controls historical narratives. Before Gaddafi, Libya’s oil wealth flowed outward while its people remained poor. After nationalizing oil, the state invested heavily in free h