The Legacy of Colonial Powers: Challenges to Establishing Stable Governments in Newly Independent African Nations
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‘The legacy of colonial powers caused the greatest difficulty in establishing stable governments in newly independent African nations.
ESSAY
The legacy of colonial powers indeed played a significant role in causing difficulties in establishing stable governments in newly independent African nations. This essay will discuss the various factors contributing to this challenge and how they impacted the political landscape in post-colonial Africa.
One of the key issues inherited from colonial rule was the artificial boundaries imposed by European powers, disregarding existing ethnic and tribal divisions. This led to newly independent African nations being comprised of diverse religious and ethnic groups, often with long histories of conflict and competition. The divide and rule policies implemented by colonial powers further exacerbated these tensions, making it challenging for post-colonial governments to create national unity among the different groups.
Additionally, the weak political systems left behind by colonial powers, often based on their own systems of governance, were ill-suited for the complex realities of newly independent African nations. The rapid transition to independence meant that these countries lacked the necessary institutional capacity and experience to effectively rule and govern. This created a vacuum that was often filled by military takeovers or the emergence of one-party states as leaders sought to consolidate power.
The failure of multi-party democracies to take hold in many African countries was another significant challenge. While many nations initially adopted democratic systems, by the 1970s, military governments had taken over in half of the newly independent states. Leaders prioritized maintaining power over fostering inclusive politics, leading to political repression, arbitrary use of power, and the marginalization of certain groups within society.
Economic challenges, such as falling commodity prices, mounting debts, weak currencies, and natural disasters like drought and famine, further strained newly independent African nations. These factors contributed to social unrest and economic instability, which in turn had political consequences, including increasing ethnic tensions and conflicts.
In conclusion, the legacy of colonial powers had a profound impact on the establishment of stable governments in newly independent African nations. The combination of artificial boundaries, weak political systems, failure of democratic institutions, economic challenges, and social unrest created a complex environment that hindered the ability to govern effectively. Addressing these deep-rooted issues required more than just political reforms; it demanded a comprehensive approach that addressed historical injustices, promoted inclusivity, and focused on sustainable development to build stable and prosperous nations in post-colonial Africa.
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"The legacy of colonial powers caused the greatest difficulty in establishing stable governments in newly independent African nations.’ Discuss this view.
The European powers had created colonies made up of different religious and ethnic groups in which many different languages were spoken and had adopted the practice of divide and rule. Thus, every new state contained many conflicting interests including competing power bases and ethnic groups. However, for the newly independent states to be successful, they needed a government that could create national unity.
A major concern following independence was that these countries would face the problem of disintegration and they wanted to ensure the sovereignty and security of their new nation-state. Countries inherited a weak political system, and the governments did not have the capacity to rule effectively; the colonial powers left behind constitutions with multi-party democracies based on their own particular systems but countries were often ill-prepared to sustain this democracy which provided the opportunity for a one-party state to emerge or for military take-overs.
Nearly all of the African countries that gained their independence in the 1960s started out with multi-party systems but by 1970 half of them had military governments. Some counties were deeply divided. Nigeria, for example had a three-way divide with the Muslim north, Ibo east and Yoruba south. In 1967 civil war erupted with Biafra being declared an independent state. The forces of President Gowan took three years to defeat the Biafran forces.
New nationalist governments had come to power promising to bring about improvements in the areas of education, health care, housing, and employment prospects but the under-developed economic systems they inherited made it difficult to keep these promises leading to political unrest. The new nations were aware of the need to share power, but this was not a sufficient basis for building a democracy. Many leaders were most concerned with maintaining their own power; this was often done through extensive patronage which led to inefficiency. Corruption became widespread in some countries as government officials used their position to benefit themselves and their family.
The political parties themselves often did not represent the interests of the new nations as a whole. Many leaders became intolerant of other parties and resorted to autocratic rule. Governments frequently used limited resources on specific groups of people in an attempt to gain support of that group often favouring the ethnic or language group of the political elite leading to increasing ethnic tensions. In Ghana, in 1963 Kwame Nkrumah pushed through a constitutional amendment that made Ghana a one-party state making himself president for life. Rather than promote inclusive politics, one-party rule fostered the politics of exclusion leading to the marginalisation of whole groups and regions. In February 1966, Nkrumah’s government was overthrown in a violent coup d'état led by the national military and police forces.
Political repression including the arbitrary use of power, ethnic conflicts, economic mismanagement, and corruption have sometimes been cited by the army for their intervention. The 1966 coup in Upper Volta is one example. There were also many factors beyond their control that made it difficult for African leaders to establish stable governments. Social and economic problems created much tension and unrest with inevitable political consequences. Falling commodity prices on the world markets, for example for agricultural and mineral products; mounting debts from borrowing money; weak currencies; drought and famine in east and southern Africa all had political consequences."