African Nations Gain Independence



African Nations Gain Independence

After World War II, independence rolled across the continent of Africa like an unstoppable wave. African leaders and organizations pushed hard to win for their own people the freedom that African soldiers had fought to protect for their colonial rulers. Exhausted by war, the United Kingdom fought against independence for India and lost. Subsequently, the African colonies of Libya, Sudan, Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana, and Guinea demanded and won independence in the 1950s.

In 1960, the tidal wave crested, with Cameroon, Togo, Senegal, Mali, Madagascar, Democratic Republic of Congo (then known as Zaire), Somalia, Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Chad, Central African Republic, Congo Republic, Gabon, Nigeria, and Mauritania all winning independence.

Cameroon (British part), Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Algeria, Uganda, Zanzibar (union with Tanganyika in 1964; renamed Tanzania), Kenya, Malawi, Zambia (formerly Northern Rhodesia), Gambia, Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Swaziland, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Comoro Islands, São Tomé and Príncipe, Angola, Seychelles, and Djibouti followed in the 1960s and 1970s.

Three nations in particular—Algeria, Sudan, and Nigeria—offer compelling case studies for the struggles African nations endured before, during, and after their independence.

Bitter Battle in Algeria

Algeria's revolution began in 1954. As was the case in many African nations, there was a minority ruling class and a majority of native peoples. In Algeria's case, the ruling minority were French and other Europeans who had established themselves in Algeria during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Those settlers, known as colons, were granted French citizenship. The native Algerians, however, most of whom happened to be Muslim, were not given the same privilege. In addition, French officials gave the colons huge tracts of land. Before long, the colons controlled both the economy and the government.

After having been denied any greater political power, native Algerians organized to fight the Algerian War of Independence. The Algerian National Liberation Front made its move on November 1, 1954. The colons and French forces were the targets of ambushes, assassinations, and bombing raids. The French responded by destroying native Algerian-owned crops, forcing millions into concentration camps, and torturing Algerian leaders.

After several years of those tactics, even the French criticized their own military for its handling of the Algerian revolutionaries. In 1961, French and Algerians sat down to talk peace. On July 3, 1962, Algeria received its independence from France.

The million resident colons fled Algeria. The rebel leader Ahmed Ben Bella became Algeria's first president and proclaimed the new nation a socialist state. Since then, Algeria has undergone a number of constitutional changes.

Sudan Gains Its Independence

The story of Sudan's independence is much shorter and somewhat less tragic than that of Algeria's, though it was not without its bloodshed. In 1898, Great Britain and Egypt jointly put down a Sudanese revolt. Afterward, they agreed to rule Sudan together, though Great Britain provided most of the significant government officials. Under British rule, the Sudanese chafed. Some favored Egyptian rule; others wanted self-rule. In 1924, Sudanese troops, with Egyptian leadership, revolted—though unsuccessfully—against the British. Great Britain expelled all Egyptian officials from Sudan and ruled alone until 1936, when Britain and Egypt again agreed on joint leadership.

In 1953, Great Britain and Egypt approved certain steps leading toward Sudan's self-government. Both nations saw that the nationalist movement was growing strong. In addition, the precedent for independence had been set by several other African nations. Two years later, the Sudanese Parliament voted for self-rule. On January 1, 1956, Sudan became an independent nation.

Nigeria: The Challenge of Nationhood

While Nigeria's transition to independence in 1960 was basically peaceful, the British left behind a divided nation. They had put in place a Western educational system in the east, the traditional home of the Ibo people, and in the west, the home of the Yoruba. Greater economic development and involvement of the Ibo and Yoruba people in government structures followed. In the north, the home of the Hausa-Fulani people, the British left the traditional power structure intact and introduced no educational system.

Nigeria's capital, Lagos, was located in the west. (In 1991, the capital was transferred officially to the northern city of Abuja.) Port Harcourt, a major port, is located in the east. Both east and west had sizable urban centers, while the north remained largely agricultural.

The first government following independence (First Republic) was set up as a federal system, with each region developing its own party. The north had the largest population, but the east and west had economic power. In 1966, a military coup ended the First Republic, with eastern Maj. Gen. Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi ruling until a countercoup by northern officers placed Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon in charge of the federal military government. Massacres of Ibo people living in the north sparked massive migrations—of Ibo back to the east and of Hausa out of the east. Regional hostilities, which is also to say ethnic and political party hostilities, escalated.

In 1967, Lt. Col. Emeka Ojukwu declared the eastern region an independent country: Biafra. The bloody Nigerian Civil War ensued until Biafra was subdued by Col. Olusegun Obasanjo and reunited with the rest of Nigeria in 1970. Military rule continued until the election of President Alhaji Shehu Shagari in 1979. Obasanjo, who was then a general, became the first military ruler to hand over the reigns of power to a civilian government. The short-lived Second Republic ended in 1983 after widespread corruption and massive electoral fraud in the north led to another military takeover.

While divisions within Nigeria remained significant, the military promised elections and a return to democracy in 1992. The elections took place as promised, and a prominent southern business leader, Moshood Abiola, was elected on a platform promising an end to corruption. However, the military annulled the election and remained in power. When Abiola declared that he was president, the military government arrested him and charged him with treason. Popular protests met with stringent repression. Abiola's wife was shot and killed on the streets of Lagos. After five years in jail, Abiola died of an apparent heart attack. By then, he was one of many victims.

Finally, in 1999, the military government yielded power to an elected president but one who was a former military ruler, Obasanjo.

African Nations since Independence

Each African nation's path to independence was unique. Furthermore, since independence, each nation has developed its own character by means of its government and its treatment of its citizens. To refer to the continent as one people does no justice to the myriad struggles, the thousands of cultures, and the dozens of nations that only together make up Africa.

African Nations Gain Independence (Activity)

Since gaining independence from colonial powers, some African nations have maintained relative peace and stability, continuing to build on the constitution and government established when they gained independence. Others have struggled, replacing constitution with constitution and exchanging republic for military rule, or vice versa.

Choose an African nation mentioned above (or that has been in the news lately) Find out what is currently happening in that nation by conducting research on the sites below:

Travel Warnings and Consular Information Sheets (U.S. Department of State)



The World Factbook 2002 (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency)



Africa Fact Files (Institute for Security Studies)



(click Africa Fact Files at top and then Fact Files at the left)

Prepare a briefing statement for the class that describes:

1. the current government. (How long has the current government been in power? How stable is the current government? Explain and give examples.)

2. the country's economy. (Include information about average income, GDP, exports, imports, resources, employment/unemployment figures, percentage of population living in poverty, etc.)

3. the current social, political situation. (Is the country experiencing any internal strife due to social, political, ethnic, and/or religious tensions? Is the country involved in any transnational or international disputes? If so, of what nature?)

4 - Conclude your briefing statement with an analysis that explains what historical factors have contributed to the current situation and what steps should be taken to maintain or improve the situation.

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