Africa’s borders were not drawn up by Africans. They were drawn up by Europeans during the colonial era, often without much regard for the different ethnic groups or cultures present within the selected geographical areas. Following independence, rather than the colonial era borders being reconsidered, the decision had been made by the powers at the time that there would be no change to the status quo.
However, despite the desires of Africa’s ruling class to maintain the status of the colonial era borders, many nationalist groups rose within many countries following independence. This often led to brutal civil wars taking place in many of Africa’s newly independent states.
The reality is that grouping a bunch of different ethnic communities together in one country without any regard for any of the historical, cultural, and religious differences is generally a recipe for disaster.
In many cases, minority groups were concerned that their languages, cultures, and beliefs would be stripped away by the larger, more dominant ethnic groups in their country. Coming from someone from a minority group in my country, I can certainly relate to that sentiment.
It causes one to wonder, why would the newly independent African countries’ governments want to maintain the colonial era borders? Even when they know the issues that arose as a result? Why would they be willing to fight often brutal civil wars to keep hold of a region that wants nothing to do with the country, which was entirely made up in the mind of a colonist?
There are a few reasons why the governments of the newly independent African countries sought to maintain the colonial era border they inherited following the end of colonialism in Africa, such as:
1. Natural resources
Because so many African regions are so resource-rich, many of the newly established administrations sought to maintain their control over the wealth that could be gained from the extraction and distribution of those natural resources. Therefore, in order to maintain their hood on that wealth, the governments were willing to fight brutal wars with nationalistic groups, to prevent them from establishing their own states.
2. Preventing a domino effect
If new states managed to gain their independence and managed to build thriving states, then a domino effect could spread across the country and the continent as well. Therefore, in order to preserve their control, the newly independent African states sought to undermine any nationalist movements.
3. Self-serving politicians
Then there have been the cohort of self-serving politicians, who assumed power following the end of the colonial era. These politicians sought to maintain the wealth, power, and status they received once they assumed authority. Therefore, they fought back hard against threats to their power, as a result, many nationalist movements would be cracked down on hard.
What if the borders were changed?
On the other hand, there also begs the question of what would have happened if Africa’s borders were changed?
The reality is that there are thousands and thousands of smaller ethnic communities all over the continent. Would it mean that each tiny ethnic group would receive their own state? If that were the case, there would likely be an endless amount of micro-nations all over the continent, more than one could count.
Perhaps, ethnic groups with similar characteristics, along the lines of language, religion, culture, etc., may have managed to come together to form larger communities and form their own states. One could imagine a League of Nations-style meeting of leaders from all over the continent in order to discuss the future of Africa’s borders, with the aim of managing to come to an agreement on new borders. It certainly a possibility that could have happened; however, it would have required an incredible amount of pragmatism in order to truly function in a manner for all parties involved to agree.
However, it’s also likely that even more brutal wars could have been fought between ethnic communities over land and resources. Wars that could have been even worse than any of the civil wars we have seen in the past within Africa. With even greater levels of destruction and losses of life.
We truly can only speculate about what the African continent could have potentially looked like.
Is it too late to change Africa’s borders?
One can ask perhaps it’s not too late for us to rethink the borders of many African nations. One may contend that we are much smarter today and have a much better grasp of the complexities involved with the topic of Africa’s borders; therefore, we should be able to come up with a solution that would suit all parties involved.
The reality is that much of the barriers towards a redrawing of Africa’s borders are more entrenched today than they were following the end of the colonial era. Although there are still so many underlying tensions between ethnic groups, the appetite for conflict isn’t there; therefore, the status quo remains.
There are some exceptions, such as the Ethiopian Civil war, which saw the deaths in the hundreds of thousands of peoples in the brutal conflict between the Tigrayan Liberation Front and the Ethiopian federal government. That serves as another example of the devastation and loss of life that can happen.
In conclusion, the debate over Africa’s borders reflects the complex reality of the historical legacies of colonialism, political interests, and ethnic dynamics. While there are arguments for both maintaining the current borders and rethinking them, the reality is that any significant changes would require immense pragmatism and cooperation among African nations and ethnic groups.
Despite the challenges, it’s essential to continue discussing and evaluating the effects of Africa’s borders. While some of the barriers to change may seem insurmountable, history has shown that shifts in borders are not impossible. However, any potential alterations must prioritize the well-being and self-determination of all African peoples, ensuring that the continent moves towards a future of peace, stability, and prosperity for all its inhabitants.
