The Rise And Fall Of Pseudo-Federations In Africa.

Having convinced themselves that African people were incapable of nationhood both historically and developmentally however large, the colonial masters proceeded to form mixtures of these tribes into alleged pre-state bands or tribes into units which they called "federations" and other fancy titles. They did this simply by drawing straight lines on maps. In fact, the post-colonial history of Africa and the world is replete with the carcasses of these false federations which have collapsed one after the other like a pack of cards.

1. The Central African Federation:
This was also known as the federation of Rhodesia and Nyassaland. It was created by the British in 1953 after a so-called referendum. It comprised of the protectorates of Nyassaland, Northern Rhodesia and the self governing colony of Southern Rhodesia. The unworkable contraption collapsed in 1963, paving the way for the present day modern states of Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

2. The East African Federation:
A supposed federation of Kenya, Tanganyika, Uganda and Zanzibar, this British contraption was created in 1848. All the usual trappings of the state joint high commission etc. were set up. The silly set up however started to fall apart in 1961 following the independence of Tanzania. Today the so-called East African Federation has been consigned to the dustbin of history and its place are the states of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. That was yet another requiem for a pseudo-African Federation, the product of the colonial ideology in Africa.

3. The Sahel-Benin Union:
The British were not alone in setting up worthless federations, the French also set up unworkable unions in Africa. One of such federations purported to amalgamate the state of Dahomey (now Benin), Ivory Coast, Niger and Upper Volta (present day Burkina Faso) in 1959. Also known as Conseil de L'Etente, the unworkable union has since been consigned to the dustbin of history. Elsewhere in the area, the French created union of Central African republics formed in french Equatorial Africa also bit the dustbin, another testimony to the bankruptcy of colonially-inspired union of opposites.

4. The Caribbean Federation:
Just as the coloniall-inspired pseudo-federations were collapsing like a pack of cards in continental Africa, elsewhere in the black world, the British were busy creating yet more "federations". The Caribbean federations otherwise known as the West Indies Federation was created in 195x incorporating Jamaica, Trinidad, Leeward and Windward Islands, Barbados etc. In 1962, the so-called federations came to an abrupt end and its so-called contitution and other paraphernalia of state were consigned to the bin. Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados etc were thus left in peace to pursue their various destinies as independent states.


Culled from: Eastern Pilot; Achebe, Edition 2