What Went Wrong with Africa? On the Etiology of Sustaining Disarticulation of the African Nation-States

Abstract

Isiaka Alani Badmus, Lagos "… the actual and present condition of Africa is one of deep trouble, sometimes of a deeper trouble than the worst imposed during the colonial years … harsh governments and dictatorships rule over peoples who distrust them to a point of hatred and usually for good and sufficient reasons; and all too often one dismal tyranny gives way to worse one. Despair rots civil society, the state becomes an enemy, bandits flourish." 1 "The central challenge of African politicians and decision makers is how to create and enhance state capacity in the continent. African states are weak and not a few are in danger of becoming failed or collapsing states. The implication for the international community of having a few more Somalia's, Sudan's, Sierra Leone's, Liberia's, and Rwandan scale of bloodletting challenge friends and leaders of Africa to compel a return to the drawing board."2 Premise From all indications, there are signs that the international system is undergoing a major transformation that is characterised by the collapse of nation-state; a development more often associated with Africa. The term 'Nation-State' aptly denotes the 'uncomfortable' marriage of the hitherto separate ethnic nationalities (Nations) and the 'State' being the 1

Humanitarian intervention and the protection of civilian populations

“…This unfortunate development has thrown up a critical challenge to the world community because since the beginning of the 21 st century, the respect for the fundamental human rights has occupied the centre stage of international society and, as such, states have now entered into various international and regional treaties in which they are obliged towards other parties to such treaties to uphold and protect and ensure protection of the fundamental rights of their citizens. 6 The respect for, and the protection of, human rights certainly attribute to the classical principles of international norms and rules of inter-state relations that put premium on the sovereign equality of state, which ultimately formed the bedrock of the UN Charter. Based on this assumption, it is held that states are duty bound only to the international treaties that they are agreed to.…”