ETHNIC NATIONALISM AND CONFLICTS:

CHALLENGES TO WEST AFRICAS INTEGRATION.

CHAPTER 1

1.1. INTRODUCTION.
For thousands of years, several ethnic groups have lived
alongside with each other in the West Africa sub-region just
like in any other part of Africa. The relationship between
them has always been with friction and suspicion as there
was hardly a time long enough for peace between them.
Inter-ethnic or tribal wars had existed over ages as along as
the existence of these groups in this part of Africa. Two
events have transformed the mode of conflicts and the way
these groups live with each other. First of these is the Berlin
Conference of 1884 where many African nations were
created and many ethnic groups were made to live with each
other under colonial supervision. The second was the
granting of independence for the states created in this
manner. These states now have to manage their own affairs
and create a managable formular in which the various ethnic
groups can live with each other in a multicultural society that
will allow for growth and development like rest of the world.
Moreover, the creation of modern states in Africa has also
gone in tandem with the establishment of an African
consciousness ideology in the Pan-African movement. The
Pan-African movement was established to bring together all
black people on the continent of Africa and outside into
forging an identity that will be respected by creating a united
political unit of Africa. This will be done by liberating Africans
from colonial yoke and creating a kind of polity that will be
beyond tribe or ethnic divisions. A kind of African that will
identify himself first as an African before any other type or
without any other type of identity.
1

The task thus set for West Africas modern states became
daunting, not only because the ethnic groups have to live
with each other as independent states for the first time but
also because the Pan-African movement that should provide
the spiritual and ideological back-up for the attainment of
this unity suddenly lost its locus and focus. Competition for
resources and power suddenly became the rule and
politicians have to resort to radicalising their ethnic base to
have access to these variables.
The African Union (A.U), and its predecessor the Organization
of African Unity (O.A.U) have tried to present unity to the
African polity as a civic alternative to ethnic nationalism.

1.2. RESEARCH QUESTION AND OBJECTIVES.

Considering this background, this thesis work will be out to
examine challenges to West Africas integration within the
context of two related questions. These include the extent to
which ethnic nationalism has led to the various civil wars in
West Africa, and how those civil wars have in turn affected
the level of integration in the West African sub-region.
Studying the problem of integration in West Africa can not be
done completely without an extensive knowledge of the
complex ethnic diversity of the region. Enough attempts will
be made to expose the level of connection and interrelationship between the various ethnic groups in West
Africa.
To further answer the research questions, the study will also
try to explain the various attempts made by various colonial
governments and the modern African states to integrate the
various countries within the region. This will include an
overview of the role of the inter-regional group known as
ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States)
integrating the various ethnic nationalities within the region
2

and its strategies of resolving such conflicts. It will also try to

study the reasons why Pan-Africanism has not succeded in
integrating the various ethnic nationalities in Africa.
The thesis work will conclude by explaining the linkage
between internal ethnic conflicts in a country and conflicts in
the other areas of West Africa, this is how conflicts diffuse
between countries within the region. To cap it all, it will also
try to find the connection between ethnic configuration of a
country and its effect on power distribution and conflict level
in different countries in West Africa.
In Summary, the main objective of the thesis is to determine
how ethnicity has led to the various conflicts in West Africa
and the effects of these conflicts on the integration of the
West African sub-region.

1.3. METHODOLOGY.
In answering the research question, the thesis used a lot of
process and sequence that finally ends in the exposition of
facts. It based the earlier parts of its argument on historical
facts which unravelled into the present situation in West
Africa. It used a lot of secondary sources and opposing
subjective views of previous scholars to reinforce its way to a
simplistic conclusion. It is divided in to six chapters which
also includes a case study. The theories were used to identify
and explain the variables influencing unity in Africa like
ethnicity, nationalism and conflicts. It then examines the
alternative option aspired as a dream or goal i.e. PanAfricanism. The later chapters categorically made an expos
on the causes of ethnic conflicts and why it spreads across
borders in West Africa. A quantitative approach was also
used to prove that there is a linkage between ethnic
heterogeneity and conflicts multiplicity in West Africa. Ivory
Coast was used as a case study before a conclussion was
made.
3

The first chapter includes the general introduction to the

issue of ethnicity, unity and integration in Africa. This thesis
applied a number of theories that are relevant to analysing
ethnicity and ethnic nationalism especially as it concerns
Africa. The theories were carefully selected to explain and
enhance the understanding of each of the variables affecting
the research question. The choice of the theories is initially
to explain the concepts of ethnicity and ethnic nationalism.
The theory of ethnicity and ethnic nationalism was to
describe the relationship between individuals, and
individuals and their states. The theories were used to define
the different forms of identity crisis and security interest that
characterize the relationship between the different
individuals and the modern states in which they found
themselves.The theories of Ethnicity and ethnic nationalism
were used to analyse how individual adopts an identity and
how he or she uses it in relationship with others. It analyses
the process of development and transformation from tribal to
a modern multicultural society.
The theory of primodalism was also used to expose the
positive side of ethnicity and ethnic nationalism as a form of
development. It was used to explain its role in regional
integration and its effects in discouraging unity across ethnic
lines in the West African situation. It also explained why
unity along related ethnicity and ethnic groups with similar
ancestry and cultures are far easier than otherwise.
Primordalism will be appropriate in explaining why the precolonial ethnic national awareness is making a comeback in
West Africa.
In the same chapter, the theories will also analyse and
compare the effectiveness of civic and ethnic nationalisms
as ideas in nation building. The effectiveness of the two
ideas can be used to determine its values in societal
development in West Africa. Social constructivism theory
was used to determine if West Africas society could be
reconstructed to accommodate all ethnic groups and citizens
4

that are agitating for a more egalitarian society. This will

check the effectiveness of democracy as it is being practiced
in the region and various efforts by the regional body
ECOWAS to evolve a union in which all citizens, nations and
countries will have a sense of belonging and identify more to
their states than their ethnic groups. It was also used to
explain the relevance of the modern states in West Africa
accepting to live in a multi-ethnic but egalitarian society. The
theory of conflict was used to explained the fact that
frictions are abound across the cleavages in the West African
society. How the natural,cultural and the modern
stratifications in the West African society have led to
conflicts of relationship between and across ethnic borders.
The third chapter explained the physical and the social
environment in West Africa. This is the background that may
have influenced human behaviour within the sub-region. This
include a brief history and geography of the region and its
ethnic features. These exclusive variables served as
backdrops for the theatre of conflicts in the region. The
chapter also presents a more civic option of Pan-Africanism
which was presented as a better option of development
than ethnic nationalism. It analysed the role of the
movement in presenting an optional identity, securing
independence and integrating African states. It also
compared the techniques used by the colonisers to
transform the various ethnic nations into modern civic
entities.This chapter will continue by explaining the link
between civic nationalism and regional integration
movement in West Africa, and give examples of integrational
Organizations in West Africa.
Chapter four carried out a categorization of wars and
conflicts in West Africa considering criteria from various
authors on the study of wars and conflicts. It made an
inventory of major conflicts and wars in the region based on
this categorization. The chapter tried as much as possible to
explain the immediate and remote causes of ethnic conflicts
in West Africa.Furthermore, it included the quantitative part
5

of the analysis. This section displayed a table of Ethnic

composition of the different countries in the sub-region.
There was a further illustration of this data with use of pie
charts. The use of pie charts is to make visual comparisons
possible. The chapter also include a quantification of ethnic
conflicts in the region with a table adding the major ethnic
conflicts since 1989 based on the Upsalla University War
data programme. The number of each conflicts per state was
added to the number of successful and unsuccessful violent
coup detat in each state. The figure was now used to
compute the correlation between the statesethnic diversity
and the level of ethnic related conflicts in West Africa using
the correlation coefficient formular.
The fifth chapter was a case study to analyse the causes of
ethnic conflicts and how it has led to disintegration in the
region. Ivory Coast was chosen because it presents a true
picture of a civic inter-ethnic relationship and social
reconstruction used for a balanced economic growth and
development. Its founding President was also a leading light
in the Pan-African movement especially an advocate of
gradual regional approach to Africas integration. How he
used his ideals to develop as it seemed, an utopian zeroethnic civic nation, and how the social reconstruction
collapsed with pluralistic democracy and the degeneration
of civility into ethnic nationalism and conflicts after his
death. It also presented a case of how ethnic conflicts diffuse
through the sub-region. It initially gave the social economic
and political background of the country. It tried to trace the
transformation of ethnic nationalities in to the modern nation
of Ivory Coast, and how civic equilibrium was maintained
between the various ethnic groups before the late 1990s.
This chapter will also examined the factors responsible for
the outbreak of the Ivorian civil war and roles ethnic
nationalism played in the war among other factors.
The later part of the chapter will examine the linkage
between the civil wars in Ivory Coast and the conflicts in the
Mano River Union and vice-versa. And not to forget the role
6

international migration played in the outbreak of ethnic

conflicts in Ivory Coast especially the free movement of
citizens treaty of ECOWAS.
The sixth and concluding chapter attempted to explain the
obvious effects of the civil conflicts on the integration
process in West Africa. It also tried to explain how the
regional grouping ECOWAS has been trying to solve the
various conflicts and it tried to see if the approaches used
are justified. The concluding section will also try to link the
failure of civic nationalism to the various conflicts and how
the conflicts in part have led to the growth of ethnic
nationalism. The effect of Pan-Africanism on Africas unity
was also explained.
Sources of Data: Most of the information used in this thesis
were extracted from secondary sources especially books and
journals. A few of the books and journals were also from the
region. Also some of the data were also accessed from
research Organizations specialising on conflicts and war data
categorization and information. Most of this information were
carefully ranged to present a reliable result. Journals were
also accessed through electronic means in libraries and the
web. The study was however
cautious in using only
electronic publications from well known scholars. The data
was further illustrated with the use of tools like tables and
bar graphs .

CHAPTER TWO. THEORIES

2.1. THEORY OF ETHNICITY
The theories involved in this thesis work are carefully chosen
to explain the cause and effect situation in the crisis that has
7

beset the political landscape of West Africa over the past

decades. There may have been several causes for these
conflicts but the one that actually stands out is the ethnic
multiplicity of the region. Several scholars and politicians
observing the region have often looked towards ethnicity to
find reasons for the regions woes. The basic fact remains
that the current political situation in the region has its main
determinant in its ethnic configuration. That is why
understanding ethnicity as a concept will enhance the
understanding of the regions multifaceted conflicts.
Ethnicity is directly derived from the word Ethnic or more
perfectly ethnic group. Max Weber defined an Ethnic group
as those human groups that entertain a subjective belief in
their common descent because of similarities of physical
type or of custom or both or because of memories of
colonisation and migration, this belief must be important in
group formation furthermore it does not matter whether an
objective blood relationship exists.
Nnoli defined an ethnic group as social formations
distinguished by the communal character of their boundaries
and membership, especially language, culture or both. 1 Bath
defined it as a set of delineated boundaries between
neighbouring groups and individuals are primarily concerned
with maintaining these boundaries in order to explain ones
identity often in a relative comparative manner 2. He however
identified four basic theoretical features of an ethnic group,
the first he said the group must be biologically selfperpetuating, second, the members of the group should
share basic cultural values manifest in overt cultural forms,
thirdly, the group is a bounded social field of communication
and interaction and finally, the members should identify
themselves and are identified by others as belonging to that
group3. The three descriptions from Weber, Nnoli and Bath
actually qualified an ethnic group with features of identity
and boundary. These are also the features that distinguish
the concept of ethnic groups and ethnicity.
1

Nnoli O.: Ethnic politics in Nigeria.EnuguFourth dimension Pub.!978, p.5

Hutchinson J&Smith A,Ethnicity,Oxford U.Press,1994,pp80
3
Jenkins, R.: Rethinking Ethnicity,Arguments and Explorations, London, Sage2001. p.18
2

Ethnicity can thus be seen as a term that evolves in the

interrelationship between ethnic groups. Erickson defined it
as an aspect of social relationship between agents who
consider themselves as being culturally distinctive from
members of other groups with whom they have minimum of
regular interaction.4 Fredrik Bath defined ethnicity as a set of
delineated boundaries between neighbouring groups and
individuals are primarily concerned with maintaining these
boundaries in order to explain ones identity, often in a
relative comparative manner5. There appears to be a
consensus on the identity feature of ethnicity but the
boundary of an ethnic group may not be that rigid, it seems
in many cases the boundary is applied haphazardly to keep
an individual inside or outside a group at any point in time.
Cohen supports this view by asserting that ethnicity is not so
concrete or black and white, but rather a fluid concept by
which member distinguish in-groups from out-groups,
and which can be in a state of constant change due to
various situational application. 6 The concept of border in
the ethnicity discourse actually became a point recognised
by various scholars especially between Cohen and Barth.
The boundary of an ethnic group creates the exclusiveness
which is jealously guarded by members. The boundaries may
include criteria like descent, language, physical traits,
occupation and other cultural attributes which may not be
fixed or used intermittently to keep individuals outside or
inside the group. While Barth was emphasising on rigid
boundaries Cohen was supporting the idea that borders are
fluid and flexible with members able to change identity
especially when they live among other groups. 7 Barth
however agrees with identity change which he said comes in
terms of failure, the individual can simply change to the
alternative ethnic group by adopting their culture but the
4

Eriksen T,H, Ethnicity, Race, Class and Nation,( Ethnicity),edt by Hutchinson&Smith,Oxford

U.Press,1994,pp30
5
Ibid pp80
6
http://www.counterpop.net/~meredith/Ethnicity%20Analyzed%20Barth%20and%20Cohen.doc
7
Hutchinson J&Smith A,Ethnicity,Oxford U.Press,1994,pp 9-10

welcoming group will not forget his origin. In this light, he

explained that ethnic groups will erect physical boundary to
distinguish and maintain their identity from other groups in a
way to indicate that identity is rigidly tied to their location,
but Cohen noticed that in most ethnic groups physical
location may not be an important factor as many ethnic
groups are scattered in different location and still retains
their identity and boundary. The Jews may be used as a good
example of Cohens theory.

2.2. ETHNIC IDENTITY

Ethnicity has been explained explicitly enough in a way that
makes it similar in understanding with the term ethnic
identity. Ethnicity simply describes one ethnic group in
relation to another while ethnic identity emphasises on
attributes that makes one ethnic groups different from
another. The keyword in the two terms is the creation of
border or boundaries as criteria for inclusion or
exclusion8. A universally accepted definition of ethnic
identity does not actually exists, indicating confusion in the
conceptualisation of the term. Dickson and Trimble see it as
an affiliative construct where an individual is viewed by
themselves and by others as belonging to particular ethnic
or cultural group.9 It involves identifying with the various
borders created by an ethnic group as a way of delineating
between themselves and others. These boundaries or
cultural symbols may include languages, artefacts; foods,
clothing and holidays, and the affiliation towards an ethnic
group may also be influenced by racial or natal origins
especially if other choices are available. 10 Fredrik Barth.
Barth explains that ethnic identity is a means of creating
boundaries that enabled a group to distance themselves
8

Brass P Ethnic groups and Identity Formation,(Ethnicity),edt byHutchinson&Smith,Oxford

U.Press,1994,pp86
9
http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~trimble/index.html#
10
Ibid.

10

from one another.11 Creating boundaries may not only be

enough but there must be persistence of cultural values
when ethnic groups are in contact with others. This, Barth
says really distinguish them from others. 12
Two other approaches have also being used to define ethnic
identity; one of them is in the realm of psychology, where
ethnic identity was explained in the perception of self
consciousness. The most important study here was done by
Jean Phinney, who defined ethnic identity as a dynamic
multidimensional construct that refers to one identity, or
sense of self as a member of an ethnic group. 13 She further
explains that ethnic identity is not fixed but rather modifies
as the individual becomes aware of their ethnicity 14. Phinney
also recognised the fact that self identity is the starting point
which eventually leads to the formation and development of
several identity states that influence ones social actions. 15
Peter Weinreich in the theory of identity structure analysis
also agrees with the formation of self identity as a nucleus to
the development of ethnic identity. He recognised it as a
state among several states of development of social
identity16. He also noticed that ethnic identity is not a rigid or
a static process but changes and varies according to
particular social context, so individuals will not tolerate any
threat to their identity; they easily challenge any force that
humiliate, castigate, or threatened their ethnic identity and
will sustain possible settings that favour the identity state.
Fearon and Laitin explained that cultural boundaries are
flash points i.e. inflammatory like territorial ones so
groups are very strict in enforcing cultural norms among
their members.17

11

Barth F, Ethnic Groups and Boundaries, ( Ethnicity), edt by Hutchinson &Smith, Oxford U.press,
1994,pp79
12
ibid
13
http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~trimble/index.html
14
Ibid.
15
Ibid.
16
Ibid.
17
Fearon D and Laitin D,Violence and social construction of ethnic identity,Journal of International
Organization,54, no 4,(2000),pp 845-877

11

In summary, ethnic identity can be viewed with the

perception of the boundaries or set standard of values or
physical attributes used to differentiate between ones ingroup and others, it can also be viewed in the perception of
self consciousness of an individual as a member of a social
group. It includes the development of his self identity as a
prerequisite to the formation of a wider social or ethnic
identity. So it transforms from self consciousness to group
consciousness and both physical and innate characteristics
that distinguish one group from others. Identity may also be
dynamic for individuals but the real objective of the group is
how to preserve their identity especially when in contact
with others.
2.3. ETHNIC AND CIVIC NATIONALISM: THEORETICAL
APPROACHES.
2.3.1. Nationalism.
Nationalism as a political or sociological concept developed
strongly in the 20th century. Joireman described nationalism
as political ethnicity18 . She further described it as an ethnic
group with political agenda. Gould and Klobh defined
nationalism as a form of group consciousness, that is,
consciousness of membership or attachment to a nation. It
also denotes ideologies seeking to justify the nation-state as
an ideal form of political organization 19.Ojo and Sesay
described it as modern historical process whereby nations
have been established as independent political units in the
international system20. Nanda T.R defines nationalism as a
political belief where some group of people represents a
natural community which should live under one political
system, be independent of others, and often has the right to
demand an equal standing in the world order with others. 21
The origin of the term nationalism could be traced to the
latin word nasci which means to be born. It was well used by
18

Joireman S.F,Nationalism and political identity, Continuum press, New York, 2003, pp12
Mbah M.C.C, Political Theory and methodology,Rex Charles and Patrick ltd Enugu, pp212
20
Ibid.
21
ibid
19

12

the anti-Jacobin French priest during the French revolution in

the 18th century but by the 19th century it has taken up a
universal political doctrine and movement. 22 The term
nation can not be separated from the main term
nationalism. In its original use, it connoted a breed of people
or a racial group which possessed no political significance,
but in modern political relevance and use, it connotes
cultural entities, collections of people bound together by
shared values and traditions, a common language, religion
and history, and a common geographical area. 23
Language has emerged as the most important symbol of
nationhood in recent times. As a result, nations are always
very sensitive to threats that will dilute their language.
Although there are people across the globe who speak the
same language but do not belong to the same nation
example in the global scale is the English language spoken
at birth by Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders and the
people of England, but these people do not necessarily see
themselves as members of the same nation. 24 In the West
African context, the Hausa, Mandingo,and the Fulani
languages are widely spoken over a large expanse of
geographical area but the people who speak each of these
languages have never regarded themselves as a single
nation. Therefore any emphasis on nation is rooted in
specific boundary criteria used to determine the identity of a
group. These criteria may also include shared common
history and traditions. Another important factor in defining a
nation is religion. Religion shows common moral values and
spiritual belief system. This is the main reason why Islam has
been the main focus of national consciousness among the
people of North Africa and the Middle East and in reality
influences the roles they play in international politics. 25These
various forms of nationalism also have one thing in common,
that is, self determination. This is the ultimate goal of
nationalism as an ideology, the creation of a popular
22

Ibid.
Ibid. pp214
24
Ibid. pp215
25
Robinson F, Islam and Nationalism,(Nationaism)edt by Hutchinson and Smith.O.U.press, 1994,pp215
23

13

sovereignty as a nation-state. This is achieved through the

process of unification as in the case of the German states or
as being canvassed by African, Jew and Arab nationalists or
through the achievement of political independence or being
liberated from a foreign rule 26 which will create a self
government for national interest. The other more important
tenets of nationalism include the emphasis on the organic
nature of nations which means that mankind is naturally
separated in to a collection of nations. Identity politics is also
a main feature of nationalism. All forms of Nationalism are
rooted in the basis of a sense of collective identity. 27
In more modern academic research, nationalism is seen
more as a developmental process of modernity for a group of
people who regard themselves as culturally homogenous,
exercising this as a form of nation-state. 28 It is part of the
modernisation of a community that is bonded by descent
and many other factors. The process of nationalism is thus
divided theoretically in to two routes towards the goal of
achieving a modern nation-state. The dichotomy in the study
of ethnicity was recognised in many study made by Ernest
Gellner, Daniele Conversi. Plamenatz labelled the division in
nationalism as plainly eastern and western but along the
lines of division as recognised by most scholars in this area.
These are mainly ethnic nationalism and civic nationalism.
He recognised western nationalism as best demonstrated by
the nationalism of both England and France; these he said
were nations with progressive culture or high culture as
described by Gellner. The nations of the east thus developed
a form of national consciousness as a reaction to the high
culture in the west, they recognised that their own culture is
backward and in order to develop the new civilisation of the
west, they will need to adopt new values, ideas and
practices.29

26

Kedourie e, Nationalism and self determination,(Nationalism) edt by Hutchinsonand Smith,O.U

press,1994,pp51
27
Mbah M.C.C, Political Theory and methodology,Rex Charles and Patrick ltd Enugu,pp216
28
http://www.nationalismproject.org/articles/nikolas/title.html
29
Ibid.

14

This will make them progressive, modernise and be

successful and make them equal to the western countries in
this new civilisation. To achieve this aim, the people in this
region now find it necessary to unite as groups that will be
politically recognised in the form of a nation-state. This is
done around unique sets of features that make them
different from other people and assert their independence. 30
These feature can be skin colour, language or culture. Ethnic
blood consciousness dominates rather than civil or civic
consciousness, in this case nationalism is not voluntary but
by descent. Kearney thus described all nations that
subscribed to political principles or constitution as exercising
civic nationalism while ethnic nationalism mainly deals with
inheritance or blood but not law. 31 He however used
Germany as an example of a nation-state that defines itself
ethnically and nation-states that developed in Eastern
Europe in the 19th century used Germany as their model of
commitment to ethnic nationalism.32
2.3.2 ETHNIC NATIONALISM
The understanding of the terms nation, nation states,
ethnicity, ethnic identity and nationalism should enhance our
description of the term Ethnic nationalism. Inyang defined
the phenomenon of ethnic nationalism as the crystallization
of socio cultural consciousness among members of an ethnic
group which regards itself both as a distinct, identifiable,
objective group-in-itself as well as group-for-itself a
community of interests relative to other ethnic groups. 33
Ethnic nationalism is a form of nationalism that defines
nations in terms of ethnicity. The term is however different
from ethnic group because it connotes and includes the
basic tenets of nationalism. This means that an ethnic group
may mean an ethnic nation when it forms the basis of a
political identity and nation-state in which it relates to other
30

Ibid.
Ibid.
32
ibid
33
Inya Eteng, Ethnicity, and ethno class relationship crisis of Nigerias enduring national question,
Essay:NIGERIA AND GLOBALIZATION EDT by Duro Oni et al CBAAC Lagos 2004 .pp46
31

15

political or ethnic units in the wider world. Inyang further

explained that ethnic nationalism is accelerated by ethnicity
related Ethno-centrism. This is the evaluation of, and
response to, other ethnic groups total cultures or segments
of them, in terms of ones prevailing cultural value standards
and practices. This form of evaluation often give rise to
negative stereotypes, bigotry, discrimination, racial and
ethnic cleansing and even fatricidal wars of genocidal
proportions. Ethnocentrism is thus attitudinal in form and
perceptual in content and therefore represents a subjective
aspect of ethnicity. However, ethnicity which subsumes
ethnocentrisms is largely behavioural in form and conflictive
in content.34 Ethnic-nationalism on the other hand,
expresses a condition of heightened self consciousness and
identity of an organised ethnic group, given its national level
of competition and conflictual interaction with similarly
organised ethnic groups over quest for power, wealth,
security and status for its members. 35Ethnic nationalism
provides popular appeal to the nationalist movements
borrowing its ideological bonds from the people and their
native history.
Consequently, ethnic nationalism in its ideal state is
undertaken using the power of popular mobilisation. Using
the elements that are unique to the group gives the
movement an emotional support. Ethnic nationalism is thus
a subjective part of nationalism, because it uses elements
like memory, value, myth and symbolism, also bonds to the
land and blood ties as the core principles of the
movement.36Unlike civic nationalism where the individual
can move in and out of pre existing national space, ethnic
nationalism has exclusive membership, admission to
members is mainly by descent or blood ties. 37It also
perceives the nation as a community bounded by
genealogical descent, the national identity in turn draws its
34

Nnoli O, Ethnic politics in Nigeria, Fourth dimension pub, enugu, 1978 p 6

Op cit. pp. 46
36
http://www.nationalismproject.org/articles/nikolas/biblio.htm
37
ibid
35

16

features from ethnic identity which includes myth and

memories and history found in the ancestry of the
community.
In explaining ethnic identity, Anthony Smith claims he used
the same approach as Tom Nairn. He described populism as
a coalition between the masses and the elite, it is a product
of their interaction and contingency upon one another which
means they are dependent on one another for progress 38. At
the birth of nationalism, the mass is left out of the high
culture; it is only the elite who could participate, thereby
manipulating the masses instead of managing them. 39
In the process of manipulating, the elite use mobilization.
This is in the demand for progress by the mass. This
mobilization will only take place with available or unavailable
tools or sentiments, these may include economic and
political institutions, and the uniqueness of the people like
skin
colour,
language
etc. 40Mobilization
towards
development as a measure of progress can also be a
measure taken against dominance. This was referred to as
reactionary nationalism by authors like Greenfeld and Nairn.
The dominance may be foreign dominance or the
introduction of foreign ideas or even a reaction against the
domination of the west41 Hutchinson suggested that
reactionary ethnic nationalism can be negative. This may
include the use of ethnocentrism to mobilise the mass
against perceived foreign or local threat. Understanding
individual and social psychology also help to understand the
potential of ethnic nationalism to be violent and
pathological.42Although scholarly theories have steered clear
of well known assumptions that it is a natural part of
human behaviour to resort to violence to defend his territory
and family, and that ethnic sentiments are intrinsic in human
psyche, the fact that can not be disputed is that mobilization
38

Ibid. p137
Op cit
40
http://www.nationalismproject.org/articles/nikolas/biblio.htm
41
.ibid.
42
ibid
39

17

done along descent, blood or ethnic lines arouses passion

more than any other among the masses. 43The dichotomy as
it exists between the elite and the masses has made
entrance in to the high culture of the elite an exclusive
event. This in turn gives the elite the manipulative power on
the masses. This can also lead to the tendency of the elite to
live above the law and authoritarian rule of the masses. This
is one big difference with civic nationalism which promotes
liberal democracy.44
2.3.3. CIVIC NATIONALISM
Civic nationalism is a form of nationalism that is practised
where civil society exists. A civil society can be defined as a
group of people who feel they belong to the same
community, are governed by law and respect to the rule of
law.45 In this case the sovereignty of the people is located in
the individual citizen. The national identity of the citizen is a
function of the political community located within a
demarcated territory which is also a social space that houses
a culturally homogenous group46. Civic nationalism demands
that an individual should belong to a nation, which in turn
belongs to a state, blood ties or ethnic ties are subsequently
lifted to the level of political supremacy. 47 Individuals enjoy
legal equality with other members of the state. The
government respects the law and the fundamental rights of
the citizens, rather than existing above the law. This is a
form of nationalism that conforms more to liberal democracy.
As a social movement, civic nationalism is more democratic
when compared with the populism of ethnic nationalism.
Through education, the mass are integrated in to the high
culture which gives them the same political right as the elite
and thus reducing the role of the elite to managing the mass
rather than manipulating them.
43

ibid
Ibid.
45
Ibid
46
Ibid.
47
Geertz C,Primordial and civic ties,(Nationalism) edt by Hutchinson and Smith,
OUPress,London,1994,pp31
44

18

The nation-state is the nucleus and the starting point of civic

nationalism. In the goal of establishing a nation, the role of
the state is no longer that of a territorial region but a unit
whose main function is to protect its culturally homogenous
inhabitants. This was defined by Gellner a prominent
modernist in his theory of nationalism that the state is the
protector, not of faith, but of a culture, and the maintainer of
the inescapably homogenous and standardising education
system48 The main focus of civic nationalism is the nation
state promoting the belief in a society united by the concept
and importance of territoriality, citizenship, civic rights and
legal codes transmitted to all members of the group.
Consequently, all members are now equal before the law be
it the elite and the masses. There is no longer a mass of low
culture rather modernity has eliminated the cultural
cleavages and formed a new high culture. This means civic
nationalism is about entry to, participation in, identification
with, a literate high culture which is co-extensive with an
entire political unit and its total population. 49 The social bond
is provided by shared traits like the common use of
language, experiences, rules, food, education, etc this social
bond requires no common paternity but a bond formed by
exposure to the same elements.50
The concept and components of civic nationalism are not
new, it existed in the pre-modern times especially the
existence of state and the notions of patriotic consciousness,
but what distinguished it from the modern concept is the
unification of these components into one entity and the
territorial association of citizens that share one public
culture.51 Territorial and attachment to specific community is
important to provide a will to participate socially and
politically.

48

Smith A,Nationalism and modernism,Acritical Survey of recent theories of Nations and

Nationalism,Routledge,London,1998,pp40
49
http://www.nationalismproject.org/articles/nikolas/biblio.htm pp47
50
Ibid.
51
Ibid.

19

2.4. SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM.

Social constructionism also known as social constructivism is
one of the main contemporary social science theories
specifically used in the analysis of cultures and individual
interactions within and among cultures. According to
Mcmahon, social constructivism emphasizes the importance
of culture and context in understanding what occurs in the
society and constructing our knowledge of truth of this
society based on this understanding. It has its origin in
discipline of psychology and it has been used across the
social sciences especially in the developmental theories of
Vygotsky and Bruner and the social cognitive theory. And it
has
its
intellectual
and
cultural
backcloth
in
52
postmodernism.
2.4.1. BASIC ASSUMPTIONS OF SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM.
Postmodernism has actually shaped the structure of social
constructionism. Post modernism rejects grand narratives in
theory and the placement of a search for truth with the
celebration of the multiplicity of perspectives. Social
constructionism thus rejects the truth in using the past
knowledge to judge the present. It also believes in the
acceptance of the multiplicity of knowledge or ideas. Thus,
social constructionism takes a critical stance towards takenfor-granted knowledge. It is critical of the theories that
believe that there should be objective observation of the
world for us to know the truth about it. It is therefore in
opposition to what is referred to as positivism and
empiricism in traditional science. It cautions us to be
cautious of our assumptions of how the world appears to be.
Social constructionism thus denies that our knowledge is a
direct perception of reality.
in fact it might be said that as a culture or society we
construct our own versions of reality between us.there
52

Burr V.Social Constructionism, Routledge N.Y 2003 pp6

20

can not be such thing as an objective fact, all knowledge is

derived from looking at the world from some perspectives or
other53
Furthermore, social constructionists believe that knowledge
is a human product and that it is socially and historically
constructed.
All ways of understanding are historically and culturally
relative, not only are they specific to particular cultures and
periods in history, they are also seen as a product of that
culture and history and are dependent upon particular social
and economic arrangements prevailing in that culture at
that time54
So it is possible to hold different knowledge or truth about
the same idea in the same society. It is however not
acceptable to use knowledge in a single society or culture to
judge another. Therefore all forms of knowledge should be
treated the same way. This is simply because history and the
culture of a society influences the way they judge other
societies, and the methods of understanding is actually
influenced by socio economic arrangement obtained at the
period.55Social constructionists also believe that knowledge
is created by social process and not derived from the nature
of the world as it is really is. They believe that people
construct knowledge between them during socialization. Burr
explained that knowledge is constructed through the daily
interactions between people during the course of social life.
Therefore social interactions of all types especially language
are of particular interests to social constructionists.
Language
has
taken
centre
stage
among
social
constructionists. It is believed to be a precondition for
thought. This is however against the facts in most traditional
psychology where the relationship between thought and
language has been controversial for years. Burr writes that
the way a person thinks and the categories and concepts
53

Ibid.
Ibid.pp4
55
Ibid.
54

21

that provide a meaning for them are provided by the

language they use. The major role of language in knowledge
acquisition has led social constructionists to study language
as used in daily interactions between people. This is known
as discourse analysis. This brings the work of Foucault, the
French psychologist in to forefront. He defined discourses
as practices which form the object for which they speak.
Foucault argues that discourse constructs the topic. It
defines and produces the objects of our knowledge. It
governs the way a topic can be meaningfully talked about
and reasoned about.56
Critique of Social constructivism pointed to the fact that the
theory has diverted from its traditional psychology origin.
Some of its assumptions are against established beliefs in
social science and in Psychology in particular. One of the
most important criticism against Social constructionism is
the fact that it limits its analysis of social interaction to texts.
This is common in social constructionist research
methodology. The Foucauldian discourse
approach has been further criticized for turning discourses
into objects which are independent of the people who use
them.57 It has also been criticised for its anti-essentialist
stance as it does not belief in the nature\nurture argument in
traditional psychology, but most essential is the fact that it is
misunderstood for supporting the nurture side of the debate
because of its insistence that culture and history influence
individual behaviour and social interaction. In this sense, the
use of psychoanalysis to complement whatever is left
unexplained by social constructionists has also been argued
as inadequate as they say it may lead the theory back to
essentialism.58 Social constructionists have also found it
difficult to explain the desires, wants, hopes, and fantasies of
a person and their role in the choices the person makes in
their lives.59It also fails to explain why in the face of
56

Ibid pp67
Ibid.pp 174
58
Ibid. pp 180
59
Ibid.
57

22

understanding the implication of discourse for our identity

we do not choose an alternative way of life 60. Social
constructionism will be appropriate in the course of this
study especially to understand the roles and behaviour of
individuals in various cultures and ethnic groups in West
African and how it affects integration in the region. It will
also be useful as it approves a multi approach to the study of
the social problems, it supports the view that social problems
should be seen from the perspectives of the individuals
within a culture and not judging a culture or an individuals
behaviour within a culture using imported ideas from other
cultures. The emphasis of the social constructionists on the
perspective of history, culture and socio economic
arrangement makes it appropriate for analysis in the
problems of ethnicity and integration in West Africa.
2.5. PRIMODALISM
This is another approach in the understanding of the term
ethnicity. Its origin can be traced to the works of two German
social philosophers Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Johann
Gottfried Herder. As a theory, it believes that certain
primitive or certain sociological groupings exist in a society.
These primitive groupings are natural units which derive
their cohesion from some inherent biological, cultural or
racial traits which are then instruments of social
differentiation.61Some other authors explaining this view,
regard ethnicity as a kind of kinship, and ethnic group as an
extended kin group. It is a form of socio-biology in which the
real bond is based on blood ties and reinforced with shared
beliefs in common ancestry, shared myths and history. 62
Primordalists thus believe that nations predate all things and
everyone must have a nation and be basically defined by
one. In this framework, some authors believe that ethnicity
is grounded in genetics, which persons who share certain
60

Ibid.
Szayna S Thomas, Identifying potential ethnic conflict: Application of a process model Rand VA.2000
pp18
62
http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/crs10.pdf
61

23

number of genes will bond together as an ethnic group and

seek to reproduce these genes in the most efficient possible
manner. This is however achieved through endogamy of the
ethnic group which leads to genetic selection and ensures
the survival of the group. 63 The primordialists thus believe
that the human society is a conglomeration of tribes with
varying regulating principles for distinguishing the
distinctions between the tribes. These distinguishing
distinctions however determine the boundaries and the
limits of tribal membership in such a way that the in-group
can be clearly demarcated from the out-group. This also
gives a sense of dichotomy of the world to the members of
the group as us and them. It also performs a crucial task
in the formation of the individuals personal identity, thus
ethnic identity emerges naturally through a process of
collective definition. This process relies on constant review,
redefinitions and reinterpretation of social experience and
historical events vis--vis other groups. It eventually results
in aligning and realigning of relations with other groups and
determines the line of action towards them. 64
2.5.1. PRIMORDIALISTS AND ETHNIC CONFLICTS.
Ethno-centricism
is
however
ubiquitous
with
the
primordialists, they believe that it is appropriate to judge
ones ethnic group as superior to inferior ethnic outgroups.65They also believe that there is nothing wrong in
judging other ethnic groups from the perspective of ones
ethnic group. Primodialists also discovered a state of conflict
between the in-group and the out-group and states that
aggression towards the out-groups is justified because it is a
natural urge or instinct of survival. To them, relationships
between the in-groups and out-groups are conflictual,
anarchic and destructive while relationships within the ingroups are more peaceful, orderly and supportive. 66 In the
63

Ibid.
opcit
65
http://www.uni-muenster.de/Politikwissenschaft/Doppeldiplom/docs/85)%20Primordialism.doc
66
Ibid.
64

24

primordialist view, ethnic groups function as insular

universes, their membership is defined by accident of birth,
and when constituted, they perpetuate their uniqueness by
socialization of their point of uniqueness from other
groups.67Generally, primordialists believe that ethnic groups
are located in pluralist societies that contain several other
competing formations. Relations within the ethnic group may
be personal or impersonal but relationship with other ethnic
groups is strictly impersonal and usually takes place through
market structures and political process. 68 These institutions
are concerned with the distribution of wealth and power
within the society and subsequently create winners and
losers which may be disproportionate in favour of the later.
This may eventually lead to inter-aggregational conflict and
violence. Even when the disadvantage group is less, interaggregational conflict can still occur when the group
internalizes a myth of deprivation thereby channelling
resentments towards other groups rather than diffusing
them within itself.69 Primordialists believe that in the case of
competition for resources within the same group, violence
are not in a large scale fashion and very insignificant
compared to violence against other groups.
Primordialists have been reviewed to have certain strength
and weaknesses. One of the major merits is that it focuses
on factors that easily explain human solidarity, most of
which are superficial e.g. skin pigmentation, common
language or common enemies. They however failed to
explain the nature of group solidarity and methods of solving
the problems of collective actions within the group. 70

2.6. Conflict theory and Ethnic conflict.

67

Szayna S Thomas, Identifying Potential Ethnic Eonflict: Application of a process model Rand VA.2000
pp18
68
Ibid.pp21
69
Ibid.
70
Ibid.

25

Karl Marx supposedly borrowed his dialectical method from

another German philosopher G.W.F.Hagel and combined it
with his historical materialism. Hagel wrote that idea or
consciousness was the essence of the universe and all
social institutions were the results of changing forms of
idea.71 Marx on the other hand believed that matter and not
idea are the essence of the universe and that social
institutions were the results of changing material conditions.
Thus materialism forms the basis of the historical economic
system that are inherent in all societies, where each
individual funtions to maximise their benefits. It is this
materialism that essentially divides the society not
necessarily in to two equal halves, which now struggles to
dominate each other. Struggle for materials created classes
in the society. Classes are forms of stratification which all
societies succomb. As Marx and Engels put it the history of
all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle. 72
Conflict theory explains class conflicts as it may be between
the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, capitalism and
communism, landlords and tenants, the oppresors and the
oppressed and so many stratification line in the society. 73
Conflict theory basically believes that the world is not
utopian or ideal and inequality is an essential character and
which the Marxist believes revolution must be used to
correct with time.74
Conflict theory was further developed by other scholars
especially Max Weber, Vilfredo Pareto and Max Gluckman.
Most of the later authors that developed the conflict theory
recognised that social stratification caused by materialism is
also transformed in to power based classification in which
the whole society is structured not only between the
proletariat and the bourgeoisie, but also between the elites
and the masses.75 So, the struggle for scarce resources has
led to social inequalities which has transformed into classes
71

Mbah M, Political theory and Methodology,R C&P ltd (Enugu)2006,pp31

Mbah, ibid,pp33
73
Ibid.
74
Peil M.Consensus, Conflict and Change: A Sociological Introduction to African Societies.East African
Educational Pub. (Nairobi),1998,pp9
75
Ibid.
72

26

based on power. The continous struggle of the classes is

essentially to maintain or better their status quo as the elites
continues to use various means to manipulate the masses
and continue to stay in power. Conflict theory arises from the
friction that exists in a society where the greed for power
and material by the few elites creates a grieviance by the
deprived masses.76
Class struggle has basically created a state of conflict within
the society but with the most powerful seeking to exploit the
weak either through their consent or without. The society is
now divided in to layers in the pyramid of power and wealth
with the elite bourgeoisie at the apex and the most wretched
at the base of the pyramid. Stratification is a feature of most
society in the world today. The most powerful constantly
devised means to bare others below the pyramid from
acheiving their status.77
Conflict theory states that conflict is inherent in all societies
and it manifests itself in different ways, these include
conflicts between religions, between gender and between
races or between ethnic groups. Conflicts between races had
taken global dimension and had even led to wars, while
conflicts between ethnic groups have increased greatly in
the past twenty years since after the end of the cold war,
especially in states where many ethnic groups are found.
These states exists either by conquests as in Northern
Ireland or by artificial creation and colonialism. In these
states the dominant groups have more access to resources
like land and minerals which will metamorphorsised in to
power domination. Donald Horowitz carefully explained what
is it in ethnic groups or ethnicity that make them prone to
conflicts.78 He suggested a lot of reasons, some of which
include the fact that hatred between groups develop in to
conflict, especially if the previous experience of contact with
the other group is hostile. The other reason being that
contact between groups is always a clash of cultures,
76

Ibid,pp10
ibid
78
http://www.worldbank.org/html/rad/abcde/horowitz.pdf
77

27

contacts bring together people with different values and

norms. He also gave reasons that ethnic conflicts are
brought about by modernization, as it makes different groups
to scramble for the same resources. Economic competition
he said brings conflicts between ethnically segmented
labour market or buyers and sellers. Horowitz towed the
line of other authors by alluding ethnic conflicts to elite
competition and the actions of ethnic entrepreneurs 79 He
explained that elites will continously manipulate ethnic
identity in their quest for power and this leads to the
construction of ethnic conflicts.
Ethnic conflicts have also being studied as a case of security
dilema. Politics is all about a constant struggle for power and
security and the relationship between actors is therefore
basically in conflict and this lead to the state of anarchy with
each actor trying to use the first strike advantage. 80 Erik
Melander suggested that security dilema is always the
situation when ethnic groups live closely, they are
particularly vulnerable to attack. This security dilema may
cause one ethnic group to launch preemptive strike against
the others.81 Other views on social conflicts will suggest
theories that will make a general assessment of what factors
are inherent in the actors that make conflicts with others a
certainty. Louis Kriesberg suggested a theoretical approach
that study the conflict-generating feature of specific
individuals or as he puts it the underlying bases of conflicts
in the universal characteristics of humans or their societies.
This may include the study of the biological, evolutionary or
psychological background of individual humans and their
society. Kriesberg gave examples of features of human
nature as the fundamental base for his conflictual behaviour.
Instances of this has also been studied in other animals that
are related to humans and are found to be general. These
include our territorial behaviour, the hierachical nature of our
79

Ibid.
Melander E,Anarchy Within, The Securitty Dilema Between Ethnic Groups in Emerging Anarchy,
Upsalla University,DPCR rpt no 52,pp 78
81
Ibid.
80

28

social order and our tendency to project our frustrations

towards others as explained in the works of Freud. 82
2.6.1. Typology of Conflicts.
Conflicts have been part of the West African political
landscape ever since the evolution of modern states in the
region. To be able to understand the role play by conflicts in
the integration of the region, there must be a standard
categorization of these conflicts to be able to determine their
level and impacts on the region.
Several scholars have attempted to define the concept of
political conflict and categorize it at different times, but a
form of controversy has emerged in the definition of the
concept. Singer and Smalls Correlate of War project gives
the definition of conflicts as violent disputes in which one of
the combatant parties is a state and there are at aleast 100
battle-deaths.83 In the same light, the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) defined a
major armed conflict as the use of armed force between the
military forces of two or more governments, or one of the
governments or organised armed group, resulting in battle
related deaths of at least 1000 people in any single calendar
year and in which the incompatibility concerns the control of
government or/and territory84. The earlier definitions of
conflicts clearly showed a lot of quantifications and cause
and effect, but later peace and conflict research has
categorised conflicts in terms of intensity and also
recognised the fact that conflicts may not involve violence as
described in the earlier definitions. The main two approaches
to the categorization of conflicts include the objectivists
approach which traced the origin of conflicts to the social
and political make-up and the structure of the society and
opined that the goals at stake can be thouroughly
82

Kriesberg L,Constructive Conflicts, From Escalation to Resolution, Rowman and Littlefield, N.Y,1998,
pp30
83
http://www.europeanization.de/downloads/conflict_review_fin.pdf
pp2
84
Ibid. Pp3

29

compatible.85 On the other hand the subjectivists reasoned

that it is the percieved incompatibility of goals which is the
essence of conflict analysis. Accordingly, it is the level of
incompatibility that affects the intensity and the dynamics of
a dispute.86 The subjectivists believe that conflicts emerge
and evolve in intensity and pass through stages over time.
Therefore, it is important to understand the evolution and
the dynamics involved in conflicts, so as to know how to
manage them.87
In Quincy Wrights Study of War published in the American
Journal of International law before the second World War,
there was an effort to categorise war into four different types
(i) balance of power war i.e. war between states in the
modern family of nations, (ii) civil war war within a state,
that is a member of the modern family of nations, (iii)
defensive war a war to defend modern civilization against a
alien culture, (iv) imperial war a war to expand modern
civilization at the expense of an alien culture. 88 Singer and
Small also devised criteria that may qualify a conflict as an
international war. These are (a) objectives of the
participants, (b) the political consequences (c) the leal status
of the hostilities (d) the political attributes or status of the
participants, (e) the duration of the hostilities,(f) the number
of troops involved,and the (g) casualties arising from the
hostilities.89
Conflicts have also being categorised as constructive or
destructive mainly based on their outcomes. Loius Kriesberg
categorised conflicts using a conflict evolution model. His
view was that conflicts pass through stages of emergence,
escalation, de-escalation and settlement. 90 His simplified
conflict cycle explained a conflict emerges from the base and
85

Ibid. Pp4
Ibid pp4
87
Ibid pp4
88
Singer D.J & Small M. The Wages of War 1816 1965, A Statistical Handbook,J.Wiley and sons, N.Y,
1972,pp17
89
ibid
90
Kriesberg L,Constructive Conflicts, From Escalation to Resolution, Rowman and Littlefield,
N.Y,1998,pp21
86

30

passes through the stages of manifestation, escalation, deescalation,

termination,
and
Consequences.
The
consequences may be constructive or destructive. It may be
constructive in so far as the parties regard the outcomes as
mutually acceptable and will form the basis for on going and
future relationship. The outcome of a war may be destructive
in so far as they are imposed unilaterally regardless of the
interests and needs of the parties involved. 91
Conflicts generally have been categorised into ethnic and
non-ethnic wars. David Carment considers most international
conflicts as conflicts that may be explained as inter-racial,
inter-ethnic,inter religious or inter-civilization. 92 He also sees
internal conflicts as conflicts that have the potential of
spilling onto the international arena. He recognised three
types of ethnic conflicts that may have international
dimension, these are (i) irredentist this occurs when states
become major actors in ethnic wars, e.g. the Arab-Israeli
war, andnthe Greek-Cyprus war. (ii) Secessionist this
occurs when ethnic war within a state spill over in to the
international arena. This secessionist conflict lead to
interstate war by drawing attracting a third party state
especially a self-appointed regional peacekeeper and (iii)
Anti-colonial ethnic conflicts which involves colonial powers
and nationalist groups.93
Using the Cognitive simulation model (COSIMO) conflict
categorization developed by the Heidelberg Institute for
International Research (HIIK), The methodology explains a
dynamic model of conflict, which involves five intensity
stages, and grouped under non-violent and violent
categories.94 These five stages was developed based on the
escalation dynamics of Frank Pfetsch where he recognised
five types conflict categories of latent conflict, manifested
conflict, crisis, severe crisis and war. With the HIIK
91

Singer D.J & Small M. The Wages of War 1816 1965, A Statistical Handbook,J.Wiley and sons, N.Y,
1972,pp17
92
Carment D.International Dimension of Ethnic Conflict: Concepts , Indicators and theory.Journal of Peace
Research,vol.30,N02,1993,pp137-150
93
ibid
94
http://www.europeanization.de/downloads/conflict_review_fin.pdf pp5

31

categorization, latent and manifest conflicts are categorised

as non-violent and low intensity conflicts, while the crisis
stage is violent but of medium intensity. Severe crisis and
wars are categorised as violent and of high intensity. 95

2.6.1.1. Non-violent conflicts.

Conflicts sometimes may not be associated with violence as
absence of violence does not neccesarily means an absence
of conflicts. Although parties may not use force against each
other but the state of conflict should be recognised by the
outside world or at least one of the parties involved. 96 It is
quite impossible to determine the existence of conflicts
without visible signs that may show certain argument,
position or interest, although the parties involved in the
conflict may not pursue an overt strategy to pursue their
goals.97Therefore, the existence of certain incompatibilities
between two parties recognised in the form of demand and
claims, by at least one of the parties is enough to confirm a
state of conflict even though violence may not be involved. It
must also be noted that all violent conflicts start as nonviolent, and they evolve through two phases i.e. latent
conflict and then in to manifest conflict. Latent conflicts
mainly represent incompatibilities or interests that are
articulated on the level of mere demands or claims by one
of the parties. Manifest conflict is a higher level of conflict
than latent, in which tensions are present, but are expressed
by means below the threshold of violence. 98 These may
include verbal pressure or economic sanctions. The main
difference between latent and manifest conflicts is that there
is a higher level of communicative interactions between
the parties in the later.99

95

Ibid pp5
Ibid pp6
97
Ibid pp6
98
Ibid. Pp7
99
Ibid.
96

32

2.6.1.2. Violent conflicts.

In conditions when peaceful settlement of incompatibilities
prove very difficult, violence is used by either or both parties
to redress or enforce the status quo. James Davies described
the existence of frustration as the most essential condition
for a non-violent conflict to turn violent. 100In political
conflicts, human casualties, physical damages and the use of
force are features of violent conflicts. Sandole (1998) in his
definition, described it as Aggressive manifest
process
conflict (AMPC) where he described violent conflict as
representing a situation in which at least two parties or
their representatives attempt to pursue their perception of
mutually incompatible goals by physically damaging or
destroying the property of high value symbols of one
another e.g. religious symbols, national monument and\or
physically injuring, or elliminating one another. 101 Smith in
the Handbook of Conflict Transformation, defines armed
conflicts (violent disputes) as; open armed clashes between
two or more centrally organised parties, with continuity
between the clashes, in disputes about power over
government and territory102. The Upsalla Conflict Data
Programme (UCDP) defined the highest form of violent
conflict as war. It categorises armed conflicts in to three
levels, the first, as
- Minor Armed Conflict: with least with between 25 to
1000 battle related deaths within a year in the course
of the conflict.
- Intermediate Armed Conflict: an accumulated total
death of about 1000, but between 25 to 1000 battle
related deaths in any given year.
- War: at lest 1000 battle related dearth per year. 103
Singer and Small also defined war in terms of quantity but in
addition set limits on troop participation to about 1000. 104
100

Ibid.
Ibid.
102
Ibid.
103
Ibid. Pp8
104
Singer D.J & Small M. The Wages of War 1816 1965, A Statistical Handbook,J.Wiley and sons, N.Y,
1972,pp17
101

33

Using the COSIMO categorization the use of violence is

common in the level of severe crisis and war. The only
difference being that in severe crisis the use of violence is
sporadic while in War, violence is used in a more organised
and systematic way.105
2.7. DIFFUSION OF ETHNIC CONFLICTS
Since the creation of modern states in West Africa, ethnic
conflicts have been a major feature in the region. The main
feature of these conflicts is that most of them usually spill
over in to neighbouring countries. The main point to note are
the reasons why some ethnic conflicts spread across the
border in to other region and why others remain relatively
confined in the country of origin.
In an article by Oana Tranca, there were attempts to
distinguish between the concepts diffusion, contagion and
the escalation of conflicts. The paper sited an example in
Lobell and Mauceri in their book Diffusion and escalation of
ethnic conflicts in which diffusion and contagion were used
to describe the same process i.e. a spill-over of conflicts that
directly affect neighbouring countries.106They also described
that the escalation of a conflict involves the drawing in of
more state and non-state actors in to a conflict. Tranca
decided to use the definition in the literature concerning the
International spread of war where diffusion is defined as an
increase number of actors in International dispute. It is a
direct form of spill-over when an ethnic conflict spread from
its initial locus within a national frontier where it emerged to
neighbouring states by the implication of additional conflict
caused by regional proximity. 107He also defined contagion as
an indirect form of spill-over, in which one groups actions
provide inspiration and guidance, both strategic and tactical
for groups elsewhere channeled by network of groups
105

http://www.europeanization.de/downloads/conflict_review_fin.pdf
http://www.peacestudiesjournal.org.uk/docs/Ethnic%20conflict%20Azerbajian%20Macedonia_Oana
%20Tranca.pdf
107
Ibib.
106

34

sharing similar discriminations and grievances. 108He defined

escalation as a new stage in the evolution of a conflict
characterised by its intensification from
low intensity
109
confrontation to open war.
2.7.1. Factors Determining the Diffusion of Ethnic Conflicts.
Tranca further emphasised that a state relative capabilities
and a set of internal and external factors are reasons that
influence its participation in an interstate conflict. Paul Diehl
found out that territorial contiguity makes states more
vulnurable when conflicts emerge in their immediate
proximity because it poses a threat and opportunity to these
states.110Vasquez (1993), pointed out that, alliances and
rivalries are two other factors that influences the diffusion of
ethnic conflicts.111 According to him , there will be a
possibility of a diffusion in ethnic conflict if there is an
ethnically based alliance between the group in conflict and a
politically dominant group residing in neighbouring
countries.112The possibility of diffusion is also high if there is
a history of rivalry between the two states. He summarised
that ethnic conflict diffuse because of the opportunity and
internal pressure of alliance felt by neighbouring states.
Lake and Rotschild explained that ethnic rivalries and
affinities influence the diffusion of local ethnic conflicts in to
regional one.113 It also reiterated that states susceptible to
secession will not like to intervene in the ethnic conflict of
neighbouring states, as they will choose to respect the
territorial integrity of other states, a choice that is important
to their survival.114Support for ethnic groups abroad may also
be needed for politicians to win local elections,this may
influence the policy decision of a state in intervening in a
war. Also, a state may decide to intervene covertly or overtly
108

Ibid. Pp3
Ibid.
110
http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/9/8/8/6/pages98864/p98864-5.php
111
Ibid. pp5
112
Ibid.
113
Ibid.
114
Ibid.pp6
109

35

in the ethnic war of its neighbour if it is related to the

minority ethnic group persecuted in the neighbouring state.
Moreover, a state may also try to intervene in the ethnic
conflict of other states if there is a growing opposition at
home and a need to divert attention to other issues
especially when it involves a related ethnic group. Lake and
Rothchild also emphasised that some predatory states may
take the advantage of the weakness of another state
enganged in ethnic conflict to intervene and plunder its
resources.115
Settlement pattern of the ethnic groups residing in a state
may influence the method of conflict spread in the region.
Secession is always very easy if the ethnic groups live in
distinct parts of the region, but if they are interspersed or
mixed with other ethic groups in their settlement, it becomes
very difficult to wage a war of secession. 116The situation is
made easier if there is an external guarantor for the minority
group, that is ready to support the claims of the minority for
a separate homeland.117Secession as a form of conflict also
spread easily within a region if other secession within the
region has suceeded lately, it reinforces the believe in other
groups that it may be possible.118
Information flow enhances diffusion of conflicts. Diffusion of
conflict if faster and wider depending on the level of
information from one state or ethnic group to another
especially where the potetial for ethnic conflict is already
high. Edmond keller believed the root of transnational ethnic
conflicts in Africa is based on the perception of ethnic groups
that there security is in jeopardy at the hands of some other
ethnic groups. If the state unable to intervene, there will be
a kind of security dilema, and the ethnic group may launch a
preemptive strike against others.119
115

Ibid.
Fearon J.D,commitment problems and the spread of Ethnic Conflict,(International Spread of Ethnic
Conflict, Fear,Diffusion and Escalation) edt by Lake&Rothchild,Princeton Univ.Press, 1998,pp123
117
Ibid.
118
Ibid.
119
Keller E.J,Transnational Ethnic Conflict in Africa(The International Spread of Ethnic Conflict) edt by
Lake and Rothchild,Princeton Univ. Press,1998,pp277
116

36

Ethnic conflicts easily diffuse abroad when it disrupts the

ethnic balance of other states. Lake and Rothchild
recognised the potential of refugee flows, retreat of armed
insurgents and other direct border penetrations in diffusing
conflicts abroad. This development alter the stands of other
ethnic groups and may alter their beliefs about existing
ethnic contracts therby creating a new conflict across the
border.120

120

Lake .D and Rothchild .D,Ethnic Fears and Global Engagement(The International Spread of Ethnic
Conflicts) edt by Lake &Rothchild,Princeton Univ. Press,pp340

37

CHAPTER THREE
3.0. THE ETHNIC NATURE AND THE HISTORY OF WEST
AFRICA.
3.1. A BRIEF GEOGRAPHY OF WEST AFRICA
West Africa is a region that is self defined as located in the
western part of Africa. In actual fact, the term West Africa is
used to refer to that part of Africa in the west but south of
the Sahara desert. That is, it is the mass of land between the
Middle part of the Sahara to the north and the Atlantic ocean
to the South. For the purpose of this study, the term West
Africa will only be used synonymously with the term ECOWAS
i.e Economic Community of West African States. The most
likely physical exclusion will be the republic of Cameroun to
the east and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania to the NorthWest. The length of the sub-region from the Cape Verde in
the west to the Adamawa Mountains in the east is about
2800 kilometres, lying precisely between longitudes 20W
and 15E and latitudes 17N and 10S of the Equator. 121The
region ranks second in area to North Africa, but greater than
east and southern Africa.
The physical terrain is a mixture of plains and dotted
highlands. The coastal plains extend to about 500 kilometres
inland in most areas, while the middle land mass of the
region is mostly made of highlands most of which rises on
the average of 1000 metres above sea level. This include
features like the Fouta Jallon Highlands in Guinea, the
Akwapim-Atakora Mountains in Togo, the Jos plateau in
Nigeria and the Adamawa moutains in Northeastern
Nigeria.In general, the landscape in the middle part of the
121

Gasiokwu,M, ECOWAS, Problems of citizenship and free movement,CHENGLO ltd Enugu,pp1

38

region is mainly made of highlands featuring rock outcrops,

inselbergs and enscarpments. Although the region is getting
drier in recent times, it is abundantly blessed with many
rivers some of which compares to others in other parts of the
world. These include rivers Niger, Volta, Benue, Gambia, and
Senegal among others. The population of the region is
estimated to be about 200 miilion 122 with different
projections and problems of census in different countries
which has made it impossible to get an accurate figure.
3.2. A BRIEF HISTORY OF WEST AFRICA
Very little has been written about the history of West Africa
in the period before 500 b.c, but most of the account of the
current history of the region was probably recorded in the
period after 500 A.D, although there were evidences to
suggest that the area of West Africa has been populated long
before this period. The region probably get noticed in the
international arena with its integration in to the Worlds
economy in the middle ages. With the development of new
trade routes all over the world especially ocean routes and
camel caravans, traders and travellers from other lands
discovered the riches and useful resources in the West
African region.123
Just before 1000 AD, organised political systems emerged in
West Africa on a bigger scale especially with the emergence
of the Old Ghana empire. The empire located on the
southern tip of the Sahara desert witnessed a boom in
economic activities due to the Trans-Saharan trade which
brought traders from Europe and the Middle east.
Commodities from West Africa like gold, animal skin, slaves
and salt were exchanged for other goods from the outside
world.124The collapse of the Ghana empire also led to the
emergence of Mali empire, which was also replaced by the
122

http://www.court.ecowas.int/en/index.htm
Onwubiko K.B.C, History of West Africa A.D 1000-1800, African FEP Publishers,Zaria pp16
124
Ibid
123

39

Songhai empire within a spate of 1000 years. 125 The coming

of the Europeans to the coastal areas of West Africa also led
to the development of trade along the coast and
subsequently led to the bloosoming of political activities and
empire building during the time. Some of the Empires that
developed around the coastal areas include the Ashanti, Oyo
and the Dahomey. These empires held most of their growth
to trading with the Europeans especially in commodities like
slaves, palm oil, gold and ivory. These they exchanged with
manufactured goods from Europe especially firearms which
were used to perpetuate wars to conquer other ethnic
groups. Prior to the advent of the trans-Saharan and the
Trans Atlantic trades, political organizations were smaller in
scale but more peaceful than the inter-community and interethnic wars that characterized the trading period. This was
because, there was so much at stake. The rapid
transformation of the Worlds economy with the industrial
revolution focused heavily on West Africa and this led to the
rapid growth in the Trans Atlantic slave trade which started
in the 15th century A.D.126
The coming of the Europeans for trade and missionary work
also brought with it the scramble for political power on the
African continent. Many European countries colonized large
expanse of territories on the continent especially in West
Africa. France, United Kingdom, Portugal and Spain
controlled large expanse of territories in West Africa for more
than a century. United Kingdom colonized Ghana, Nigeria,
The Gambia, and Sierra Leone, while, Portugal colonized
Guinea Bissau and Spain colonized The Cape Verde, the rest
of the countries in the Sub-region were colonized by
France.127 Colonization brought with it a lot of the aspects of
modernization, schools were built, the transport and
communication system were also developed and a modern
judicial system was also introduced. So much of the West
Africa subcontinent remains a legacy of the colonial system
of the last century, but the lasting enduring legacy is the
125

Wallerstein I, Africa, The politics of Independence and Unity, University of Nebraska, 2005,pp17
ibid
127
ibid
126

40

introduction of a modern economy compared to the existing

traditional economy. New cash crops were introduced to
replace slaves as commodity of trade after it was banned,
these include Cocoa, coffee, cotton, rubber, etc. and there
were improved investment in the mining of minerals
especially iron ore, tin ore, manganese, coal, zinc ore and
petroleum. Colonialism also created artificial borders which
divided or cut across single ethnic groups, so it is now
common to find the Mandingoes in about six countries, the
Fullas in about ten countries and the Yorubas in about three
countries within the region. The latter part of the 20 th
century led to the rise of African nationalism as many of the
nations created by the Europeans started demanding for
their independence. Most of the West African countries
however got their independence peacefully with the
exception of Guinea Bissau which fought a long war with the
Portuguese.128
The period after independence was another trying times for
all the countries on the African continent, with various
challenges of economic and physical development. This
period witnessed a lot of coups and counter coups and
interference from other countries outside the region did not
help matters, especially during the period of the cold war
between the east and west ideological blocks. 129 So many
West African countries thus degenerated in to civil wars
which spread like wildfires throughout the region. What was
not surprising during the period just after independence, was
the spate of the civil wars but the surprise actually was
about the way the civil wars and military coups in one
country influence or trigger the others especially in the West
African subregion. Only Senegal out of the fifteen West
African countries has not witnessed a military coup detat.
The period after the cold war led to a kind of wind of change
blowing in opposite directions in West Africa. On one hand,
there were calls for greater democratisation in many
countries within the region, this led to national constitutional
128
129

Op cit
Nungent P.Africa, since Independence, Acomparative History,Palgrave Macmillan2004,pp 73

41

conferences and end to one-party state constitution which

was rampant in the sub region, on the other hand it also led
to increase level of the civil conflicts spreading across the
region.130

3.3. THE ETHNIC NATURE OF WEST AFRICA.

3.3.1. Ethnic groups classification in West Africa.
Ethnic groups all over the world are classified using various
criteria by sociologists, but the most commonly accepted is
the use of language groups. Several language groups have
been identified in West Africa, each of these groups include
languages with similar characteristics, examples include
ethnic-language group within the Niger-Kordofanian family
e.g the Mende group which include languages and ethnic
groups speaking Mandinka or Bambara related languages.
This group also include the Mende ethnic group in Northern
Sierra Leone and Liberia. The Mende group of languages
include ethnic groups found around Mali, Senegal,
Mauritania, the Gambia, Guinea and Guinea Bissau. These
ethnic groups within the same language group could connect
themselves through history, example is how the MandinkaSosseh of the Gambia and Guinea Bissau could traced their
origin to migration and military raids from the Old Mali
Empire which is now in an area where bambara language is
spoken. So each ethnic group within the same language
group may regard each other as cousins or brothers, which
means an afront on one may trigger off reactions from the
others. Also, because these ethnic groups are found in the
same area or region, they share the same natural borders,
migrations and inter-marriages are encouraged among them.
The other large language group is the Kwa group of the
Niger-Congo sub family found in the southern coastal part of

130

Ibid. pp388

42

West Africa. This group include ethnic groups like the

Yorubas, the Fantes, the Ewes, the Ashantis etc 131
Naturally, most of West Africas population to the north
speak languages grouped under Afro-Asiatic and NiloSaharan Families. Some of these ethnic groups are also
closely related in physical features with the Arabs from North
Africa, and other ethnic groups from the Horn of Africa. Such
groups include the Fulanis found all over the West African
region, it also include the Berbers mostly found in Mauritania
and the Tuaregs found around the Sahara desert. 132

3.4. PAN AFRICANISM AND THE ORIGIN OF WEST AFRICAS

UNITY MOVEMENT.
3.4.1.1
Identity

Pan-Africanism: The Birth of an African National

The end of the 19th century witnessed a kind of awakening

among African people and people of African origin especially
living in diaspora about methods of tackling the high level of
prejudice in the western world against them and most
especially against their history. The general conclusion was
that Africans are inferior and suffered from inherent social
backwardness. And thus the relationship between black
men and white men both in Africa and in the western world
can be summarised to be between social inferior and
superior, and an ideology of racism was thus enshrined
between the oppressors and the oppressed. 133 This state of
of affairs brought about the new method of studying the
history of Africa and viewing Africans in particular. This
yielded positive notes to refute the racial perception of
131
132

http://www.ntz.info/gen/n00329.html
ibid

133

Wallerstein I. Africa, the politics of independence and Unity.(Unity) London : Univ. of

nebraska press, 2005.pp4
43

Europeans. It brought together new intellectuals who

discovered the glorious past of African history especially of
the Ghana and Mali empires. It also created a sentiment that
unite Africans and Black people in diaspora.
Furthermore, the activities of the colonial government
especially the colonial administration where many Africans
were transferred to work in other parts of the continent, and
Africans that travelled to study and meet other Africans in
Europe and America also enhanced the formation of the PanAfrican movement.134 Thus, Pan-Africanism was born in the
word of Diallo Telli, in the emotional atmosphere of complete
alleniation, physical exploitation and spiritual torment.
Henry Williams a Trinidadian convened the first Pan-African
conference in 1900 more as a form of solidarity for all
Africans under the yoke of oppression of the colonialists and
the African-American suffering under the racial segregation
laws in the United States. These Africans met to proclaim
their rights, protest their humanity and exhibit their
fraternity.135 This period also coincide with the Russian
revolution which gave the Pan-Africanists an event to
sympathise with, and sought inspiration from. The Bolshevik
revolution provided the ideological back up for the PanAfrican movement of the early twentieth century. This was
because it entails a notion of class struggle, mass action and
the creation of an egalitarian society. 136
Pan-Africanism in its earliest days sought to define the
identity of black people. It used similar ideas with other
groups in diaspora like the Jews, in regarding Africa as a
homeland and the final destination of every black person in
the diaspora. The idea was to recsurrect the battered spirit
of the African people over many years of slavery. The
identity momentum was sustained with the enthusiasm of
influential black people of the time an example include
Marcus Garvey.137 He organised mass actions with the idea of
134

135

http://www.casas.co.za/papers_AfricanUnity.htm

op cit

136

Ibid pp9
137
Arkah B.W,Pan-Africanism:Exploring the contradictions, Ashgate UK,1999,pp15

44

black nationalism. He encouraged black separatism i.e.

encouraging separate Christian Churches and black control
over their own institutions. His was to promote the solidarity
of the black community against the white dominated
world.138 The movement also tried to promote African
identity by discovering and recognising African heroes of
American history and rewritting their stories and elevating
them to the levels of other heroes in both Europe and
America.139 Other African icons were created and African
fashion and emblems were also promoted.
The intellectual base for the movement was the main pillar
of the cultural activities for the movement. Literatures were
published to denounce white ethnocentricism in both Europe
and the America. Poems glorifying Africa and denoucing
European prejudice were very popular in the literary circles
of the time. This also led to emergence of African
philosophers who sought to defend African cultural identity
especially in the light of the policy of assimilation of France
in her African colonies. The policy of assimilation demanded
Africans to denounce their culture and change their way of
life to that of French. The movement gave prominence to
the study of African languages as it was returned slaves and
other educated Africans that developed alphabets and
structures for local languages which were actively promoted
in publications and local education. Nevertheless, it was
seen as an irony that the Pan-Africanists were still
communicating in the language of the colonialists. 140 One
issue that never brought any controversy though was the
changing of names by many leading elites of the time,
Christian and colonial
names were changed to reflect
preference for local and indegenous names.
Paris, France was the second epicentre of the Pan-African
movement of this period, but unlike the Anglophone, it has
more of intellectual base on the French literary tradition.
138

Wallerstein I. Africa, the politics of independence and Unity. London : Univ. of nebraska press,
2005.pp10
139
Op cit pp4
140
Iweriebor E.G,The Age of Neo-Colonialism in Africa,African Book Builders,IbadanNgr,1997,pp57

45

Mainly by Surrealists, these group include African and

Caribean intellectuals as well as writers from the French
world e.g. Etienne Lero, Aime Cesaire and Leon Damas. Their
writings denounced the ethnocentricism and racism that
were common in the western society and was totally against
bourgeios capitalism. So it was more to the left of the French
politics of the day, it was associated with the French
Communist party.141 The main focus of the Francophone PanAfricanism was not outright independence as demanded by
their Anglophone counterpart but cultural preservation i.e.
the assertion of the legitimacy of the African culture and the
recognition of African values.142 The fifth Pan-African
congress in Manchester, England, actually brought together
the Anglophone and the Francophone sides of African
nationalism and gave them a purpose.
In summary, Pan-Africanism in its earliest days provided a
movement in which educated Africans could identify with. It
also created a base for African centered way of thinking
which actually liberated their minds from the social prejudice
of the time.
3.4.1.2. Pan-Africanism and African Independence
The two world wars led to the evolution of a more rigorous
African nationalist movement although the activities of the
Pan-African movement in the inter-war years were minimal. A
new generation of African students in Europe got into the
movement and gave it a new direction especially in both
North America and Britain. This group became more vocal in
demanding and working towards the liberation of Africans
from the colonial yoke. This was the period Africans from the
continent became more prominent in the movement,
examples include Kwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, Leopold
Senghore, Julius Nyerere and many others. These continental
African intellectuals seized the initiative and changed the
focus of the movement to the liberation of the continent. The
141

Wallerstein I. Africa, the politics of independence and Unity. London : Univ. of nebraska press,
2005.pp12
142
Ibid

46

voice of the diaspora got fainter within the movement as it

moved towards continentalism.143 The movement got into
alliance with Arab Nationalists involved in the liberation war
in Algeria. This signified a major event that eventually
reduced the influence of the Africans in North America and
the Caribeans.
Despite this change, the Pan-African movement became very
vigorous in the struggle for African independence, members
of the movement organised protests, lectures, trade unions
on continental level and published newpapers that were
opposing the colonial governments of the time. The trade
unions organized strikes and protested against injustices.
The movement also mobilised support among Africans for
referendums and other elections and constitutions that led to
independence in most African countries. It also led to the
formation of political parties and other splinter movements
on the continent. Most of the earlier political parties were
Pan-Africanist in nature examples include National Congress
of Nigeria and Camerouns (NCNC), Reassmblement
Democratiques Africain (RDA), National Council of British
West Africa (NCBWA), Kenya African National Union (KANU)
etc. Most of these parties turned to ethnic under strange
circumstances.
In summary, although the movement moved towards
continentalism, it was still very relevant in creating an
identity for Africans. It created an elitist group that put the
African identity before any other.
3.4.1.3. Pan-Africanism and African Unity.
Continentalism became the bane of the movement, the
independence of Ghana and other North African countries
before 1960 created a new group of leaders who wanted to
create a single African state on the continent. 144 The process
143
144

www.casas.co.za/papers_AfricanUnity.htm
ibid

47

of independence in the French colonies also created a faction

within the movement. This faction led in opinion by Houphet
Boigny of Ivory wanted a gradual approach to achieving an
ultimate goal of continental Unity in Africa. The two groups
made an initial start with formation of the Organization of
African Unity on the 25th of May, 1963. With the overthrowing
of Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana in 1966, the dream of
immediate United states of Africa seemed over. The United
Nations in its developmental Agenda for Africa decided to
use the regional approach. This led to the formation of
various regional bodies like ECOWAS, SADCC, Maghreb Union
etc.
The formation of the African Union is also aiming to join the
regional bodies in to a single African state in future.
3.4.2. ORIGIN OF WEST AFRICAS UNITY MOVEMENT
The goal of the integration of West African countries as a
single political unit got its origin from the Pan-Africanist
movement. The goal of African nationalism later include
ways and measures of converting the African continent into
a single political unit. Right from the 5 th Pan-African Congress
the main rhetoric of the participants have been to unite the
Continent in to a single political unit so as to be able to
compete on level terms with the rest of the world. So the
unity of the African continent was made the number one
priority since the independence of Ghana was achieved in
1957.145 Kwame Nkrumah immediately pursued this goal and
sought to encourage other independent African countries in
to a kind of union. Prior to this time Nkrumah has established
the National Congress of West Africa (NCWA) with a
conference in Kumasi 1953146. The Organisation was however
moribund and could not see the light of the day.
The main challenge to the establishment of a continent wide
political unit by African nationalist was based on ideological
145

Wallerstein I. Africa, the politics of independence and Unity. London : Univ. of nebraska press,
2005.pp30
146
Ibid pp31

48

differences. While a group within the nationalist were in

favour of outright unity after independence, the other group
was a little cautious. The former group was radical in
intention with close relationship to communist ideology. The
French had ruled their territory in West Africa as a single
political unit with the capital in Dakar, Senegal. This
territorial administration has encouraged the development of
regional political institutions among the African people within
the region. The most prominent was the RDA party i.e
Reassemblement Democratique Assemblement, which was
very active within the French West African territory. Other
institutions like the trade unions, youth and students were
organised within the Francophone West Africa territory.
These type of inter-territorial Organizations were not that
common in British West Africa, but Organizations established
by the colonial administrations were common in the two
areas e.g. single unit currencies, single custom etc.
Decolonization brought a setback to the unity movement in
the West African context, although Kwame Nkrumah was
trying to unite independent African states within West Africa
with the Guinea-Ghana Union, most of the inter-teritorial
Organizations within the region collapsed. One important
fact was the role played by the then Ivorian President
Houphet Boigny, who personally influenced the breaking up
of new political unions within the sub-region after
independence. He was against African unity as a radical
movement, but try to see it established as a form of alliance,
this was totally against the ideals of Kwame Nkruma and
Sekou Toure who were in favour of a more radical single
political unit for Africa.147 Although there were realliances
among countries after independence the opinion was more
towards looser federations within the West African subregion. The Francophone countries still kept a lot of
institutions that binded them in the pre- independence
period, prefering instead a slower move to continental unity
through regional integration.
147

Arkah B.W,Pan-Africanism:Exploring the contradictions, Ashgate UK,1999,pp17

49

3.5. SOME FEATURES OF INTEGRATION IN WEST AFRICA

3.5.1. ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES
The Economic Community of West African States or ECOWAS
was established with the treaty of Lagos signed on the 25 th
of May, 1975. This was after about twelve years of gestation
because the origin of the idea for an all West Africa regional
body could be traced to the United Nations Economic
Commission for Africa which held a conference in
November,1963 in Lagos, Nigeria on the topic Industrial
Cooperation in West Africa. It was agreed to set up an
interim committee to organize the establishment of an
Organization for West Africas economic cooperation.
Subsequent meetings were held in Freetown, Niamey and
Accra between 1964 and 1968.148 The final series of
meetings that finally led to the establishment of ECOWAS
started between Nigeria and Togo after the first initiatiaves
were met with frustration. The series of negotiations finally
culminated in the signing of the treaty in Lagos in 1975.
3.5.1.2. Aims and objectives of ECOWAS
The aims and objectives of the treaty was included in the
Article 2 (1) of the treaty, which was promote cooperation
and integration, leading to the establishment of an economic
union in West Africa. This will include cooperation in all fields
of
industry,
transport,
telecommunication,
energy,
agriculture, natural resources, commerce, monetary and
financial questions and in social and cultural matters. This is
for the purpose of raising the standard of living of its peoples
and fostering closer relations among its people. 149 To achieve
this goal, the organization is to ensure by stages

148
149

Gasiokwu M. ECOWAS,Problems of citizenship and free movement,Chenglo Ltd, Enugu,1998.pp20

Ibid pp24

50

- The harmonisation and co-operation of national policies

and the promotion of integration programmes in all
economic activities.
- The harmonisation and co-operation of policies for the
protectection of the environment
- The promotion and establishment of joint production
entreprises
- The establishment of a common market through (i) the
liberalisation of trade and uniform custom duties among
member states. (ii) adoption of a common tarrif vis-avis a third country. (iii) removal of obstacles to the free
movement of goods and capital and to the right of
residence and establishment.
- The creation of a monetary union, among other
things.150
3.5.2. MANO RIVER UNION
The Mano River Union as a regional Organization was
established in 1973 to cement the bond between Liberia and
Sierra leone. The organization uses as a symbol the Mano
river that took its source from the Guinea highlands and runs
through the border of both countries. The Republic of Guinea
joined the Union in 1980 which signified the peak of
activities of the Organization within its period of
exixstence.151
The main objective of the Organization was to promote
economic cooperation among member states. Some of the
achievements of the Organization include the liberalization
of trade in goods of local origin, introduction of common
external tarrifs, and an increase in internal trade within the
union. The main reason that promote the establishment of
the Organization was its homogenous societies. The three
main countries that form the Union have a lot in common in
terms of social, economic and physical variables. Most of the
150
151

Ibid pp25
http://manoriverunion.org/

51

ethnic groups can be found across the borders in the three

countries that form the union, and the economy of the three
countries composed of mining and agriculture as the main
activities.
In recent past, the Organization has been bedeviled by
inactivity due to the protracted civil wars that spread within
the region. The civil wars that started in Liberia spread over
to Sierra Leone and creating a serious refugee problem for
Guinea. The Organization was however revived in 2004 in a
summit n Guinea, with promises from Ivory coast to join the
union in later dates.152
3.5.3. WEST AFRICA ECONOMIC AND MONETARY UNION
The Organization was formed in its initial stage in the 1960s,
during the French decolonization and the independence of its
West African territories. The main countries that remain in
the fold resolved to continue with the use of common
currency after the disengagement of France. Their
economies had achieved a resonable level of integration as
they were administered centrally by a Governor in Dakar,
Senegal. So the main francophone countries in West Africa
continued to use the same currency known as the West
African Francs or CFA which was supported and fixed to the
French Francs as part of the economic cooperation
agreement with France. France, prior to the advent of the
European Monetary Union had supported the budget and the
currency of her former colonies in Africa. With France joining
the Euro currency in Europe such helps were no longer
possible in that pattern. This led to the devaluation of the
CFA Franc in the early 1990s and also led to the formation of
the West African Economic and Monetary Union when the
previous West African Economic Union was disbanded. 153
The West African Economic and Monetary Union was created
as a customs and monetary union, by a treaty signed in
152
153

Ibid.
http://www.uemoa.int/index.htm

52

Dakar,Senegal in 1994 by seven countries which include

Cote diviore, Senegal, Togo, Boukina Fasso, Mali, Niger, and
Benin, with Guinea Bissau joining in 1997. It covers about
seventy million poeple and half of the countries of West
Africa. The aim is to promote greater economic
competitiveness and a creation of a common and open
market among member states. Its aim include the
convergence of micro-economic policies and indicators in
member states and it also include the harmonization of fiscal
policies among member states that spend the same currency
the CFA FRANC. The West African Monetary Union Zone
(WAMU) which is a consequence of the Union has its Central
Bank in Cote diviore .154
Other features of integration are no longer existing, these
include the West African Airways, and the West African
Central Bank both of which are now defunct and were jointly
owned by the Anglophone countries in the region. 155

CHAPTER FOUR.
4.0. CATEGORIZATION OF CONFLICTS IN WEST AFRICA.
4.1. INVENTORY OF WARS AND CONFLICTS IN WEST AFRICA

154
155

Ibid.
http://www.casas.co.za/papers_AfricanUnity.htm

53

A comprehensive study of conflicts in Africa by M.G Marshall

from 1946 to 2004 used a slightly different methodoly to
make an inventory of conflicts on the continent. In this study,
he did not only consider violent conflicts but also civil
tensions between civilian within the borders of each country.
Military coups were also categorised because in some cases,
they triggered of bigger crises and ethnic tension in the
country. Some violent military crises were also considered as
serious crises. He also considered latent crises which later
led to ethnic violence and riots.156
Almost all countries in West Africa have had one form of civil
disturbaces or another. Majority are included below. 157
A- Civil wars

Nigeria, 1966 1970

Liberia, 1990 1997, and 2000 2003
Sierra leone, 1991 2001
Guinea bissau, 1998 -1999
Ivory coast, 2000 continuing

B- International violence\cross border war

- Mauritania Senegal, 1989 1990

- Mali Burkina Fasso, 1974, and 1985
- Niger Benin, 1963 1965
C- Ethnic violence\seccessionist war
156
157

Nigeria, 1981, and 1985, islamic groups

Nigeria, 2001 2004, christian\muslims
Nigeria, 1986 1993, christian\muslims
Nigeria, 1997 2004, ijaw- itshekiri war
Ghana, 1981, Konkonba nanumba war
Ghana, 1994,

http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/africa-conflictpp-stats-report.pdf
Ibid. Pp 42-47

54

Niger, 1990 1997, Azawad- toubou violence.

Niger, 1990 1995, Tuareg rebellion
Mali, 1990 1995, tuareg rebellion
Senegal, 1992 2002, Cassamance separatism.
Sierra leone, 1982, Ndogboyosoi war

Adverse military coups

- The Gambia, 1981 coup attempt

- Guinea
Bissau,
1998

attempt\civil war
- Guinea, 2000 2001,
- Guinea, 1970, Military faction
- Burkina fasso, 1987
- Ghana, 1966, and 1983
- Liberia, 1980,- military coup
- Togo, 1986, and 1991 1994
- Nigeria, 1965 counter coups

1999

coup

Table 1
This compilation is extracted from the book Conflict Trends
in Africa from 1946 to 2004, 158
4.2. CAUSES OF ETHNIC CONFLICTS IN WEST AFRICA.
Ethnic conflicts are some of the major conflicts affecting
Africa especially since the period of independence. Ethnic
conflict has crept in to the model of development evolution
that each country in sub-saharan Africa has to pass after
emerging from independence. The distribution of resources
to the various people and groups have to be determine by
ethnicity, and who gets what and how much has been
determine by the ones ethnic group especially since
independence. Subsequently, the distribution and the use of
power have created tension among ethnic groups that make
up the artificially created states in Africa.
158

Ibid.

55

4.2.1 Colonialism
The main argument is always the level of existence of ethnic
conflicts before and after the Berlin conference. The creation
of colonial borders created serious instabilities within and
across communities in Africa. Several of these borders cut
across ethnic groups and divide them in to multiple of
countries, creating several strange neighbours of which they
are now forced to live with. Some of the these ethnic groups
used to be the dominating group within the region but were
now forced to be in the minority within the newly created
artificial country. In most cases, the ethnic groups within the
country were forced to abandon their traditional governance
methods for the one introduced by the colonial governments.
Colonialism thus created different ethnic tensions within the
new formation.159
Also, some other ethnic groups were given previledges
against the others while others became favourites of the
colonial governments. The colonial governments also
introduced new features into the economy, by introducing
new commodities of trade and new trade routes which
drastically changed the status quo among the ethnic groups
of the time. New trade routes, new roads, and new
commodities of trade drastically altered the economic
balance in new colonies and therefore the balance of power
between formerly subjugated ethnic groups and their
masters were changed.160 The introduction of new
constitutions which were based on principles of human right
created a sense of egalitarianism that never existed before.
Artificial border creation led to strict nationalism within some
newly independent countries. This is because it led to some
population dynamics as some hitherto minority ethnic
groups suddenly found themselves in the majority in the new
country. Example include the situation between the Gambia
and the Senegal, and the situation between the Senegal and

159
160

http://www.globalissues.org/article/84/conflicts-in-africa-introduction
ibid

56

the Guinea Bissau, and also between the Guinea Bissau and
Guinea Conackry.161
4.2.2. MIGRATION.
This is one of the most important causes of ethnic conflicts in
West Africa. There has been major migration trends in West
Africa at least in the past fifty years. These migration were
mainly caused by the movement of traders, nomadic
herdsmen and migrant labour. It has been on the increase
both internally within each country and externally i.e.
between the countries within the West African subregion.
There were international migrations towards adminstrative
capitals especially in the former French colonies i.e towards
Dakar, Senegal, and Abidjan, Ivory Coast. There were also
local and international migrations towards the mining
regions and towns, and towards the agriculture cash crop
growing regions. Internal migrations has led to inrease in
ethnic tensions within several countries in the West African
sub-region. These migrations are mostly caused by trade or
access to fertile land in case of nomadic herdsmen, and it is
also caused by the deterioration climatic conditions and
desertification.
Migration of nomadic herdsmen known as the Fulani has
increased tensions between them and their hosts especially
in the dry seasons when most of these herdsmens migrate to
the coastal south for better grazing land for their cattle.
Large mass of internally displaced people during natural
disasters or other conflicts also creates further conflicts with
their host community. Within West Africa, international
migration has also led to ethnic tension and conflicts. Such is
the case between the Gambia and Senegal, which are
populated by both the Mandingo and the Wolof ethnic
groups. With each forming a majority in each of the countries
respectively. Strict border and immigration control are in
place in the Gambia with a lower population to prevent the
country from being overwhelmed by Wolof immigrants from
161

ibid

57

Senegal which may have political implication within the

Gambia.

4.2.3. ETHNIC BASED POLITICS

Political parties were formed before independence with the
main aim of securing independence but they changed course
after independence as the leaders become ethnic elite
instead of civic political leaders. The political parties appeal
for ethnic sympathy to win electiion. This made sure that the
majority ethnic group always win election. The ethnic based
democratic system also led to a greater agitation by the
minority ethnic groups as they were left out of power. 162 In
some countries, it led to call for seccession, or rebellion,
while in others it led to coup detat or outright civil war.
Autocratic regimes emerged easily from such political
system which later metamorphosised in to one party states.
The rigging of elections have also been a source of friction
and tension among ethnic groups within different countries
in the sub-region. The tension is exercebated when elections
are rigged against a party with support base from a majority
ethnic group or a party that enjoys the support of a coalition
of minority ethnic groups.
In summary, ethnic tension or conflicts are less when a
single ethnic group forms a majority in a country. But it is
more common when no single ethnic group or religion forms
a majority, an alliance of the major ethnic groups may create
stability but tension may persist when the other groups
complain of maginalization.163 Andres Wimmer, Lars-Erik
Cederman and Brian Min in their study on Ethnic Politics and
Armed Conflicts a configurational Analysis concluded that
the level of armed conflicts in a country depends on the
percentage of the population excluded from access to state

162
163

http://www.yale.edu/macmillan/ocvprogram/papers/Wimmer_OCV.pdf
ibid.

58

because of their ethnic background, or the more ethnically

segmented the centre of power is in a country. 164
4.2.4. CITIZENSHIP.
Citizenship laws in most African countries were set to
exclude other groups from the political system. Internal
migration in recent years have caused a population
inbalance in many economically bouyant zones. A form of
tension has arisen between the native and the settler. In
some areas, the tension arises when the settlers tend to
outnumber the natives, which means the natives may not be
able to win elections. The customary citizenship laws also do
not give right to a settler notwithstanding the number of
years he may have used in his new place. 165 This is always
causing conflict when the settler is not of the same ethnic
group with the native. In a situation when the settlers origin
is across the border, they tend to garner more sympathy
from across the border. Individuals are no longer bound by
the boundary of the territorial states but rather by the
boundary of their tribal identity thereby causing diffusion of
conflicts across a region. Sympathy always flow across the
border for persecuted ethnic groups, with other ethnic
groups or neighbouring governments supporting their
rebellion.
4.2.5. Ethnic Configuration.
This is a factor that has been studied by various scholars in
recent times. It is based on the simple fact that ethnically
homogenous states have less conflicts compared to states
that are heterogenous. In West Africa, the level of
configuration of the ethnic components of a state is as
important as the number of ethnic groups living in the state.
In other words, states in which a single ethnic group forms
164
165

ibid
Nugent P. Africa Since Independence,PalgraveMacmillan,2004 pp486

59

an absolute majority among fewer other groups may be

more peaceful than states where no single group forms a
majority. This claim can be supported by the theory of ethnic
nepotism in which van den Berghe proposed that humans
tend to favour kin and quasi kin such as co-ethnics over
others166.Therefore, ethnically heterogenous states will have
more conflicts. In West Africa, states where no single ethnic
group forms an absolute majority,the majority ethnic group
constantly goes into alliance with other groups to maintain a
balance of power on others, or to exclude others. This
allignment is manisfested in democratic elections in most
countries, as elites from these ethnic groups understand the
ethnic balance of power.167
Another level of configuration was explained by Wimmer et
al in their configurational theory of ethnic politics and
conflict, where they explained the link between ethnicity and
the legitimacy of the state which they traced to the evolution
of modern states since the end of the first war, this they give
as reason for the multiplication of ethnic conflicts especially
since the end of the cold war. Configuration as they
explained identifies three dimensions that describe the
distribution of political power within the state i.e
segmentation, cohesion and exclusion. They agree that high
degree of exclusion and domination of other ethnic groups
correlate with a higher likelyhood of conflict 168. Also the
higher the level of segmentation or the higher the number of
power sharing elites the higher the likelihood of violent
infighting. Their third conclussion is about states formerly
under indirect rule, which they said have higher likelihood of
resulting to rebellion and secessionist conflicts when direct
rule is imposed after independence.
All these three scenarios come to play as conflicts
determinants in West Africa. States where large section of
the population does not have access to state power pass
through series of coups and counter coups. There are also
166

http://www.yale.edu/macmillan/ocvprogram/papers/Wimmer_OCV.pdf
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/wimmer/ESEG_APSA_Paper%20final.pdf
168
Op cit
167

60

instances where the alliance of ethnic elites have denied

other groups access to state power and resources, example
can be found in the Sierra leonean civil war. The rebellion in
the Cassamance region of Senegal is a good example of
states under indirect rule suddenly ruled directly. 169
Ethnic Configuration and conflicts
The ethnic composition of states within the West African
subregion is a determinant of ethnic tensions and the level
of ethnic conflicts in these states. A lot of authors support
the diversity-conflict idea. This means that the larger the
number of ethnic groups in a country, the higher the
incidence of ethnic conflicts will be. Naturally homogenous
state rearly exist in the subregion, but the countries vary in
their level of homogeneity.

ETHNIC CONFIGURATION OF COUNTRIES IN

W. AFRICA
COUNTRY

169

ETHNIC GROUPS IN %

1 NIGERIA

HAUSA\FULANI
YORUBA
IGBO
IJAW
KANURI
IBIBIO
TIV

29
21
18
10
4
3.5
2.5

2 GHANA

AKAN

45.

Ibid.

61

MOLE\DAGBON
EWE
GA\DANGME
GUAN
GURMA
GRUSI
IVORY
3 COAST

AKAN
VOLTAIQUES\GUR
NORTH MANDES
KROUS
SOUTH MANDE

SENEGA
4 L

WOLOF
FULLA
SERER
JOLA
MANDINKA
SONINKE

5 GUINEACONAKRY

FULLA
MALINKE
SOUSSOU
SMALLER GROUPS

6 NIGER

HAUSA

3
15.
2
11.
7
7.3
4
3.6
2.6
42.
1
17.
6
16.
5
11
10
43.
3
23.
8
14.
7
3.7
3
1.1
40
30
20
10
55.
62

7 MALI

BURKINA
8 FASSO

9 LIBERIA

1 SIERRA
0 LEONE

1
1 BENIN

DJERMA-SONRAI
TUAREG
FULLA
KANURI-MANGA

4
21
9.3
8.5
4.3

MANDE
FULLA
VOLTAIC
SONGHAI
TUAREG-MOOR

50
17
12
6
10

MOSSI
TEN OTHERS

40
60

INDIGENOUS AFRI
AMERICOLIBERIANS
CONGOLIBERIANS

TEMNE
MENDE
SMALLER GROUPS
CREOLE

FON
ADJA
YORUBA
BARIBA
FULLA

95
2.5
2.5

30
30
30
10
39.
2
15.
2
12.
3
9.2
7
63

OTAMARI
YOA LOPA
DENDI
1
2 TOGO

1
3 GAMBIA

1 CAPE
4 VERDE

1 GUINEA5 BISSAU

6.1
4
2.5

EWE
KABYE
MINA\MOSSIAD SSI\ADJ
JA
A

46
22

MANDINKA
FULLA
WOLOF
JOLA
SERAHULI

42
18
16
10
9

CREOLE\MULLATO
AFRICAN

71

BALANTA
FULLA
MANJAKA
MANDINKA
PAPEL

30
20
14
13
7

Major ethnic groups in 15 West African Countries

table

2
Source - The table was compiled from the World factbook
170

170

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pu.html

64

FIG 1

NIGERIA

GHANA

FIG 2

Pie charts illustrating Ethnic groups in some West African Countries.

65

FIG 3

IVORY COAST

SENEGAL

FIG.4

FIG.5

LIBERIA
66

FIG. 6

SIERRA LEONE

BENIN

FIG.7

Pie charts illustrating ethnic groups in some West African Countries

67

THE GAMBIA

FIG.8

FIG.9

CAPE VERDE

GUINEA BISSAU

FIG.10

68

MALI

FIG.11

FIG.12

GUINEA-CONAKRY

NIGER

FIG.13

Pie charts illustrating ethnic groups in some West African Countries.

69

Correlation between the number of ethnic groups in a

state and the level of violence.
A statistical method of correlation will be used to find the
relationship between the level of homogeneity of a state and
the level of ethnic conflicts.This quantitative method will use
reliable data available for the calculation. It will assume that
the number of ;
Ethnic groups in a state include all ethnic groups that
forms the majority ninety percent (90%) of the population.
Number of civil conflicts in a state include all military
coup detat from independence to 2004 added to the nonstate conflicts and the major war and minor conflicts that
involved the state from 1989.
In the compiled data on coup detat, many putsch that
occured in the region were not used especially if they were
not violent and if they are not successful. Many of these
coups were merely reported in the mass media and there
were nothing to show they actually occured.

70

TABLE CALCULATING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ETHNIC

CONFLICTS IN W.AFRICA

BENIN
BURKINA
FASSO
CAPE
VERDE
COTE
DIVIORE
GAMBIA
GUINEA
GUINEA
BISSAU
GHANA
LIBERIA
MALI
NIGER
NIGERIA
SENEGAL
SIERRA
LEONE
TOGO

NUMBER
OF
ATTEMPTE
D
COUPS\CO
UPS FROM
INDEPENDE
NCE
1
6

NUMBE
R OF
CIVIL
CONFLI
CTS
SINCE
1989

TOTAL
NUMBE
R OF
CONFLI
CTS

0
0

1
6

1
2
2

0
2
2

1
4
4

4
1
2
3
7
0
7

1
11
1
1
11
10
10

5
12
3
4
18
10
17

71

Table 3

TABLE SHOWING THE CORRELATION BETWEEN

CONFLICTS AND ETHNIC
GROUPS.
COUNT
RY

NUMBE
R OF
CONFLI
CTS.

1
6

NUMBER OF
ETHNIC
GROUPS IN
MAJORITY
CONFIGURA
TION
Y
7
11

7
396

1
216

343
1331

125

125

125

125

4
4

3
5

48
80

64
64

27
125

5
12
3
4
18

6
16
4
4
7

150
2304
36
64
2268

125
1728
27
64
5832

216
4096
64
64
343

10

400

1000

64

17

867

4913

27

X
BENIN
BURKIN
A
FASSO
CAPE
VERDE
COTE
DIVIOR
E
GAMBI
A
GUINEA
GUINEA
BISSAU
GHANA
LIBERIA
MALI
NIGER
NIGERI
A
SENEG
AL
SIERRA
LEONE

72

TOGO

75

125

27

SUM

95

85

6825

14285

6985

TABLE 4

Source:

http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/statcorr.php
N = 15
xy = 6825
x = 95
y = 85
= 14285
= 6985

r. =

= +0.21

This results shows there is positive correlation between the

two variables. i.e. the level of ethnic conflicts is directly
related to the heterogenous nature of the countries in West
Africa.

73

The data used on the two tables were compiled from mainly
Upsalla University Conflict Data Programme, 171 and Conflict
trend in Africa from 1946 to 2004 by the British Department
For International Development.172
4.2.6. Other factors,
In the study by Wimmer, Ciderman and Min, other variables
that lead to ethnic conflicts include per capita GDP,
population size linguistic fractionalization, mountainous
terrain, and imperial past among others. 173

CHAPTER FIVE.
5.0. CASE STUDY - THE CIVIL WAR IN IVORY COAST
5.1. IVORY COAST A background study
The Cote diviore or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa,
sharing border with Ghana to the east, Liberia and Guinea to
the west and the republics of Mali and Boukina faso to the
North. It is located around latitude 8.00 0 N and 5.000 W. It
has a total land mass of about 322,460 km 2 . Its land
boundaries is about 3110 km long, 716 km with Liberia,
610km with Guinea, 668km with Ghana, 532 km with Mali
and a coastline of about 515 km.174
The country is mainly found in between the equatorial
climatic belt to the south and the tropical continental climate
to the North. So the temperature is varying with highs in
June and July while the lower temperatures of the harmattan
wind blows towards the end of the year. Vegetation include
171

http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/UCDP/index.htm
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/africa-conflictpp-stats-report.pdf
173
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/wimmer/ESEG_APSA_Paper%20final.pdf
174
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/iv.html
172

74

mangrove swamp forest to the coastal south, tropical

rainforest to the south, and different shades of grasslands to
the north especially getting sparser towards the northern
border. The terrain is mostly flat with undulating areas
mostly to the mountanous north-east. 175
5.2. Social and economic condition.
The country has a total population of about 20 million people
by july 2008 estimate. It has a population growth rate of
about 2.16%, with a median age of about 19 years i.e a very
young population, life expectancy is about 54 years and a
total fertility rate of 4.6 children per woman. 176About 39%
are Muslims, 33% Christians, 12% practices indegenous
religion while the rest has no religion. 177Major ethnic groups
in the country include the Akan with about 42.1%, the Gur
17.6%, northern Mendes 16.5%, krous 11%, southern
Mendes 10%, and other 2.8% mainly about 130,000
Lebanese and 14,000 French. French is the official language
with about sixty other languages spoken, Djioula is the most
widely spoken.178The economy is mainly agricultural in
nature, with high dependency on cash crop production. At
one time Ivory coast was worlds largest producer of Cocoa,
while it was also Africas largest producer of Coffee. Other
cash crops include cotton, rubber and cut timber, banana
and palm kernels. The Industrial sector is dominated by food
processing and electricity production. Mining and processing
of petroleum and natural gas is on the increase, although
agriculture still employs about 65% of the population. 179
5.3. Political history
Prior to the independence of Ivory Coast in August, 1960, the
country was part of the jointly administered French West
175

Ibid.
ibid
177
ibid
178
Ibid.
179
Ibid.
176

75

African colony which secured autonomy for self rule in

December 1959. Independence was secured through the
great contribution of Felix Houphouet Boigny. He was one of
the leading light in the Pan- African Movement during the
colonial era in Africa, especially in the Francophone African
region.180 He was one of the main leaders in the RDA i.e.
Reassemblement Democratique Africain. He led a major
ideological division within the Pan-African Movement which
believed in a less radical step by step approach to African
unity. The political history of the Ivory Coast may be difficult
to separate from the life history of Houphet Boigny. He
established and led the main dominant party in the country
at independence known as the PDCI i.e. Parti Democratique
de la Cote dIviore.181He consolidated the French economic
policy after independence by integrating commercial
agriculture. He encouraged migration within and from
outside Ivory coast to the fertile but underpopulated south.
His economic and political policy was based on a triple
alliance between the former French colonial masters, the
planters and the the immigrant workers from neighbouring
countries.182 Houphouet Boigny subsequently made his
country a one-party state with his party the only one to
contest elections. Economic decline in the eithties led to
massive discontentment among the population. Boigny tried
at all times to incorporate all ethnic groups into his
government, because no single ethnic group forms the
majority in the country183. The advancing age of the
President increased the worries of the population for a
successor, and coupled with political pressure, due to the
end of the cold war, the political space was opened in the
early 1990s with new generation politicians like Laurent
Gbagbo constesting election against the President. Henry
Konan Bedie became the President at the death of Boigny in
1993.

180

http://www.historycentral.com/NationbyNation/Ivory%20Coast/History2.html
ibid
182
Baegas R & Marshal-Fratani R, Cote diviore,Negotiating Identity and Citizenship..AFRICAN
GUERRILLAS edt by Boas M & Dunn C. K.. London 2007
183
http://www.country-studies.com/ivory-coast/history.htm
181

76

5.4. Ivory Coast after Houphet Boigny

Henry Bedie did not continue with political policies of his
predecessor, but a combination of poor economy state of the
country and his lack of charisma led to a lot of
discontentment among the population. There were protest
against the increasing control of the economy by foreigners
and uprising by other ethnic groups like the Bete would not
help matters. This led to the first successfull military coup in
the country by juniour officers in the Army on the 24 th of
December,1999. The offficers eventually handed over power
to General Guei. His government primarily sought to present
a new constitution to the Ivorian people, the new
constitution approved in the year 2000 highlighted the
clause on citizenship and identity that has been causing
disaffection and division between north and south and,
Christians and Muslims since Boignys death.
The General himself was overthrown by a massive crowd
protest in 2000 after manipulating elections to his favour, 184
Laurent Gbagbo was swept in
to power and he immediately organised another election to
reinstate himself in power. The victory of Gbagbos Front
Populaire de Cote dIviore FPI in the polls was accompanied
with street protest from his main rival Alhassan Ouattaras
Reassemblement Des Republicain RDR. FPI youths attacked
the protest which led to hundreds of death. 185Ouattara
subsequently called for peace and recognised Gbagbos
government. On September 19, 2002, rebelious army
officers attacked government facilities in Abidjan, Khorogo
and Bouake in a bloody military coup that eventually split
the country into two, the northern part controlled by
splinters of rebel groups under an alliance called the Patriotic
movement of Cote divioire MPCI. Two rebel groups also
emerged from the South-west as it became a new front in
184
185

http://www.historycentral.com/NationbyNation/Ivory%20Coast/History2.html
ibid

77

the Civil war i.e the Movement for Justice and peace MJP, and
the Ivorian Popular Movement of the Great West MPIGO. The
later groups subsequently merged with the MPCI to form the
New forces. Consequently, the Economic community of West
Africa intervened and ceasefires were signed and
implemented with the help of France which now led to the
present stalemate.186
5.5. From Civil inclusion to Ultranationalism.
The founding father of Ivory Coast, Houphet Boigny, used the
alliance of three socio-economic variables to improve the
economy and maintain political stability in the country. He
used the help of French civil servants, the farmers and
immigrant workers to give Ivory coast a form of economic
and political stability that is unique in the region.
Subsequent leaders like Henry Bedie and Laurent Gbagbo
redirected their policies towards age old discontentment
among the autochtonous population against sections of the
population regarded as foreigners in origin. These migrants
formed the major artisans behind the Ivorian economic
miracle of the eighties and constitute a third of the countrys
population. The official hatred towards the foreigners was
first mentioned in the 1930s with the establishment of the
Association of the Defense of Autochthons Interest in Cote
diviore (ADIACI) but was introduced as ivorianization to
exclude the foreigners of African origin from the civil service
in the nineties.187 Bedie finally opened the pandora box in
the nineties primarily for electoral purpose. The theme
ivoirite started to be used as a powerful instrument of
exclusion at the service of every maneuver of stigmatization
and discrimination throughout the entire society. 188
Laurent Gbagbo carpeted Boigny for using the migrants as
electoral cattle. The real situation was not only a tension
186

ibid
Baegas R & Marshal-Fratani R, Cote diviore,Negotiating Identity and Citizenship..AFRICAN
GUERRILLAS edt by Boas M & Dunn C. K.. London 2007 pp85
188
Ibid pp85
187

78

between settlers and natives but also between rural farmers

and middle class urban elites. The society was classifed on
the basis of division of labour with various ethnic
communities specialising in specific economic sector. Decline
in the economic fortune of the country due to the low prices
for most commodities and the I.M.F imposed economic
reforms created uneployment in the urban areas.The liberal
land policies of Houphet Boigny also caused tension as most
of the arable lands in the southern part of the country had
been given to the migrant workers as he made it a rule that
the land belongs to those who tilled it 189. By mid 1990s,
the conflicts created by land disputes came to a peak with
the autochthons chasing away tens of thousands of migrants
away from their farms using native militia groups. Baoules
who are the major ethnic group also got into conflict with
other ethnic groups as they were given such lands in other
parts of the country under Boigny190.
This situation fueled the embers of xenophobia and violence
against foreigners and strangers. And indeed against the
northerners. Originally, the native Dioulas occupy the
northern part of the country, and their population has
swollen due to the migrants who have mixed up with them.
These migrants have the same religion and culture with the
Diuolas and because there can be little difference between
them, the northern population are generalised as foreigners.
The issue of identity and nationality was made complicated
during the regime of Alhassan Ouattara as the Prime Minister
under Houphet Boigny. He himself of northern origin gave a
blanket naturalisation to immigrants by issuing national
identity and resident cards to them. The subsequent
governments of Bedie and Gbagbo corrected this by making
new rules on who is qualified to be called an Ivorian to
participate in elections. This also excluded the former Prime
minister who has a northern origin.

189
190

ibid
Ibid.pp87

79

The new rules of identifying an Ivorian now include proof that

you come from a village with evidence from the ethnic chief
of the area.191 The role of the press in spreading the ideology
of hatred can not be underestimated. Newspapers and radio
stations in each region carried on the message of the
political leaders to the populace with passion encouraging
young men to form various militias and paramilitary groups
to defend what they called their identity and nationality. 192
5.6. Ivory Coast, Neighbouring countries and the diffusion of
Ethnic conflicts
The earlier civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone had its
origin in the Ivory Coast. Major Quiwonkpa and Charles
Taylor invaded Liberia with their troops from Ivory Coast. The
Ivorian and Burkinabe governments covertly supported
Charles Taylor in the Liberian civil war 193.
The roles of neighbouring countries in exacebating the civil
war in Ivory Coast is as important as the role of other
Organizations like ECOWAS in solving it. The civil war in
Liberia provided enough weapons and mercenaries for the
rebel groups in the south-west where the ethnic groups are
similar to those in adjascent Liberia. Veterans of the Liberian
Civil war promptly joined MPIGO and MJP. The northern rebels
also received a lot of assistance from neighbouring Burkina
Faso and Mali which were ethnically related to the north . 194
In summary, Houphet Boigny established a policy that
correlated with his ideology of Pan Africanism. He welcomed
immigrant workers from other countries to develop the
Ivorian economy and a country which served as a model of
success on the continent at a time when the continent was
plagued with wars, military coups and poverty. But he failed
to consolidate and envisage the future role of ethnicity in his
country. In order to get access to scarce resources and
191

Ibid pp87
ibid
193
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2963086.stm
194
Ibid pp91
192

80

combined with decreasing income, the elites turned to

ethnicity and ethnic identity to resolve the problem. In order
to win and maintain power the politicans and the elites have
to evoke ethnic populism as a policy of inclusion and
exclusion to balance the power equation in their favour.

CHAPTER SIX.
6.0. CONCLUSSION
6.1. The irony of single-party democracy.
The advent of other civilizations in to the West African region
i.e. the European and the Islamic cultures has brought a lot
of dynamics in the rate of civic transformation of the West
African people. Since the begining of the 20 th century, the
transformation from traditional society to a modern one has
been a roller coastal ride mainly because many ethnic
societies that were hitherto independent are now forced to
live
with
themselves
using
strange
constitutions
recommended
from
Europe.
One
of
the
many
transfromations in West African modernization process is the
transformation from ethnic to civil nations in tandem with
economic transformation. The burst of African nationalism at
the turn of the century actually prepared African leaders to
lead their societies from ethnic to civic nations. The
momentum was high towards independence in the 1960s
with the accopanying urbanization in many countries. The
urban areas mostly port towns and old caravan terminals
became more modernised with its educated elites and well
informed civil servants while the rural areas still remained
the core of the society and the standard bearer of its core
values. Most opposition to the modern government thus
came from the minority urban elites.

81

To maintain a fair balance and foothold on power, a

government only have to seek the patronage of the urban
elites by ensuring enough government appointments,
subsidised imported goods to maintan their middle class
European lifestyle, while only appealing to the ethnic
consciousness of the rural folks. Even with this, the elites
provided the opposition with the setting up of opposition
parties supported by the various ethnic groups whenever
this accord breaks down. Most of these accord came in the
form of inclussion in national parties that supported mainly
the Presidents. Other ethnic groups through their elites were
coerced to be part of these parties which then
constitutionally became single parties within single-party
states.
The single party states created by political elites were
attempts to demystify ethnicity and make it less significant
or less influential in national polity. Observing the history of
Ivory Coast, the late President Houphet Boigny used the first
twenty years after independence to create a class of urban
elites with massive investment in education with Universities
and colleges built all over the country. He also attempted to
disorganize the ethnic backup of the elites among the rural
peasantry by disorganizing land allocation which encouraged
internal migration, ethnic mobility and also disorganized the
ethnic composition of most rural communities in the country,
this succeded to some extent. He also encouraged migrants
from neighbouring countries to work as farm labourers and
later as land owners. The game plan of Houphet Boigny was
to alter the ethnic composition in the country and the rural
areas and reduce the influence of ethnicity in national
politics. This is also neccesary because the ethnic group
Boigny belonged to are not in the majority comparatively.
Compared to Malawi, Kamuzu Banda, the President at
independence, did very little to promote education of rural
population thereby using populism to remain in power with
an overwheming support,and an official title of Life
President before his death.

82

Thus, in most African countries, creating single-party states,

coerced and coopted all elites and was also successful in
suppressing the influence of ethnicity in national politics and
ensuring high level of internal integration within the country,
so it seems. Thus in brief, great strides were noticed towards
the evolution of civic societies in West Africa before the
collapse of the one-party state mechanism, but thereafter,
with the fall of the Berlin wall and with democratic changes
sweeping over the continent coupled with other factors, the
single-party system thus collapsed with peace and security
falling with it in many countries like park of cards. The
ensuing political pluralism created a situation of insecurity
(security dilema) and a fear of domination by larger groups.
The elites thus withrew back to their ethnic shells to
safeguard their priviledged status in the state.
Using the argument of Gellner, a modernist, who described
nationalism (in the context of civic nationalism) as about
entry to, participation in, identification with, a literate high
culture which is coextensive with an entire political unit and
its population.195 One may think promotion or participation
in literate high culture will transform a traditional ethnic
society in to a civic one, but reverse is the case as the elites
seek regular backup from their ethnic group when in
competition for power and other advantages within the
multi-cultural civic society.
Furthermore, Anthony Smith, described populism as a
coalition between the masses and the elites, it is a product
of their interaction and contingency upon one another which
means they are dependent on one another for progress 196 .
At the birth of nationalism, the mass is left out of the high
culture; it is only the elite who could participate, thereby
manipulating the masses instead of managing them. 197 It
can thus be argued that the proportion of elites to masses in
195

Gellner E, Nationalism and High Cultures,(Nationalism)edt by Hutchinson&Smith,O.Univ.

Press,1994,pp64
196
Baegas R & Marshal-Fratani R, Cote diviore,Negotiating Identity and Citizenship..AFRICAN
GUERRILLAS edt by Boas M & Dunn C. K.. London 2007 p137
197
Ibid.

83

a state determine its level of civil or ethnic status. This

relationship between the masses and the elites are so much
pronounced in many West African countries as each serve as
backup for the other during external threat. The elites are
used as front in relationship with other groups within the
country, the masses look up to them for direction and guide
and any allegation against them by other groups or
government is seen as false as their in-group sees their
actions as in concurrence with the interests of the group in
general.
The relationship between the masses and the elites within an
ethnic group played out successfully as the major cause of
most of the civil conflicts in West Africa. It played out very
well in Liberia, Ivory Coast, Sierra leone, Guinea, Nigeria and
Guinea Bissau. Most of the rebel groups that fought in these
conflicts were affiliated with ethnic groups and ethnic
elites or leaders. One of the salient roles of the ethnic
elites is to keep in touch with other elites of the same
ethnic group cut out, or living across the border in
neighbouring countries. This form of ethnic-elite networking
across the borders had helped in the spread of civil wars in
the sub- region. As the masses look up to them for
enlightenment because of their intellectual capacity.In West
Africa, the elite-mass relationship becomes important when
there are means of communication between the two, the
faster and the many the means of communication the
quicker for them to react to each others impulses and
responses.
The national radio or television became object of
propaganda of governments and so ethnic elites depend on
international radio stations to spread their information.
Cultural events across the borders are also important for
these communications. This type of networking was
witnessed in the Guinea-Bissau civil war where the major
actors came from neighbouring countries like the Gambia,
and Senegal. The Casamance rebellion in Senegal also had
infiltration of fighters and the contributions of ethnic-elites
84

from neighbouring countries. Often atimes, ethnic folks and

their elites migrate across borders in a swash and backwash
movements to help wage each others war, examples of
these are found among the Tuaregs of Mali and Niger, and
the conflicts within Liberia, Sierra leone, Ivory coast and
Guinea, this is highly possible in a place in which the real
boundaries are not states but ethnic in nature.
The period of single-partyism in West Africa started
approximately from 1965 and ended in the 1990s. This was
also the period when the wheels of integration ran faster in
the sub-region with the creation of the Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS), especially from 1975 and
1990. The countries of the sub-region were relatively at
peace with each other, and, wars and conflicts were at
minimal level within the countries. This may be because of
the single-party and the dictatororship system that prevailed
in many countries of the region which also included the
countries under military junta. Only Senegal has active and
effective opposition parties. The situation was like the
totalitarian Head of states could really keep the lid on ethnic
problems within the region, or may be there was an
unofficial agreement to watch each others back within the
neighbourhood. Further evidence of this was seen at the
swift formation of ECOMOG (Ecowas Monitoring Group) in
1990 and its deployment in Liberia during her civil war.
ECOWAS was able to pass more resolutions on cooperation in
trade, culture and the movement of labour and capital within
the region during the period before 1990. The period
between 1990 and 2000 was mostly used to pass resolutions
on peace and disarmament in Liberia and other conflict
inflicted countries in the region.
6.2. ECOWAS and Peace building in West Africa.
The formation of the Economic Community of West Africa in
1975 was a realisation of one important aim of the PanAfrican movement, especially the centre-right ideological
85

group of the movement led in principle by Houphet Boigny.

The group was actually against the outright unification of the
continent under one government as advocated by the radical
left in the movement led by Kwame Nkrumah.
The emergence of independent states in West Africa after
decolonization created a sort of anarchy among the fifteen
countries of the region. There was very little to hold them
together as the period of independence was also a period in
which the major regional strings that held them were also
dismantled. This was very rapid with the Anglophone
countries, but was reinforced or propped up by France to
ensure the survival of some of her former territories which
were regarded as economically unviable. The Francophone
countries of the region used the same currency which was
tied to the French Francs. France also signed defence
cooperation agreement with her former West African
colonies except Guinea. This defence pact with France could
only guaranty French intervention when these countries are
threatened externally, it was also mutual as France also
needs these countries cooperation in the deep heat of the
cold war. This defense cooperation as smooth as it looked
never waranted the interventions of France during the
various military coup detat. In some instances France did
intervened during civil wars or threat of external aggresion
as was seen in the Chadian and the Ivorian civil wars. Even
with the Frances security guaranty, countries in the region
still went to war over borders and resources. Many countries
in the region realised trusting France for their external
defence and security was not enough. It was this reason
among others the Economic Community of West Africa
States was created. The real and perceived threat of the
time was not conventional like modern warfare and
weaponry but ethnic in nature. The leaders of the
countries of the region realised the complex ethnic fabric of
the region represents a serious threat to many of their
authoritarian and despotic regimes.

86

The protocol establishing ECOMOG was signed in Freetown,

Sierra Leone in 1989 in the wake of the Liberian civil war.
The main barrier of non- aggression pact of the larger
Organization of African Unity (OAU) was carefully sidetracked
in the protocol. The protocol of mutual defence assistance
provided for a non-standing army to be used to render
mutual military aid and assistance to members that fall
victim of external aggression. The main purpose of the
protocol is entrenched in the article 4(b) where it is stated
that there should be collective response where a member is
a victim of internal armed conflict which is engineered and
supported actively from outside and which is likely to
endangered the security of member states. 198
In almost all countries of the region, there is always the
other hostile ethnic group across the border sympathetic to
the supressed opposition within the country. So the need for
these countries to form ECOWAS as a regional cooperation
and integration organization not only to promote economic
cooperation but also to prevent conflict or as a conflict
resolution regime when it is needed. The head of states that
made up the Organization suddenly realised this, when the
Liberian civil war broke out in 1989 through rebel invasion
from neighbouring Ivory Coast with the formation of the
ECOMOG ( Ecowas monitoring Group ). Each member of
ECOWAS was to contribute personel and materials in each of
its operations, but this is not always the case, as very few
countries could afford to finance such operations. The
composition of each ECOMOG operation suggested the
various interests of each country within the region. For
instance, the Ivory Coast stayed out of the ECOMOG in
Liberia and Sierra Leone, while Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, and
the Gambia participated. The composition of ECOMOG in
Liberia/Sierra Leone actually showed an ethnic/phonic
divide in the organization, it also showed the old ideological
divide in the Pan-African movement as Ivory Coast and most
other Francophone countries in the Organization did not
contribute to the initial ECOMOG mission in Liberia.
198

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87

6.3. Pan-Africanism and Integration in Africa.

The Pan-African movement was established with the theme
of African unity. The dreams of the founding fathers was to
unite the whole of the African people all over the world in to
a single state or nation, but the themes ran into ideological
problems later as the post war period witnessed the dilution
of the objectives of the movement. The movement
metamorphorsised and turn to continentalism and the
Organization of African Unity that emerged from it included
the Arab North African countries. The north African countries
are already poart of a Pan Arab organization known as the
Arab League. The movement thus lost its spiritual theme
which was at the core of its establishment. 199
The second most important factor that made the movement
incongrous to Africas unity was the ideological cold war of
the twentieth century. The Bolshevik revolution in Russia
earlier in the century provided impetus for some of the
leaders of the movement, it also led to division in the
approaches the various factions preffered for achieving the
goal of African unity. While the pro comintern wanted a
radical and immediate unity of the continent, the centreright of the ideological divide wanted a gradual approach
that will start from regional unity to a continental unity over
time.200The issue of language is also at the core of the Africa
unity movement. The colonialists promoted their languages
on the continent using their education system to indoctrinate
their culture and religion into a lot people which created
elites which they handed political power to at independence.
Colonial languages have divided the unity of purpose at the
continent along language lines, the anglophone, lussophone
199
200

http://www.casas.co.za/papers_AfricanUnity.htm
Ackah W.B,Pan Africanism:Exploring the contradictions, Ashgate Pub,U.K,1999,pp29

88

and the francophone have been a solid feature of the

continents disunity and unity.
Although Africans have known their continent better in the
last forty years, they have travelled more across the
continent than it used to be before independence in the
1960s, there are still resentment against other Africans living
elsewhere on the continent. There are increases in
xenophobic attacks on other Africans in Ivory coast and
South Africa. Other Africans have been repatriated from
Nigeria and Ghana and as it seems Europeans and Asians
are more welcome in many African countries than Africans
from other parts of the continent.201
Pan-Africanism as a form of civic nationalism would have
countered the effect of ethnic nationalism that is ravaging
the continent. If all has gone well with the objectives of the
Pan-Africanism, the effect of ethnicity on the development of
the continent would have reduced. Pan-Africanism would
have promoted development faster on the continent
because united Africa will gain advantage in their
negotiations with international organizations and will form a
powerful block against other world powers. Individuals or
groups would have been more global in their approach rather
than resulting to their ethnicity in their relationship with
others. Trade and migration will be bigger and faster and the
continent would have developed a varying level of
specialisation in economic production which will counter the
effect of the pressure of the international economic system
run by the World Bank and IMF. 202The result of the current
approach is the unending wars of secession, and genocides
that have ravaged the continent. The success of PanAfricanism or civic nationalism would have created a literate
mass that eschew ethnic sentiments and believe in
democratic principles. A civic African will have a new identity
that will make other identities irrelevant.

201
202

http://www.casas.co.za/papers_AfricanUnity.htm
ibid

89

6.4. Poor Achievement of Regional Organizations.

Imposition of regional integration like the ECOWAS has not
been successful because it is imposed on articicial states 203.
African nations are neither nation states nor nations, they
are simply states whose structures have been linked to the
colonial powers. The neo-colonial states can not therefore
build a structure of integration on the continent. 204Regional
integration has failed to materialise with this model also
because integration itself is against the interest of the
former colonial powers.205Regional bodies like the ECOWAS
and SADCC were established without the consent of the
people, so they are Organizations of the few, by the few and
for the few, few people in West Africa has derived any
benefits from such Organizations so they operate with weak
mandates206. One of the factors for the lack of effectiveness
of regional Organizations include their poor institutional
structures, the secretatriats do not have strong mandate
over members especially when the policies of the members
are not harmonised.207
6.5. Ethnic Components,Configuration and Conflicts in West
Africa
The level of homogeneity of a state is a very good
determinant of the level of ethnic conflicts within the state.
Although there are some exceptional cases (e.g Somalia),
the generally acceptable norm is that ethnic composition of
a country increases the likelihood of conflicts. States with
fewer ethnic groups have easier access to power for most of
the citizens. Checking Table 2 which shows the percentage of
the major ethnic groups in all the states of West Africa and
the subsequent pie charts, we discover that some states
203

Ackah W.B,Pan Africanism:Exploring the contradictions, Ashgate Pub,U.K,1999,pp49

Op cit
205
Op cit
206
Ibid pp46
207
Ibid pp47
204

90

have more ethnic groups within the ninety percent of the

population, states like Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone.
These states have more conflicts compared to others.Some
other states have only one ethnic group more than half of
the population examples include Niger, Cape Verde, Mali and
Ghana. These states are comparatively more peaceful than
others. Liberia is a unique case with more than twenty ethnic
groups and non of them in absolute majority, the only
difference is that they only become politically relevant when
they form coalition against the Americo-Liberians, who had
dominated the politics of the country for decades. Another
unique case involves countries with more than five ethnic
groups in the first ninety percent of the population and are
still relatively peaceful e.g Benin. This is because some of
the ethnic groups are politically irrelevant as majority of their
kin are found in the neighbouring states. This may explain
why cases of cross border citizenship is common. Another
pattern are states where the three or four major ethnic
groups are almost equally divided, in this case, the stakes
are high in terms of access to political power and this easily
leads to conflicts examples include Sierra Leone and Guinea
Bissau and elections are characterised by alliances and
conflicts. The case of Burkina Faso is also unique as the
Mossi takes more than forty percent of the population among
eleven others. It is like Burkina faso is a Mossi country, there
may be several coup detat but there may never be an
ethnic conflict as many of the other ten ethnic groups are so
minimal and are mainly represented in the other
neighbouring countries like Mali and Togo. The area of the
country represents for centuries the Mossi empire and all
other ethnic groups within the country have historiically
accepted the domination of the Mossi people.
6.6. Correlation between Ethnic homogeneity and Ethnic
Conflicts
The statistical method used to find the correlation between
the two variables have to depend on reliable data on
conflicts. That was why ethnic conflicts before 1989 was not
91

considered. Ethnic conflicts before 1989 were also very few

because most of the countries were under one-party system
or dictatorship. Most of the ethnic conflicts then were
expressed in coup detat but as cold war ended in
1989/1990,there were agitations for constitutional reforms
which turned violent in some cases e.g.Mali. The correlation
was (positive) +0.2 which shows that the higher the number
of ethnic groups the higher the level of ethnic conflicts within
the state.
In conclussion, this thesiswork has exposed the fact that
ethnic nationalism is the main cause of most of the conflicts
in West Africa, and that these conflicts have contributed in
no small ways to the slowing down or the disintegration of
the region. So it will recommend that West African states
should try as much as possible to embrace an all inclusive
form of democratic government. Political parties in each
country should be fewer with its membership cutting across
ethnic lines. The states should also improve access to
education to all citizens so as to evolve a truely civic society.

92