African countries, closer, yet far apart!

BERLIN’S NOTORIETY FOR building walls predated the 155-kilometre-long wall, the construction of which started from August 13 and was completed on October 3, 1961, within a period of less than two months. The wall, which surrounded West Berlin, was meant to prevent people from escaping to the West from East Berlin. In other words, the Berlin wall was restrictive. Very likely, most of those in contemporary times who know about Berlin would have read or heard of this wall, especially when it had to be pulled down on November 9, 1989. The pulling down of the wall had both local and international implications. Locally, it marked the first critical step towards German reunification, formally concluded less than a year later, on October 3, 1990. That was when East Germany was dissolved, leading up to the official reunification of the German state along the democratic lines of the West German Basic Law.

Beyond Germany, however, the fall of the Berlin wall had global and widespread ideological significance, notably the symbolic end of the Cold War, while also triggering the swift collapse of the other East European regimes. While the war lasted, the wall was intended to keep the so-called Western “fascists” from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state then. Little did the East German government know that their incremental measures of opening the gate to West Germany would get out of their control, in which case it succumbed to a wave of revolutions that threatened the survival of the Soviet-led communist bloc and helped to define a new world order.

While the physical wall stood, separating the Western and Eastern Germany, its ideological importance was not only dividing Germany, it also played into the global separation along ideological lines. Almost a hundred years earlier, Berlin was the place where Africa was carved up into what is today known as “countries.” The virtual walls were built by  political architects from 14 countries from Europe and the US who divided and allocated people of the same languages and cultures to different nationalities, and assigned to them what turned out to be different official languages. Two European nations that gained the most colonies from the Berlin Conference in terms of numbers, landmass and human populations are Britain and France, who got away with Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, among others.

The Berlin Conference was organised by Otto von Bismarck, the first chancellor of Germany, at the request of Leopold II of Belgium, the man who regarded Congo as his private property. The idea of the conference was primarily to recognise the territory that King Leopold claimed as his private property; it was also to recognise some existing territorial claims in different parts of Africa and, most importantly, the outcome of the conference was to create a leeway for Europeans to claim and annex territories in Africa. It was such a conference akin to shaving someone’s head in his absence. Because the European leaders did not respect the authority of African leaders, they did not invite African leaders to the Berlin Conference. The outcome was therefore an imposition and one which was motivated in the immediate, by economic consideration. Although political and religious considerations were also prominent, Europe was experiencing an economic depression during the time of colonisation, and powerful countries such as Germany, France, and Great Britain, were losing money. They badly needed somewhere to use to cushion the effects of economic crises at home.

Africa thus came under the first clear divisive influence of Europe and North America as the Berlin Conference was convened to settle disputes between the European powers that created pseudo borders which resulted in countries as seen today, arising from what has been historically described as “Scramble for Africa.” Primarily, the various territories were meant to satisfy their foreign interests in Africa. While pursuing these interests, those dividing the continent were preoccupied with what should severally become their economic spheres of influence, rather than what would bind homogenous Africans together. In retrospect, Berlin Conference has paid off for the participating countries, at least for over 100 years, especially as African countries have hardly found it easy to speak with one voice on issues concerning continued colonial influences – either in form of direct rule or the indirect influences currently being exerted on the former colonies by the colonialists. The colonial influences have permanently divided African people, their lands and natural resources into different territories called countries, which hitherto made integration somehow problematic.

Consider the hardships and obstacles posed by national borders. The distance between Lagos in Nigeria and Accra in Ghana by road is approximately 472 kilometres. Air travel takes approximately 75 minutes. But, in between, on a journey by road, a traveller has travelled through four countries, encountering three national borders (Nigeria-Benin, Benin-Togo and Togo-Ghana). At each of these borders, immigration protocols will have to be observed and fulfilled in one before proceeding to the other. In addition to the immigration protocols which can sometimes be time-consuming, Benin and Togo are francophone countries with their own peculiar ways of handling travellers, especially non-francophone citizens of other neighbouring countries. The differences in official languages pose a hurdle as well as an impediment. These are parts of the colonial heritage which tend to separate Africans in close proximity from one another and have done so for over a century.

The strength of many countries in Africa is questionable, particularly considering their population sizes and landmass. Djibouti, Lesotho, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Benin, Togo, Gambia, Tunisia and Malawi are examples of tiny countries in Africa where the strength of numbers is a key consideration. Military strength and protection against external invasion are clear challenges for such countries. It is therefore understandable that a country like Djibouti serves as a military base for many countries, particularly European and elsewhere, with its own territorial protection as a spinoff. In the process, those countries still derive enormous benefits from the host countries, sometimes even far more than the protection they provide for the host country. 

Senegal, a francophone country in the western fringe of Africa, is a country with a laterally inverted C-shaped map representing the landmass. In the space in-between is tucked another tongue-shaped country called Gambia, an Anglophone country. To travel from the south-western part of Senegal to the north-western part would entail any of these three options: to travel by sea westward and northward, to travel eastward and then turn north-westward or to travel straight northward, passing through Senegal and Gambia borders twice before re-entering the northern part of Senegal.  The time required for such tortuous journeys and the obstacles posed by the artificial demarcations called borders prevent worthwhile and vibrant economic activities in the areas concerned. Although the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) trading platform became operational over three years ago, these colonial legacies still pose serious impediments to the operations on that platform. With a total of 33 different currencies in use in 54 countries, different legal structures, different governments and constitutions, different languages in many cases, and with some other peculiar impediments associated with the various countries in line with their colonial histories, AfCFTA still has to grapple with a lot of hindrances in the years ahead.

The upsurge and sustenance of insurgency in the Sahel region are thriving on the colonial border configuration. As it is in the tri-state border areas between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, so it is at the Lake Chad border areas between Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria.  These areas serve as safe havens for insurgents and jihadist terrorists who are thoroughly familiar with the environment. They run across the border from any country where they have committed atrocities to another neighbouring country within a short distance, taking advantage of proximity. Thus, they are able to beat the authorities of any particular country from which they have fled and can return at intervals of time without notice to the country to do havoc.

Countries regarded under the umbrella name of françafrique have operated as monolithic economies for nearly 80 years. Now, they seem to have started to lose steam as many of those countries, particularly in West Africa, are now challenging the very concept. Prior to now, they have delineated some countries referred to in West Africa as West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU or UEMOA), while the Central African equivalent is referred to as the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). With françafrique now seriously threatened and some countries voicing out their rejection of France’s continued domination under the guise of assimilation, the old borders seem set for reconfiguration. Taking the lead in recent times are Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso where the military leaders are disrupting many old orders and systems. Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, under their recent formation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), are planning to adopt a type of cross-border collaboration that may lead all three out of the regional economic bloc known as ECOWAS. In any case, the military leaders of all the three countries have announced their shift in military collaboration from the Western countries. Old order may have therefore started to crumble irreversibly.

Much remains within the realms and ambit of Africans to restructure and redraw the maps of the countries within the continent in ways that will aid economic progress. Countries within the continent can only progress if those little efforts from small entities called countries are coalesced together for maximum benefits. As long as those tiny entities continue to operate in isolation, they will continue to live with the negative consequences of their creation from Berlin in 1884. 

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