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Nigeria and African Unity 1958 - 1963 NIGERIA AND AFRICAN UNITY 1958 - 1963 Michael D. Wallace Submitted in partial fulfilmen~ of the requirements for the degree of Ma.ster of Arts McGill University, Montreal, Canada. August 1965 Department of Economies and Political Science. PREFACE I should like to thank the library staff of MCGill and Loyola Universities, whose kind co-operation in obtaining newspapers, documents, and microfilms made this thesis possible. I should also like to thank Mrs. Colin Cameron, who graciously obtained permission for me to use the facilities of the Parliamentary Library in Ottawa. Finally, I should like to acknowledge my debt to Professor Paul Noble, whose constant advice and criticism helped form this thesis into coherent shape. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ; . 1. PART I - Background Factors CHAPTER I - The African Environment . 2. CHAPTER II - The Nigerian Setting . 23. CHAPTER III - Nigeria's Political Resources • • • • • • • • 56. PART II - The Road to Unity CHAPTER IV - The First Steps . 66. CHAPTER V - The Storm Clouds Gather • • • • • • • • • • 85. CHAPTER VI - The African Cold War . 104. CHAPTER VII - The Grand Finale . 137. CONCLUSION 164 1. Introduction This thesis will attempt three tasks. First of all, it will attempt to define the situation of Nigeria in the African subordinate state system. This will involve an analysis of the African subordinate state system as a policy environment, followed by an examination of the factors shaping Nigerian decision-making in the field of African policy, aad, finally, an assessment of the political resources available to Niweria for the purpose of implementing her policies in the system. Secondly, it will trace the role played by Nigeria in the process of political integration leading up to the formation of the Organization of African Unity in May of 1963. Thirdly, it will attempt to draw some ~eneral conclusions as to the character of the African subordinate state system and the parameters of interaction within it. 2. PART I BACKGROUND FACTORS CHAPTER I - The African Environment Introduction This chapter will attempt to analyse the characteristics of the African subordinate state system and its environment. We will examine the natural environment of the system, the economie, social, and political settings, and, finally, draw some conclusions about the basic operations of the system as a functioning unit. In doing so we will somewhat arbitrarily, although necessarily, restrict our discussion to the thirty­ two signatories of the Addis Ababa Charter(!). This scheme of classif- ication, like any other, bas its drawbacks. First of all, there is the question of the Arab states of North and Northeast Africa. It may well be asked if they deserve inclusion at all, or whether they are African 11only by accident of continental 2 location"( ). The answer can only be that they have played important (1) These are Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Leopoldvilie, Dahomey, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Libya, Malagasy Republic, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Ruanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somali Republic, Sudan, Tanganyika, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Republic, Upper Volta. Not present: Mbrocco, Togo. Quoted from the Charter in an appendix to Basil Davidson, Which Way Africa, Penguin Books Ltd., 1964. Pp. 190-191. (2) Thomas Patrick Melady, Faces of Africa, Macmillan Co., New York, 1964: p. 253. 3. roles in African affaira, and have to a great degree become identified . with the attitudes and policies of their sub-Saharan confreres. Secondly, there is the question of those nations which did not achieve independance until after Addis Ababa - Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, and Zanzibar - and those whose future is still in doubt at this writing - Southern Rhodesia, Angola, Mozambique, and South Africa. In this case the answer is that while they were not actors in the system, they were (and are) potentially so, and in the meantime events within their borders are part and parcel of the political interaction of the system. This classification bas two very important advantages. First, it focuses primary attention on the crucial event to be explained. Secondly, the very formation of the Organization of African Unity is evidence of the objective and subjective existence of a system, and bence serves to identify the members of the system with some precision(3). 1. Geography, Topograpàf, Climate, and Resources. Geographically speaking, Africa is a continent of small states. Even the largest, Sudan, is less than a million square miles in extent, and the smaliest, Rwanda, is only about ten thousand(4). There is nothing to compare with the continental giants of North America or Asia. Secondly, Africa is a continent of great climatic and topo- graphical disadvantages. It bas a higher percentage of arid land than any other continent save Australia(5). Large areas have high annual (3) See Michael Brecher, The New States of Asia, Oxford University Press, 1964, P. 95, for a systematic treatment of the concept of subordinate state system. (4) Melody, op. cit., P. 220, 244. (5) William A. Hance, The Geography of Modern Africa, Columbia University Press, 1964: P. 15. 4. rainfalls, but in many cases it is so seasonal and comes in such torrent­ 6 ial bursts that it does little but contribute to soil erosion( ). The topographical pattern is characterized by steep scarps rising sharply out of a low-lying coastal belt. These tend to make inland rail trans­ 7 port extremely difficult( ). Roads are rendered impassable by the violent alterations in rainfall, resulting either in deep mud or blowing sand(B). Finally, the lack of natural harbours and navigable fluvial (9) axes make access by sea very difficult • Tbese difficulties are exacerbated by the fact that political boundaries in Africa do not respect geographie barriers. This weakens national unity. An example is the Guinea Coast, where the political boundaries run largely north-south, yet the climatic regions run east­ (10) west. Thus, these states give the aspect of sUces from a layer-cake • This can also result in friction where key transportation routes cross national frontiers. For example, the states of the Sudan belt - Mali, Niger, Upper Volta, Chad, and the Central African Republic - are all dependent upon others for access to the sea. Another severe disability is that much of the soil and vegetation is of only marginal value for human use. African grasses are not very nutritious, and the soil often produces very poor crop yields(ll). (6) Robert w. Steel, "Africa: The Environmental Setting", in The Anna1s, March 1955, P. 3. (7) Hance, op. cit., P. 4-5. (8) ibid. (9) ibid. (10) ibid., map 5, P. 17. (11) ibid., P. 16. 5. Further, much of the continent is infested with such pests as locusts and tsetse flies, which constituëe an enormous economie drain(l2). In energy resources, the continent 1 s potential is fairly good(lJ). The untapped hydro-electric potential is enormous, and fissionable materials are plentiful. North Africa appears to have plenty of petroleum and natural gas. The only real deficiency is coal. However, two problems arise. Resources are far from evenly distributed, and, secondly, both hydro and atomic power require large amounts of invest- ment capital and know-how to develop. African mineral resources are plentiful; most basic non-ferrous metals are in adequate to abundant supply, and iron ore is extremely plentiful. But the shortage of coal has made it difficult to develop a steel industry and thus exploit known ore deposits locally. Further, many deposits by their very richness have created difficult political situations which hinder or prevent their integration into the African economy. The best example is the mining complex in Haute-Katanga. In brief, then, nature has decreed that African economie develop- ment will be a frustrating process. The tantalizing potential is there, but the lack of a rich agricultural base and developed transportation routes severely handicap Africa in comparison with Europe and North America. (12) See Report on the U.N. Conference on the Application of Science and Techno1ogy for the Benefit of the Less Developed Areas, Vol. III, Chapter 11. (13) Hance, op. cit., Pp. 17-19. 6. 2 • The Economy. Taken as a whole, African economie systems tend to follow a rather discouraging pattern. First of all, the transition to an exchange economy is far from complete. It is estimated that about 60% of the adult male population is engaged in subsistance agriculture(l4). This is inevitably a brake on economie growth since by definition these men do not enter the process of capital-formation, nor is their productivity likely to increase very much. Secondly, the chief activity of the exchange economy is the extraction of primary products(l5). Too little manufacturing is done either to supply the home market or to process primary products internally. This dependence on extractive activity is brought into still sharper focus by three other factors. The first is the gradually declining terms of trade in tropical commodities brought about by shrinking markets and oversupply(l6). The purchase value of raw materials in terms of industrial goods bas declined to 68% of 1950 levels(l7). Secondly, even within this general decline there is greater priee fluctuation than anywhere in the world. This effects not merely trade, but also government revenue, much of which is derived from export levies(l8). (14) ibid.' P. 23. (15) ibid.' P. 24; see also Sidney Dell, Trade Blocs and Conunon Markets, A.A. Knopf, New York, 1963, Pp. 174-175. (16) Dell' op. cit., Pp. 176-186. (17) Hance, op. cit., P. 24. (18) ibid.' p. 26. 7. Thirdly, trade is dangerously concentrated both as to products and asto markets(l9). No less than 17 African countries derive more than 50% of their export revenue from a single product(ZO). Further, most African nations sell to a very limited market, particularly those states "associatedn with the EEC(Zl).
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