The Reasons For Modern Nationalism In Africa

  A combination of political,economic and social factors led to the rise and growth of modern nationalism in Africa.
         Political Factor: Political power was concentrated in the hands of colonial masters with no equal
opportunities for whites and blacks in civil service. Political agitation was also suppressed or completely
silenced,and there is little or no opportunity for Africans to acquire higher education. The Atlantic Charter
which had both the American and Britain as signatories spurred  the growth of nationalism in Africa. The Charter which was published at the end of the second world war expressed the right of people to self
determination. The signing of Charter by both the British and American government showed that America was in favour in decolonization,but it was in conflict with British practice in Africa. This American stand aroused the consciousness of Africans toward nationalism. Besides the Atlantic Charter,the United Nations through the general assembly was used as a platform to support nationalist struggle for self-rule.
        Racial discrimination led to limited opportunities for Africans in the administrative machinery of the
civil service. African are not included in the decision making process of their various government and thus were not happy seeing themselves being forced to relinquish power to less educated colonialist which
contributed to the underdevelopment of the continent. The inability of these educated Africans to take part
in the governance of their own people led to rise of nationalist movement in Africa.
        Economic Factor: The economies of African states were completely dominated by foreign firms and institutions.Africans were given limited opportunities to take part in the commercial activities of their various
countries. The colonial government monopolized the production and distribution of goods in Africa. An example was the creation of west African Produce Board in 1942. The Board gave licenses to foreign companies like U.A.C.,John Holt, PZ. etc to buy goods produced in West Africa. African businessmen became disenchanted with the domination of trade by these European monopolies, hence the formation
of nationalist movements to protect the African businessmen.Africans were also being exploited through cheap labour and the exportation of raw materials from the continent to oversea countries without adequate compensation
     Social Factors:  The unequal distribution of Africans resources between the Africans and Europeans led to social discrimination, which did not go down well with the educated Africans. This aroused the consciousness of the civil servants to the call for nationalists movements. Based on cultural imperialism and white racism, there was an insulting and dehumanizing treatment of certain aspects of the African culture. This was more prevalent in the french colonies where the french rubbished the African culture and imposed hers on the people. In the french west African colonies, the french assumed that their civilization and culture had attained the highest possible standard and set out to impose this standard on the nations whose civilizations they felt inferior to their own. Thus the black peoples of Africa were to be transformed into Frenchmen.