Piff Huxtable
Delaney 2020,2024,2028...
2Quik4UHoes doesn't care about Cape VerdeWell since you brought it up.....:hugoehh:
.....this is what I'm hoping for.
African borders need to be redrawn, we can all agree on this but do have the stomach to stand aside?
- Thread starter ☑︎#VoteDemocrat
- Start date
Mr Bubbles
Superstar
I love all this talk about moving back into Egypt to reclaim it but man, that shyt would turn bloody quick.
2Quik4UHoes doesn't care about Cape Verde
I couldn't even figure out which was which. Cape Verde either an island of West Africa or North Africa. Don't worry breh, I care about all Africans.
I'm sure the Arabs didn't take over singing kumbaya. :hugoehh:
TMNT4000
Superstar
But do you really think is possible for blacks to re popularize north Africa?
I dont think balkanization or these huge federations will work. I think some territories should be exchanged but on a case by case basis. Nigeria and Kenya should stay in tact. So should the North African states. Etc. Maybe kenya can merge with Tanzania. Ghana can take part of cote dvoire, mali can split, try Senegambia again. Rwanda+Burundi (same language history etc). Its not as easy as drawing lines
those in favor of balkanization do you support an Afrikaner homeland
All the Swahili speaking states are on the verge of doing so. Those large federations would bring enough resources, manpower, and land to effectively modernize those individual states which in effect would create a flourishing region-state. Why should China, or the US, or India have all that size? Africans lived next to each other and interacted since forever. It was Europeans that did away with those age old relationships in order to make all groups dependent of the mother country during colonialism, even before that to be frank. I know it seems like a longshot right now, but as it stands the tide is actually trending in that direction. The EAC will be a reality, at least in regards to Swahili speaking states, but if it will gain it's true size in the map I drew out is a totally different question that has yet to be fully answered.
lol, I really said all that shyt half-jokingly. But I honestly don't see why not, it would take decades tho.
TMNT4000
Superstar
Well Africa population growth is gonna explode, so there might be a possibility that might happen.
India, China, and US are their sizes due to imperial conquests. not the same. withing the EAC, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi barely have any Swahili speakers. anyway i do like the idea of the EAC (Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania) but i don't think they should just go and eat up all of eastern Africa. African countries don't need to be huge to compete, look at countries like Germany, France, UK, Switzerland etc. they are large but not huge. there really isn't a real reason to unite Africa into 4 countries besides ego. let the EAC be (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, maybe Malawi), establish Rwanda-Burundi, let Somalia be, maybe the Habesha states can unite as Ethiopia (i don't think Habesha includes Somalia but i may be wrong), keep Nigeria together. maybe let Ghana annex the other Akan speaking areas, united the Congos, keep Angola together , Keep the North African states the same, Senegambia, keep Botswana, Zambia+Zimbabwe etc. etc.
The population density of many African countries can support further growth, you get countries like Nigeria,Egypt,Rwanda , and Burundi that are densely populated especially in the case of Rwanda/Burundi.In the case of Rwanda/Burundi their only probable solution is union within East Africa but then again Tanzania is very strict on land ownership and Kenya's land issues have exploded before, they get no love from the bigger Central African countries because of their shenanigans so they have to place their hope on the EAC. I would say given their history of attacks and reprisal attacks Rwanda and Burundi might be prime candidates for ethnic based nations.
I think the British tried before to organize Kenya/TZ and Uganda as a union in the early days but that fell through. Present day Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi were also one country based on a Federation for 10 years in the 1950s to 60s and that failed because the Zimbabwean based whites monopolized everything to the chagrin of their counterparts in Zambia and Malawi. The British also had a plan to join Rhodesia with South Africa in 1920 which was rejected in a referendum , the end goal being to consolidate the protectorates (Botswana,Lesotho,Swaziland) and the other 2 countries. Much of the moves were driven by the need to manage colonies in a cost efficient manner above anything else. The only way maps are ever going to be redrawn is after a long civil war like the case in Sudan, there just is no peaceful way of taking territory from countries without setting a dangerous precedent.The guys who shot up the Togolese National team were fighting for a small piece of land albeit with oil from Angola and there is a bunch of them in Africa that would be embolden by any new state formation.
I think the British tried before to organize Kenya/TZ and Uganda as a union in the early days but that fell through. Present day Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi were also one country based on a Federation for 10 years in the 1950s to 60s and that failed because the Zimbabwean based whites monopolized everything to the chagrin of their counterparts in Zambia and Malawi. The British also had a plan to join Rhodesia with South Africa in 1920 which was rejected in a referendum , the end goal being to consolidate the protectorates (Botswana,Lesotho,Swaziland) and the other 2 countries. Much of the moves were driven by the need to manage colonies in a cost efficient manner above anything else. The only way maps are ever going to be redrawn is after a long civil war like the case in Sudan, there just is no peaceful way of taking territory from countries without setting a dangerous precedent.The guys who shot up the Togolese National team were fighting for a small piece of land albeit with oil from Angola and there is a bunch of them in Africa that would be embolden by any new state formation.
India, China, and US are their sizes due to imperial conquests.(True, not to use such an ugly example but not all of Hitler's conquests were of a military sort) not the same. withing the EAC, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi barely have any Swahili speakers. (Well it's the planned lingua franca) anyway i do like the idea of the EAC (Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania) but i don't think they should just go and eat up all of eastern Africa.(I do, that's a huge coastline in one of the busiest shipping routes in the world with minerals, oil/natural gas, and an abundance of fertile lands for farming....sounds like a come up to me) African countries don't need to be huge to compete, look at countries like Germany, France, UK, Switzerland etc. they are large but not huge.(Breh, most of those countries built their wealth off of the extraction of African resources in such a rigged way that only helped them get to the level they enjoy now. Short of ridiculous resource wealth within a small space the game isn't suddenly gonna get fair for these African countries they need all the power possible.) there really isn't a real reason to unite Africa into 4 countries besides ego.(But wouldn't a lot of egos be sacrificed in doing such a thing? :hmmjblet the EAC be (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, maybe Malawi), establish Rwanda-Burundi, let Somalia be, maybe the Habesha states can unite as Ethiopia (i don't think Habesha includes Somalia but i may be wrong)(That's a very complex thing, what is a Habesha state? Who is Habesha? Ethiopia has several incarnations breh the most ancient being a unified Nile Valley), keep Nigeria together. maybe let Ghana annex the other Akan speaking areas(I think the combined resources of West Africa would better , united the Congos, keep Angola together , Keep the North African states the same, Senegambia(Sorely needed), keep Botswana, Zambia+Zimbabwe etc. etc.
We just gotta agree to disagree. I see no point in keeping things small or making it smaller. Making these same colonial creations into states within a regional federation makes economic independence a reality and gives the people a chance to use their resources to make their lives better. Collective security, collective investment, collective governance, Africans need more unity not less of it.
But that's just my issue, it's all to interpretation. I consider the tribes of the Nile Valley to be part of one common ancestor that being the very first humans traced in that part of the world. The only differences between us being the migrations of other peoples throughout the millennia afterward. So for example, technically Somalis aren't Habesha however both groups are tied by common Cushyte origin. All of our Blackness in that part of East Africa is Cushyte but there are others as well that can be found across the borders to the south and west, Cushyte migration went as far south as northern Tanzania. Southerners are influenced by the Bantu migrations, Middle East Africans have a combination of European and Asian influences, and Northeast Africans are much more influenced by the Arab migrations. Not to mention the migration within the valley, the civilization that went on to birth Egypt came to be after the migrations of the peoples of the Nile from all directions and even outside the Nile Valley.
I don't mean to be preachy or sound esoteric about it, but truthfully I have no idea whatsoever why all of a sudden people that have lived next to each other forever would have a problem with it. If it weren't done the right way then yes, but if this was some honest on the level politics that sought to help the people and bring the region to the level it deserves to be then why couldn't it work? All these people that are refugees now wouldn't be if they were a part of something modern and in the interest of the people.
A Horn African state will just be a bigger Ethiopia which is funny. Somalis already inhabit the eastern part of Ethiopia, Djibouti is Somali/Afar state and both groups live in Ethiopia and we know about Eritrea. Honestly there would probably be no change except for perhaps Ethiopia going from a land-locked state to the state with the biggest coastline in Africa. It'll be the same country but with just more Afar, Somali and Tigrinya speakers bahaha I can't think of anything else. Anyway for North East Africa I support a Sudan+Horn African model. The East African future federation for the mostly Swahili speaking east Africans already exists.
The only problems might be for the North East state, the religion. I'm personally an Atheist and I wish this problem wouldn't exist but how are things going to go about in a Majority Muslim North-East African state but with a significant Christian population? That will be the biggest challenge for a lot of countries if African countries try to create Geo-political state unions.
By the way if Ethiopia was successfully colonised by Italy, therefore connecting Italian East Africa, would the horn have been a single country? lol I never thought of that but it sounds crazy.
The only problems might be for the North East state, the religion. I'm personally an Atheist and I wish this problem wouldn't exist but how are things going to go about in a Majority Muslim North-East African state but with a significant Christian population? That will be the biggest challenge for a lot of countries if African countries try to create Geo-political state unions.
By the way if Ethiopia was successfully colonised by Italy, therefore connecting Italian East Africa, would the horn have been a single country? lol I never thought of that but it sounds crazy.
Will Scottish referendum encourage Africa's separatists?
By Farouk ChothiaBBC Africa
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
Many African countries have secessionist movements, partly because their borders were drawn up by colonial powers in the 19th Century. Will the Scottish referendum lead to a greater push for independence on the continent?
In one of the few referendums on sovereignty to be held in Africa, in 1961, the people of the British colony of Southern Cameroon voted to join the French territory of Cameroun, while the separate territory of Northern Cameroon opted to join Nigeria.
More than half a century later, some English-speaking Cameroonians want independence, saying they face discrimination by the French-speaking majority.
"The conspiracy between the UK and France denied us the option of independence. Now, the British are being haunted here," independence campaigner Ebenezer Akwanga told the BBC.
'Enemy of your enemy'
"They are all Anglo-Saxon, but the Scottish are having their own referendum with an in/out option. Why can't we?"
But analysts say there is unlikely to be a "domino effect" of independence referendums across Africa.
"The international community has no appetite to rearrange boundaries. It will be an endless process," says Paulo Gorjao, director of the Portuguese Institute for International Relations and Security.
Mr Gorjao argues that Africa's myriad secessionist movements are weaker now then during the Cold War, when they relied heavily on the support of either Western powers or the former Soviet bloc.
The Polisario Front's demand for independence is rejected by Morocco
"Now, none of the major players support a faction against the government," Mr Gorjao told the BBC.
Expressing a similar view, Berny Sebe, a lecturer in colonial and post-colonial studies at the University of Birmingham in the UK, says the Polisario Front (PF) is a good example of a movement which has suffered as a result of the new international dynamics.
At the scene: Peter Musembi, BBC Africa, Glasgow
Africans make up a paltry 0.6% of Scotland's 5.3 million-strong population. But as the referendum is a tight race, their vote - along with that of other minorities - could influence the outcome.
Many Africans are as passionate about the referendum as the native Scottish. On Monday, a pro-independence rally was held in Glasgow's Calabash restaurant, a popular hang-out among Africans.
My impression is that many Africans will vote for independence. They believe Scotland has more favourable policies towards immigrants - for instance, a student can stay here longer than in England after graduating. They also draw parallels with Africa, arguing that just as British rule ended there in the 1960s, it has to end in Scotland.
But others disagree, saying that "petty nationalism" lies at the heart of the campaign for Scottish independence. They believe it will set a dangerous precedent, and encourage separatist groups in Africa to step up their campaigns for independence.
They also argue that being part of the UK benefits them economically as they can go to England to look for jobs - something that may become difficult if Scotland splits from the rest of the country.
The PF received strong Algerian and Soviet support in its campaign to press Morocco to give the Saharawi people their own homeland, while Morocco was backed by the US and France as it resisted their demands.
"Geo-politics in the region has changed. With the end of the Cold War, it is no longer critical to support the enemy of your enemy," Mr Sebe told the BBC.
'Pandora's box'
While in Angola, the end of the civil war between the MPLA government and the Unita rebel group led to a decline in support for the Flec movement, which has been fighting for three decades for the independence of the oil-rich Cabinda strip, which is physically separate from the rest Angola, Mr Gorjao says.
"People realise it's a lost cause. Everyone is benefiting from the stability of the last 10 years. People are living better, despite the corruption," he adds.
Demands for the creation of Biafra state are still heard in south-east Nigeria
As African countries emerged from colonial empires, the Organisation of African Union (OAU), now the African Union (AU), agreed in 1963 to accept the existing boundaries in order to avoid border wars between newly independent states.
"This has been mostly respected and even when there were territorial disputes, they often stemmed from conflicting arrangements between rival colonial powers, like the conflict between Libya and Chad in the 1970s and 1980s," Mr Sebe says.
Mr Gorjao says referendums to change colonial boundaries have been the exception rather than the rule in Africa, and he does not expect any to be held in the foreseeable future.
"It doesn't make sense to hold referendums. It will open a Pandora's box," he says.
'Messy divorces'
Only two internationally-recognised states have emerged in post-independent Africa - Eritrea, which voted to break away from Ethiopia in 1993 and South Sudan, which split from Sudan in 2011 after a referendum backed by the United Nations (UN) and AU.
In both instances, the splits were messy - Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a border war between 1998 and 2000, which left some 70,000 people dead.
The border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea killed some 70,000 people
South Sudan's experience has not encouraged other countries to seek independence
Similarly, South Sudan's boundary with Sudan has not yet been clearly demarcated, and both sides have accused the other of cross-border incursions.
South Sudan has also faced internal conflicts - the most serious one the battle between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and his sacked deputy Riek Machar.
The fighting, which broke out in December, has forced more than two million people to flee their homes.
Martin Ewi, an analyst with the South African Institute for Security Studies, says the crisis facing South Sudan may have harmed the cause of independence movements elsewhere on the continent.
"I don't think people will want to see new states emerging and heading in that direction," he says.
Many people in the Angolan province of Cabinda are said to be tired of conflict
Citing the case of Cameroon, he argues that its secessionist movement is "dying every day".
This is because ethnic affiliations cut across internal boundaries and are stronger than "Anglophone or Francophone nationalism", says Mr Ewi, who is a Cameroonian.
'Repressive'
Furthermore, President Paul Biya's government has made efforts to address the grievances of English-speaking Cameroonians, Mr Ewi argues.
"Having travelled around the country, I don't see a fundamental difference in development [between former British and French-controlled areas]," Mr Ewi told the BBC.
"When it comes to education, there were only French-speaking universities in the past but that argument no longer holds. Today, we have English-speaking universities," he adds.
Critics accuse the Cameroonian military of cracking down on dissent
The emergence of militant Islamist group has raised concerns about creating new states
However, Mr Akwanga, who seeks independence for English-speaking Cameroon, disagrees.
He argues that as many African governments are repressive, only international pressure will force them to hold referendums.
"In Paul Biya's Cameroon, no party similar to the SNP will be allowed to win an election," Mr Akwanga says.
On the other side of the continent, some residents of the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar are following the Scottish referendum, hoping for something similar to determine its relationship with mainland Tanzania, says the BBC Aboubakar Famau, who is on the island.
People in Zanzibar are hoping that their relationship with the mainland will be reviewed
Once a British protectorate, Zanzibar became part of Tanganyika in 1964, forming the United Republic of Tanzania.
Although it is already a semi-autonomous territory with its own parliament and president, many people in Zanzibar believe it gets a raw deal and are pushing for more powers or outright independence.
The Tanzanian government has agreed to review the constitution in an attempt to address their grievances.
Scotland: Road to referendum
In Nigeria, the military brutally crushed efforts to create the breakaway state of Biafra in the south-east in 1967, seven years after Nigeria won its independence from Britain.
Some 50 years later, "secessionist demands are never too far from the surface" in Africa's most populous state, which is heavily divided along ethnic and religious lines, says Mannir Dan Ali, editor of Nigeria's Daily Trust newspaper.
"Currently, all the regions are suspicious of the real intention of the other," he told the BBC.
'Artificial country'
"However, at sober moments, most people agree that Nigerians need each other and it is only in one Nigeria that you will have the numbers and the variety of resources to become an important country that could satisfy the yearnings of more if its citizens."
Mr Sebe argues that the emergence of militant Islamist groups like Nigeria's Boko Haram reduces the chances of foreign powers supporting the creation of potentially failed or shaky states where jihadis could operate freely.
"Nigeria is an artificial country formed as a result of British imperial activity. There is a distinct possibility of more devolution, but I don't see its unity under threat in the current circumstances," he told the BBC.
Libya has been anarchic since the 2011 revolution
He says in Africa, Libya faces the biggest threat of disintegrating as rival militias battle for power following the overthrow of long-serving ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
"Unfortunately, it is quite similar to Somalia in the 1990s, where the world witnessed the gradual decomposition of the state," Mr Sebe says.
Since long-server ruler Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991, several self-governing territories have emerged from Somalia, but none are internationally recognised.
No effective central government exists in Libya either, with militias, split along ideological, regional and ethnic lines, fighting for territorial control.
In the east, regional leaders declared autonomy, calling the area Cyrenaica - a name which harks back to the 1950s when Libya's regions enjoyed federal power.
Mr Sebe says the resolution of the conflict in Libya will require the concerted effort of Western and Arab states, but their attention is currently focused on Iraq and Syria, raising the risk that its disintegration will continue.
But overall, most African states are more stable and democratic now - and there are stronger links between different ethnic groups - than in the period immediately after independence, analysts say.
This is another reason why we are unlikely to see more African countries breaking apart in the near future.
By Farouk ChothiaBBC Africa
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
Many African countries have secessionist movements, partly because their borders were drawn up by colonial powers in the 19th Century. Will the Scottish referendum lead to a greater push for independence on the continent?
In one of the few referendums on sovereignty to be held in Africa, in 1961, the people of the British colony of Southern Cameroon voted to join the French territory of Cameroun, while the separate territory of Northern Cameroon opted to join Nigeria.
More than half a century later, some English-speaking Cameroonians want independence, saying they face discrimination by the French-speaking majority.
"The conspiracy between the UK and France denied us the option of independence. Now, the British are being haunted here," independence campaigner Ebenezer Akwanga told the BBC.
'Enemy of your enemy'
"They are all Anglo-Saxon, but the Scottish are having their own referendum with an in/out option. Why can't we?"
But analysts say there is unlikely to be a "domino effect" of independence referendums across Africa.
"The international community has no appetite to rearrange boundaries. It will be an endless process," says Paulo Gorjao, director of the Portuguese Institute for International Relations and Security.
Mr Gorjao argues that Africa's myriad secessionist movements are weaker now then during the Cold War, when they relied heavily on the support of either Western powers or the former Soviet bloc.
"Now, none of the major players support a faction against the government," Mr Gorjao told the BBC.
Expressing a similar view, Berny Sebe, a lecturer in colonial and post-colonial studies at the University of Birmingham in the UK, says the Polisario Front (PF) is a good example of a movement which has suffered as a result of the new international dynamics.
At the scene: Peter Musembi, BBC Africa, Glasgow
Africans make up a paltry 0.6% of Scotland's 5.3 million-strong population. But as the referendum is a tight race, their vote - along with that of other minorities - could influence the outcome.
Many Africans are as passionate about the referendum as the native Scottish. On Monday, a pro-independence rally was held in Glasgow's Calabash restaurant, a popular hang-out among Africans.
My impression is that many Africans will vote for independence. They believe Scotland has more favourable policies towards immigrants - for instance, a student can stay here longer than in England after graduating. They also draw parallels with Africa, arguing that just as British rule ended there in the 1960s, it has to end in Scotland.
But others disagree, saying that "petty nationalism" lies at the heart of the campaign for Scottish independence. They believe it will set a dangerous precedent, and encourage separatist groups in Africa to step up their campaigns for independence.
They also argue that being part of the UK benefits them economically as they can go to England to look for jobs - something that may become difficult if Scotland splits from the rest of the country.
The PF received strong Algerian and Soviet support in its campaign to press Morocco to give the Saharawi people their own homeland, while Morocco was backed by the US and France as it resisted their demands.
"Geo-politics in the region has changed. With the end of the Cold War, it is no longer critical to support the enemy of your enemy," Mr Sebe told the BBC.
'Pandora's box'
While in Angola, the end of the civil war between the MPLA government and the Unita rebel group led to a decline in support for the Flec movement, which has been fighting for three decades for the independence of the oil-rich Cabinda strip, which is physically separate from the rest Angola, Mr Gorjao says.
"People realise it's a lost cause. Everyone is benefiting from the stability of the last 10 years. People are living better, despite the corruption," he adds.
As African countries emerged from colonial empires, the Organisation of African Union (OAU), now the African Union (AU), agreed in 1963 to accept the existing boundaries in order to avoid border wars between newly independent states.
"This has been mostly respected and even when there were territorial disputes, they often stemmed from conflicting arrangements between rival colonial powers, like the conflict between Libya and Chad in the 1970s and 1980s," Mr Sebe says.
Mr Gorjao says referendums to change colonial boundaries have been the exception rather than the rule in Africa, and he does not expect any to be held in the foreseeable future.
"It doesn't make sense to hold referendums. It will open a Pandora's box," he says.
'Messy divorces'
Only two internationally-recognised states have emerged in post-independent Africa - Eritrea, which voted to break away from Ethiopia in 1993 and South Sudan, which split from Sudan in 2011 after a referendum backed by the United Nations (UN) and AU.
In both instances, the splits were messy - Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a border war between 1998 and 2000, which left some 70,000 people dead.
Similarly, South Sudan's boundary with Sudan has not yet been clearly demarcated, and both sides have accused the other of cross-border incursions.
South Sudan has also faced internal conflicts - the most serious one the battle between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and his sacked deputy Riek Machar.
The fighting, which broke out in December, has forced more than two million people to flee their homes.
Martin Ewi, an analyst with the South African Institute for Security Studies, says the crisis facing South Sudan may have harmed the cause of independence movements elsewhere on the continent.
"I don't think people will want to see new states emerging and heading in that direction," he says.
Citing the case of Cameroon, he argues that its secessionist movement is "dying every day".
This is because ethnic affiliations cut across internal boundaries and are stronger than "Anglophone or Francophone nationalism", says Mr Ewi, who is a Cameroonian.
'Repressive'
Furthermore, President Paul Biya's government has made efforts to address the grievances of English-speaking Cameroonians, Mr Ewi argues.
"Having travelled around the country, I don't see a fundamental difference in development [between former British and French-controlled areas]," Mr Ewi told the BBC.
"When it comes to education, there were only French-speaking universities in the past but that argument no longer holds. Today, we have English-speaking universities," he adds.
However, Mr Akwanga, who seeks independence for English-speaking Cameroon, disagrees.
He argues that as many African governments are repressive, only international pressure will force them to hold referendums.
"In Paul Biya's Cameroon, no party similar to the SNP will be allowed to win an election," Mr Akwanga says.
On the other side of the continent, some residents of the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar are following the Scottish referendum, hoping for something similar to determine its relationship with mainland Tanzania, says the BBC Aboubakar Famau, who is on the island.
Once a British protectorate, Zanzibar became part of Tanganyika in 1964, forming the United Republic of Tanzania.
Although it is already a semi-autonomous territory with its own parliament and president, many people in Zanzibar believe it gets a raw deal and are pushing for more powers or outright independence.
The Tanzanian government has agreed to review the constitution in an attempt to address their grievances.
Scotland: Road to referendum
- Kingdom of Scotland emerges as sovereign independent state in early Middle Ages
- Its monarch James VI becomes king of England and Ireland in 1603
- Forms political union with England in 1707 to create Kingdom of Great Britain
- Powers devolved to Scottish parliament after 1997 referendum
- Pro-independence Scottish National Party wins overall majority in 2011 election
- Opens way for 18 September referendum
In Nigeria, the military brutally crushed efforts to create the breakaway state of Biafra in the south-east in 1967, seven years after Nigeria won its independence from Britain.
Some 50 years later, "secessionist demands are never too far from the surface" in Africa's most populous state, which is heavily divided along ethnic and religious lines, says Mannir Dan Ali, editor of Nigeria's Daily Trust newspaper.
"Currently, all the regions are suspicious of the real intention of the other," he told the BBC.
'Artificial country'
"However, at sober moments, most people agree that Nigerians need each other and it is only in one Nigeria that you will have the numbers and the variety of resources to become an important country that could satisfy the yearnings of more if its citizens."
Mr Sebe argues that the emergence of militant Islamist groups like Nigeria's Boko Haram reduces the chances of foreign powers supporting the creation of potentially failed or shaky states where jihadis could operate freely.
"Nigeria is an artificial country formed as a result of British imperial activity. There is a distinct possibility of more devolution, but I don't see its unity under threat in the current circumstances," he told the BBC.
He says in Africa, Libya faces the biggest threat of disintegrating as rival militias battle for power following the overthrow of long-serving ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
"Unfortunately, it is quite similar to Somalia in the 1990s, where the world witnessed the gradual decomposition of the state," Mr Sebe says.
Since long-server ruler Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991, several self-governing territories have emerged from Somalia, but none are internationally recognised.
No effective central government exists in Libya either, with militias, split along ideological, regional and ethnic lines, fighting for territorial control.
In the east, regional leaders declared autonomy, calling the area Cyrenaica - a name which harks back to the 1950s when Libya's regions enjoyed federal power.
Mr Sebe says the resolution of the conflict in Libya will require the concerted effort of Western and Arab states, but their attention is currently focused on Iraq and Syria, raising the risk that its disintegration will continue.
But overall, most African states are more stable and democratic now - and there are stronger links between different ethnic groups - than in the period immediately after independence, analysts say.
This is another reason why we are unlikely to see more African countries breaking apart in the near future.
newworldafro
DeeperThanRapBiggerThanHH
Redraw the borders to what exactly...there weren't any borders until the European powers came in an arbitrarily created them.
Its funny b/se on one hand you have these trans-national movements towards regional government, yet at the same time there is this talking (perpetual probably) of parts of existing countries to break away.
Its a trip.
Its funny b/se on one hand you have these trans-national movements towards regional government, yet at the same time there is this talking (perpetual probably) of parts of existing countries to break away.
Its a trip.