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        A cursory look at current events on the African continent leads 
one to scream like Graham Greene did many years ago “It’s a 
battlefield!” The history of Africa seems to be an orgy of violence and 
bloodshed. One only needs to take a walk down memory lane: the genocide 
in Rwanda and Darfur, the bloodbath in the Democratic Republic of the 
Congo and in Liberia, and the Saga in Côte d’Ivoire, to name but a few. 
Many factors account for this state of affairs; the most patent of 
which are international boundaries and bad governance. The irony with 
Africa is that its political boundaries derived from externally 
negotiated settlements, not to say brute European military force, 
rather than any ethno-linguistic arrangement.

         The trail of economic destruction and human suffering left on 
the continent by civil wars is without precedence.  Why civil wars 
continue to be routine on our continent remains a moot point. One 
reason may be that political oppression, racial subordination and 
economic exploitation have condemned Africans to a common misfortune. 
Another reason for recurrent civil strife in Africa is that aspirants 
to power after decolonization have held different views as regards a 
new politico-socio-economic dispensation on the continent. Sometimes a 
civil war erupts as a result of the demise of a dictatorial political 
order under a tyrannical president. The case of the Somali civil war 
which erupted in the aftermath of the fall of the dictator, Siad Barre, 
is still fresh in our minds. Ponder the civil war that engulfed Liberia 
following the demise of Machiavellian Samuel Doe. The civil war in 
Ethiopia ended after the fall of Mengistu Haile Mariam.

         In the main, it makes sense to opine that the absence of a 
firm constitutional blueprint in the majority of African nation states 
has contributed to the outbreak of civil wars. A firm constitutional 
blueprint would have a two-fold purpose. Firstly, it would provide for 
political, civil and economic participation by different ethnic and 
civic constituencies. Secondly, a blueprint would ensure that there is 
legitimate and organized political succession, including the 
formulation of conditions and terms of office (presidential, 
ministerial and parliamentary). Nigeria embodies the political 
difficulties that occur due to the absence of a constitutional 
framework. Despite the proliferation of constituent federal units in 
Nigeria, the conception of a firm constitutional and political order is 
still problematic. In consequence, the military has monopolized power 
in Nigeria since independence from Great Britain more than forty years 
ago. In fact, Nigeria oscillates today between political chaos and 
military autocracy!

         It has to be noted that the constitutional issue is more than 
simply drawing up a constitution.  Africa’s constitutions must be 
upheld in practical governance. At present, there is too much toying 
around with national constitutions in Africa. There must be a way of 
holding African leaders accountable for any breaches of the 
constitution. The recent political fiasco in Togo is irrefutable 
evidence that when the supreme law of the land is subjected to the 
whims and caprices of dishonest politicians, the inevitable end product 
is political chaos and civil strife. Social stability and economic 
development are not chance occurrences. They are the result of sound 
political decision-making. The fact of the matter is that Africans are 
peace-lovers. They want a better place to live in. Sadly enough, If you 
look at the history of Africa keenly, three levels of oppression stand 
out clearly: blacks oppressing blacks, Arabs oppressing Blacks and 
whites (neo-colonizers) oppressing both Blacks and Arabs. We cannot 
allow this dismal status quo to go on forever. The onus is upon us to 
devise ways and means to reverse the current trend.


PETER W.VAKUNTA
DEPARTMENT OF FRENCH AND ITALIAN 
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MADISON
602 VAN HISE HALL
1220 LINDEN DRIVE
MADISON WI 53706-1525
U.S.A
Office  608 262 4067
Home    608 422 6089
Cell    608 381 0407

"The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of the wise man is 
in his heart." 
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
 
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