Minorities and the State in Africa By Michael U. Mbanaso and Chi ...

people who share ethnic and linguistic characteristic have greater control of their own lives. While one cannot argue that Africans lived in pristine peace before the imposition of colonialism, the neglect of the pre-colonial structures of African societies gives rise to a skewed perspective where the contemporary political structure in Africa and its ethnic, religious, and linguistic makeup are treated as if they were not a recent development.

The historical reality, of course, remains that we may not wholly redraw the map of Africa designed by European imperial power in the beginning of the last century, but states have an obligation to provide equal protection for their citizens and guarantee the rights of both the majority and minority populations that live in them.