The Africa Rule and the Current Perception of Post-Independence Secession in Africa

Abstract: The idea of post-independence secession has been a phenomenon confronting the international community. In Africa, there have been many failed attempts by scores of groups to secede from their prevailing states. However, these attempts could be seen as taboo, judging by the manner in which African states have employed the instrument of coercion to suppress the struggles for independence. There is a consensus of some sort among African states that state frontiers must never be redrawn, even those that were drawn by colonialists. The study discovers that African states are not in tune with the current state practice, where post-independence secessions have been permitted across the world, notwithstanding the doctrine of territorial integrity. Therefore, there is a need for a paradigm shift since the concept of sovereignty has evolved, and sovereignty is now seen as divisible, negotiated, and shared. In other words, the relationship between sovereignty and self-determination has, in our contemporary international system become much more complex.