Life After Decolonization

Big Era Nine in Africa is easily distinguished because of the serious changes most countries underwent. Most countries in Africa gained their independence from a European Power at this time, and some became countries for the first time in history. Although every country had a unique decolonization experience, two that are starkly different were Kenya and Nigeria. Both experienced wars, however; Kenya had to fight against the British, and Nigeria had to fight against internal dissent. In these two countries, the differences outweigh the similarities, and the multitudinous differences between the two clearly demonstrate their dissimilarity in decolonization. In Kenya, the African people in this area had to struggle for their independence. In order to gain an independent state, they had to fight a war to expel the British from their land. Also, this area contained many White Settlers, who put pressure on the British to keep the Kenyan colony. This war lasted a long time and cost many Kenyan lives. Although they …show more content…
After decolonization was achieved, Kenya had a peaceful transition from colony to country, and Jomo Kenyatta became the leader. With his rule, there was not much political instability and Kenya became an increasingly stable nation. Contrasting, Nigeria underwent a period of instability and internal dissent. With the mixture of beliefs and tribes in the Nigerian area, the Igbo people wanted to secede from the newly formed Nigeria, thus beginning he Nigerian-Biafra War. This created a period of high tension and discontent, even after the war ended because of the inability to create a political or cultural system that suited each of the groups. The differences between Kenya and Nigeria do not stop as decolonization ends, but they are continually prevalent in the period immediately after independence is gained in each