Restructuring the African State and Quest for Regional Integration

The author looks at different approaches towards regional and continental unity, and the need to restructure the African state. He contends that reconfiguration of the African state is necessary after the institutions inherited at independence, especially centralisation of power, have failed to serve the people. He calls for decentralisation of power in order to enable the people - different groups - to set their own agenda for sustainable development. Power should be in the hands of the people at the grassroots level using local institutions to formulate development plans, control and allocate resources in their own areas. Reconfiguration of the African state will also help to accommodate different ethnic groups on equal basis and enable marginalised groups, especially smaller and weaker groups, to fully participate in the political process and get a fair share of the nation's resources without being dominated and exploited by others, especially dominant groups. Restructuring the state will also enable all groups to play an equal role in achieving unity, stability and development. The work is also an examination of the transition African countries have gone through since independence and the problems they have faced and continue to face in terms of nation building and trying to achieve and maintain peace and stability without which prosperity is impossible. It is a call for rebuilding Africa through a combination of innovative approaches.