African Traditional Administrative Systems

Several years before the occupation of its territory by the European imperialists, different ethnic groups in Africa had well-organised governance and administrative structures. Even though the history of interactions between/among African peoples and other countries across the world is old, however, those interactions were of more benefit to the Europeans than the Africans. As soon as the Europeans set their sights on Africa during the course of their exploration, they got the idea of how rich this part of the world was and so, the need for territorial expansion in other to extend their spheres of influence. In the 19th century, therefore, Africa appeared as a major place for colonisation, especially as a result of its wealth of untapped and endowed natural resources. These well-deposited resources made Africa attractive to Europeans for possible exploitation. To make the colonisation processes easy, the Europeans disguised under what is being referred to as the "Three C's", that is, "Civilisation, Christianity, and Commerce", to penetrate into African land.