Separatist movements have been frequent as the sense of contentment fades among groups of people across the globe. A push for political independence will always seem to be the best option for groups of people who feel that the government alienates them, or perhaps when such people have an assurance of self sufficiency when they detach from the central government, probably because they have plenty of resources to rely on. Led by some selected leaders of their own, the separatist group of people begin radical movements to agitate for a government of their own which is far much separate from their initial government. When the movement yields good fruit, new territories are created which are completely autonomous and sovereign as any other nation state. For instance, the separation of Sudan into two different states, Sudan and South Sudan, created two different states which are absolutely autonomous and independent from each other. The original Sudan thus has no power over the detached South Sudan and this makes such states two very different entities, all with similar powers over its subjects.
Separatist movements have adverse and gruesome effects on the locals and everyone else in such territory. The effects of wars are very superficial and thus everyone can also try to figure out what damages separatist wars bring along. Such wars usually promote the interests of a few selfish personalities while the mammoth of the rest of the public is left out suffering the effects of wars they know nothing about, just behind the idea that their region will have full independence from its mother country. Promises of economic prosperity of the region and citizens after seceding is the bait that nobody can resist and that which blindfolds the masses from seeing the dark side of such a move.
Seceding regions are usually those regions of the country which hold much of the economy of the country in topic and which can sustain their own economies without the help of the mother country. However, cases of successful secession are unheard of despite long periods of bargaining and even war in case it erupts.
Some of the secessionist movements or attempts recorded to have taken place in Africa include, among them, the following:
1.The coastal region of Kenya
The coastal region of Kenya is among the best performing regions of the country and much of its revenue is sourced from tourism and port revenues. The region is thus a major source of Kenya’s revenue and thus a successful secession would be a great blow to the country’s revenue. The Kenyan coast is among the best tourist destinations in Kenya and is the opening of the country to the sea and this means that that is a very important region of the country. Its economy is wide and very productive, ranging from local and foreign investment, tourism, fisheries, recreational centres, port authority among many other income sources for the region.
It would be better if I briefly talk about the sphere of the coastal region in topic. This is because there are contradictions about the understanding of the stretch of the coastal region.
During the colonial era, the sultan of Tanganyika was given the mandate over the coastal strip which was a narrow stretch from Tanganyika to a place called Sultan Hamud in the Eastern part of the country. That is the original coastal strip before the country was divided into different provinces and later to different counties. The division into provinces separated this strip into Coastal Province and Eastern Province after Tanganyika retained its region as it belonged to a different state. The division into counties saw just a change of just the names as new names were given. Coastal Province changed to Mombasa County while Eastern Province changed to Makueni County.
Now, the coastal region in topic is Mombasa County, which is a stronghold of Kenya’s opposition. The leaders who included twelve members of parliament and four senators brought up the motion of seceding in protest of Uhuru’s re-election and also claiming that its people have been marginalized by the central government. The movement leaders and the vocalist of the campaign for a secession said that they would use peaceful means to make sure that they achieve their goals of securing independence for their ‘citizens’. They claimed to have hired top lawyers in the country and from abroad who would help them achieve their goals.
1.South Sudan
The southern part of Sudan, which is now the state of South Sudan successfully seceded from the original Sudan the lead of Riek Machar who is their president and the former rebel leader. The conflict between Riek Machar and Salvar Kiir who is the president of Sudan arose because of the mineral oil in that country.
