Ayittey on African Borders-We don't need 2000 little Djiboutis

"...the issue or artificial borders and the potential for break-ups are real but the issue is not being handled properly. I opposed the split of Ethiopia into Ethiopia and Eritrea, just as I oppose the secession of South Sudan because if we take self-determination of a people to its logical limit, we may end up with over 2,000 little Djiboutis all over the continent — each with a Swiss bank account for the president, a one-plane fleet and a state-controlled television station. Nigeria alone has 250 ethnic groups. The source of the problem is not artificial borders but rather strong centralized rule that is produced by the unitary state system — a colonial relic. Remember, in pre-colonial Africa, Africans of different ethnicity have lived peacefully together in large polities — the Ghana Empire, Songhai, Mali Empire, and Great Zimbabwe. All these were confederacies which were characterized by a great deal of decentralization of power and devolution of authority. They allowed local autonomy to maintain their own distinctive ethnic identities. The solution, to me, is a confederation of African states, not secession.”