Cities, Vol. 23, No. 1, p. 18–29, 2006

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doi:10.1016/j.cities.2005.07.009

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African cities and regional tradein historical perspective:Implications for contemporaryglobalization trendsAmbe J. Njoh *

Department of Government and International Affairs, University of South Florida, 140 7th Avenue South(DAV 258), St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA

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Available online 20 December 2005

This paper has three objectives. First, to identify pre-colonial African towns of regional andinternational significance and to highlight their role as centers of long distance trade, artand craft; second, to identify and discuss the major factors that contributed to weakeningthe position of these towns in the global socio-economic arena; and third, to suggest steps thatcan be taken to transform African towns in particular, and the continent in general, into activeparticipants in contemporary globalization processes. The suggested actions entail investing in,and promoting the use of, modern information technologies; improving conventional mailingsystems; improving road and other transport facilities; and requiring MNCs to contributemeaningfully to development efforts in their host locales and host countries.� 2005 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Keywords: Globalization, pre-colonial Africa, cities, towns, colonialism, international trade

Introduction

Studies of the role of African cities in regional tradeand globalization suffer from a number of majordeficiencies. Prominent amongst these is their lackof historical grounding. This notwithstanding, thestudies are unified in observing that most majorindigenous cities in Africa were major centers of re-gional and international socio-economic activitiesprior to the European colonial era (see e.g., Schnei-der, 2003; Sassen, 2002; Jenkins et al., 2002; Beall,2002; Coquery-Vidrovitch, 1991). The view thatthese cities currently play an insignificant or passiverole in the global economy also attracts consensus(Schneider, 2003, p. 389). Thus, the role of Africancities in the international arena has waned, ratherthan increased, over the years. Why is this the case?What steps are necessary to transform African citiesinto the active participants in regional and interna-

27-553-1509; fax: +1-727-553-1526; e-mail: njoh@stpt.

tional socio-economic affairs that they once were?Stated alternatively: what can be done to make Afri-can cities active players in the contemporary global-ization process?This paper has three main objectives. The first is

to identify pre-colonial African towns of regionaland international significance and highlight theirrole as centers of long distance trade, art and craft.The second is to identify and discuss the major fac-tors that contributed to weakening the position ofthese towns in the global socio-economic arena.The third objective is to suggest steps that can betaken to transform African towns in particular—and the continent in general—into active partici-pants in contemporary globalization processes. Webegin by exploring the concept of globalization.

The concept of globalization

Globalization has become a favorite buzzword in theinternational development lexicon and an increas-ingly popular topic of discussion in intellectual

African cities and regional trade in historical perspective: A J Njoh

and political circles. A testament to globalization�sincreasing popularity is the growing and proliferat-ing literature on the subject.1 One commentatorsuggests that the burgeoning literature on thisnew master subject attests to a sharpening in pub-lic consciousness with regard to matters of globalmagnitude and significance (Lloyd, 2000). As aconcept, the term is mired in controversy, and atthe same time, its meaning tends to change fromone discipline to another. For instance, sociolo-gists perceive globalization as entailing ‘‘the grow-ing interconnectedness of the sociosphere on aworldwide scale’’ (Peterson et al., 1999, p. 16).Seen from this perspective, it follows that—despite rhetoric to the contrary—globalization isnot an entirely new phenomenon, it may simply be‘‘old wine in new bottles’’. There are recorded ac-counts of large-scale movements, such as those thatculminated in the introduction of Buddhism, Chris-tianity and Islam throughout the world. Along simi-lar lines, there are empire-building efforts, inancient and more recent history, that resulted inlarge regions, nations, kingdoms, and cognate enti-ties around the world being brought under a singleunifying socio-economic and political umbrella.For economists, globalization entails geographi-

cally large-scale economic interaction. Such interac-tion involves, inter alia, the free and uninhibitedflow of capital and other important factors of pro-duction. Thus, the term globalization can be takento mean processes involving the flows of capital,commodities, and information that operate to forma single global economy (Schneider, 2003). The no-tion of a single global economy, as employed here,is somewhat misleading as it gives the false impres-sion of some degree of equitability in the distribu-tion of the benefits of globalization. Yet, as oneanalyst accurately notes,

the world has long been—and still is—a space whereeconomic and political relations are very uneven; it is

filled with lumps, places where power coalesces sur-rounded by those where it does not, where social rela-tions become dense amidst others that are diffuse.

Structures and networks penetrate certain placesand do certain things with great intensity, but theireffects tail off elsewhere (Cooper 2001: 190, quoted

in Schneider, 2003, p. 390).

The concomitant inequalities of globalization arereadily apparent when one examines the impact ofthis phenomenon on the sub-Saharan African re-gion in the recent past. A discussion of the conceptin the context of Africa can hardly be deemed com-plete without mention of its link to major urbaniza-tion trends on the continent. In this regard,

1Even by 2000, it was estimated that as many as 1000 pieces hadalready been written on the subject of globalization (see Lloyd,2000).

Coquery-Vidrovitch (1991, p. 2) has identified threemajor phases that comprise the following distinctcharacteristics:

� Prevalent types of production and exchange, ormodes of production, for example a domestic line-age system based on subsistence, or a system basedon a slave-derived social and economic organiza-tion, or a trading system combining slavery andmercantilism, or a capitalist system.

� Given patterns of power and ideology, which alsohelp to structure and maintain it, will correspondto each of these modes, due largely to a religiousmindset in preindustrial societies, or the scientificand technological apparatus of modern capitalistsocieties.

� From every society, from every system of powerand of thought, specific models of cities develop.This process of urbanization reflects and revealsthe global organization of the whole group.

We hasten to note that large-scale socio-economicinteractions have not always had a negative impacton the region. The negative impacts of such interac-tions were first felt in Africa in the 16th century, dur-ing the heydays of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Wediscuss the trans-Atlantic slave trade and otheractivities with negative implications for Africa be-low. For now, suffice to mention that the advent ofthe trans-Atlantic slave trade is perceived by many(e.g., Schneider, 2003) as marking the genesis ofmodern globalization in Africa.

Pre-colonial African cities

Contrary to popular belief, the existence of towns orcities pre-dated the colonial era in Africa (Coquery-Vidrovitch, 1991; Anderson and Rathbone, 2000;King, 1990; Ki-Zerbo, 1978; Hull, 1976). Townsand cities constituted a crucial part of politicallysophisticated and well-organized pre-colonial Afri-can kingdoms, such as those of the Western Sudan,Ghana, Mali and Songhay. The political superiorityof these empires and kingdoms was based on thetechnological advantage they commanded overother human groupings, especially unorganized pol-ities. For instance, the Great Empire of Ghana,which occupied a region to the northwest of pres-ent-day Republic of Ghana, established about 300AD, was able to conquer its neighbors thanks toits relative superiority in iron technology. Successin maintaining these kingdoms and empires de-pended on economically productive activities, suchas industry and trade. Trade in forest products ac-counted for the growth of the Songhay Empire,whose size at one point was the same as that ofthe continental USA and five times that of the HolyRoman Empire (Mazrui, 1998). Geographically, theempire stretched from present-day Rio de Oro to

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African cities and regional trade in historical perspective: A J Njoh

Chad, and southward as far as the forest line. It ex-tended as far north as present-day Algeria and Tuni-sia, and covered the entire southwestern portion ofLibya and almost reached the Mediterranean Seanear Benghazi.The dyeing, sewing, weaving, carving, sculpture,

metallurgy and other artisan enterprises for whichpre-colonial Africa is well known took place intowns and cities (Hull, 1976). These cities were ac-tive, as opposed to passive, participants in regionaleconomic, technological and cultural developmentprocesses before the European colonial era. Particu-larly noteworthy in this regard is the fact that the so-cio-economic impact of African cities was felt inregions that were geographically far-removed fromthe continent. For instance, it was/is not uncommonto find bronze and terra cotta sculpture produced inthe historical city of Ife, Nigeria, in far-away globalcities such as New York, London, Paris, Tokyo,and Rome. The sculptors of ancient Ife employeda complex bronze-casting technique known as ‘‘lostwax’’. Incidentally, ancient Greek sculptors used thissame technique. Perhaps this was sheer coincidence,or as some historians (e.g., Flint, 1966, p. 58) havesuggested the technique originated in Ife and foundits way to Greece in the 12th century. How the arti-sans of Ife acquired the �lost wax� technique in thefirst place remains enmeshed in mystery. To be sure,as Flint has argued, it is highly unlikely that Ifesculptors imported the technique from ancientGreece. A theory holding that the technique origi-nated in Africa and found its way across the Medi-terranean to Europe is not far-fetched in light ofthe fact that as far back as the 8th century AD, Afri-ca�s exports to India and China already included iron(Mazrui, 1998; Ki-Zerbo, 1978).Iron technology, particularly knowledge of iron

smelting, which had already reached an advancedstage in Africa prior to the colonial era, endowedsome African towns with weapons and tools, therebyrendering them superior to their neighbors. Thus, itwas not uncommon for communities with knowledgeof iron technology to take over and/or control near-by villages and regions. The growth and longevity ofthe ancient City of Meroe, a great iron-producingcommunity, which had a tremendous influence onneighboring regions and places as far away as theMiddle-East, is illustrative. Founded about 560 BCand located on the east bank of River Nile, some120 miles north of Khartoum (capital of present-day Sudan), Meroe served as the capital of the blackkingdom of Kush. Because of Meroe�s sophisticationin iron technology, it was able to control a number ofneighboring towns, including Axum and Adulis.Meroe and these towns did more than interact; theywere involved in intense commerce with Egypt andthe Mediterranean world.Pre-colonial Africa�s capacity for adaptation is

particularly noteworthy; in the opinion of Duignanand Gann (1975), it enabled Africans to colonize a

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continent known for its harsh natural environmentand climate. Pre-colonial Africans had succeeded,despite the limitations of the time, to develop viabletechniques for working with the difficult soils andclimates characteristic of the continent. Success inthe area of agriculture made it possible for pre-colonial Africans to indulge not only in local andregional trade, but also in international commerce.Pre-colonial Africans contributed agricultural prod-ucts such as wild rubber and palm oil to regionaland international markets. Perhaps more notewor-thy here is the fact that participation in internationaltrade was not limited to port and coastal towns.Rather, as Duignan and Gann (1975) note, membersof hinterland communities in pre-colonial Africaparticipated actively in long distance trade. To lendcredence to their assertion, they draw on the cases ofBoer trekkers, who relied on traveling merchants formerchandise, such as muskets and cloth (Duignanand Gann, 1975). Similarly, chieftains of Douala inpresent-day Cameroon, depended on palm productsfrom the hinterland to play an active role in the re-gional and international palm oil trade (ibid).Contact with far away regions, as implied above,

played a critical role in the growth and survival ofpre-colonial African towns. It is arguable that thegrowth and proliferation of towns such as Timb-uctu, Djenne, Katsina, Kano and Bornu could nothave been possible without contacts with distantareas, such as Europe to the north, the Arab worldto the northeast, and India and China to the east.Some historical accounts hold that the growth oftowns and city-states, especially in the Sahel, isdue, at least in part, to the import of horses andcamels, the wealth of the caravan trades, and Arabliteracy (Flint, 1966; Duignan and Gann, 1975).These imports had very little, if any, influence onthe growth of towns and city-states such as Ife, Be-nin, Old Oyo, Ashanti (or Asante) and Kongo inthe forest or coastal region. Their growth wasdue, in large part, to their industrial supremacy,particularly in the area of iron works, bronze andwoodcarvings.As implied above, the story of globalization in

Africa dovetails neatly into the continent�s urbaniza-tion experience. A number of studies have marshaledconvincing evidence attesting to the grandeur ofAfrica�s towns, pre-dating Arabic and Europeanintrusions (Winters, 1983; Hull, 1976; Davidson,1970). Although some (e.g., Coquery-Vidrovitch,1991) criticize studies of this ilk—particularly David-son�s (1976) for exaggerating the so-called �grandeur�of vanished African cities—there is mounting evi-dence suggesting that the cities in question had madetechnological, social and commercial strides deemedgigantic by standards of the time (Winters, 1983).Thus, as some (e.g., Coquery-Vidrovitch, 1991, p.21) are quick to admit, ‘‘. . . precapitalist Africanurbanization did not need to be exaggerated orminimized, because its relatively restricted develop-

African cities and regional trade in historical perspective: A J Njoh

ment fitted well with the demographic conditions andmodes of production and long distance economicrelations of mostly rural and trading societies’’.Trade, particularly international trade, was there-

fore a strong determinant of the growth and survivalof pre-colonial African towns. Intense trade on thecontinent took advantage of established regionaland local networks. However, it was usually not en-ough for towns to be in contact with their neighbors.As Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch (1991) notes, theinternational long-distance trade (across the SaharaDesert or Indian Ocean) proved invaluable to Afri-ca�s incorporation into the global economy. Thosetowns that showed an unparalleled degree of resil-ience were invariably involved, in one form or an-other, in intensive interregional and internationalcommerce. The Kanem-Bornu Empire, which waslocated in the northeastern portion of present-dayNigeria to the southwestern tip of Chad and thesoutheastern frontier of Niger, is said to have sur-vived for as long as it did because of its strategiclocation at the southern end of the most easterlyof trade routes from North to West Africa, originat-ing in Tripoli. Goods from the Mediterranean andthe Arab world were dispatched through Murzukand Bilma to Kanem-Bornu. Kanem-Bornu waseffectively the point at which the trans-Saharan car-avans terminated their journey, selling their goods ofbeads, glassware, salt, swords and chainmail, clothsand lightweight manufactured goods. In exchange,the caravans collected valuable products such ashide, ivory, gold dust, copper ingots, iron, ostrichfeathers, ebony and kola nuts. Richard Hull (1976)identifies a number of cities that developed later inthe general area of Kanem-Bornu. These were a ser-ies of Hausa cities, enclosed within clay walls; one,Katsina, which exists today, boasted a populationof almost 100,000 in the 18th century (Hull, 1976,p. xv). Towns in the Upper Zambezi region are alsoknown to have participated vigorously in interna-tional commerce. They sold commodities such aswild rubber, ivory, gold dust, palm oil, wax, rhinohorns, and in exchange, imported products such asmuskets and cloth as well as luxury goods and toolsvia traveling traders from other regions.A number of the prominent towns of sub-Saharan

Africa, including Djenne, Timbuktu and Kano de-pended on crafts and commerce for their survival(Duignan and Gann, 1975). Thus, contrary to popu-lar belief, pre-colonial Africa was not comprisedexclusively of rural subsistence or peasant farmingcommunities. The Hausa, located in the northernpart of present-day Nigeria, for instance, importedvirtually all their food along the River Niger. In re-turn, the Hausa and the Sudanic communities ofWest Africa, who had made their mark as leather-workers and smiths, exported leather products, goldand clay pots. According to Duignan and Gann(1975, p. 3), towns in the region had attained a con-siderable level of economic specialization and ‘‘their

way of life had something in common with that ofurban centers in early medieval Europe’’.To the southwest of present-day Nigeria lies the

great historic city of Old Oyo, which rose to promi-nence during the 16th century when it became an ac-tive participant in the trans-Atlantic slave trade,supplying thousands of slaves annually to Dutchbuyers at Ouidah on the Atlantic coast in the pres-ent-day Republic of Benin. In the same general areaas Old Oyo lies the historic city of Benin, which, un-like Old Oyo, was a commercial city-state, whichdealt largely in forest products. Not only an impor-tant commercial city, it and nearby Ife were, asnoted earlier, known the world over for their artisticwizardry in brass and terracotta sculpture.African cities had been involved in such distant

commercial relationships long before the Europeanconquests. Duignan and Gann (1975) note thatpre-colonial Africa included societies that possessedwhat was definitely advanced knowledge in maritimetravel. Some of the best known of the maritime cities(including Kilwa and Zanzibar in present-day Tan-zania, Mombasa in present-day Kenya, Sofalla andMogadishu in present-day Somalia) were locatedon the eastern portion of the continent along the In-dian Ocean. It is from there that Africans took offwith local products in watercraft bound for placesas far away as the Arab world, India, and China.Another important but oft-ignored factor that

contributed to the growth of pre-colonial Africantowns was the ability of Africans of that era toadapt. Most notable in this regard was the abilityto augment the limited stock of local food crops withimported varieties. Africans imported crops such asmaize, cassava, sweet potatoes and yams from faraway locations (Duignan and Gann, 1975). Theadoption of literacy and Arabic script, albeit in avery small area and by very few people, renderedadministration and governance more efficient (Flint,1966; Duignan and Gann, 1975; Ki-Zerbo, 1978).Additionally, it facilitated the expansion of commer-cial and diplomatic contacts. In the more advancedurban cultures of Western Sudan and East Africa,sophisticated credit systems predated the arrival ofEuropeans. In addition, trade currencies such ascowries and iron bars were widely in use.Religion, particularly Islam, played a fundamental

role in the growth and development of pre-colonialAfrican towns. The Sudanic cities, such as Timbuctu,Gao, and Djenne, of pre-colonial West Africa areknown to have been a popular destination, not onlyfor international traders but also Islamic clergy fromArabia. These cities were not simply a popular des-tination for consumers of received culture, but theydid a lot to synthesize and transmit a wide array ofcultures. The consumption of African spices, anduse of ivory, leather, and other tropical products inthe Arab world during that era lend credence to thisassertion. The Swahili city-states of the coast of EastAfrica also attracted many visitors, such as Islamic

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African cities and regional trade in historical perspective: A J Njoh

clergy and others from Arabia, Persia, India, Indo-nesia and the East African hinterland regions. Longbefore Timbuctu, Djenne, and Gao rose to promi-nence, there was the stone town of Kumbi Saleh,which served as the capital of the ancient Ghanaianempire. Arab visitors to the region in the 11th cen-tury AD estimated that it contained more than15,000 people and noted its vibrancy as a center ofcommerce. It soon became well known among Arabtraders, who were interested in its spice, ivory and ahost of other tropical products.The regional and global reach of these cities at

that time cannot be overstated. As the home ofimportant Islamic institutions and advanced learn-ing, Timbuctu had a significant influence on not onlyits surrounding regions but also on other areas, espe-cially of the Islamic world. The dominant architec-tural forms of Sudanic towns—clay structures withdome-shaped roofs—constituted the prototype fora significant number of human settlements in muchof Muslim sub-Saharan Africa.A number of towns, whose activities had implica-

tions for nearby and far away regions, were later todevelop in the region encompassing the southernportion of present-day Burkina Faso, and the north-ern parts of present-day Cote d�Ivoire and Ghana.These towns included Bono-Mansu, Bobo-Diou-lasso, Begho, and Kong. Among the inhabitants ofthese towns were Muslim traders who established vi-brant commercial and intellectual centers. Otherknown sojourners in the towns were Mande Dyulatraders from Mali, who are particularly noteworthybecause they were wont to travel by caravan south-ward in search of gold, which they sold to Europeanexplorers in the coastal region of West Africa (ca.16th century AD).

Europeans and the weakening of Africa in theglobal economy

Based on the foregoing account, one cannot butponder why and how African cities found them-selves at the margins of global trade in particularand the global economy in general during the colo-nial era and after. As mentioned at the outset,African cities now play no more than a passive rolein the contemporary globalization process. We has-ten to note that, for a brief while during the mer-cantile period, they continued to play a significantrole in global trade and industry, but this rolewaned significantly, thanks initially to the trans-Atlantic slave trade and later to colonial and neo-colonial forces.The trans-Atlantic slave trade. The slave trade

facilitated the development of relations betweenEuropean powers and several African rulers. Onthe one hand, Europeans deemed it necessary to eli-cit the cooperation of African leaders as a means offacilitating the acquisition of slaves. On the otherhand, these leaders realized that they could make

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material and other gains by cooperating with Euro-pean slave buyers. The resultant ties with powerfulEuropean allies allowed them to gain advantageover competing local regimes. However, these ties,the focus on the slave trade and the attendant dis-ruptions in African communities effectively divertedattention from more economically viable and sus-tainable activities. Among the many lucrativeendeavors that were diminished by the infamoustrade in human cargo was the vibrant exchange be-tween regions within the African continent and be-tween the continent and other locations as faraway as Asia and the Arab world. Profound collat-eral damage with implications for Africa�s positionin the global marketplace was caused by slavery.In this regard, we hasten to draw attention to theslave traders� preference for young (teens to mid-twenties), talented, and physically fit Africans. Thismeant, amongst other things, that skilled artisans,who were prominent in towns throughout the conti-nent before the advent of the trans-Atlantic slavetrade, and others who would have helped to main-tain or improve Africa�s role in the global market-place, were uprooted and taken away to theAmericas as slaves. Concomitant with this massiveloss of valuable human resources was the disruptionof a natural evolution of Africans, African townsand villages. Therefore, as some (e.g., Davidson,1974; Rodney, 1981) have concluded, and we concur,the trans-Atlantic slave trade caused immeasurableloss for Africa and contributed to reducing the con-tinent to a marginal player in the global economy.This point is made more succinctly by Coquery-Vidrovitch (1991, p. 28) when she contends thatAfrica�s ancient urban culture was not only weak-ened but fragmented by the trans-Atlantic slavetrade.It is arguable that the slave trade contributed to

some forms of urbanism, ‘‘that of state capitals andthat of defensive settlements where people victim-ized by raiders concentrated’’ (Coquery-Vidrovitch,1991, p. 29). In eastern Africa, trade in slaves, ivoryand guns accelerated the urbanization process inplaces such as the Zanzibar-Oman Sultanate, Kil-wa, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam and Bugamoyo, andfostered new forms of commerce in markets suchas Tabora and Ujiji (Coquery-Vidrovitch, 1991, cit-ing, Brown, 1971). It is also true that the slavetrade succeeded in raising a number of Africantowns to prominence, such as Senegal�s GoreeIsland and the Ghanaian town of Elmina, thebest-known slave-trading posts in Africa. Their sta-tus as slave-trading or slave-holding posts, and sub-sequently, in some cases, as ports for warehousingand shipping raw materials from the colonies tothe metropolitan countries notwithstanding, thesetowns existed at the periphery of the global econ-omy. However, ‘‘while ports and market or militarycenters grew, the rest of the raided people probablyscattered in the bush in precarious settlements so as

African cities and regional trade in h

to escape slave raiders . . .’’ (Coquery-Vidrovitch,1991, 31).The advent of the trans-Atlantic slave trade suc-

ceeded not only in diverting attention from econom-ically more rewarding endeavors by Africans butalso in creating human settlements whose survivaland sustenance depended on external sources, par-ticularly Europe and the Americas. The temporarynature of development activities that accompaniedslave trading is illustrated by the decline of thosetowns whose growth depended on it, following thetrade�s abolition. The case of Luanda, which as Jen-kins and his colleagues (2002) note suffered a sharpdecline after the Portuguese Crown reluctantlyagreed to abolish slave trading in the territory in1836, is illustrative.Colonialism. The European colonial era in Afri-

ca, which began in earnest following the conquer-ing, partitioning and effective occupation of thecontinent by Europeans in 1884/5, succeeded inintroducing facsimiles of European political sys-tems, laws and administrative structures. A morenoteworthy achievement of European colonialismin Africa for the purpose of our discussion has todo with economic exploitation. Two varieties of thisexploitation are of direct relevance here. The oneentailed attempts to discourage the growth of indig-enous industries in African towns. This was donethrough land use laws and the severe restriction ofAfricans in urban centers through, for example,�pass laws.� This and cognate actions on the partof colonial authorities succeeded in stifling indus-trial progress in Africa as a means of reinforcingEuropean industrial might. This assertion is givencredence by Duignan and Gann (1975, p. 6) whenthey state that,

while the artisans of Katsina, Kano or Zaria in Nige-ria for example, might be renowned for their skill inweaving, dyeing, leather-work and fashioning metals,. . .by the nineteenth century they could not easily

outsell British iron goods made in Birmingham ortextiles woven in Manchester.

The most notable variety of this exploitation in-volved the direct appropriation of real propertyand chattel, the forcible or coercive recruitment oflabour, the obligatory gathering of crops and theforceful collection of taxes. As Duignan and Gann(1975, p. 7) note, Europeans are on record for loot-ing valuable property, particularly cattle in theSouthern Africa region, such as cattle belonging tothe Ndebele people following the overthrow of theLobengula Kingdom in 1893 (ibid).More importantly, the emergence of European

colonialism witnessed yet another crucial turningpoint in the evolution of African towns. A criticalattribute of European colonialism was the effectivecontrol it commanded over African economies. Ascharacterized by Duignan and Gann (1975, p. 8) thisattribute included not only,

. . .the control of the import-export trade and of cur-rency and banking, but also . . .general relations ofthe colony to the metropole�s economy. It was the

colonial administration that determined the laws onland and labour uses, on economic planning and con-trol. Usually, the first sector of the economy to be

regulated was commerce.

The colonialists� effective control over commercespelt the demise of the towns that were vibrant cen-ters of knowledge, trade and craft during the pre-colonial era. Rather than maintain these towns,European colonial authorities worked fervently tocreate clones of European towns on the continentthat continue to count amongst the most dominantin post-colonial Africa. Prominent in this connectionare almost all of the continent�s capital cities, andmore especially towns such as Grand Bassam (inpresent-day Senegal), Ouidah (Judah or Widdah),and Hogbonou (later renamed Porto-Novo) in whatbecame Benin and Libreville in Gabon. In coastalregions such as those of West Africa, where planta-tion agriculture and forestry exploitation were com-monplace, the role of colonial towns as warehousesfor products bound for Europe and North Americawas accentuated. In this case, hinterland towns inMali, Burkina Faso and Niger served as a reservoirfor the manpower that was needed for the function-ing of the booming coastal economies of Ghana,Cote d�Ivoire, Togo and Benin.Resulting from these developments was the de-

mise or reduction in status of many indigenous Afri-can towns, prominent centers of learning at alllevels, interregional and international commerce,crafts, and culture. Colonialism effectively reducedthe indigenous African towns as well as the clonesof European towns in the region into little morethan �warehouses� for primary commodities boundfor European and North American economies. Sig-nificant, especially to development on the continent,were efforts on the part of Europeans to discouragenot only entrepreneurial activities and manufactur-ing by Africans, but also contacts between Africanstates under rival colonial powers (Schneider,2003). Here it is important to note that the heydaysof colonialism in Africa coincided with a period thatwitnessed much discord amongst European coun-tries—a testament to which are the two world wars.This situation translated into a lot of rivalry on theground in colonial Africa. Portugal, for instance, iso-lated cities in its colony Angola from other cities inthe neighboring colonial possessions of the Britishand French. Portugal was interested mainly in pro-tecting its own self-interest and not the developmentof Angolan cities such as Luanda. In fact, Portugalworked hard to isolate Luanda�s economy as ameans of monopolizing access to that economy inparticular and the Angolan economy in general.Thus, it is safe to conclude that efforts to kill Africa�sdynamism in the area of commerce and industry

istorical perspective: A J Njoh

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African cities and regional trade in historical perspective: A J Njoh

have their roots in the Berlin Conference of 1884–5,at which fourteen European colonial powers agreedto partition Africa among themselves.Interaction amongst African cities following the

advent of colonialism on the continent was alsoinhibited by a lack of communication infrastructurecommensurate with the level of development atthe time. To be sure, transportation infrastructuredevelopment is one of the areas in which colonialauthorities in Africa invested much of their financialand other resources (Njoh, 1998). However, it isimportant to note that these resources were concen-trated on railway construction, using forced labor.Colonial railways were never intended to promoteregional development; rather, each colonial powerdeveloped railways to transport raw materials fromthe hinterland to the seaports of the country orcountries they controlled. No efforts were made tocoordinate activities in this regard, and railways inadjoining countries often turned out to be of differ-ent gauges if these countries were controlled by dif-ferent colonial powers. In the area of airtransportation, the few airports that were built bycolonial powers on the continent were designed tolink the colonies to the colonial master nations.Thus, few if any efforts were made to link Africancities by air. It is easier to travel by air from say,Douala in Cameroon to Paris, France and from Ma-labo, Equatorial Guinea to Madrid, Spain, than fromDouala to Malabo—even though on a clear day, Ma-labo can be seen with the naked eye from Douala.Colonial authorities were also wont to neglect

telecommunications. Almost all of the few tele-phone lines that existed in the colonies belongedto members of the European resident population.Telephone services were exclusively in the urbancenters and the lines linked major cities in the colo-nies to the colonial master nations, as opposed to cit-ies in other African countries. Telephone contactswere never possible directly between African coun-tries except through the metropolitan countries.Thus, a call from Abidjan in Cote d�Ivoire to Accrain next-door, Ghana had to be routed throughFrance and Britain before reaching Accra. Again,this is an instance in which the efforts of colonialauthorities were designed to transform Africantowns into European dependencies. Before theintroduction of cellular phones in Africa, it was cus-tomary to have 2–5-year waiting lists for telephoneservices.By failing to facilitate communication, colonial

and post-colonial authorities succeeded in stiflingthe progress of African towns as centers of industrialproduction. At the same time, European colonialauthorities strived to transform African communi-ties into exporters of exclusively raw materials, asopposed to finished or partially finished goods. Theefforts described above constituted part of a broaderscheme to create extractive trading economies fromwhich primary goods could be tapped and exported

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to Europe. This was tantamount to a form of globaldivision of roles, wherein African states were sub-jected to an exploitative relationship with Europeancolonial master nations. One African economy thatmight have been spared the brunt of this brutal as-sault is that of South Africa, which was auto-centered during the heydays of colonialism andseveral decades beyond. In any case, long-distancetrading networks that had existed for centuries be-tween the continent and regions as far off as theArab world and Asia were disrupted (Schneider,2003).Within the framework of European colonialism,

urbanization was crucial not only because it prom-ised to facilitate the attainment of colonial develop-ment goals, but also because urban areas wereviewed as propellants of economic development.Accordingly, colonial authorities encouraged thegrowth and proliferation of strategically located ur-ban centers in the colonial territories. In some areas,as stated earlier, there were pre-existing large oremerging human settlements that were located in lo-cales deemed non-strategic. In such instances, colo-nial authorities moved quickly to discourage theirgrowth in favour of those they deemed critical tocolonial development objectives. Efforts in this re-gard often began with the creation of an administra-tive district and/or military base. By conferring thestatus of administrative center on any locale, thecolonial state influenced in no small way the social,economic and spatial growth of that locale. Thecases of Dakar and Brazzaville, which served asthe capital of French West Africa and French Equa-torial Africa respectively, are illustrative. Yaounde,the capital of present-day Cameroon, would havebeen a lot less developed without the decision in1946 to transfer the colonial government�s adminis-trative functions there from Douala. Similarly,Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, wouldbe far less developed were it not for the 1947 deci-sion that transferred the territory�s administrativecapital there from Bobo-Dioulasso. Similarly, PointeNoire�s growth was accelerated by the decision totransform it into the administrative capital of MiddleCongo. Conversely, important pre-colonial townsexperienced a significant decline in population andprominence when colonial authorities decidedagainst conferring colonial administrative status onthem. Examples in this regard include the relocationof administrative activities from Saint Louis toGrand Bassam in Senegal, and the transfer of thecapital of Niger from Zinder to Niamey in 1924.Concomitant with the establishment of colonial

government administrative centers was the creationthere of European-rooted institutions such asschools, colleges, hospitals, prisons and churches.These activities required, in the first instance, a la-bour force to construct the large buildings and otherfacilities necessary for government functioning, andin the second instance, a pool of full-time workers.

African cities and regional trade in historical perspective: A J Njoh

However, no efforts were made to create the indus-trial base necessary for transforming these burgeon-ing towns into viable participants in the globaleconomy. In part this explains the fact that Africaneconomies continue to be not only externally cen-tered, but also passive. In this context, cities thatare supposed to be engines of growth or agents ofchange were rendered virtually ineffective. Again,it bears re-stating that the role of Africa and espe-cially African cities, as passive participants in theglobalization process is of recent vintage and canbe traced to the time when European slave buyersfirst arrived the continent and during the colonialera. Previously, African cities played very activeroles in the global economy and by extension, theglobalization process. This was true of the pre-colo-nial and mercantile periods. Here, we are adopting arather simplistic definition of globalization as a pro-cess that entails interregional and/or internationalinteractions involving the exchange of goods, ser-vices, ideas, knowledge and culture. This mirrorsthe definition proffered by Janelle and Beuthe(1997, p. 199), who state that, ‘‘in its simplest form,globalization refers to the increasing geographicalscale of economic, social, and political interaction’’.An identical definition holds that globalization‘‘consists of processes that lead toward global inter-dependence and the increasing rapidity of exchangeacross vast distances’’ (Mazrui, 2002, p. 13). Thislatter definition underscores a critical attribute ofcontemporary globalization, namely, ‘‘rapidity’’ orspeed ‘‘of exchange across vast distances’’ that dis-tinguishes it from previous interdependence and ex-change processes.

African cities and contemporary globalizationtrends

Although the impact of globalization is a conten-tious matter, it is widely believed that African coun-tries are negatively affected or are at best notbenefiting from this phenomenon. The negativeimplications of globalization for Africa were a cen-tral issue at a recent International Conference ofleaders from developing countries held in Maputo,Mozambique (Nevin, 2000). In a speech at the con-ference, Uganda�s President Yoweri Museveni qual-ified globalization as a form of oppression, andurged Africans to resist the process by all meansnecessary. Another African leader, President Rob-ert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, expressed resentment ofthe globalization phenomenon, and asserted thatAfrica is not yet prepared to participate in the pro-cess, as it is still grappling with other more urgent is-sues. What this means, as one commentatormetaphorically states, is that if African countrieswere to be thrown into the open globalization arenathey would have ‘‘as much a chance of success as tor-toises against a herd of elephants’’ (Versi, 2000, p.7). In fact, those harboring this opinion believe that

‘‘while globalization is expected to usher in anunprecedented era of prosperity for the already richWest, it could well spell economic (and political)enslavement for the Third World’’ (Versi, 2000, p.7). This line of thinking further suggests that Africancities and those in other parts of the developingworld will be effectively transformed into �sweatshops� of the industrialized North. In turn, the indus-trialized North will become richer, on the back ofcheap and readily available labor and other re-sources of the South.The views of the African leaders mentioned above

are flawed and misleading, especially as they implythat Africa is on unfamiliar turf when it comes to in-ter-regional and international socio-political and eco-nomic processes. Evidence, such as that presentedabove suggesting that Africa was once an importantplayer in the global economic arena, abounds. It isnot unreasonable to expect African countries to onceagain assume a significant role in this arena. How-ever, impediments to efforts designed to accomplishthis objective are plentiful. African cities continueto be isolated from each other, particularly becauseof a lack of necessary communication and transporta-tion infrastructure. There continue to be few if anyfunctional links between cities within any given coun-try; and fewer yet between cities in different coun-tries within the region. This, as noted earlier, is acolonial legacy that has been compounded by the factthat indigenous authorities in these countries haveeither neglected or added very little to the communi-cation and transportation infrastructure they inher-ited from their colonial predecessors. Furthermore,the few functional communication lines in majorcommercial and capital cities in Africa are designedto link them with the capitals of their erstwhile colo-nial master nations. The few international commer-cial flights into Dakar, Abidjan, Niamey, Douala,and Cotonou, all major cities in former French colo-nies, originate in Paris and are partially or fully oper-ated by French companies.Closely related to the problem of inadequate and

poor communication facilities is the extreme short-age or absence of necessary public infrastructureand collective services in African cities. The short-age or absence of water, transportation, electricityand telephone links that are essential for industrialactivities such as manufacturing is commonplace inAfrican cities. As Mattingly (1999, p. 18, citing Hal-fani, 1996) observes, the shortage or absence of pub-lic infrastructure and services explains, at least inpart, the fact that these cities lag behind in the globalcapital accumulation process. Also, this problempartially accounts for the higher than normal pro-duction costs experienced by cities in African coun-tries. It is therefore hardly any wonder that Africanindustries have traditionally been unable to competeinternationally.Although often absent from the priority list of most

governments, public services play an indispensable

25

African cities and regional trade in historical perspective: A J Njoh

role in industrial productivity. A study of a sample ofZimbabwean towns (including Mvuma, Gokwe,Shrugwi and Chivhu) revealed that problems necessi-tating the rationing of water served to discourageindustrial development (Mattingly, 1999). The short-age or absence of infrastructure results in higher pro-duction costs not only for industries but also forwhole cities. Two examples are illustrative (Mat-tingly, 1999). The one shows that the low productivityof Nairobi, Kenya results partially from the city�sinadequate public infrastructure problem. The other,based on a study by the World Bank reveals thatproduction costs in Nigeria, which is 30% higher thanthe norm, is also a function of inadequateinfrastructure.More noteworthy is the fact that African cities

continue to function on the margin of the global dig-ital arena. According to a recent UN Human Devel-opment Report (quoted in Shuja, 2001, p. 63), whilecountries in the North, with only 15% of the world�spopulation contain nearly 90% of all Internet users,in Africa, with a population of about 739 million,only 14% of the households possess fixed telephonelines, and significantly fewer have Internet accessand even a conventional mailing address. Yet, theimportance of the latter in an increasingly integratedglobal economy cannot be overstated. These facili-ties bear the potential to enhance access to vitalinformation, goods and services necessary for Afri-can countries to actively participate in the globaleconomy.

Implications for globalization processes andpolicy recommendations

It is not enough to simply catalogue the factorsimpeding the ability of African cities, and by exten-sion African countries, to participate in the global-ization process. It is necessary to offer someactions that can be taken to facilitate the transitionof these cities from passive to active participants inan increasingly complex global economy. The listof actions recommended here is by no meansexhaustive. Rather, it constitutes initial steps thatmay be considered in a bid to improve the global so-cio-economic position of African cities. The cau-tiously prescriptive actions include:

� investing in, and promoting the use of, moderninformation technologies;

� improving conventional mailing systems;� improving road and other transport facilities; and� requiring MNCs to contribute meaningfully todevelopment efforts in their host locales in partic-ular and host countries in general.

Investing in, and promoting the use of moderninformation technologies. This strategy, especiallyimproving access to the Internet, will go a long wayin efforts to transform Africans into active partici-

26

pants in the globalization process. This is particularlybecause ‘‘the internet gives users immediate andhuge access to knowledge, and . . .may have moreinfluence than any single medium upon global educa-tional and cultural development in this century’’(Shuja, 2001, p. 260). It is difficult to overstate theimportance of technical skills in efforts on the partof African countries to become more competitivein an increasingly integrated global economy. Inthe past, the highly skilled craftsmen in Africantowns assured African kingdoms and cognate group-ings a place in the global marketplace. Today and forthe foreseeable future, it will take Africans skilled inthe art of adapting transferred technology to suit lo-cal conditions to make African economies competi-tive and assure African towns and cities a place inthe international economy. This is particularly truewhen we perceive competitiveness as ‘‘the ability toproduce goods and services that meet the test ofinternational markets, . . . and as depending not onthe fortunes of a country�s companies or industriesbut on the functions performed (the value added)by its workers within the global economy’’ (Varma,2000, p. 3). Above all, the educated and skilled laborforce developed in the process will invariably serveto attract foreign investment. It is no secret thatMNCs prefer placing units only in locales with skilledworkers or where the formation of the necessaryskills is likely to encounter minimal hurdles. This isthe case even in low-tech activities, such as the pro-duction of garments or hi-tech industries such asthose dealing with computer software and hardware.Efforts to improve access to the Internet also

promise to be a viable strategy for reducing the costof obtaining specialized training from industrializedcountries. Obtaining such training has traditionallyentailed the displacement of students from Africato an industrialized country or through correspon-dence using airmail. In either case, the cost has al-ways been prohibitively high, thereby seriouslylimiting participation. With the Internet, the costwill be significantly reduced while the quality oftraining will be remarkably improved, especiallythrough interactive internet-based video techniques.For instance, students in Kenya will soon be able touse sophisticated and expensive laboratory equip-ment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) in the United States without leaving Kenyathanks to MIT�s Internet-based initiative, iLabs (Sci-Dev, On-Line). This innovative project will permitKenyan students, and in the future, students in otherAfrican countries, to use their computers to conductexperiments using equipment located far off at MIT.However, only countries that have invested signifi-cantly in computer infrastructure and training standto benefit from initiatives such as MIT�s, which waslaunched in 1998 and is made available to Africanand other developing countries free of charge. It isworthwhile noting that the Carnegie Corporation, afoundation with the principal objective of promoting

African cities and regional trade in historical perspective: A J Njoh

education in developing countries, has committed asmuch as US$800,000 (as of 2005) to fund projectspermitting students at Makerere University in Ugan-da, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Oba-femi Awolowo University, Nigeria access to MIT�sInternet Laboratories (iLabs).Investments in modern technology have the po-

tential to amplify the benefits of globalization inAfrica in many other areas, including finance andhealth. In the finance sector, mobile phones are al-ready being used to effectuate bank-related transac-tions. For example, in Kenya, the National Bank ofKenya (NBK) recently (March 23, 2005) launched amobile phone banking service, which allows its cus-tomers to access and query their accounts as well aspay utility bills (The Nation, On-Line). In CapeTown, South Africa, cell phones are being used inthe delivery of medical services (Bridges.org, On-Line). For example, as part of the city�s Satellife pro-ject, medical authorities use handheld computers tosend messages through SMS (short message service)to patients� mobile phones to remind them to taketheir medication.It bears reiterating that cities, towns and other lo-

cales with functional basic infrastructure such aselectricity, conventional telephone services and sat-ellites stand to derive more benefits from such pro-jects than their counterparts that lack suchinfrastructure. This underscores the need for Africangovernments to accord such infrastructure a priorityplace on their development agendas.Improving conventional mailing services. In ad-

vanced countries, where precise street and propertyidentification systems exist, the delivery of mail isnot problematic.In Africa, such systems are at best rare and at

worst non-existent. As Njoh (2003) notes, authori-ties in Africa have seldom accorded a functionalmailing system a priority place on the nationaldevelopment agenda. Yet, the need for such a sys-tem has always been there, and today, is renderedmore urgent by the increasing interdependence ofthe global economy. A functional mailing system isa conditio sine qua non for participation in the con-temporary global economy, particularly because ofthe need to efficiently move goods and servicesacross vast geographic spaces. Such a system doesnot necessarily entail a good street and propertyidentification scheme. Such a scheme, althoughdesirable, will require huge investments of financialresources, which are in extremely short supply inAfrica. A more realistic proposition will be forauthorities to strive towards educating the popula-tion of the importance of post offices, improvingtheir effectiveness, and making them more accessi-ble. The efficacy of this proposition will depend lar-gely on the availability and accessibility of moderninformation technology. This is particularly becausepostal authorities may need to contact customers topick up especially time-sensitive mails. Such contacts

can be made via mobile phones, which are currentlymore commonplace than conventional telephoneservices throughout Africa.Efforts to improve mailing services do not have to

be limited to conventional systems. Rather, authori-ties will do well to make the Internet more accessi-ble to all, including illiterates. A few years ago,this proposition would have been untenable giventhe continent�s high illiteracy rates. As one commen-tator noted (BBC, On-Line),

the huge changes that the internet is wreaking onmany societies have largely passed by the world�spoor and illiterate, many of whom have yet to makea phone call let alone set up a web account.

This concern is unfounded today thanks to the ef-forts of a group of Indian scientists and engineerswho have devised a means to enable illiterates reapthe fruits of the Internet (BBC, On-Line). These sci-entists and engineers have developed a small com-puter, a little bigger than a palm or handheldcomputer, called a Simputer. This computer is capa-ble of reading web texts and electronic mails in na-tive Indian languages. With a little tinkering, asimilar computer can be made to read web textsand electronic mails in major native languages orregional lingua franca such as Pidgin English andSwahili in Africa.Improving road and other transport facilities. As

noted above, pre-colonial African leaders such asthe Ashanti Kings invested significantly in road-building projects. Colonial authorities, desirous ofbroadcasting their authority over the indigenouspopulation and moving natural resources to seaportsfor onward transmission to the metropolitan coun-tries, also made road-building a development prior-ity. Since independence, the indigenous leadershipin African countries has neglected it (Pedersen,2001) as they divert scarce resources to ostentatiousshowcase projects such as the construction of air-ports. As Herbst (2000) notes, most African coun-tries added very little, if anything, to the road stockinherited from the colonial era, and in some cases(Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Mozambique), someof the roads that existed at independence in the early1960s had disappeared by 1997 (Herbst, 2000: 164).Yet, unless African leaders decide in favor of

investing significantly in road infrastructure, thechances of African countries benefiting from theglobalization process are likely to evaporate. Theimportance of roads in this regard was recentlynoted in a United Nations publication in the follow-ing words (quoted in Herbst, 2000: 84).

Although waterways and railways constitute themain transport routes, roads form a connecting link

between them and also with the seaports . . . [roads]serve as the ultimate tentacles which . . . create linksbetween farms and markets and provide access to

unexplored areas.

27

African cities and regional trade in historical perspective: A J Njoh

The importance of functional year-round roads isaccentuated in Africa particularly because of thenature of the continent�s terrain and weather condi-tions. Most countries in the region have rugged andhilly terrain and experience intense torrential rainsthat render almost all dirt roads impassable duringthe rainy season. Yet, roads are often the only linkbetween the hinterland regions and the urban cen-ters. In some cases, roads constitute the sole link be-tween landlocked countries (e.g., Chad, BurkinaFaso, Mali, Niger, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi) andseaports. It is therefore not surprising that road con-ditions constitute an important determinant of eco-nomic development in African countries (Herbst,2000). Poor road infrastructure in particular, andpoor communication facilities in general, tend to iso-late countries, thereby inhibiting their ability to par-ticipate in global production networks. Poor roadsalso account, in large part, for the near-absence offormal trade between African countries. By someaccounts, formal trade between these countriesmake up less than 5% of the continent�s foreigntrade (Pedersen, 2001, p. 92). This figure decreasessignificantly once we eliminate transit trade betweenlandlocked countries such as those mentioned aboveand their export/import harbors. Despite the globaltrend towards liberalization, the absence of func-tional transport systems promises to effectively limitthe participation of African countries in the global-ization process.The importance of roads for international trade

has been amplified since the 1970s when container-ization revolutionized shipping, particularly linershipping (Pedersen, 2001). Concomitant with theintroduction of containers has been the simplifica-tion of the process of transshipment between differ-ent modes of transportation. Within this framework,road transportation plays a crucial role as it facili-tates multi-modal door-to-door delivery and/orpick-up of international goods and services. Thus,investments in roads promise to maximize the utilityof containerization for African economies. Withgood (all-season) roads, African countries can in-crease their participation in the raw material pro-cessing sector, which at the moment is non-existentin some cases. For example, as Pedersen (2001, p.88) notes, ‘‘in West Africa containerization has beenimportant for the development of saw mills and ashift from export of logs shipped in bulk to exportof planks shipped in containers’’. Activities of thisgenre, which in most cases create a need for con-tainer depots closer to import/export agents, cango a good way to resuscitating the economies ofAfrican cities. Such facilities are already in opera-tion in Nairobi (Kenya), Kampala and Isaka (Ugan-da), Harare (Zimbabwe) and there are plans toestablish one in Kumasi (Ghana) (Pedersen, 2001,p. 93).Authorities will therefore do well to channel more

resources into road and transportation infrastructure

28

development as a means of facilitating Africa�s par-ticipation in international trade in particular and theglobal economic system in general.Requiring MNCs to contribute to local develop-

ment efforts. It is impossible to overstate the roleof MNCs in the contemporary globalization process,a role that promises to grow even larger within theforeseeable future as national geographic bound-aries become less important. As with the globaliza-tion process as a whole, it will be foolhardy forconcerned authorities to attempt to deny MNCs ac-cess to African countries. Rather, these authoritieswill better serve African countries, especially theirurban centers, by placing reasonable and meaningfulconditions on the activities of MNCs. It is not unrea-sonable to expect them to do the following (Versi,2000): tie up a certain amount of their capital for aspecified duration in their host towns; contribute acertain portion of their output towards meetingimportant local needs such as those relating to food,healthcare, education, and housing; participate inbuilding and maintaining public infrastructure intheir host towns; facilitate the technology transferprocess passively (through the activities they are di-rectly involved in) and actively (through vocationaland technical schools and universities).

Conclusion

Although today�s globalization train has left the sta-tion without Africa on board, Africa is not entirely astranger to international socio-economic, politicaland cultural interaction. The continent�s experiencewith such interaction dates back to the pre-colonialera, when a good number of African towns servedas nodes for international commerce, artisan craftand informal industrial activities. These towns alsoserved as the points of origin and destination of re-gional and international traders. In this paper, wehave marshaled evidence to substantiate this asser-tion. Africa�s position in the international economicarena was significantly diminished by two majorevents in the continent�s history. The first was Euro-pean colonization and the second was sheer neglectof the transportation infrastructure by post-colonialauthorities. These authorities have further failed toinvest in the modern technology necessary to makeAfrica a viable participant in the contemporaryglobalization process. Instead, the continent has be-come a passive participant, serving hardly more thana producer of raw materials and a major consumerof finished products from industrialized countries.For Africa to regain its place as an active, rather

than a passive, participant in the global economy, itwill be necessary for authorities to craft and imple-ment policies capable of regulating the activities ofMNCs. A few of the specific actions necessary in thisregard have been spelled out above. Furthermore,authorities will do well to invest in the development

African cities and regional trade in historical perspective: A J Njoh

of functional road and other transportation facilities.Such facilities are necessary to enhance the move-ment of people, goods and services—an activity nec-essary for active participation in the contemporaryglobal economic system. Additionally, we recom-mend the improvement of conventional mailing sys-tem to enable residents of African towns to send andreceive mails. More importantly, authorities willneed to invest in modern information systems, partic-ularly the Internet and its concomitant facilities suchas the computer.

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