Give six reasons for political instability in any one West African country after independence.

Taking Nigeria as the example, several factors combined to produce political instability after independence in 1960:

1. Ethnicity and tribalism: strong loyalty to ethnic groups rather than to the nation created deep divisions, mutual suspicion and conflict among the major groups.
2. Rigged and disputed elections: massive electoral malpractices, such as those in the 1964 federal election and the 1965 Western Region election, led to violence, loss of confidence in the system and a breakdown of order.
3. Corruption and misrule: widespread corruption, nepotism and misuse of public funds by politicians bred public discontent and undermined the legitimacy of the government.
4. Military intervention in politics: frequent military coups and counter-coups, beginning with the coup of January 1966, repeatedly overthrew governments and disrupted constitutional rule.
5. Census and revenue controversies: disputes over the population census figures and over the sharing of national revenue heightened rivalry and distrust among the regions.
6. Weak national unity and the colonial legacy: the amalgamation of diverse peoples into one state by the colonial power, without a genuine sense of nationhood, left the country divided and prone to conflict, which eventually contributed to the civil war of 1967-1970.