Since the 1960s the major problem in many African countries has been lack of political stability. Most of the French-speaking states, with the notable exception of Guinea, Senegal, and Cote d’Ivore, went over to military rule during the 1960s. Togo and Dahomey (Benin) have suffered from frequent military coups and counter-coups. From November 1965, coup followed coup with frightening regularity, taking Nigeria and Ghana in early 1966. By the early 1970s, military rule had become a serious African political option. Coup d’état remained the most frequent means of changing government throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Similarly throughout the colonial period, Africans were encouraged only to produce raw materials for export. The colonial regimes made little effort to establish factories that would produce manufactured goods. The colonies were made producers of mineral ores for the industries of Europe. In the field of agriculture, Africans were encouraged to specialize in single cash-crop products. The price of such single products in world markets has not been stable. Moreover, their prices were sometimes fixed in the metropolitan countries in accordance with the interests of international monopolies.