To talk in terms of the demise and rise of the territorial states in Africa is obviously paradoxical for we all know that since the disintegration of colonial empires, Africa has seen the emergence of the territorial states. It is even more perplexing when it is viewed from a historical perspective. John Herz, in an essay on this subject, indicated that, as the unifying force of the vast Roman Empire disintegrated, and later the pervasive supreme power of the Roman Catholic church gave away to territorialism, the territory as a protective unit was enhanced.1 It became an instrument of order and security. The money economy and the invention of gunpower increased the defensibility of the state, while the emergence of complex economic relationships increased political control in the area.