The Central African Economic and Monetary Community known as CEMAC, is made up of six States in Central Africa, namely: Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, the Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea.It is no exaggeration to say that CEMAC countries rely heavily on the exploitation of Extractive Industries (EI) for their respective development. Yves Alvarez et al. note that “like many other countries in Africa, the member countries of the CEMAC rely heavily on the exploitation of raw materials to support growth. However, for many reasons, these countries find that industrial exploitation based on foreign direct investment (FDI) does not create sufficient wealth to maintain growth and sustainable development.”[1] Does heavy reliance on the exploitation of raw materials enough to sustain growth? 

​​​Walking around the central city area of Juba, South Sudan’s capital, it is difficult to miss the copious signs directing people to the compounds of CSOs, NGOs, and other international organizations such as the numerous United Nations agencies. Many of the public institutions scattered across the city also bear markers of international sponsorship. This phenomenon is replicated in the hearts of state capitals across the country. While the presence of foreign interventions in South Sudan has been discussed colloquially, the implications and long-term consequences, particularly within the context of a neoliberal era of development, has not been critically investigated thus far.

​In the process and under the pressure of outside military intervention, a vast region of the planet seems to be cracking open. Yet there is very little understanding of these processes in Washington. This was recently well illustrated by the protest of 51 State Department diplomats against President Obama’s Syrian policy and their suggestion that air strikes be launched targeting Syrian regime forces in the belief that President Bashar al-Assad would then abide by a ceasefire. The diplomats’ approach remains typically simpleminded in this most complex of conflicts, assuming as it does that the Syrian government’s barrel-bombing of civilians and other grim acts are the “root cause of the instability that continues to grip Syria and the broader region.”It is as if the minds of these diplomats were still in the Cold War era, as if they were still fighting the Soviet Union and its allies.

I. Introduction

With its 181 million inhabitants, Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, composed of more than 250 ethnic groups. After achieving independence from Great Britain in the 1960s, Nigeria’s politics was characterized by coups and mostly military rule, until 1998, when its last military ruler died and a political transition soon ensued. The general elections of 2007 witnessed the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the country’s history. Since then, the Nigerian government has struggled to institutionalize democracy, reform its petroleum-based economy, and tackle the various security, societal and economic challenges faced by the country. Along with the myriad of economic woes, Nigeria has been dealing with violent incidents, terrorist attacks, secessionist movement, and rebellion in peripheral states.

Introduction
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This article is motivated by the desire to respond to two questions: Is there a Congolese nation? What role should the Congolese play in the building of this nation? My thesis is that there is not yet a Congolese nation. Therefore, it is up to the Congolese to build it. To further demonstrate this thesis, I propose to show the limits of some works that are interested in this issue, both those who support the existence of a Congolese nation and those who deny it. Secondly, I shall deal with Leopold’s project –subtly continued today by other actors- whose purpose was not to build a Congolese nation, but to establish and maintain an extractive space, benefiting the metropole (now synonymous capitals of economic globalization). Third, I will show why the construction of a Congolese nation worthy of the name is an important task devoted to Congolese themselves.