West Africa magazine2025-11-122025-11-121972-02-18https://nigeriareposit.nln.gov.ng/handle/20.500.14186/2324The Issue 2853 of West Africa Magazine (week ending 18th February 1972) diagnoses Africa’s growing pains. Published in London/distributed in Apapa, it exposes Africa’s shocking intra-continent trade deficit (7%), Ghana’s bombshell debt repudiation post-Nkrumah, and surveys creaky unity projects. Plus: an imperial history review and Nigerian sociology debuts. Key stories: “Inside Africa” laments Africa trades with itself way too little; “Nkrumah debts disowned” reveals Ghana stiffs Britain over legacy loans; “The slow road to unity” dissects failed pan-African groupings. Books notes Edward Grierson’s The Imperial Dream nostalgically misses the point. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s sociologists get serious at Zaria (Whither Nigerian Sociology?), and Dateline Africa reports Ghana nullifies its cedi devaluation and kills debts. A fiery mix of realism, revisionism, and ivory-tower intrigue.■ Inside Africa: Intra-African trade forms only seven per cent of the total trade of the independent states of Africa ■ Nkrumah debts disowned: Ghana's new government has announced it's repudiation of some of the debts to Britain inherited from the Nkrumah regime ■ The slow road to unity: A correspondent takes a look at some of the organisations through which African states have chosen to approach the task ■ Books and publications: Empire and after: The imperial dream by Edward Grierson ■ Whither Nigerian Sociology? The first annual general meeting of the Nigerian anthropological and sociological association held at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria ■ Dateline Africa: Ghana-Cedi revalued: debts repudiated- Ghana has nullified last December's 44 per cent devaluation of the cedienArticle