The legacy of the Maxim machine gun in postcolonial Africa: Implications for governance and management scholarship

Abstract

The essay draws on aspects of British colonial history to throw light on Africa’s postcolonial state and society. Under the leadership of Captain Lugard, drawing from the principles of the dual mandate and indirect rule, colonialists employed the then most powerful Maxim machine gun whose legacy of coercive governance set the stage for the rise of the African gunmaster, establishment of gunmaster regime culture, leaving the postcolonial state and society without humanistic socio-cultural value systems such as erade. The essay briefly discusses some of the implications of the legacy for governance and management scholarship and points to new areas and directions for research using multidisciplinary approaches. These include development of a Pan-African humanistic socio-cultural value system, paying more attention to gunmaster regimes and socio-cultural value systems in society, the concept of privilege, and the study of princelings as a unique and possibly developmental cohort.