National Languages in Africa

African countries often have a problem that European countries never had : no single unifying native language. No national language around which to rally. Most often, the unifying language or languages (if there even are any) are former colonial languages like English or French.

Most African countries have many, even dozens, of different languages. Tradition and rivalries between tribes and ethnic groups often make it difficult to accept one language over another as an official national language.

The one possibility which seems acceptable to the largest number of people is several official languages taken from the largest and most influential ethnic groups, but alongside the language of their former colonial rulers. It is often one of the few unifying factors keeping the country together (Nigeria comes to mind). They recognize the need for national identity and heritage, but they are also taking the most practical approach.

Here is an article about just such a debate in Ghana.
http://www.modernghana.com/news/173286/1/which-local-language-for-a-national-language.html