History of Togo from the pre-colonial period to independence
“Our first attempt to establish a protectorate [in Guinea], for which we were duly mandated, ended in a dismal failure. However, we were soon to be compensated by an opportunity to raise our flag, this one quite unexpected, without a mandate as preparation, and yet carried out with the utmost serenity. It was in Baguida and in Lomé. It was Togo”, Max Buchner.
In 1880, present-day Togo did not yet exist and had a very particular history.
Three successive colonisations (German, English and French) have marked the history of this country.
The German presence in Togo was accidental and purely by chance. In fact, it was through a combination of circumstances, particularly commercial ones, that Gustav Nachtigal succeeded in sealing Togo’s fate to
Germany. The boom in the palm oil trade was very early on perceived by the Germans as an opportunity
and the ports of Bremen and Hamburg became active and expanded in the region, thus laying the foundations for a colony. Moreover, in 1881, conflict arose between the Adjigo and Lawson clans, who respectively requested the protectorate and the protection of Great Britain respectively, but this was not followed up.
Worried about the extent of the conflicts in Aného, the German merchants appealed to their government. Chancellor Bismarck, on 3 February 1884, took the situation in hand with the help of a warship and took the chiefs of the Lawson clan as hostages.
Gradually gaining sympathy from the Lawson clans, they officially requested a German protectorate. Bismarck, who had previously been opposed to expansionist ideas, decided to appoint Nachtigal ‘Imperial Consul General’ with the task of the establishment of German consulates.
In Aného, following the call for help from German merchants in Lomé and Baguida, as well as the traditional chiefs and priests of Bè and Togoville, Nachtigal saw an opportunity Nachtigal saw an opportunity and on 5 July 1884, on the beach at Baguida, signed a treaty protecting Germany in the territory, which he named ‘Togo’. It is in this succession of circumstances that the Togolese coast, at the Berlin Conference of 1885, was officially attributed to Germany (Togoland).
However, the First World War challenged German domination of Togo.
Following the defeat of the Germans against the victorious French and British in August 1914 at Kamina, Togo was conquered and divided by mutual agreement between the two countries.
August 1914 at Kamina, Togo was conquered and divided by mutual agreement between the two
powers. The districts of Lomé, Missahohe and Kete-Kratchi went to the British
and those of Aného, Atakpamé, Sokodé and Mango to the French. In the south, the border followed the course of the Haho, leaving Agbodrafo, Notsé and Atakpamé to the French. Lomé, Tsévie and
Kpalimé were returned to the British. In addition, the British kept the management of the entire railway system, as well as the wharf and thus ipso facto the customs.
The surplus revenues from this management were shared between the two powers. The
Togo was now administered by two governments, and their flags flew over the governors’ palace in Togo. The German presence was thus gradually eliminated from Togo. The German factories were also rented out to anyone who wanted them.
Naturally, the powerful English companies from the Gold Coast took the lion’s share, such as
such as John-Holt, Millers, GB-Ollivant, etc…
The question of the reunification of the two Togos (British and French) began to
political life in the two territories, which, in February 1958, resulted in the victory of the Togolese Unity Committee. But it was not until 27 April 1960 that full independence was achieved with Sylvanus Olympio, the father of Togo’s independence. He was elected president in 1960 and assassinated in 1963. Nicolas Grunitzky, was subsequently elected President but overthrown in 1967 by Gnassingbé Eyadéma. In 1979, Gnassigbé Eyadéma took over the reins of the country and died in 2005, leaving the Presidency to his son Faure Gnassingbé who has been ruling the country since 4 May 2005, and was re-elected in 2010, 2015 and 2020.
Geopolitics and interdependence of Togo
A West African country situated to the east by Benin, to the west by Ghana, to the north by Burkina Faso and to the south by the Gulf of Guinea, Togo has a wealth of resources which makes it a very attractive country.
Togo has an array of wealth that makes it proud on the geographical level and contributes to its development. The country has offshore oil, marble, iron, limestone, uranium, and an important phosphate deposit representing about 40% of its exports.
The autonomous port of Lomé, the only deep-water port in the West African sub-region, also has modern equipment and infrastructure to boost its productivity in the face of
the competitiveness of the ports of Abidjan and Dakar.
Given its geographical position, Togo’s trade policy is primarily oriented towards its neighbours. Indeed,
the country promotes economic and commercial cooperation based primarily on regional integration.
Togo is a country of regional redistribution towards Benin, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. With regard to exports, within ECOWAS, Burkina Faso is Togo’s first client (XOF 78.2 billion), followed by Benin (XOF 1.2 billion) and Ghana (33.1 billion). The country’s exports are mining sector products (phosphate, iron,limestone and marble) with a strong concentration on phosphate, which constitutes the main product of this trade. In the WAEMU region, phosphate production 2,738,100 tonnes in 2018 against 2,307,900 tonnes in 2017, an increase of 18.5%. Coffee, cocoa and oil palm are in small quantities in the country’s export line of the country’s export products.
Faced with a world in perpetual demographic, political, technological and economic change, Togo has
chosen to turn its economy towards new horizons and thus develop new national and thus develop new national skills.
The adoption of its National Development Plan (NDP), which is in line with the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 is in line with this new development paradigm.
This development plan is broken down into three strategic areas, notably the setting up of
of a logistics hub of excellence and a first class business centre in the West African sub
in the West African sub-region; the development of agricultural, manufacturing and
manufacturing and extractive industries; and the consolidation of social development
social development and the strengthening of inclusion mechanisms.
This National Plan establishes a fair balance between the economic, social and environmental pillars as a necessary condition for the envisaged development paradigm shift.
SDG15 and Togo
Preserve and restore terrestrial ecosystems, ensuring that they are used sustainably
sustainable forest management, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation and
land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. This is the definition of the MDG 15, Land Life.
As a coastal country in West Africa, Togo, like other countries in the world, is facing
challenges related to land preservation with increasingly negative consequences for the population.
In view of the international commitments made in the field of the environment, the Republic of Togo has made numerous efforts to integrate the national planning instruments, notably through the finalization of the National Development Plan which covers the period 2018-2022.Thus, the implementation of the SDGs is done within the framework of this new plan which has the overall objective of “structurally transform the economy for strong, sustainable, resilient and inclusive growth that creates decent jobs inclusive, creating decent jobs and improving social well-being”.
In the context of Togo’s achievement of MDG 15, in terms of sustainable forest management
and in particular in the area of reforestation, 6,064 hectares of new state plantations have been
In addition, 7,364 hectares of forests have been restored and 1,060 hectares of new community plantations have been reforested. From similarly, Togo has a forest resource coverage rate of 24.24%.
Among the government actions to achieve MDG15, in terms of protection of plantations, a total of
plantations, a total of 45,047 hectares of plantations have been protected against vegetation fires.
vegetation fires. As part of the implementation of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan
(NBSAP), Togo has launched a vast process of delimiting and securing its protected
of its protected areas with a consensual re-delineation with the riparian populations of these
of these protected areas, thus securing 7.4% of the territory.
Source:
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/20209Togo_RAPPORT_DU_TO
GO_2018_VERSION_FINAL_ACTUALISED.pdf
In addition to government initiatives, it is also worth mentioning the initiative of the
Consortium Femmes REDD+Togo, a coordination platform that brings together women’s
organisations involved in the management of forest resources. This platform initiated in 2018 “an awareness-raising tour” in 60 localities in Togo to promote the promotion of respectful actions for the protection of forests and the reduction of charcoal.
Source:
https://www.reddtogo.tg/index.php/composantes/organisation-et-consultation/124-le-consortiu
m-women-redd-togo-is-on-awareness-campaign