Many books and articles have been written on the nature and role of the military in Africa, largely as a result of the numerous coups which have taken place on the continent since 1960. But we are not likely to understand the role of the military in post independence Africa unless we also study that of the military in pre-colonial and colonial Africa. And it is imperative that the different aspects of welfare in Africa should be given serious attention if current myths about pre-colonial Africa are to be exploded.