at the process of gaining independence, which often includes armed conflict; or at the period after independence. In literature, writers using such theory are often from the national, racial, and/or ethnic heritage of the formerly colonized peoples.

One important premise in postcolonialist visions is the psychological impact that inevitably forms part of colonial control. This includes the colonizer’s assertions of superiority and attempts to convince the colonized of their own inferiority. Emerging from colonialism, therefore, requires a shift in mental attitudes as well as rejection of external political control. This includes the question of continued use of the colonizer’s language in contrast to the independent nation’s indigenous language(s). It often requires a break with imposed religion or the creation of new religious movements that combine traditional and imposed beliefs.

The postcolonial state often is considered to exemplify the lasting negative influences of colonialism, especially in the early years after a country becomes independent. Two of those characteristics are political centralization—often under military control—and entrance into the political sphere of actors with little political expertise, some of whom may have returned from exile.

In Anthills of the Savannah, Chinua Achebe portrays a country and its people who are in the grip of these issues. In becoming president of Kangan, Sam is unprepared for his duties and instead values the power and prestige, which had been denied him under colonial rule. The increased centralization of power as Sam moves toward becoming a dictator and the opposition that Chris and Ikem support all bear out the early independence struggles of this fictional country.

Post-colonialism refers to the situation that exists in countries that were once colonies but were abandoned by their invading force.  There is a group of literature and artwork that is heavily influenced by the conditions created in a post-colonial country.  Achebe dedicated most of his work to developing such themes.  In "Anthills", he portrays how the country - symbolic of his home country of Nigeria - had been disrupted by the heavy influence of Western culture.  The culture of the people had been infiltrated and, in many ways, lost - a victim of capitalism and imperial governement.  The leaders of Kangan are Western educated, and their failure is indicative of their inability to understand their own people.  Throughout the novel, there is a struggle to find peace between new and old.   The tumultous situations echo that of Nigeria and many other African nations who were left to "recover" after the European countries disrupted their lives and then left.

Additional information related to this questions can be found at the following link:  

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Anthills of the Savannah is definitely related to colonialism—as are most of Chinua Achebe's works. Since the novel is set in a fictional, westernized African country that is postcolonial, Anthills of the Savannah focuses on the impact of colonialism on a country after the colonizers have left.

Kangan is the fictional country where Anthills of the Savannah takes place. To understand Kangan, a reader must understand how colonization happened in Africa. European colonialism had a massive effect on modern African countries. In fact, the official languages used in some African countries come from the colonizing countries in many cases. The colonizers' social customs, political customs, and often corruption were passed on when they took over these countries—and those corruptions were exacerbated when they abruptly withdrew.

Achebe attempts to address what happens after the withdrawal in Anthills of the Savannah by focusing on three people in Kangan who all have interactions with the government, which was recently established through a military coup led by Sam, also known as "His Excellency." He writes about how society changes, the way society affects the people in it, and how power corrupts. Achebe says:

Nations . . . were fostered as much by structures as by laws and revolutions. These structures where they exist now are the pride of their nations. But everyone forgets that they were not erected by democratically-elected Prime Ministers but very frequently by rather unattractive, bloodthirsty medieval tyrants. The cathedrals of Europe, the Taj Mahal of India, the pyramids of Egypt and the stone towers of Zimbabwe were all raised on the backs of serfs, starving peasants and slaves. Our present rulers in Africa are in every sense late-flowering medieval monarchs, even the Marxists among them. Do you remember Mazrui calling Nkrumah a Stalinist Czar? Perhaps our leaders have to be that way. Perhaps they may even need to be that way.

Anthills of the Savannah is a book that centers on colonialism, even though the colonizers have left. The power vacuum and problems left in the wake of the colonizers' withdrawal create a torrent of upheaval for the characters in the novel that leads to most of the main characters' deaths by the end.

Anthills of the Savannah is about the aftermath of colonialism, which left a deep and complex legacy in Africa. Colonialism has helped to usher in many of the changes in the fictional nation of Kangan. Some, like the rampant political instability, are terrible for the people of the nation, and others, like an improved role for women, seem to be improvements. On the other hand, women also represent a link to the people's precolonial heritage, and as such are both looking forward and looking back.

But in general, the violence, instability, abuses of power, and political corruption that plague the country in Achebe's novel are direct references to similar scenarios in post colonial Nigeria, which experienced extreme civil strife (even a civil war with the breakaway people of Biafra) and kleptocratic political leadership. Achebe asks late in the book, "what must a people do to appease an embittered history?" After enduring decades of post colonial turmoil, the answer is never clear.