Colonies were overseas provinces. Portugal intended to turn her African colonies into white men's countries. This was to solve her population and unemployment problems.

High illiteracy levels- The Portuguese deliberately provided an inferior type of education to Africans in all their African colonies.

Indoctrination. The Portuguese convinced Africans that they were Portuguese citizens and that a revolt against Portugal was a revolt against them. These therefore worked hard to prolong Portuguese stay in Africa.

Portugal's poverty. Eyeing a poor country at home. Portugal was reluctant to grant independence to Angola, Mozambique and her other colonies. This was because colonies-especially Angola was rich in natural resources.

The ban on political associations. Portugal rigidly banned any political organisations within her colonies. Even trade union activities were not allowed.

Restrictions on movements. Africans in Portuguese colonies were not free to move within and outside their countries. At best, they were allowed to move either to other Portuguese colonies or to southern Rhodesia and South Africa.

An efficient espionage network. The Portuguese police and spying net work (The FIDE) was very efficient in all her African colonies. It checked all the emerging nationalistic movements by arresting and torturing their leaders.

Portugal had few colonies in Africa.

Portugal's military strength as compared to African military inferiority also enabled Portugal prolong her stay in Africa.

Tribal divisions amongst Africans also enabled the Portuguese to stay longer in Africa. A, case in point was the ethnic division between the Fula and Balante of Guinea Bissau.

Ideological differences between African nationalists enabled the Portuguese stay longer in Africa colonies. Some nationalists of MPLA became Marxists while others like UNITA were capitalists.

The Portuguese divide and rule policy also delayed the attainment of independence in Portuguese colonies.

Lack of funds to finance nationalistic operations. The Portuguese economic policies were exploitative. They denied Africans a chance to participate in profitable trade and mining activities.

The dictatorship of the Portuguese delayed the attainment of independence in Portuguese Africa. Dr. Salazar established a fascist state (Estado Novo) whose key instrument was the secret police (PIDE).

Absence of charismatic leadership. The Portuguese had monopolized all the administrative posts and made no effort to groom African leaders as the case was in some British and French colonies.

Moreover, the assassination of nationalist leaders e.g Mondlane in 1969, Amilcar Cabral in 1973 some how delayed the move towards independence.

The existence of conservative politicians in Portugal made her to take long to decolonise her overseas colonies. Dr. Salazar's Estado Novo aimed at turning colonies into provinces of Portugal. Even his successor Caetano was not committed to the decolonisation of Africa.

The Laissez-faire attitude of superpowers enabled Portugal stay longer in Africa. The two superpowers that emerged after world war II were more concerned at the pace of decolonisation in British and French colonies.

The weakness of the OAU.

The formation of the tripartite led to delayed decolonisation. Dr Salazar of Portugal, Ian Smith of Southern Rhodesia and Verwoerd of South African had met and promised to turn their African colonies into white men's countries.

The double standards of the UNO explains the prolonged stay of the Portuguese in Africa. Due to cold war politics, prominent UNO members

The delay to establish operational bases within Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau contributed to delayed independence in Portuguese colonies.

Censorship of the press. The Africans suffered from shortage of information. From the 1920s, the press was rigidly censored in all Portuguese colonies and this was enforced by police activities.

Nationalism in Portuguese colonies would stir trouble for Portugal at home. At home Dr Salazar had abolished all forms of liberal politics and had established a rigidly fascist regime- the Estado NOVO. This was extended to colonies.

The Portuguese wanted to defend their Luso-tropicalism. The Portuguese claimed that their mission in Africa was to civilize and uplift the "Negro".

Portugal's fear of maintaining neo-colonies. She feared that since she was a poor country, she would easily maintain the neo-colonial territories.