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Here is an article on the life in West Africa before the slave trade.

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Songhai rose in power because of Mali. Sonni Ali took over the trade routes and created a huge army. He later expanded the territory and Songhai became much larger than Mali. They encouraged learning and continued to offer a place to study for Muslim scholars. When Sonni Ali's son was taken out of control, they struggled with poor leadership. That then led to a war and Songhai became difficult to manage and control. Once weakened by fighting and drought, an army came in and invaded. Songhai then fell apart.

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Mali rose in power because of Mali's decline. They took over the territory and power that was once Ghana's. Once they got into power, they took over even more land and also took over the gold and salt trade that Ghana once owned. The trading was expanded to include Egypt and they got wealthier and used that money to strengthen their army. Mansa Musa built up the army and the empire. The popular city, Timbuktu, was enhanced and became a place to learn. Mali eventually lost control of the trade routes and fell out of power.

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The people of Ghana traded gold for salt because salt was an abundant resource in the Sahara desert. Crossing the Sahara desert presented challenges with the extreme heat and lack of water, so they started using camels. Regular trade routes grew at the center of those trade routes was Ghana. Ghana rose in power around the year 700 C.E. Africans mined iron ore and used it to make weapons which helped them rise more in power. Ghana started to use and incorporate Muslim beliefs when traders came over who believed in the Islamic beliefs.