The East or the West?

I've got a few months for a first time trip to Africa but I'm not sure should I go to the West and see Ghana and Cameroon and maybe some others, or the East, and see Tanzania, Mozambique and maybe Kenya?
I'm probably most interested in the people and culture than the wildlife although I would still like to
see some wildlife. I'd be backpacking on a tight budget and I do have some backpacking experience.

Can anyone here compare the East to the West?

Welcome to the forum and now lets try to go slow on this.
1.Culture- I would go for East Africa with the Masai,Turkana, Karamonjos, Sebie etc.
2.Safety- West Africa has just been going through civil war and many terrorist groups , though some East African countries also just went on with that like Kenya but tourist places are safe.
3.Wildlife- the credit goes to East Africa. Plenty of these is seen every where. Mt.gorillas,Chimpanzees,Golden monkeys ,waterfalls,Birds, source of the Nile etc.
4-Budget-great backpacking with plenty of cheap and clean lodges and hotels.
NOTE: Uganda is the only country in East Africa which as not yet experienced any bomb scary from terrorist and all these can be found with in. You can aswell try other East African countries.
Try log on to www.groupspaces.com/ongadventure for more.
Thanks.