Is it therefore African country close to Ethiopia? (7)
I believe the answer is:
somalia
'is it' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'therefore african country close to ethiopia?' is the wordplay.
'therefore' becomes 'so' ('so' can mean 'consequently' or 'therefore').
'african country' becomes 'mali' (country in Africa).
'close to' suggests the final letters (the 'close' to the word).
The last letter of 'ethiopia' is 'a'.
'so'+'mali'+'a'='SOMALIA'
(Other definitions for somalia that I've seen before include "Eastern African state" , "East African country" , "Horn of Africa country" , "Easternmost country of Africa" , "Land" .)