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Momodou
Denmark
11644 Posts |
 Posted - 20 Feb 2007 : 12:48:18
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FOCUS ON POLITICS
THE BEGINING OF NATIONAL EMANCIPATION
By Suwaibou Touray
The earlier struggles waged by Fode Kaba Dumbuya and Fode Sillah of Kombo plus many others such as Ma Ba Diakhou is sufficient evidence to show that Gambians were not only uncomfortable with British domination but also clearly showed the rejection and resentment against colonial rule in their country.
The trickery schemed by the British Colonialist to pretend to be supportive of weaker kings to defend themselves against the stronger kings or even jihadists was what paid off because at the time, the weaker kings were with the illusion that the white man loves them and wanted to help them but little did they know that the white man was scheming to subjugate, exploit and dominate them for decades to come.
After almost three decades of colonial rule, Gambia could produce very few graduates who could stand up to the colonialist and demand ownership of their country. But by 1918, the struggle for National emancipation had begun in Ernest.
Edward Francis Small alias Pa Small was born in Banjul then Bathurst in January 1891. He completed his education at the Methodist Boys High School in Freetown Post Office in 1910. He then held a series of clerical jobs in both Freetown and Bathurst before finally becoming a teacher in Bathurst in 1915. According to Dawda Faal, small as a teacher decided to become a clergyman in the Methodist Mission and in 1917, he was sent to Ballanghar to serve a probationary period as an agent of the Methodist Mission, but within 18 months, he was dismissed from his employment.
According to Faal, smalls' dismissal followed what was referred to as the "Ballanghar incident." On New Year's Eve 1918, small ordered the bell of the mission chapel at Ballanghar to be tolled heralding the annual watch night service, which sound disturbed one James walker, a European trader who was also living in the village.
According to Faal, an argument developed between small and walker bringing the two men to blows. According to Mr. Faal, the "Ballanghar incident" was to serve as the starting point for the political career of Edward Francis Small.
Francis hated injustice. He could not rest seeing injustice perpetrated on him, so he complained to the travelling commissioner, Mr. J. L. Mc Callum, who then, held him responsible for the incident. Small also denounced the commissioner's conduct.
The incident took another dimension when the commissioner insisted on the removal of small from Ballanghar which put pressure on the Methodist Mission, and Rev PS Toys who was the chairman of the Gambia District of Wesleyan Methodist Church, decided to withdrew Small to Sukuta. Small resented the mistreatment from the Church and proceeded to criticize Rev. Toys openly which subsequently led to his dismissal from mission employment.
THE STRUGGLE BREWS UP
The Methodist Church could not cool the temper of Francis Small because his anger just happened to coincide with a tiny incident but Francis Small's anger lies deep beneath the injustices meted out to his people. He has seen that the people did not have the schools, hospitals and other social services they needed at the time. He has also witnessed like many others that they had no freedom of expression to combat mismanagement of their resources. They also have no freedom of assembly and association to safeguard their interests. They also had no freedom to determine who manage their tax money. And worse of all, they saw that the colonialists established different standards for themselves while the so-called subjects were considered "uncivilized natives" Can any genuine Patriot glossed his or her mind to this injustices and maladministration? Francis Small certainly could not. So he consciously planned to liberate the country from the colonialist just like they too had planned to subjugate the country from the earlier kings.
Francis Small and colleagues knew that the people were powerless and therefore needed to be empowered; that the empowerment of the people was inconceivable without the freedom of assembly and association. He then decided to teach the importance of exercising freedom of association by organizing civil servants into "The Native Defence Union" (GNDU) to negotiate for better wages from the colonial administrators, and also attacked what they called "the blatant flaws in the administration of the Central Government." By 1920, Francis Small and colleagues' struggle took a new impetus. According to the Foroyaa Civic Education Booklet, the struggle went like this.
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A DEMOCRATIC FRONT
The creation of a Union was not sufficient. Francis Small and other activists for self determination and internal self government extended their freedom of assembly and association by organizing a group called The National Congress of British West Africa which held its first meeting in Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1920. The delegates to the congress agreed that taxation should go hand in hand with effective representation. They agreed to go back to their respective countries to struggle for self government through representative institutions such as councils of elected members.
The lesson is, therefore, clear. The pioneers of the national liberation struggle in Africa saw the importance of freedom of assembly and associations and the right to participate in electing representatives to run the institutions for self governance. Their struggle was a democratic struggle. Democracy is inconceivable without freedom of assembly, freedom of association and freedom to choose one's representatives to manage the people's affairs in the people's interest.
Edward Francis Small returned from the National Congress of British West Africa a determined person to ensure that people were empowered to take part in determining their destiny.
He saw the importance of building pressure groups to promote the general welfare of the people and for self government. The Rate Payers' Association was established in 1922. He educated the rate payers that the duty to pay taxes should be linked to the right to elect members of Councils to manage the monies paid by them.
Furthermore, Francis Small understood the importance of freedom of expression and the dissemination of information in raising public awareness. Democracy is inconceivable without freedom of expression. Francis Small, therefore, established a newspaper known as The Gambia Outlook. In this newspaper, he published the concerns of the people and the views of Africans in other parts of the world against colonialism.
Between 1922 and 1924, many petitions were submitted to the colonial administration calling for the establishment of Councils with democratically elected Councillors to manage the monies of rate payers. These petitions were rejected by the colonial authorities. For example, the Secretary of State for Colonies stated his rejection of the petitions in 1924 in the following words:
"While I sympathise with their desire for elective institutions I do not consider that education and political thought in the colony and still less in the protectorate (which could not be well separated from the colony in any constitutional arrangement which might be made) have yet reached a level which would render elective institutions valuable."
Francis Small was convinced that organisation was the instrument to give power to civil society and thus enable the people to effect change. He therefore, proceeded to organise the people at all levels. In 1928, Bathurst Trade Union was established. It later became The Gambia Labour Union. In 1929, the Union organised a successful sixty day strike for better wages for dockers amongst others. The colonialists were so overwhelmed that they officially recognised the Union and increased wages. The pressure of an organised people could not be ignored.
Continued: http://www.gambia.dk/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3154
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 020/2007, 19-20 February, 2007
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 20 Feb 2007 : 17:57:44
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| cheers koto suwaibou. |
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 20 Feb 2007 : 19:48:50
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| Yes Edward Small was a champion of "No taxation without Representation" modelled on the "Hut Tax" revolt by Bai Bureh in Sierra Leone. Great minds think alike. |
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