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Momodou
Denmark
11644 Posts |
 Posted - 21 Feb 2007 : 19:41:51
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FOCUS ON POLITICS
By Suwaibou Touray
Continued from: http://www.gambia.dk/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3138
The formation of the National Congress of British West Africa helped small and his contemporaries in West Africa in particular and in Africa in general. While small was occupied with establishing Unions in the Gambia to combat injustices and reduce exploitation, others such as Herbert Macaulay of Nigeria, Blaise Diange of Senegal and Casley Hayford of Gold Coast (Ghana) and others were all in one way or the other engaged in fighting colonial domination injustices and exploitation.
For example in Kenya in 1920, a number of protest organisations emerged to fight specific grievances concerning land alienation, taxes, or labour policy as well as the implication of all official measures such as the African was a second class human suitable only for exploitation.
During the same time in Nigeria Herbert Macaulary, a civil engineer became a public speaker and a polemic writer which placed him in a position of a Nationalist leader. This period coincided with an incident in Lagos Kingdom when the then king or "eleko" was removed and Lagos annexed. Macaulay saw this as injustice and wrote a petition calling on the colonialists to reinstate the incumbent. This call was backed by public opinion in Lagos and continued to regard the affair as a "distoolment or dethronement," which eventually consolidated Herberts' movement to the extent of establishing a party.
Blaise Diagne another contemporary of Francis, is also necessary to mention here, even though the French Policy of assimilation was different from the British on paper but it has no practical difference in reality. The French colonial policy was to make all the people in the communes in their colonies citizens of France but it was so stringent that it appeared almost impossible to attain citizenship of France through the legal channel.
But by 1914, Blaise who was born in Goree Island, a commune, but who had lived almost continuously throughout his adult life outside of his homeland returned to contest a seat as representative from Senegal in the French Chamber of deputies, a post that had always been filled either by a French or Mulatto candidate. He was then elected thus becoming the first African ever to fill that post. During Blaise's campaign he accused the Europeans and Mulattoes of both economic and political discrimination against Africans, and pledging himself if elected to regaining the lost citizenship of his people, but he almost organised a riot when he discovered that a European resident named his dog, Blaise.
However his struggle bore fruit when the "Natives of the incorporated communities of Senegal and their descendants" remained citizens of France by law. Diagne's intervention had for the first time replaced the Black man's age old feeling of inferiority with a sense of dignity and self-respect. He was again re-elected in 1919, and more and more communes gained citizenship of France.
UNITY IN ACTION
During the period between the two World Wars, Casley Hayford was preoccupied with a movement that went beyond the limited question of national politics within the Gold coast. For many years he had come to regard international cooperation among Africans as the most effective means to the achievement of greater self-determination by the peoples of West Africa, at a time when democratic ideas at the end of the first World War stimulated nationalists aspirations in Africa.
According to Hayford unity in thought, in aspirations and in objective could best be served through unity in action, through a United West Africa. True patriotic love of country was love of Mankind, and therefore ventured to commend the coming together of entire West Africa as one man to think together, and act together in matters of common good. Following this conviction, Casley led a group of educated Africans in organizing a conference of West African leaders drawn from the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and the Gold Coast to be held in Accra in 1920.
The conference was held and based on three major premises-1. That the educated African had become the natural leader of his people, that Wilsonian self-determination was a proper basis for political, economic, and social reform in British West Africa, and that community of interest would henceforth lead West Africans to work in close concert in achieving their mutual objectives.
RESOLUTION OF THE CONFERENCE
Resolutions of the conference demands Constitutional reform in terms of municipal self-government, the end of courts presided over by British administrative officers, popular election of half the membership of the legislative councils, and the creation of special houses of assembly, containing popularly elected majorities, which would be responsible for colonial taxation and budget policy, equality of opportunity between European and African was stressed in Civil Service, Medical Service, and judicial appointments. They also urged the end of economic discrimination against Africans in favour of European business interests especially in connection with indigenous land ownership and the right to sell or lease land without interference by the government. They also demand for more efficient self-government through a strengthened African Press and particularly through more extensive, improved education capped by a West African University.
Finally, national self-determination was given a special African relevance in the demand that no disposition of the former German Colonies be made without reference to the wishes of the people of the territories involved. The conference then formed a permanent National Congress of British West Africa.
Achimota College was later said to be established in the Gold Coast in response to the recommendations of the congress.
The rallying cry of the congress was "taxation goes with effective representation" Casley Hayford its chief supporter died in 1930 and it soon expired but others like Edward Francis small continued their un-relenting work to liberate the African people.
Small continued to intensify the education and organisation of the people. See next issue for more details on small's organizational capacity.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 021/2007, 21-22 February, 2007
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2007 : 21:13:58
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| momodou were you a teacher ? history was my best subject in high school .i will pack my calculators and go to yero bayol and change profession .i hope alcali kondo will accept me as his talibe .i will not be a gainako for the lessons, that will be my only resaversion. |
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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Momodou
Denmark
11644 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2007 : 22:28:42
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quote:
Originally posted by SANTANFARA
momodou were you a teacher ?
No Why do you ask? |
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2007 : 21:00:47
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quote:
Originally posted by Momodou
quote:
Originally posted by SANTANFARA
momodou were you a teacher ?
No Why do you ask?
yeh momodou ,the way you supply brother suwaibous piece is just like i use to get my lecture notes. timely. so i wondered if you were a teacher or some thing. it is the profession i am scared of. that is why i hope Alhasan ,coni and kondo will be visiting lecturers in university of the gambia . |
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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Momodou
Denmark
11644 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2007 : 21:24:42
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Santanfara, they are from Foroyaa and I post them as they come. I don’t have the persistence of a teacher. |
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2007 : 21:31:59
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quote:
Originally posted by SANTANFARA
quote:
Originally posted by Momodou
quote:
Originally posted by SANTANFARA
momodou were you a teacher ?
No Why do you ask?
yeh momodou ,the way you supply brother suwaibous piece is just like i use to get my lecture notes. timely. so i wondered if you were a teacher or some thing. it is the profession i am scared of. that is why i hope Alhasan ,coni and kondo will be visiting lecturers in university of the gambia .
I have no credentials to qualify as one. |
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