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…WASU was equally concerned with confronting the misrepresentations, and negative perceptions of Africans in the imperialised world. To confront these, it sought to, “act as bureau of information on African history, customs, law, and institutions.” It also decided to present the global community with the, “true picture of African life and philosophy, thereby making African contribution towards the progress of civilization.” It further sought to foster the spirit of national consciousness and racial pride amongst its members.
The centenary of the Pan Africanist and anti-colonial West African Students’ Union (WASU) was 7 August. It was founded in London by twenty one British-colonised West African students. Initially, membership was limited to West African students. But from 1928, it widened its membership to encompass all students of African descent.
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Extreme racial prejudices, racial discrimination, and the difficulties in securing accommodation were what galvanised the students to form WASU. British landladies generally considered it socially embarrassing to rent places to Africans. They believed that Africans had a gruesome, insatiable, and uncontrollable appetite for sex. They even slammed Africans with extra charges, called the “colour tax”, when they rented houses to them.
It was therefore not surprising that WASU’s first objective was to, “provide and maintain a hostel for African students.” It also sought to, “foster the spirit of self, unity and race amongst its members”; and to promote a: “spirit of good, better understanding and brotherhood between all persons of African descent and other races of mankind”
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But WASU was equally concerned with confronting the misrepresentations, and negative perceptions of Africans in the imperialised world. To confront these, it sought to, “act as bureau of information on African history, customs, law, and institutions.” It also decided to present the global community with the, “true picture of African life and philosophy, thereby making African contribution towards the progress of civilization.” It further sought to foster the spirit of national consciousness and racial pride amongst its members. The union also publish a monthly magazine called “WASU.”
Thus, WASU, from the beginning, was a politically inclined organisation, as shown by the personalities it elected as its patrons; namely: Casely Hayford, Kumansihene Prempeh, Marcus Garvey, and Paul Robeson.
The WASU political orientation and activism can be categorised into three stages. The first was the liberal era when it believed that British colonial forces had goodwill towards Africa. That British racism and other negativities towards Africans were largely due to their ignorance of African history, laws, customs, institutions, values and languages.
As this stage, WASU leader, Ladipo Solanke, passionately appealed to British colonial administrators to, “give up the idea of regarding every educated element as his enemy… If he wants to understand the native properly he can only do so through the educated elements… Let him embrace the educated as his brothers, his co-partners in the duty of guardianship of Africa.”
Another WASU activist appealed to educated Africans to always, “seek support and recognition from the British Government” in whatever they want to do.
The second stage was the beginning of the radicalisation of WASU. This was triggered primarily by the Great Depression, the rise of fascism in Europe; fascist Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia; the successes of the socialist construction in Soviet Union; the emergence of a critical and radical press, as well as a militant labour movement in West Africa. It equally established working relations with the British Labour Party.
Therefore, they demanded the co-optation and involvement of educated Africans in the administration of the colonies; the application of individual legal rights and freedom to all, including the equality of all before the law; and the granting of partial self-government for Africans.
In demanding these, they stressed, “We are all for conservatism and order, but we are as much, if not more, for liberty.”
Another leader added that they are not out to “oust the White races from their present dominant position in the world, but rather aimed towards the development of the potentialities of West Africans, so as to bring her to the approximate level when she shall become effective co-operator.”
WASU’s liberal inclinations led it to fraternising with the Welfare Association, the Federation of Student Societies, the International Labour Defence, the Free Speech and Assembly Committee, the New India Political Group, the Society of Friends, the Society for International Studies, and the League Against Imperialism.
The second stage was the beginning of the radicalisation of WASU. This was triggered primarily by the Great Depression, the rise of fascism in Europe; fascist Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia; the successes of the socialist construction in Soviet Union; the emergence of a critical and radical press, as well as a militant labour movement in West Africa. It equally established working relations with the British Labour Party.
WASU criticised the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, formed the Ethiopian Defence Committee, and participated in various anti-fascist meetings and rallies. It also established contacts with left-wing and communist forces. The union began to increasingly criticise and reject Western civilisation, culture, and imperialism.
It posited that the primary source of European development lay in, “the exploitation of the many by few for the enrichment of the latter. And in such a society, war is an integral part. What Italy is doing today the other great nation have done in the past. When it is not war of aggression, as in the case of Italy, it is war… of a subtle, but nevertheless ruthless nature between classes.”
Walter Rodney must have had WASU in mind, when he wrote in his How Europe Underdeveloped Africa that, “Students who were taken to universities in the metropoles were the most favoured and most pampered of the Africans selected by the White colonial overlords to become Europeanised; and yet they were among the first to argue vocally and logically that the liberty, equality, and fraternity about which they were taught, should apply to Africa… After all, most of them were sent there to study British Constitution and constitutional law.”
WASU argued that the wars in Europe were a daily reminder that Western civilisation had outlived its usefulness; that Europeans have nothing to be proud of; and that it was time for, “Africans to start thinking of sending missionaries to Europe to humanise the natives.”
The union also severely criticised Indirect Rule, arguing that this reinforced the power of the feudal aristocrats; enabled self-enrichment; and promoted ethnic antagonisms at the expense of national unity. It added that the aristocrats were merely tools of colonial governments for the exploitation and oppression of Africa, and they would slow down the struggles for national independence. Based, on these, WASU demanded civil and democratic reforms, and the all-round development of West Africa.
The third stage was from the tail-end of the Second World War when the union fused its Pan-Africanism with Marxism-Leninism. During this period, one WASU activist said colonialism is a system of, “exploitation, domination and slavery”, while another argued at the 1948 WASU conference that, “the British Government had done nothing at all in West Africa, that it had betrayed Africans to capitalist monopolies and that every scheme begun in Africa was designed to enrich the Europeans and exploit Africans.”
WASU activist, the famous Kwame Nkrumah, wrote, “When two cultures meet: there is bound to be a crisis – a crisis which often results in the cultural synthesis of the two. Development is the result of internal and external conflict relations. The struggle of opposites which causes development leads at a certain point, to revolutionary break, and emergence of a new thing – a new culture, a new education or a new life.”
At the 1954 Conference of Commonwealth Communist Parties, a WASU delegate, Ademola Thomas, thundered, “There can be no real advance in Nigeria’s fight for national liberation until all genuine Marxist elements come together in a united party which will fulfil the role of Marxism and working class leadership within the broadest national front and so, advance the struggle against imperialism and its reactionary puppets.”
Walter Rodney must have had WASU in mind, when he wrote in his How Europe Underdeveloped Africa that, “Students who were taken to universities in the metropoles were the most favoured and most pampered of the Africans selected by the White colonial overlords to become Europeanised; and yet they were among the first to argue vocally and logically that the liberty, equality, and fraternity about which they were taught, should apply to Africa… After all, most of them were sent there to study British Constitution and constitutional law.”
With WASU, the flames of independence in Africa, could not be put out.
Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf worked as deputy director, Cabinet Affairs Office, The Presidency, and retired as General Manager (Administration), Nigerian Meteorological Agency, (NiMet). Email: [email protected]
