Q. The anti-colonial struggles in West Africa were led by the new elite of Western-educated Africans. Examine. [UPSC-2016]
Ans:
Like other parts of Africa, the anti-colonial struggle in West Africa (e.g. in Gold Coast, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and the Gambia) spread rapidly after 1945. This was because more and more Africans were being educated in Britain and the USA, where they were made aware of racial discrimination. Colonialism was seen as the humiliation and exploitation of blacks by Whites, and working-class Africans in the new towns were particularly receptive to nationalist ideas. The anti-colonial movements in these country led to their decolonisation in 1950s and 1960s. ©crackingcivilservices.com
[For a quality content, focused preparation and Quick updates, Join our new telegram channel]
The struggles in West Africa were led by Western-educated Africans:
- The Gold Coast (Ghana):
- It was the first black African state south of the Sahara to win independence. The nationalist leader, Kwame Nkrumah, educated in London and the USA, led the movement here. Since 1949 leader of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), organized the campaign for independence under his leadership.
- In the 1951 elections, the first under the new constitution, the CPP won 34 seats out of 38. Nkrumah was released from prison, invited to form a government and became prime minister in 1952. This was self-government but not yet full independence. The Gold Coast had a small but well-educated group of politicians and other professionals, who, for the next five years, gained experience of government under British supervision. ©crackingcivilservices.com
- Nigeria: The leading nationalist was Nnamdi Azikiwe, popularly known to his supporters as ‘Zik’. He was educated in the USA and for a time worked as a newspaper editor in the Gold Coast. After his return to Nigeria in 1937 he founded a series of newspapers and became involved in the nationalist movement, soon gaining enormous prestige. The regions assumed self-government first and the country as a whole became independent in 1960.
- Amilcar Cabral, educated in Portugal, led Guinea-Bissau to freedom from Portugal. He was assassinated before the official independence declaration of the country, but served as an inspiration for other revolutionary leaders elsewhere, such as Fidel Castro.
- Tovalou Houenou, defended the equality of race, opposed Eurocentricism and founded the Negritude movement, the writings of which gave a fillip to anti-colonial struggles in West Africa.
- Leopold Sedar Senghol and Felix Houphouet- Boigny were western educated individuals who respectively led Senegal and Ivory Coast to independence. ©crackingcivilservices.com
These movements under western educated leadership were mostly peaceful and constitutional and used propaganda through press, literature, strikes, organised political parties, etc. However, some struggles had element of violence too.
Unfortunately, some of these states lacked stability after independence because of civil war during to tribal differences, military coups etc.©crackingcivilservices.com
