ARTICLES THE ABORIGINES SOCIETY, KWAME NKRUMAH AND THE I9**5 PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESSl by S.K.B. Asante* By 19^5 when the Fifth Pan-African Congress met In Manchester, the Gold Coast Aborigines Rights Protection Society* was in decline and had therefore ceased to be a recognised mouth-piece of the people and the medium of communication between the Government and the people. But for at least a quarter of a century the Society was the only national political body of the Gold Coast people, and the pivot of all nationalist poll tics.3 Its heyday covers the period from 1897 to 1920 during which It carefully studied legislative measures and acts of government so as to protect aboriginal and national rights and institutions, and by timely constructive criticisms to co-operate with the Government. An essential part of its activities was Mto foster In the rising generation a knowledge of their historical past, and to encourage the study of the laws, customs, and institutions of their country, to promote a sound national educational policy with particular attention to agriculture, science and industrial training, and generally to facilitate the spread of industry and thrift in the whole country".'* By the early 1920's the government had begun to regard the Society as "a private Society" and to-show signs of non-recognition of the Society. The establishment of the Provincial Council system and the subsequent introduction of the Native Administration Ordinance in 1927 sounded the deeth knell of the Society, for in the early part of 1932 non-recognition by Government took a definite shape. The government told the Society that It did not recognise It "as the medium of communication between the Government and the Chiefs and people, the Provincial Councils having been established for that purpose".5 Consequently, although In the 1930's the leadership of the Society came into the hands of such able men as Kobina Sekyi, a remarkable Cape Coast lawyer, scholar and traditionalist, George Moore and S.R. Wood, attempts to press government to reinstate it to its former status bore no fruits. The Society * Mr. S.K.B. Asante Department, Legon, is a Lecturer in the P o l i t i c al Science * ; •a. ARTICLES continued to exfst nebulously throughout the Inter-war years and far beyond, with the celebration of its anniversaries as its conspicuous feature." Discussion relating to the Aborigines Society has hitherto tended to concentrate exclusively on the Society's role In the local politics of the Gold Coast. It is not commonly appreciated that the Society also looked beyond the limits of its immediate objectives, and took interest In, and identified itself with, the world-wide movement of coloured peoples and post-war vigorous assertion of race-consciousness in America and West Indies. That it became attracted to the organisers of the 19^5 Pan-African Congress was largely due to the Society's Pan-African outlook, its involvement In questions about racial emancipation and its close contacts with Negro organisations, radical parties and freedom fighters abroad.7 The nationalism of the twentieth century was becoming more complex than that of the nineteenth century; its leaders thought of themselves as belonging to a race which would, In due course, come face to face with the white peoples of the world. This Pan-African consciousness was very much evident in the thought and activities of the Aborigines Society. The leaders of the Society were keenly aware of their membership of the Negro race and were desirous to maintain the integrity and to assert the equality of that race. They identified themselves with the problems affecting the African continent as a whole and developed a sense of affinity with national movements in other parts of the world. Thus, since its inception, the Society was receiving tremendous impetus from news from abroad about such outstanding events as the Japanese defeat at Port Arthur of imperial Russia, one of the most formidable powers of conquering Europe, in January 1905.8 Not long before the formation of the Society there had been similar news about the severe defeat which the Italians suffered at the hands of the Ethiopians at Adowa on March I, 1896. This was in effect the first great victory of an African over a European power since the Carthagian army marched In the valley of the Po so many centuries earlier. From time to time news came, through the local press, of the ill-treatment which the Belgians, for instance, were meting out to the African people of the Congo. But the event which greatly impressed the Society was the meeting of the first Pan-African Conference in London in July 1900 through the initiative of Henry Sylvester Williams, a Trinidad barrister practising in London. This Conference was organised by a committee of the African Association (formed in fjfc ARTICLES London in 1897) for the discussion of questions 'affecting the Native races'9 The significance of this meeting was that for the first time a group of people, motivated by a common experience and emotions that befell people of their colour, were able to meet and think and feel in unison. The Gold Coast Aborigines, the organ of the Aborigines Society, gave wide coverage to the Conference and was optimistic about its potentialities. Viewing the Conference in the context of a colonial policy which was becoming more reactionary, an editor- ial of this Aborigines paper added prophetically and in antici- pation of modern Pan-Africanists: We predict that Africa will always remain what it has always been - the black man's continent. There may be fringes of population of whites here and there, but the main bulk of the people will be black. We tafk of Boer and Briton in South Africa, as if that were a statement of the whole matter. What if, at some distant date in the future, South Africa should belong neither to Boer nor Briton, but to the negro - his by right, by superior numbers, and superior power? We may smile at the idea, but it may easily become a tremendous reality JO The result of all this was a growing sense, on the one hand, of hope for the coloured peoples of the world, stimulated by such news as that of Adowa, Port Arthur and the London Conference, and a widespread feeling, on the other, of belonging to a "suffering race", including Congolese, Bantus, Japanese, Ethiopians and Ghana- ians alike. In such a context, though still fragmentary arid incomplete in the sense that ft left untouched the teeming masses of illiterate Africa, progressive national Ism was no longer confined to one African country; it was continental In scope. And It was within this context, too, that the Aborigines Society held a series of discussionson the possibility of convening a Pan-African Con- ference in the Gold Coast in June 1905." This, however, did not materialise, as it succeeded nowhere in arousing more than nominal interest. LibeHans, whom the Aborigines hoped would join them for the organisation of the Conference, were lukewarm and unres- ponsive. But although unable to give its Pan-African dream an organisational form at home in the Gold Coast, the Aborigines Society participated in the Booker T. Washington's mini Pan- ARTICLES African Conference on the Negro held at Tuskegee in the United States in 1912. It sent as its delegate to the Conference, the Reverend F.A.O. Pinanko, an American educated and a pioneer of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in the Gold Coast, who made "most interesting and satisfactory reports with respect to the work being done under the general supervision of the Gold Coast Aborigines Rights Protection Society".12 The Reverend Mark C. Hayford also attended the Conference as the Aborigines delegate, and gave a lengthy and interesting address on the "Progress of the Gold Coast Native", as well as a letter from his brother, J.E. Casely Hayford.'3 Both Gold Coast delegates made "very fine impressions upon the delegates assembled".'** Furthermore, the Aborigines also took notice of the American negro 'back to Africa1 movement, and a particular interest in the Chief Alfred Sam's "African Movement" of 191^-16. It was to the 'Honourable Society1 of the Aborigines that the stranded members of Sam's movement appealed for financial assistance in order to save the movement and the African race. They urged the Aborigines to 'entertain this movement as national affairs for development of this country and our race in general, and to assign tracts of land to them and future Negro American immigrants to the Gold Coast1.'5 It is not known whether the Aborigines gave any assistance to the stranded settlers. But it was in the 193O's, when they had been discredited by the local colonial government as a force in Gold Coast politics, that the Aborigines devoted greater attention to, and became more and more involved in, the anti-imperialist and Pan-African associations abroad. This was an attempt to internationalize their grievances at home. While the twenties saw a flurry of Pan-African activities - and Pan-Africanism emerged decisively from a stage of romanticism to become an instrument for political action!6 - in the thirties Pan-Africanism took the form of radical protest movement against fascism and colonialism, and this was centred around small groups of West Indian and African intellectual organisations in Britain. The key figures in this new movement were George Padmore, C.L.R. James, Jomo Kenyatta, T. Ras Makonnen (alias Thomas Griffiths) of British Guiana, I.T.A. Wallace Johnson (Sierra Leone) and Sam Manning (Trinidad). The Gold Coast Aborigines were in close contact with many of these Pan-African conscious organisations, and in frequent correspondence with such leading Pan-Africanists as George Padmore,'7 and anti-imperialists 1 ike Reginald Bridgeman, Ronald, Kidd, N.B. Hunter and Arnold Ward.18 These contacts were stimulated mainly by the Aborigines agitation ARTICLES 50. against the enactment by the local Gold Coast Government of the Criminal Code (Amendment) Ordinance (1934) and the Waterworks Ordinance (193**), so that the constitutional fight of the Gold Coast became a point of contact between radical groups In the Gold Coast, African student organisations in London, the British left and such Pan-African orientated groups as the International African Friends of Abyssinia.*9 Ronald Kidd informed Kobina Sekyi, then the Solicitor, and later President of the Aborigines Society, that the Council for Civil Liberties had taken a serious view of the Increasingly repressive legislation which was being passed "In our colonial territories" He assured Seky? that the Council would continue to do al 1 in their power to safeguard the rights and liberties of the African people.20 In July 193*+, for instance, Apart from Sekyi's own earlier brief contacts with Padmore and the anti-imperialists in Britain,21 it was Wallace Johnson who in the mid-1930's provided an effective link between the Aborigine Society and almost all the ant I-imperialist groups and coloured organisations in Britain. Johnson, about whom not very much Is known, appeared to be one of the greatest West African Pan- Africanists In the inter-war years.22 After studying in Moscow in the early 1930's, Wallace Johnson came to England In February 1933 where he associated himself with the Negro Welfare Association. Before coming to the Gold Coast to found a section of his West African Youth League, he had joined the editorial staff of the Nigerian Daily Times, and also acted as Secretary to the "Koffey African Universal Church Society" in Lagos.^3 He left Nigeria for the Gold Coast in November 1933 where, according to a Colonial Office minute, he had his 'fingers In all the many pies available for him there1.24 Taking advantage of the confusion and agitation that had been created by the 193^ unpopular legislation of Sir Shenton Thomas, the Governor of the Gold Coast, Wallace Johnson immediately mobilised the youth and the Aborigines Society against both local government and the moderate nationalists of the old leadership such as F.V. Nanka Bruce. In June 193*+ he wrote to tell Sekyl that if there was anything that he could do to promote the interest and welfare of the Aborigines he would be 'prepared to do so against the despatch of your delegation' to England.25 After getting the consent of the Aborigines, Wallace Johnson not only helped in the drafting of the Society's petition to the Colonial Office, but also addressed some correspondence respectively to Bridgeman and Ward in which he requested that 'they should be ARTICLES 51. on the look-out and render all possible assistance to the Aborigines1 Delegation.26 Wallace Johnson helped a great deal in connecting the Aborigines Society with the growing anti- imperialist sentiment and movement in Europe and Africa and coloured organisations in Britain. The Society's attack on the Provincial Council system, its programme of constitutional reform and, particularly, its Pan-African outlook, corresponded with the aims and objectives of Wallace Johnson and his West African Youth League.27 The Aborigines did not in the 1930's limit their contacts abroad to Europe or Great Britain. They also discussed colonial problems, the forces of imperialism, exchange of literature on literacy campaigns and economic co-operation with coloured groups in America and Asia. Through correspondence these subjects occupied the attention of the Society, and much encouragement was received from the Universal Legion of the Universal Negro Improvement Association in New York and the All India Congress Committee in India. In May 1937, for instance, the former wrote to inform the Aborigines that the activities of their Society on behalf of the rights 'of our African people on the West Coast of Africa1 had been watched by them for many years, and that the courage and skill of the leaders of the Aborigines Society in their battle against the injustices and encroachments upon the natural 1fbertles of the people by the colonial admini- stration had 'more than once awakened our admiration1. The Legion requested the Society to explore the possibllIty of promoting trade between the blacks in the Gold Coast and their brothers in America, for it believed that a great economic benefit could be secured for 'all of us who are of African blood1.28 Economic co-operation between West Africans and the Negroes In the New World was advocated and preferred by the leading members of the National Congress of British West Africa during the 1920's to political co-operation.29 commended the correspondence that took place between the Gold Coast Farmers' Association and similar bodies in the West Indies relating to production and marketing of cocoa.30 Unfortunately, however, the Aborigines in the thirties were not in any strong political position to effect a meaningful economic co-operation with their black brothers abroad. Although the Society was associated with A.J. Ocansey's Gold Coast and Ashantf Cocoa Federation^', the Gold Coast Farmers' Association and the Agriculture and Commercial Society that sprung up during this period, it could hardly break the colonial economic structure Sekyl had himself during this period •it * ARTICLES 52. to its advantage. Another contact which the Aborigines made was with the Ail India Congress Committee. They discussed with the Committee the subject of imperialism which had bound a 'mighty chain of slavery around the world's surface ... the weakening or snapping of a link of this chain either in India or in West Africa is of mutual advantage to both1.32 The Society asked for the Committee's literature on the literacy campaign undertaken by the National Congress of India. Early in 19*fO, the Congress Committee passed on useful information to the Society.33 But although the Aborigines did not have the resources to enable them launch a programme for literacy campaign, they had earlier succeeded in sending a repre- sentative to the Conference of Anti-Imperial 1st League held in London in November 1934- In the resolutions adopted, the Confer- ence exposed the colonial brutalities and voiced their determination to strengthen and develop the joint struggle of the colonial toilers and the workers in Great Britain against the common enemy - Imperial ism.3** Much information was- also received from George Padmore who was now the Chairman of a Pan-African organisation known as the International African Service Bureau. In the early thirties Padmore had in his contact with the Society declared his readiness to help the Aborigines in their fight against imperialism. What he was anxious to see established in the Gold Coast was a sustained.organIsed national movement like those in India or China.35 He maintained this contact with the Society in the late thirties. In a letter to the Society in October, 1938 Padmore emphasized that the 'colonial question is coming up before the statesmen of Europe as a result of the demands of Hitler, and it is necessary for us to be on our guard*. In this respect, he concluded that the 'closest collaboration of our Bureau and the Aborigines Rights Protection Society' would be of tremendous importance in making the voice of Africa heard in the councils of the nations.36 Padmore had a great admiration for the Society and its potentialities, and considered it as an effective force in the Pan-African activities of his International African Service Bureau which was established In May 1937.37 The local colonial government was not unaware of these contacts between Padmore and the Aborigines such as Sekyi, Benjamin Wuta-Ofei and A.J. Ocansey. In a somewhat exaggerated tone, Sir Shenton Thomas, for Instance, wrote to tell the Secretary of State for the Colonies that large numbers of 'subversive pamphlets of all kinds' were addressed to Sekyi, and that each Communistic centre In Russia, Germany, France, England, America and South Africa had communicated with him. He ARTICLES 53. added that among Sekyi's friends were Padmore, Nancy Cunard, Bridgeman, Ward, Wallace Johnson and others, and concluded that Sekyf was definitely anti-European.38 Thus, throughout the thirties the Aborigines maintained effectively a steady contact with many of the leading Pan- Africanists and coloured groups and, where possible, actually participated I ft the conferences dealing with the subject of imperialism, colonial Ism and the welfare of the coloured peoples. Even J.B. Danquah, who had previously opposed the view of the Aborigines on the Provincial Council system and the Native Administration Ordinance in the twenties, and had referred to Sekyi and his dissident group 'as our sol-dissant leaders in the Colony'j'° found the Pan-African platform of the Aborigines very attractive. In 1938 he wrote to praise Sekyi and the Society for their great contribution towards 'the racial and social emancipation of Africa1, adding that through their efforts the rising generation were becoming race conscious. Mainly for this reason, Danquah began to find ways and means of bringing the Aborigines;Society 'into its erstwhile prominence1, and urged Sekyi to get the mandate from the Executive Committee of the Society,,'so that we can resuscitate or resurrect the branch in this Province1, that is, Eastern Province.™ The extraordinary anxiety of Padmore and Kwame Nkrumah to get the Aborigines to participate in the Pan-African Congress In 19^5 must be viewed against this background of the Pan-African outlook of the Society and its consistent challenge to the colonial rule. Nkrumah and Padmore were the joint secretaries of the Congress, and sent invitations to trade unions, nationalist groups and other organisations in the colonies. They both found the Aborigines Society as an effective force in the affairs of the African world. Already, in the early forties T.R. Makonnen, the General Secretary of the Pan-African Federation, the body which was responsible for planning the Pan-African conclave of 19^5, was drawing the attention of the Aborigines to the treatment of Africans by the colonial powers in other parts of the African continent. For instance, In April 19^0, he was instructed by the Executive Committee of the Federation to bring to the attention of the Aborigines Society a telegram sent to It by the Kikuyu people of Kenya, through Jomo Kenyatta of the Kikuyu Central Association. The telegram asked for the Federation's 'kind intervention in our troubles presented by District Commission- er of Kisu forcing us out of Kisu ... No land or homes found for us, ARTICLES 54. our original land in Kikuyu having been taken away by the white settlers ..... Me claim our original land".1*1 Makonnen urged the Aborigines to pass a resolution 'on behalf of our brothers In Kenya1 protesting against confiscation of 'native ancestral lands1 for the benefit of European planters and the denial of the right of education to Africans.42 II. The original invitation to the Aborigines Society to attend the projected Pan-African Congress at Manchester was addressed to S.R. Wood who, as Secretary of the 1934 Aborigines Deputation to England, was 'well known' to Padmore 'and highly esteemed'. Padmore had assumed that Wood, Secretary of the Western Province branch of the Aborigines Society, was the Secretary of the parent society with its headquarters at Cape Coast. In this invitation, Padmore seriously emphasized that he would like the Society not only to be represented at the Congress but also to be one of its sponsors, and hoped that the Society would give the proposed Congress its 'whole-hearted support1. He added that In view of the somewhat short notice, if the Society should find it difficult to send a delegate directly from home, he would heartily welcome any person from the Gold Coast already in Great Britain delegated to represent the Aborigines.43 Padmore's invitation did not reach the Aborigines at Cape Coast in view of the fact that, since his return from the 1934 Delegation to England, the activities of S.R. Wood had been turned against the Society.44 However, the headquarters at Cape Coast heard of this Invitation from the Gold Coast Observer,^5 and immediately the Secretary of the Society, Ailotey Hammond, wrote to Padmore for confirmation and for formal Invitation to the Aborigines. He also told Padmore that, In view of the Gold Coast experience, there was need for caution on the part of the organisers of the proposed conference, which should be popular and not imperialistic, to get in touch with the real representatives of the various non-European peoples within the Empire.46 Allotey Hammond had in mind the Provincial Councils - a government established system - which had compromised with the colonial situation. He was also warning that those who m ARTICLES 55. had associated themselves with the colonial establishment should not be invited to the Congress. Kwame Nkrumah's correspondence to the Society confirming the Invitation was a reproduction of Padmore's original invitation, except that Nkrumah requested the Society to produce any documents or any matter that it would like to bring to the attention of the Congress for discussion and necessary action. He, however, revealed his ignorance of the actual nationalist movement then existing in the Gold Coast when he advised the Society to pass dn the Information relating to the proposed Congress to the Gold Coast section of the National Congress of British West Africa.^7 This is more surprising, since the Congress movement had ceased to function since the death of its architect, J.E, Casely Hayford, In 1930, that Is, long before Nkrumah left for- America to study in 1935. Meanwhile, Kobina Sekyi, now President of the Aborigines Society, wrote to inform Padmore that he had heard of the pro- jected Pan-African Congress through 'our mutual friend, G.E. Moore1, who had got the information from J.B. Danquah, genera! secretary of the Gold Coast Youth Conference.^8 Sekyi took the opportunity to enlighten Padmore on the political situation in the Gold Coast. He told him that since the return of the Society's delegation from England, there had been a great deal of trouble with the chiefs In the country who had got themselves 'more and more involved within the meshes of imperialistic control1. The result was that all popular movements and efforts were either frustrated or eviscerated, so that even if any of the demands of , the people were made clear, they were put forward perfunctorily by persons officially manouvred Into the position of leaders of the people to the exclusion of the real leaders who naturally had the full support of the people and could put the demands of the latter more fully and firmly.^9 Sekyi was in this correspondence repeating to Padmore his conversations with him In the early thirties on the role of the Gold Coast Chiefs vis-a-vis the colonial structure. He had told Padmore In 1932 that the chiefs, particularly Nana Sir Ofori Atta, had constituted themselves as a most effective tool of the colonial government 'in Its scheme of keeping us a subject people for ever'.50 |n the view of Sekyi, any loyalty to the Provincial Councils entailed obedience to the British 'our conquerors and masters'. This view of Sekyi would seem to ARTICLES 56. In a state of deep regret, Danquah told SekyI that accord with what J.B. Danquah had come to realise In the late thirties about the Provincial Council system. In his letter to SekyI, to which reference has been made already, Danquah had deplored the Provincial Council system as 'a white elephant. It cannot do anything for the betterment of the country1, adding, It was too much dominated 'by government and ambitious chiefs ...' he had been misunderstood and misused and 'In this we can only thank our so-called leaders who are out for self-aggrandisement1. But, In spite of this frank expression of emotion and regret, Danquah, who had been brought up In an African traditional milieu, was, throughout his political career, never able to free himself from his support of the leadership of the chiefs as opposed to the Intelligentsia. It was because of this that he and SekyI could not collaborate as leading figures of the Gold Coast nationalist movement In the thirties and forties. On hearing of SekyI through Padmore, Nkrumah Immediately wrote to commend SekyI for 'the excellent and consistent political job1 he was doing for the people of the Gold Coast. By way of Introducing himself, he disclosed to SekyI that after nine years of study and teaching In American colleges and universities, he had come to London 'to help organise and convene the Pan-African Congress1, after which he hoped to return to the Gold Coast and enter journal Ism.52 it seems an overstatement though on the part of Nkrumah to have made the convening of the Pan-African Congress as his sole purpose of coming to Britain. In the first place, before he left New York for London In May 19^5, the Idea of con- vening a Pan-African Congress had hardly taken any definite shape. There Is also no evidence that he had as yet had any contacts with Padmore, T.R. Makonnen or Peter Milliard who mooted the Congress Idea and planned for it. Nkrumah knew Padmore only through his several articles; his first correspondence to Padmore was written on the eve of his departure from the United States In which he asked Padmore to meet him at Euston station In London, but he 'heard nothing from him1, neither did Padmore meet him as intended.53 Secondly, Nkrumah later makes It unmistakably clear In his Autobiography that his 'purpose In going to London was to study law and, at the same time, to complete his thesis for a doctorate In philosophy1. With this In mind, as soon as he arrived in London he enrolled at Gray's Inn and arranged to attend lectures at the London School of Economics.5*» It seems evident, therefore, that although Nkrumah was Pan-African conscious ARTICLES 57. during his American days, his association with Padmore and the organisers of the proposed Pan-African Congress In IJfcfdates after his arrival in Britain and had entangled himself up with political activities in. London. On the subject of journalism, Nkrumah told Sekyi that 'politically fearless and militant newspaper1 would enable him to 'serve the aspirations' of the peoples of West Africa in general and the Gold Coast in particular. In his view, this was more than a necessity. Nkrumah then began to set out his own ideas and philosophy of journalism in colonial Africa. A newspaper, in his opinion, should not be a sheet which must be filled with anything the editor could lay hands on; rather itj 'must be for a purpose, and function as an organisation for organising and educating the peoples as to their day to day demands, and for the moulding of their opinions'. He felt that a 'resolute and audacious' newspaper which gave reason to its faith, knew its objectives and worked for them, 'can play an important part in the struggle of African liberty'.55 Here* Nkrumah gives an insight into the revolutionary elements in hitn which found full expression in his first and militant newspaper, the Accra Evening News, the organ of his radical Convention Peoples Party. He held the view that political agitation In a colonial country could be furthered by a revolutionary news- paper. Such a newspaper could help educate the rank and file of the people and thus stretch wide the net of nationalism. This formed the support-base of his popularity as a militant nationa- list Ieader. , Also, in his correspondence to Sekyi, Nkrumah commented on the political situation in the Gold Coast as much as he could glean from the correspondence that had passed from Sekyi and Allotey Hammond respectively to Padmore. He rightly remarked that forces of reaction had only been able to maintain themselves in power because of disunity, schism and fratricidal conflicts 'among our people'. It was, therefore, necessary to strive for unity provided that this unity was not done at the price of surrendering fundamental principles. He stressed that while unity was the desired objective such unity must always be based upon those fundamental principles which epitomised the hopes and aspirations of the Gold Coast and the West African peoples. These hopes and aspirations must be the guiding factors of 'everything that we do. We must always remember that our imperialist autocrats ARTICLES 58. have always worked on the divide and rule theory, and they seem to have done a good job of it'. Nkrumah concluded this corres- pondence * which, in many respects, was a pointer to much of his future revolutionary activities - by emphasising that without 'a united organisation and a national unity we perish*. r, Nkrumah harped on his belief in the potency of unity as an effective assault against colonialism throughout his contacts with the Aborigines and their leader, Kobina Sekyi. In this regard, Nkrumah, during this early period of his political career, would seem to-have shared much of the guiding principles of his greatest political opponent, J.B. Danquah, which was a reconciliation of opposed factions in politics.57 But he was poles apart from the consistently uncompromising Sekyi to whom he addressed his correspondence. Sekyi throughout his political career was not prepared to co-operate with the Provincial Councils or with any suggestions coming from members of that body. Like Casely Hayford in the twenties, it can be said that the central theme of Nkrumah's poltical philosophy during this early period of Ms political life was unity - unity among the Gold Coast people, unity in West Africa, and unity of the coloured races. The concept of a united West Africa was the keystone of his race and political thinking. He was positively committed to political action for the realisation of this goal.58 it was this belief In West African unity which motivated his creation of the West African National Secretariat to which reference will be made in the course of this article. III. Meanwhile, Sekyi wrote to G. Ashie-Nikoi, a member of the Aborigines Society, who was then in London as head of a Farmers'Delegation, to ask him to represent the Society at the Manchester Pan-African Congress.... NJkoi accepted the qffer which he considered as 'an honour1, after consulting Nkrumah, Regional Secretary of the Pan-African Federation, and Padroore. He cabled the Aborigines for full instructions. Sekyi replied that the Conference of the Aborigines Society, which met on 27 September, 19**5, had duly confirmed his appointment as repre- sentative of the Society at the Manchester Congress, end that £100 had been collected for his 'out-of-pocket expenses', to be • • * * . -. r ARTICLES 59. supplemented if necessary. He told Nikoi that the Executive Committee of the Aborigines Society had drafted instructions which had been cabled to him. Nikoiwas asked by these instructions first, to base f- his representations on the Society's 193^ Petition to the King in Council and 1935 Petition to House of Commons. Thus, the Society wanted to bring to the attention of the forum of African nationalists and people of African descent its case for recogni- tion as the medium between Government and people in the Gold Coast, and its demand for constitutional reform. For, in addition to this, Nikoi should make it clear to the Congress that since the establishment of Provincial Councils, the Government had passed 'all opposed legislation with more than usual disregard of public protests'. Secondly, in considering any proposal or scheme for self-government, emphasis should be laid on two important facts that were often overlooked, namely, first, that Africa was self-governing before Europe tampered 'with her usages and institutions'; secondly, that self-government need not be according to English models or ideals. It was not true that responsible and representative government was the invention of, British statecraft. The British, according to the Society, were notoriously incapable of recognising democracy in any country unless it wore an English garb, or expressed itself in terms intelligible to the English mind. But the English form of democracy could not effectively work in non-English countries. Provision should therefore be made in every constitution for the control of the Legislature by a Supreme Court with wide powers which could pronounce as 'to the validity or invalidity of questionable or unconstitutional measures'. Furthermore, Nikoi should stress at the Congress that the Gold Coast 'forms of democracy1 were being forced by legislation 'in strange and unsuitable moulds' designed by Nigerian officials to facilitate ascendancy of white officials and black assistants and to 'humilitate and thwart respectable, patriotic and progressive indigenes'. To emphasize the Society's disapproval of Lugard's indirect rule system, Nikoi should point out that Northern Nigeria and the Gold Coast Northern Territory political ideas were being held out as models for imitation by Gold Coast chiefs, 'thus holding out medieval autocracies as substitutes for Democratic Gold Coast Institutions'. ARTICLES 60. Concerning higher education, Nikoi should demand that until legislation- and control of colonial revenue were completely 'in aboriginal hands' there should be no officially planned or controlled University or University College but that capable students with means or under scholarships be freely permitted as was then the practice to travel and complete their education in European or American Universities. The Society had in mind the report of the Walter Elliot Commission on Higher Education in West Africa which had just been published in June 19^5.59 Executive Committee were of the opinion that a University In • a colonial Gold Coast or West Africa would, as the political It seemed that Sekyi and his Aborigines conditions then were, be designed to suit the whims and (caprices of the colonial power, and possibly tend to produce educated , . elite who might compromise with appendages of colonialism. Pan-African ideals of the Aborigfnes were also included in Nikoi's instructions. He should urge the necessity of establishing a Pan-African Council with offices In London, New York, Paris, Geneva, Moscow and New Delhi with central press in London. When established, this Pan-African Council, should, as part of its policy, expose and prevent evils issuing from ttje„ persistent attempts that were officially being made to prevent indigenes from enjoying fuTi benefit of British advance in development of civil and criminal procedure codes 'with barbarous innovations designed to render defence difficult and also to trip up independent-minded indigenes'.60 Indeed, it was.a formidable document that the Aborigines sent ta N1kol as his instructions. It reflected the ideals and aspirations of the Aborigines Society since its formation In 1897. It was also a microcosm of the Society's position vis-a- vis the policies of the colonial government in the Gold Coast- It revealed the Society and its members as traditionalists and highly, uncompromising with the innovations being Introduced by the colonial regime into the traditional system of government. Its Pan-African outlook was clear and precise. African problems and African'disabilities and grievances should be effectively ventilated and widely diffused by the establishment of African agencies in many European and American capitals. Sekyi's own strong anti-white sentiments seemed to breathe through Nikoi's instructions. He had earlier told Nkrumah that he was aware of the 'dreadful corrosive policy of our invidious white friends'.°* ARTICLES 61. The Instructions, however, did not anywhere mention the Interests of the masses. They were an Interesting reflection of the wishes of the Gold Coast middle class nationalists, and were almost identical to the legal, political and economic demands of the National Congress of British West Africa of the 1920's. The elite's penetration of the mass elements In the Gold Coast society was still extremely limited at this time. The educated intellectuals such as Danquah and Sekyi showed little awareness of the problems and needs of the rural areas. A gulf therefore emerged between them and the mass elements. One wonders what the revolutionary Nkrumah thought of this type of nationalist politics. Armed with the comprehensive instructions of the Aborigines, Ashie-Nikof made a notable contribution at the Congress. He laid all the troubles of West Africa at the door of British imperialism, lamented the creation of the Provincial Councils and dismissing them as 'nothing short of Government Departments controlled by political officers', and concluded that he had come 'to ask this Congress to see that West Africa gets Its polItical emancipation. It is our right and we must have it ... we do not want freedom that Is partially controlled - we want nothing but freedom1. Nlkol's argument also reflected the views of the Aborigines on the Atlantic Charter being discussed by the Society at home. G.E. Moore had In a speech In the Legislative Council on 3 March 19^3 declared that If It was 'the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they live1, It was a right which 'the Africans share1. Most of the constitutional and economic points listed in the Aborigines' Instructions to Ashle-Nlkol were included in the Congress's resolutions on West Africa, with Nkrumah adding the Pan-African argument that 'the artificial divisions and territorial boundaries created by the imperialist powers are deliberate steps to obstruct the political unity of the West African peoples'.62 The Congress's "Declaration to the Coloured Peoples of the World" was also written by Nkrumah. It re-affirmed the right of all people to self-determination. The 19^5 Pan-African Congress no doubt had a great deal of impact on Nkrumah personal Iy and on the pace of the nationalist movements In West Africa generally.°3 Nkrumah later observed that the Manchester gathering was particularly Important because 'It was quite distinct and different In tone, outlook and ideology from the four that had preceded it . .."°** ARTICLES 62. Unlike the previous Congresses the delegates who attended the Manchester African conclave 'were practical men and men of action' whose main concern was to get political power and get it quickly. To attain this end, resort to strikes, boycotts and organisation of the masses should be the available weapons. The Congress also rekindled Nkrumah's dream of West African unity, and in December 19^5 he set up his radical West African National Secretariat (W.A.N.S.) with such militant West Africans as Kojo Botsio, Ashie-Nikoi, Bankole-Akpata and Awoonor-Renner. The Secretariat was to serve as a co-ordinating centre for nationalist movements in West Africa.^5 But while the Manchester Congress had a lot to do with Nkrumah's subsequent nationalistic activities, it had hardly any impact on the Gold Coast Aborigines whose Pan-African enthusiasm appeared to be on the wane. Nkrumah was, however, anxious to collaborate with the Society, and in January 19^6 he- informed Sekyi that it was his instructions to Nikoi which inspired the formation of the W.A.N.S.6° Although Sekyi did not seem to be personally impressed by such sentiments, Allotey Hammond wrote to assure Nkrumah of 'our unswerving support in the hard task of building up a West African national unity for a united West African national independence1.67 This was a grist to the mill of the revolutionary Nkrumah who seemed to stand in need of radical associates at home in the Gold Coast. Immediately, he repeated to Allotey Hammond that the W.A.N.S. was set up through the inspiration of the Aborigines, and that the Society's support was 'in itself an eventful move', concluding, "We want to assure your executive that the Secretariat is with them 100 per cent'.°8 But this was a far cry. The Society was least interested in Nkrumah's views, methods and his new brand of politics. Consequently, although Nkrumah mailed a hundred copies of the aims and objectives of the W.A.N.S. and a similar number of copies of its official organ, The New African, to the Aborigines,^9 the Society did nothing about it. It did not even attempt to discuss the provisional bye-laws of the Secretariat and offer suggestions, alterations or additions as Nkrumah had suggested. Nkrumah's request for Sekyi's photograph, as well as those of such public figures as G.E. Moore, together with a copy of the Society's 1935 House of Commons Petition and articles for publication in a projected W.A.N.S. pamphlet series on West African affairs, was similarly not attended to.70 Neither did Sekyi accept the offer of Chairmanship of the governing council of the W.A.N.S. Nkrumah's subsequent request that Sekyi contribute ARTICLES 63. y Evidently, Nkrumah's revolutionary conveniently excused himself on the grounds of ill-health a special article on the.1.93* Gold Coast Sedition Bill in the New African did not succeed in arousing any enthusiasm nor responseT7l Sekyl 72 and pressure of work.72 elements, his radicalisation and politicfsation of the masses, which were obviously a novel doctrine to the nationalist intel- lectuals of the pre-war years, had made any meaningful collabora- tion untenable. The Aborigines themselves were very much on the decline, and were gradually passing out of the polit leal arena in the Gold Coast. This article has sought to dlsctrss the contacts between the proto-nationalfsts Gold Coast Aborigines Rights Protection Society and the ant I-imperial 1st groups in Britain, as well as the Pan- African aspects of the Society which, with a few exceptions, have not.been fully explored. Before the thirties the Society closely identified itself with the aspirations of the coloured associations in America and the West Indies. The objectives of this identifi- cation were somewhat redefined during the thirties when the Society sought to press the government to reinstate it to its former status by bringing to the attention of anti-imperialists and left wing organisations in Britain and coloured groups in America and India, its opposition to certain repressive measures of the colonial administration. Although these contacts could not move the colonial government nor halt the wheel of imperialism, the Aborigines succeeded in arousing sympathy for their cause. Their participation in the al1-important 19*5 Pan-African Congress offered them the opportunity of making delegates from other parts of Africa and elsewhere . listen to their grievances and to the defence for self-government from one of the oldest political organisations in West Africa. At least they were able to impress their revolution- ary compatriot Kwame Nkrumah who eventually became one of the most tenacious fighters for freedom and independence in the Gold Coast. But in so far as the Aborigines were comparatively moderate in their attacks against the colonial domination, it became evident that a meaningful collaboration between them and radical Nkrumah would be of a short duration. Nkrumah was a practical politician who was impatient with the slow and compromising tactics of the middle-class nationalist intellectuals of the old school, no matter his intentions to collaborate with them as revealed in his corres- pondence with Sekyi. He was potentially a disruptive force, and obviously an inconvenience to the colonial elite. It was not surprising, therefore, that unity, which was the central theme of his nationalist philosophy since his American days, could not materialise when he entered nationalist politics in the Gold Coast in 19*7. ARTICLES 64. FOOTNOTES 1. The main sources for this article are the Sekyi Papers and the Aborigines Rights Protection Society Papers in the Ghana National Archives, Cape Coast. 2. The Society originated from the "Mfantsi Amanbuho Fekuw" (i.e. the Fanti National Political Society) which pro- tested against the Government's Lands Bill of 1897. in 1898 a deputation of the Society to the Colonial Office in London succeeded In getting Queen Victoria, through the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Joseph Chamberlain, to disallow the Bill. For details see ACC.72/64, Aborigines Papers. 3. Petitions to the Government were channelled through the Society. In 1904, for Instance, the ARPS requested the Government to withdraw the embargo upon arms and ammunition, as everything was quiet in the hinterland, and the people needed arms and ammunition "for hunting and other purposes". Ibid., Secretary of the ARPS to Governor of the Gold Coast, 5 May, 1904. See also the petition of the "Axim Native Timber Cutters and General Exporters Association" of June 3, 1911. 4. ACC.73/64, Constitution of the Aborigines Rights Protection Society, published on 29 April, 1909. 5. ACC.74/64, C.E. Skene, Commissioner of Central Province, to the President of the ARPS, 21 March, 1932. Apart from the withdrawal of Government's recognition, the Society Itself was in decline In view of Its inability to "adapt the leisurely, parochial techniques of nineteenth century Cape Coast politics to the more mllttant outlook and wider horizons of the twentieth century". David Klmble: A Political History of Ghana. 1850-1928 (OUP, 1963), p.374. Casely Hayford and his new Pan-West African nationalists captured the political initiative. Nevertheless, the ARPS was highly instrumental in pressing for an elective principle in the 1925 Constitution. Since 1911 the Society had been petitioning for a change in the Constitution of the Executive and Legislative Councils of the Colony. See ACC.72/64, Acting Colonial Secretary to Secretary of ARPS, 18 October, 1911. Schemes of Elective Representation were presented to the Government in 1918 and 1921 respectively. See Legislative m A ARTICLES 65. Council Debates, 25 and 27 April, 1921 and ACC.580/64. See also CO.96/630, Guggisberg to Winston Churchill, Secretary of State for the Colonies, 17 February, 1922, enclosing a copy of a Memorial from the ARPS praying that the Constitution of the country be so altered as to provide that the "natives of the country may elect their own representatives In the Legislative and Executive Councils..." This was signed by J.E. Blney, President, and W.S. Johnson, Secretary of the ARPS respectively. Governor Guggisberg discussed the draft Constitution with the Executive Committee of the Society comprising W. Ward Brew, K.A. Korsah, G.E. Moore and J.J. Thompson on 23 September, 1924 at Cape Coast. ACC.74/64. It was on the basis of this discussion that the new Constitution was granted In 1925, providing for a 11 ml ted franchise. Although moribund In local politics, the Society expressed on many occasions its views on certain policies of the Government. In ^prll 1933, for Instance, It criticised the Government's Income Tax proposals, and also asked for a close study of Estimates of Government Expenditure. It attacked the Forests Ordinance and the Forestry bylaws of 1933 which, according to Its executive, "were not really consented by the Natural Rulers of the country and their peoples". See ACC .7.4/64. The following year It sent a deputation to England to protest against the Criminal Code (Amendment) Ordinance (1934) and the Waterworks Ordinance (1934) of Governor Sir Shenton Thomas, and asked for Its recognition as the medium between Government and people In the Gold Coast, and an Investigation Into the Constitution of the country. The Society also deplored the Ordinance establishing Native Administration Treasuries (1939). ACC.77/64. In 1910 Rev. John Harris, the Organising Secretary of the London based Anti-Slavery and Aborigines Protection Society, eik« «d for the help and assistance of the Gold Coast Aborigine! Rights Protection Society so as to enable both bodies to Inaugurate a forward movement. ACC.98/65, Rev. J. Harris to ARPS, 30 September, WQ a fete Coast Aborigines. 7 J a y, 1905, This mouth- Tha fete* Coast Aborigines. 7 January, pleee of the ARPS first appeared In January, I8p8, Printed st Cape Coast, the Gold Coast Aborigines declared §§ Its §@§l of 6. 8, . *- • Jfc ARTICLES 66. "the safety of the public and the welfare of the race". The African Association was formed by students In London on 2k September 1897. It Included members from the West Indies, West and South Africa. The Association aimed "to encourage a feeling of unity, to facilitate friendly Intercourse among Africans in general; to promote and protect the Interests of all subjects claiming African descent, wholly or In part, In British Colonies and other places, especially Irv Africa, by circulating accurate Information on all subjects affecting their rights and privileges as subjects of the British Empire, and by direct appeals to the Imperial and Local Governments". See The Times (London), 24 July, 1900; and the Lagos Standard, 27 July, 1898. For details about the 1900 Pan-African Conference see Bishop Walters: My Life and Work (N.Y., 1917), pp.253-264. Bishop Walters of the American Methodist Episco- pal Zion Church was the Chairman of the Conference. The Gold Coast Aborigines, 31 August, 1900. Other comments came from The Gold Coast Chronicle. 18 August, 1900. The Gold Coast delegate to the 1900 Pan-African Conference was A.F. Ribero, a barrister. For the names of other West African delegates and for the recent comments on the Conference see I. Geiss: "Notes on the Development of Pan-Africanism11, Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, Vol.111, No.k, June 1967, pp.719*7^0. J.E. Casely Hayford; Ethiopia Unbound: Studies in Race Emancipation (London, 196?, 2fi<* Edition), pp.182-183. For the discussion on the projected Conference see Gold Coast Leader, 11 March, 1905 and 13 May, 1916. ACC.91/65, Booker T. Washington to Rev. Attoh-Ahuma, Secretary to the Aborigines Society, 22 April, 1912. In his letter to the Conference Casely Hayford said that those in West Africa had felt that the great work that was being done at Tuskegee was "a mighty uplifting force for the race". He then declared: "There is an African nationality, and when the Aborigines of the Gold Coast and other parts of West Africa have joined forces with our brethren in America 10. 11. 12. 13. ARTICLES 67. in arriving at a national aim, purpose and aspiration, then indeed will it be possible for our brethren over the sea to bring home metaphorically to their nation and people a great spoil..." Cited in Vincent B. Thompson: Africa and Unity: The Evolution of Pan-African ism (London, 1969), p. 13. James Coleman's contention that J.E. Casely Hayford attend the Conference in person and that the Conference was held in 1911 does not appear to be borne out by the available evidence. See J. Coleman: Nigeria: Background to Nationalism (California, U.S.A., 1965 edition), p.187. 15. 16 17 ACC.91/65, Booker T. Washington to Attoh-Ahuma, op. cit. ACC.179/65, the petition of the delegates of American immi- grants in Saltpond, Gold Coast, to the Aborigines Society, 25 May, 1915. For details about Chief Sam's back-to-Africa Movement see W.E. Bittle and Gilbert Gels: The Longest Way Home; Chief Alfred Sam's Back-tq-Afrlea Movement. (Detroit, 196*0- For a very recent and interesting research work on this subject see J.A. Langley: West African Aspects of the Pan-African Movements, 1900-19**5~ (Unpubtished Ph.D. thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1968), Chapter 11. Chief Sam was not an American Negro as asserted by David Kimble. See Kimble: op. cit., pp. 5^1-2. He was a West African of indigenous descent from the Gold Coast, who was born at Appasu in the Western Akim district and attended the German Mission Seminary at Kibi. That Chief Alfred Sam was a Gold Coast 'native' is further confirmed by the corres- pondence between Chief Sam's Akim Trading Company and Herbert Macaulay, the great Nigerian nationalist and founder of the Nigerian National Democratic Party In 1922. Macaulay Papers, Vol. Ill, Nos. 1-6, at the University of Ibadan Library, Ibadan, Nigeria. At least three Congress were held respectively in London and Brussels, 1921; London and Lisbon, 1923; and New York, 1927. For George Padmore's correspondence with the Gold Coast Aborigines Society during the first half of the 1930s see Samuel Rhodie, "The Gold Coast Aborigines Abroad", Journal of African History, Vol.VI, No.3, 1965,. pp.389-411. -* XT Jfc : * •• L*- ARTICLES 68. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. Bridgeman was the Secretary of the British section of the League Against Imperialism; Kidd was the Secretary of the Council for Civil Liberties in Great Britain; Hunter was the Honorary Secretary of British Movement Against War and Fascism, and Ward was also Secretary of the London based Negro Welfare Association. This was formed by Africans and people of African descent in England in August 1935 to arouse the sympathy and support of the British public for the victim of Fascist aggression and to assist by all means tn their power in the maintenance of the territorial integrity and political Independence of Ethiopia. Among the executive members of this association were G.E. Moore and S.R. Wood, delegates of the Aborigines 193^ Deputation to England. See G. Padmore: Pan-Africanism or Communism? (London 1956) p.151. For the speeches of Wood and Moore on the platform of this association see ACC.75/64 (Aborigines Papers).and Gold Coast Times, 2^-31 August, 1935\ Wood represented the Aborigines Society at the reception organised in June 1936 for Halle Selassie In London. Other members of the International African Friends of Abyssinia Society included Amy Ashwood Garvey, the wife of Marcus Garvey, C.L.R. James, the West Indian historian, Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya), George Padmore and Peter Milliard (British Guiana). It was essentially a Negro Society. ACC.9V65, Ronald Kidd to Sekyi, 10 July, 193^. Samuel Rhodie: "The Gpld Coast Aborigines Abroad", op. ctt., pp. 393-5. Despite Wallace Johnson's inspiring activities In West Africa and also as Secretary of the International African Service Bureau established in 1937, he was, until quite recently, a neglected Pan-Africanist and a 'forgotten man'. A brief but not altogether accurate biographical sketch of Wallace Johnson has been provided by J.R. Hooker In his Black Revolutionary: George Padmore's path from Communism to Pan-African ism (London, 19o7), pp.' 51-52. J.A. Lahgley has also provided an interesting account of Wallace Johnson's Sierra Leone based 'Vest African Civil Liberties and National Defence League" in his unpublished thesis, West African Aspects of Pan-African Movement, op. cit., pp. 486-^90. The present writer had devoted a number of pages to Wallace Johnson's activities in the Gold •([oast, his West African Youth League, ARTICLES 69. his sponsorship of the Ethiopian cause, and the response which these evoked from the Colonial Office, the Gold Coast Administration and his fellow West African nationalists in his projected Ph.D. thesis, The West African Response to the Ethiopian Crisis, 193^-19^2. ~~~~~~ ~~ 23. 2*f. 25. 26. 27. 28. C O. 267/665/322O8/I938. See also Vox Populi- (Gold Coast) 2 October, 1935 for Wallace Johnson's account of himself in an article headed "Wallace Johnson Has Set the Ball Rolling". For his activities in Nigeria and the episode connected with the search conducted at his Lagos premises for copies of the Negro Worker, a prohibited newspaper edited by Padmore, See Nigeria, C O. 583/195/21029, Minutes of Alex Fiddian of the Colonial Office, 20 January, C O. 96/731/31230, minutes of Gerald Creasy on Wallace Johnson's activities in the Gold Coast, 27 February, 1936 There was no West African nationalist to whom the Colonial Office paid as much attention as Wallace Johnson in the 1930s. From his brief stay in Nigeria in 1933 to June 1946 when he touched Barthurst (Gambia) on his way to Moscow, Wallace Johnson's activities were closely watched and carefully weighed by the Colonial Office with greatest suspicion. For any kind of grievance against the colonial government was a grist to his mill. In consequence he was referred to among the Colonial Office officials as 'notorious Wallace Johnson', a man who 'having graduated at Moscow in the art of subversive propaganda1 had returned to West Africa 'as a professional agitator'. C O. 96/736/31088A. Sekyi Papers, Wallace Johnson to Sekyi, 1 June, 193^ • Ibid., Wallace Johnson to Sekyi, 17 June, 193*t. He later suggested to Arnold Ward to arrange for a reception for the Aborigines delegates on their arrival in London. This, he said, would be a very 'fine example of co-operation and it will help our work here greatly'. Ibid., Wallace Johnson to Ward, 19 June, 193^- For details about the West African Youth League see Wallace Johnson Papers (University of Ghana, Legon). ACC.89/65, Per Lester Taylor, Chief of Staff of the Univer- sal African Legion, to the Aborigines Society, 20 May, 1937. ARTICLES 70. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. Ik. 35. 36. 37. 38. For instance, when the programme of the Garvey movement was discussed at the 1920 Accra Conference of British West Africans, the conclusion reached was that Garvey's politics be ignored but his Black Star Line patronised, its objective 'being solely for the purpose of facilita- ting and giving us more and brighter prospects as Africans in our commercial transactions1. Resolution 5 In Conference of Africans of British West Africa Held at Accra, March 1920, p.3. Koblna Sekyl, The Parting of the Ways (Unpublished, 1927), P. V*. ADM.lt/I070,(Ghana National Archives, Accra), "The Gold Coast and Ashanti Cocoa Federation (1930)" ACC.103/65, A.M. Lohla, Departmental Secretary, All India Congress Committee, to Sekyi, 28 September, 1937• ACC.77/64, lohta to Sekyl, I January, 19*»0.' The Negro Worker, Vol.4, December, 193**. editorial p.3. Sekyi also received a pamphlet, Africa: ... Peace and.Frisedom, issued by the Women's Internet ionat League Conference held In London on 20 November, 19S*». The Conference dealt with African Land Rights In Kenya, The Black Worker In Africa, and steps to self-government and social and political equality. Sekyl Papers (ACC. 3 8 1 M) • A C C 7 V 6 4, Padmore to Sekyl, 9 July, 1932. f ACC.156/65. Padmore to Sekyl, k October, 1938. For details about the International African Service Bureau, see the cover of Padmore's Hands Off the Protecto- rate (London, 1938). ADM.12/3/103 (Ghana National Archive*, Accra), Sir Snenton Thomas to Sir Philip Cunltffe-Llster, the Secretary of State for the Cotonle*, 3 January, 1934. Sir Shenton Thomas made similar remarks about Wuta-Offet and A. J. Ocansey whom according to him were receiving copies of the Negro World 'sometimes 20 or 50 at a time1. * A ARTICLES 71. 39. 40. 41. 42. J.B. Danquah: An Epistle to the Educated Youngmen In Akim Abuakwa Danquah's relat fonsh i p with the Aborigines Society see my paper: " T he Politics of Reconcil iation: J.B. Danquah and the Inter-War Ghana", read at the 19th Annual Conference of the Historical Society of Ghana at the University of Ghana, Legon, 27th - 31st. December, 1970. p.17. For details about ACC. 378/6**, J.B. Danquah to Sekyi,. T3 December, 1938. Danquah ended his letter in a patriotic note: "I love Africa and i am not afraid to call a spade a spade. This has caused me to lose a very lucrative job, but I do not mind. After all, I must serve my country". ACC.77/64, T.R. Makonnen to J. Aliotey Hammond, Secre- tary of the Aborigines Society, 13 April, 1940. "*-•« ! Ibid., Makonnebrequested the Society to address copies of its resolution to Arthur Creech Jones, Undersecretary... . of State for the Colonies, and to the Secretary of Kenya African Union, Nairobi. 43. ACC.77/64, Padmore to S.R Wood, undated. 44. Ibid., Aiiotey Hammond to Nkrumah and Padmore, 19 September, 1945. 45. Gold Coast Observer, 10 August, 1945. 46. ACC.77/64, Allotey Hammond to Padmore, 22 August, 1945. 47. Ibid., Nkrumah to Allotey Hammond, 23 August, 1945. 43. Ibid., Sekyi to Padraore, undated. 49. 50. Ibid. Ibid., Sekyi to Padmore, 15 July, 1932. .51. Danquah to Sekyi* see Footnote 40. 52. ACC.74/64, Nkrumah to Sekyi, 18 September, 1945. ARTICLES 72. 53. Kwame Nkrumah: The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah (Edinburgh, 1957) p.*+S) James Hooker writes that Nkrumah arrived In London in May, 19^5 with a letter of Intro- duction to Padmore from C.L.R. James, the West Indian historian and Pan-African 1st. See James Hooker, Black Revolutionary, op. clt., p.91. 54. Ibid., p.51. 55. ACC.7V64, Nkrumah to Sekyl, 18 September, 19^5. 56. Ibid. 57. 58. 59. 60. See my paper, "The Politics of Reconciliation: J.B. Uanquah and the Inter-War Ghana", op. clt. After falling to re- concile the ARPS with the Provincial Councils in sending one united deputation to England In 193^ Danquah told S.R. Wood, Secretary of the ARPS London Delegation, 'we have a large common ground of agreement between us, and It should be possible for co-operative activity In the Interest of our country, without allowing petty differences of no fundamental effect to interfere with our cognate work'. Danquah Papers, 7 June, 1935. Nkrumah had preached the Idea of West African unity since his student days In America. See Autobiography, op. clt., pp. 43-Mf. See Report of the Committee on Higher Education, August to November, 19^6 (Bradley Report), (Accra, Government Printing Department, ACC.187/65, File No.100 "Pan-African Congress", Sekyl to Ashle-Nlkol, 8 October, 19^5. Concerning trade, Nlkol was instructed to base his representations on the programme of the Farmers1 Committee which the Society heartily endorsed He should Insist on the removal of all trade restrictions and restoration of former trade conditions 'where-under Africans did establish considerable trading houses'. 61. Ibid., Sekyl to Nkrumah, 1 October, 19^5. r <•*] ARTICLES 73. 62. 63. G. Padmore ed., History of the Pan-African Congress (London, 1963),- p.SB. Cited In J.A. Langley, West African Aspects of Pan-African Movements, op. clt., p.504. For Dr. Langley's interesting appraisal of the Congress and Its aftermath see Ibid., pp. 502-522. According to Nkrumah* the Congress 'shot into the limbo of the gradual 1st aspirations of our African mtddre classes and intellectuals and expressed the sol id down-to-earth will of our workers, trade unionists, farmers and peasants who were decisively represented at Manchester, for independence1. Cited in J.R. Hooker, Black Revolutionary, op. clt., p.95, For J.B. Panquah's objections to Wkrumah•s assertion of the Impact of the Congress on the Gold Coast nationalist movement see J.B. Danquah, "The Constitutional History of Ghana In the past fifty years", paper read at the 4th Annual Conference of the Ghana Bar Association, 29 August to 2 September, 1961,pp. 8-3. 64. Nkrumah, Autobiography, op. elt,, p. 53-4. 65. For the 'Bye Laws and Aims and Objectives of the West African National Secretariat', see the copy In Sekvi Papers, Cape Coast Regional Archives, Ghana. 66. ACC.ni/65 (File No.24, 'West African National Secretariat") Nkrumah to Sekyl, 28 January, 1946. 67. ACC.78/64, Aliotey Hammond to Nkrumah, 14 March, 1946. 68. Ibid., Hkrumah to Allotey Hammond, 3 May, 1946. 69. Ibid. 70. ACC.11/65, Nkrumah to Sekyl, 28 January, 1946. 71. Ibid., Nkrumah to Sekyl, 21 February, 1946. 72. Ibid., Sekyl to Nkrumah, 13 March, 1946. Sekyl added that for the time being 'my active assistance be not too much counted upon1, although he forwarded a subscription to the new Journal.