The West African Students' Union (WASU), founded in London, England, in 1925 and active into the 1960s,
["History of WASU"]
The WASU Project. was an association of
student
A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution.
In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...
s from various
West African countries who were studying in the
United Kingdom.
Origins
WASU was founded on 7 August 1925 by twenty-one
law students, led by
Ladipo Solanke
Ladipo Solanke (c. 1886 – 2 September 1958) was a political activist born in Nigeria who campaigned on West African issues.
Biography Birth and education
Born in Abeokuta, Nigeria, as Oladipo Felix Solanke, he studied at the Fourah Bay Coll ...
and
Herbert Bankole-Bright
Herbert Christian Bankole-Bright (23 August 1883 – 14 December 1958) was a well-known political activist in Sierra Leone.
Early life
Herbert Bankole-Bright was born in Okrika, in an area the British would the next year designate the Oil Rivers ...
.
["History of West African Students' Union (WASU)"](_blank)
West African Students' Union Solanke had founded the
Nigerian Progress Union
Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...
(NPU), for
London-based students with a
Nigerian background, the previous year. With the support of
Amy Ashwood Garvey, it had begun to campaign for improved welfare for all
African students in London, and for assorted measures for progress in Britain's African
colonies.
[ Hakim Adi, ''West Africans in Britain 1900–1960: Nationalism, Pan-Africanism and Communism'', London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1998. .]
As early as 1923, Solanke had proposed that the
Union of Students of African Descent
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''U ...
(USAD), a Christian social organisation dominated by students from the
West Indies (and which had grown out of the earlier West African and West Indian Christian Union, founded in 1917), should incorporate itself into the
National Congress of British West Africa
The National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA), founded in 1917, was one of the earliest nationalist organizations in West Africa, and one of the earliest formal organizations working toward African emancipation. It was largely composed of a ...
(NCBWA). In 1925, Bankole-Bright of the NCBWA called on USAD, the NPU, the
African Progress Union The African Progress Union (APU) was founded in London in 1918 as "an Association of Africans from various parts of Africa, the West Indies, British Guiana, Honduras and America, representing advanced African ideas in liberal education". The first p ...
and the
Gold Coast Students' Association (GCSA) to join together to form a single organisation for West African students, inspired by the
Indian Students' Union
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
. Many students joined together to form WASU, and Solanke became the new organisation's secretary-general, while
J. B. Danquah became its first president.
J. E. Casely Hayford
Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford, (29 September 1866 – 11 August 1930), also known as Ekra-Agyeman, was a prominent Fante Gold Coast journalist, editor, author, lawyer, educator, and politician who supported pan-African nationalism. His 1911 no ...
was the new grouping's first patron, which post he used to promote
African nationalism.
The new organisation made opposition to the
colour bar its first priority, while also including the promotion of political research, support for the NCBWA and the provision of a student hostel in its founding aims.
WASU began publication of a journal, ''Wasu'', in March 1926. Solanke and
Julius Ojo-Cole wrote the majority of articles in what was intended as a scholarly publication, circulated both in Europe and Africa.
The aim of founding a hostel was taken directly from USAD and the NPU. Many African students in Britain found that, due to
racism, it was difficult to secure satisfactory lodgings. While the
Colonial Office showed some interest in establishing such a hostel, WASU was keen to maintain control of the project, and in 1929, Solanke left for a fundraising journey through West Africa. Despite this, the Colonial Office assembled a secret committee to plan for a hostel under its control, and attempted to secure private funding for its construction.
This became
Aggrey House
Aggrey House was a hostel established in London in 1934 to cater for African students and students of African descent. It was named after James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey. It was at 47 Doughty Street, a typical Georgian terraced house, on the recommen ...
, which WASU exposed in their pamphlet '' The Truth About Aggrey House – An Exposure of the Government Plan to Control African Students in Great Britain''.
WASU also undertook some political campaigns within Britain. In 1929, it successfully stopped plans for an African village exhibition in
Newcastle, which it felt would be exploitative. This campaign was taken up in Parliament by
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...
(CPGB)
Member of Parliament Shapurji Saklatvala. During the 1930s, the group developed increasing links with
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
groups, such as the
League Against Imperialism (LAI) and the
Negro Welfare Association The Negro Welfare Association (NWA) was one of the most prominent Black British organizations in the 1930s. Calling "for the complete liberation and independence of all Negroes who are suffering from capitalist exploitation and imperialist dominati ...
, in particular in its campaigns against the colour bar and against the
Italian invasion of Ethiopia.
While in Africa, Solanke founded more than twenty branches of WASU, in the
Gold Coast, Nigeria,
Sierra Leone and the
Belgian Congo. While these organisations were short-lived, they formed the initial membership of the
Nigerian Youth Movement and the
Gold Coast Youth Conference.
Activities in the 1930s
By 1932, when Solanke returned to Britain, ''Wasu'' had ceased to appear, and membership had fallen amid disputes between Nigerian and Gold Coast members. However, he had raised sufficient funds to open a hostel in
Camden
Camden may refer to:
People
* Camden (surname), a surname of English origin
* Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer
* Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor
Places Australia
* Camden, New South Wales
* Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...
in March 1933 named "Africa House". In addition to providing accommodation for students, the hostel also offered rooms to West African visitors to London, and it housed reference materials on West Africa. The new hostel did nothing to settle the disputes within WASU, and Solanke was accused of wasting money while in Africa, and of attempting to personally control the new lodgings. Almost all the Gold Coast Students' Association (GCSA) members left WASU, and even an intervention by
William Ofori Atta was unable to settle matters.
The Colonial Office determined to open a rival hostel, at which political discussion could be monitored and discouraged. WASU opposed the scheme, and formed an "Africa House Defence Committee", including
Reginald Bridgeman
Reginald Francis Orlando Bridgeman CMG, MVO (14 October 1884 – 11 December 1968) was a British diplomat and politician associated with a number of left wing causes including British-Soviet friendship and nuclear disarmament.
Background
Born ...
of the LAI, also gaining the support of the
National Council for Civil Liberties and
Paul Robeson, who was awarded the title "Babasale of the Union".
Aggrey House
Aggrey House was a hostel established in London in 1934 to cater for African students and students of African descent. It was named after James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey. It was at 47 Doughty Street, a typical Georgian terraced house, on the recommen ...
opened in October 1934, but a WASU-led
boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
left it unfilled, until the Colonial Office offered WASU official recognition and financial support to run Africa House. In financial difficulties, WASU accepted the deal, and also accepted funding from organisations such as the
United African Company
The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It was formed in 1879 as the ''United African Company '' and renamed to ''National African Company'' in 1881 and to ''Royal Niger Co ...
.
In 1937, the
Gold Coast Farmers Union
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
wrote to Solanke, asking for his assistance in breaking the
cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...
cartel of
Cadbury's and the UAC. With
Labour Party MPs
Reginald Sorensen
Reginald William Sorensen, Baron Sorensen (19 June 1891 – 8 October 1971) was a Unitarian minister and Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for over thirty years between 1929 and 1964.
Early life ...
and
Arthur Creech Jones, WASU campaigned in support of the
1938 Gold Coast cocoa hold-up, where small farmers attempted to pressurise the companies by disrupting their supplies. The campaign also convinced most members of the GCSA to rejoin WASU.
In July 1938, with grants from various West African governments and British companies, WASU opened a new hostel, on
Camden Square
Camden Square is a rectangular town square in the London Borough of Camden running parallel to Camden Road north of central Camden. It has a playground and dog walking area, and St Paul's Church is at the north end. It has a perimeter of . At ...
. This also solved the union's financial problems, and enabled it to step up its campaigning activity. WASU became increasingly identified as an
anti-colonial group, and it called for
dominion status and
universal suffrage for the West African colonies.
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...
gave a speech to the union in which he suggested that the
Atlantic Charter
The Atlantic Charter was a statement issued on 14 August 1941 that set out American and British goals for the world after the end of World War II. The joint statement, later dubbed the Atlantic Charter, outlined the aims of the United States and ...
would apply to all nations, effectively endorsing WASU's aims, but
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
insisted that
self-determination
The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...
could only apply to European nations.
Activities in the 1940s
In 1942, WASU organised a "West African Parliamentary Committee", chaired by Sorensen. It also published a call for the immediate internal self-government of Britain's West African colonies, to be followed by independence within five years of the end of the war.
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he ...
personally visited Africa House to argue the British government's case.
WASU's influence in West Africa again increased, with both the
Nigerian Union of Students and the
Sierra Leone Students' Union affiliating. WASU also represented the
Nigeria Union of Teachers {{short description, Trade union in Nigeria
Nigeria Union of Teachers is a major trade union in Nigeria. It was formed to create a united front for practitioners of the teaching profession in the country. Major objectives of the union covers the imp ...
within the UK. With its links to the Nigerian
trade union movement, WASU was a significant supporter of the
Nigerian general strike of 1945.
In the mid-1940s, Solanke returned to West Africa to undertake further fundraising, with
H. O. Davies
Chief Hezekiah Oladipo Davies, Q.C. (5 April 1905 – 22 November 1989) was a leading Nigerian nationalist, founding father, lawyer, journalist, trade unionist, thought leader and politician during the nation's movement towards independence in 19 ...
becoming acting Secretary-General. WASU also affiliated to the
World Youth Movement, and in 1946 it held a joint conference with
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An in ...
's
West African National Secretariat. This event agreed a platform of
anti-imperialism
Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is a term used in a variety of contexts, usually by nationalist movements who want to secede from a larger polity (usually in the form of an empire, but also in a multi-ethnic so ...
and
socialism.
Nkrumah also became Vice President of WASU. The following year, WASU called for an immediate decision on independence for the West African colonies, and criticised the Labour government for its failure to deliver this.
Final years
Solanke returned from West Africa at the end of the decade, with sufficient funding for a new hostel to open on the
Chelsea Embankment. However, he fell out with WASU's executive, each accusing the other of excessive expenditure, and in 1949 he stepped down from his positions in the group. In the 1951 elections to WASU's executive, he organised an
anti-communist
Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
slate, which failed to take control from the largely communist leadership of
Joe Appiah
Joseph Emmanuel Appiah, MP ( ; 16 November, 1918 – 8 July, 1990)Eric Pace"Joe Appiah Is Dead; Ghanaian Politician And Ex-Envoy, 71" ''New York Times'', July 12, 1990. was a Ghanaian lawyer, politician and statesman.
Biography
He was born in K ...
and
Ade Ademola. In 1952, WASU determined to close their Camden hostel, but Solanke instead took control of it.
WASU affiliated to the
International Union of Students (IUS) on its foundation, and its members regularly attended the
World Festival of Youth
The World Festival of Youth and Students is an international event organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) and the International Union of Students after 1947. History
The festival has been held regularly since 1947 as an eve ...
. Although the
National Union of Students of the United Kingdom left the IUS in 1952, WASU retained its membership.
In 1952, WASU began publication of ''WASU News Service'', as an openly
Marxist
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
replacement for ''Wasu''. Following further financial problems, it sold its hostel on the
Chelsea Embankment and opened cheaper premises on Warrington Crescent in 1956. The same year, it underwent a major reorganisation and passed a motion disassociating it from all political organisations. In 1958, it joined the
Committee of African Organisations and lost importance, but it remained active into the early 1960s.
The
National Union of Nigerian Students
National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS) was a students' union bringing together Nigerian students both within Nigeria and across the diaspora.
NUNS was founded in 1956, following structural changes in the West African Students' Union. It brough ...
was one of the organisations set up in the wake of the demise of WASU.
Legacy
In 2004 a new West African Students' Union based in
Ghana was founded to unite students' unions throughout the region. It describes itself as a formal resuscitation of the earlier organisation.
Also inspired by the original West African Students' Union, The WASU Project aims to document the history of West Africans in Britain, especially those who campaigned for an end to colonial rule and against all forms of racism during the 20th century, by presenting information, photos, and eventually a film about WASU.
"Introduction"
The WASU Project.
References
External links
*
ww.wasunion.orgat Official WASU'S Website
The WASU Project website.
"History"
at West African Students Union Parliament-WASUP website.
*
- WASU president Pillah Romans
{{Authority control
1925 establishments in the United Kingdom
Politics of West Africa
Anti-racist organisations in the United Kingdom
Students' unions
Pan-Africanist organizations
Student organizations established in 1925
Pan-Africanism in the United Kingdom
British West Africa