745G.00/5–2253
The Consul at Accra (Cole) to the Department of State
No. 151
Reference:
- Department’s Airgram A–46, May 5, 19531
Subject:
- Conference of West African Nationalists
I discussed the question of the proposed “conference of West African Nationalists” with Reginald H. Saloway, Minister of Defense and External Affairs on May 20. He was most cooperative in supplying information about the conference, much of it classified, which is thus far available to the Ministry. The following is a summary of the information obtained.
The idea of such a conference is not new. One was to take place in December 1951. However, it either did not materialize or fizzled out at an early stage. It is correct that Nkrumah has called for another conference, which was supposed to take place in August 1953. The date has now been put forward to October.2
Mr. Saloway showed me a list of some twenty “delegates” from the British and French possessions in West Africa and Liberia. He said two were outright communists (one from Senegal and one from French Guinea) but was not especially informed about the others, except that they were generally of leftist or strong nationalist persuasion. The conference is being encouraged by Fenner Brockway and the Congress of Peoples Against Imperialist Oppression. There has been some talk to the effect that the conference set for October will be followed by a larger “Pan-African” conference, but it appears doubtful that the latter will progress beyond the talking stage. Lack of funds alone would probably prevent it’s taking place.
According to Saloway the Congress of Peoples Against Imperialism is composed not of real communists, but, for the most part of vague [Page 42] leftists or “fellow-travellers.” He added that real communists would regard the leaders of the Convention Peoples Party as “bourgeois nationalists” despite their tendency to propaganda utterances incorporating some of the stock communist jargon. In any event, Nkrumah does not take the proposed conference very seriously, but evidently considers it a useful way to build up his stature as a great leader in the eyes of African nationalists. Other C.P.P. officials, likewise, have but a slight interest in the matter. Their viewpoint is too parochial to sustain any genuine enthusiasm for wider concepts like West Africa or Pan-Africa.
The Colonial Office seems quite concerned about the conference, however, evidently considering it a misuse by Nkrumah of his official position as Prime Minister. Also, such activities on Nkrumah’s part tend to complicate relationships with the French, whose well-known sensitivity on colonial matters is thus a factor in the situation. The Colonial Office has addressed a number of inquiries to Accra to obtain details about the subject, having expressed in a secret communication to the Governor an obligation to keep the French fully informed of developments.
Saloway considers that it would be a mistake to show too much concern over the affair which he does not consider of any great importance. Should Nkrumah see that he had the British worried over the conference, it would perhaps assume increased significance in his mind through the possibilities, for instance, of its nuisance value. Accordingly, Mr. Saloway has merely pointed out in a mild way that such activities in the field of political agitation are inappropriate to one holding his position and would in any event interfere with the attention which he should devote to the forthcoming question of further constitutional changes in the Gold Coast. Nkrumah has already postponed the conference until October, and it is hoped that he may forget it entirely. In conclusion, Mr. Saloway pointed out that should Nkrumah insist on having the conference, the British would take no steps to prevent it. He offered to inform me of any future developments.
A complete list of delegates scheduled to attend the conference is not available at the present time. From a glance at the list I would say that it includes most of the leading political figures in West Africa today. It would, however, mean bringing together at one conference a group of individuals who for many years have been struggling against each other for supremacy in their respective areas. Some of the delegates mentioned include Gabriel d’Arboussier, Abdoulaye Diallo, I. T. A. Wallace-Johnson, Dr. Bankole Bright, Dr. Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, and the Gold Coast’s Dr. J. B. Danquah. An interesting point here is that both d’Arboussier and Diallo, thanks to Nkrumah and his cabinet members, were placed on [Page 43] the Gold Coast’s Prohibited Immigrants List in 1952. Another problem will be getting people like Azikiwe to take a back seat at the conference as, of course, Nkrumah will insist on being the top man. There are quite a number in this list of delegates who will undoubtedly balk at such a suggestion.
- Not printed; it requested information about a proposed conference of African nationalists. (745F.00/5–553)↩
- The conference was again postponed until early December 1953; for accounts of the conference, see telegram 48, Dec. 8, 1953, from Accra, p. 68 and despatch 107, Dec. 9, 1953, from Accra, p. 69.↩