Page 195 - Afrika Must Unite

i8o AFRICA MUST UNITE
of the professional and ‘aristocratic5 class and the so-called
extremists of the mass movement. The moderates would like
some share in their government but are afraid of immediate
responsibility because they lack experience and skill. They are
prepared to leave the main areas of sovereignty to the colonial
power, in return for a promise of economic aid. The so-called
extremists are men who do not necessarily believe in violence but
who demand immediate self-government and complete inde­
pendence. They are men who are concerned with the interests
of their people and who know that those interests can be served
only by their own local leaders and not by the colonial power.
They know that the tasks of independence are onerous and that
without colonialist help they may make mistakes. But they prefer
to make their own mistakes in freedom rather than to be denied
the opportunity of responsibility, in the belief that even good
government is no substitute for self-government.
Having learned from experience that the greater and more
bitter their resistance to ‘extremist5 demands for independence
the more extreme and more powerful they become, certain
colonial powers began to respond more positively to signs of
nationalist stirrings in some of their territories. The understand­
ing dawned that in the absence of a bitter struggle, there is a
chance of treating with the moderate leaders, who may be
tempted to show their followers that the masters are ‘being
reasonable5 and are open to persuasion, that quiet and peaceful
negotiation can produce an advance towards freedom. The
colonial power, experienced in the ways of diplomacy, seeks to
curb the efforts of the extremists by ostentatiously polishing the
silver platter on which they promise to hand over independence.
U nderneath the shining surface is the dross. Only the outward
form will have changed, the intrinsic relationship is maintained.
Foreign imports are still protected, local development clamped
down, fiscal policy controlled from the metropolitan capital.
The impact of such semi-independent states on the liberation
of Africa has been unfortunate, even dangerous. Bound up as
these countries are with the policies of their sponsors, they try
to shun the issues involving colonialists and the still enslaved
peoples on the African continent, where they do not directly
align themselves on the colonialist side. Some of their leaders, it