I. T. A. Wallace-Johnson - Sierra Leone Politics

Sierra Leone Politics

Wallace-Johnson returned to Freetown in April 1938 for what he believed would be a short visit. He planned to return to England to pack up his belongings and then move to the United States, where he would not have to "bother about Africa any more as it is apparent that the people of Africa were not prepared to make a move". He was still upset about his political experiences in the Gold Coast and even considered withdrawing from political activism entirely, but he came to realize that his homeland Sierra Leone would be a perfect breeding ground for his political ideas and philosophies. The people of Sierra Leone, mostly the Krios, had lost confidence in their leaders and British colonial authorities during the 1920s. After the Great Depression, Sierra Leone experienced a period of significant economic development and expansion. This was countered by negative industrial and social changes, which gave many working class Sierra Leoneans feelings of resentment and disappointment in the government. They were eager for change and a new face of leadership—something that Wallace-Johnson could provide. He offered the same promise for the Gold Coast, but since he was considered an outsider by many, he had limited success and many misfortunes while spreading his philosophies.

After landing in Freetown, customs agents seized from Wallace-Johnson 2,000 copies of the African Sentinel, a publication which the government considered seditious. Douglas James Jardine, the Governor of Sierra Leone, supported the seize, writing that "t is most undesirable that such nonsense should be circulated among the population of Sierra Leone". Although the Colonial Office rejected the suggestion that the African Sentinel fell under the provisions of the Sedition Ordinance, the incident generated much publicity and convinced Wallace-Johnson to pursue his political exploits in Sierra Leone. He frequented town meetings to deliver speeches critical of the government's actions. In his articles for the Sierra Leone Weekly News, he criticized major politicians, praised the working class, and urged for the creation of an alliance determined toward fighting for rights and civil liberties.

In no other Colony in West Africa do I find the masses in such a miserable state of economic and social disabilities. Instead of progress, after a lapse of twelve years, I find conditions within the colony rapidly declining.... As a people, we have been too lethargic, drowsy and happy-go-lucky.... A very wide margin has been provided for the foreign exploiters—capitalists and imperialists alike—to drive the wedge of divide-and-rule within our social circle: and while we keep grasping at shadows, they are busy rapidly draining out the natural resources of the land for their personal benefits, leaving us in poverty and want.... Now is the time and now is the hour. There is only one way out of our difficulties, and that is to organize and move. Although it has always been asserted by our so-called benefactors that we should take what we get and be satisfied, I maintain as Aggrey did that we should not be satisfied with taking what we get or what has been given us but to use what we have been given to gain what we ought to have. —I. T. A. Wallace-Johnson, Sierra Leone Weekly News, 30 April 1938.