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 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 Nigerian Union of Teachers within the UK. With its links to the Nigerian trade union movement, WASU was a significant supporter of the Nigerian general strike in 1945.
In the mid-1940s, Solanke returned to West Africa to undertake further fundraising, with H. O. Davies becoming acting Secretary-General. WASU also affiliated to the World Youth Movement, and in 1946 it held a joint conference with Kwame Nkrumah's West African National Secretariat. This event agreed a platform of anti-imperialism 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.
Read more about this topic: West African Students' Union
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