The students’ organization in London became the platform through which young Africans shared ideas of self-governance, equal rights and justice for the blacks. It grew in membership strength from 25 in 1917 to 120 in 1924 and finally in 1925, Ladipo Solanke organized the West Africa Students’ Union which he graced with the book United West Africa at the Bar of the Family of Nations. He discussed the future of Africa, not in chains abroad, not controlled by external powers at home, but sited as equal partners in the comity of nations. WASU soon became the avenue through which black opinions were shared amongst students and the heightened competition in literature contributed to the growing awareness on the African issue, thereby making WASU a new hope in the liberation effort. In the book Towards Nationhood in Africa published in 1928, the Ghanaian scholar J. W. de Graft–Johnson expressed his profound optimism for an Independent African States, capable of dealing with its internal affairs without undue interference, organized economy and capable military institutions. Without doubt, these two books made tremendous contributions in awakening African consciousness abroad and provided the link between WASU and anti-imperialist groups. As the liberation movement grew in Europe, the nationalist movement on the home front and the anti-racial struggles in the US were only potential time bombs which exploded with the Italian invasion of [Abyssinia] now Ethiopia. As at the time of the invasion, Africans and Negroes around the world looked up to Ethiopia as a proud symbol of an independent Africa that nationalist leaders, living under colonial rule, all aspired to achieve. Ethiopia was renowned for ancient monuments like the Axum which contained the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Zion, one of the world’s oldest Christian cathedrals dating back to the 4th century; its ancient capital, Roha, as built by Emperor Lalibela (c.1150-1230) had eleven churches, including the House of Golgotha and the House of Saint George. A country that possessed a national Christian church with a tradition older than that of many European churches, an ancient liturgical language and a sacred literature and, according to the Ethiopian constitution, the Emperor Haile Selassie traced its origin back to Bible times, to have descended directly from the marriage between Solomon and Queen Sheba (Meredith 2006). Excerpts from THE STRUGGLE FOR THE GLOBAL SOUTH: A Narrative on Race, Injustice and Imbalance. COMING SOON! September 13, 2020, by Masi Prince Ernest (MNSE)(MNIEEE)
