Born to Rule

3. Initiation into Politics

7 Born to Rule: Autobiography of a Life President 3 Initiation into Politics I think it is unfair for people to call the organization set up by the late Efon Akum a political party as the colonial administration trumpeted it all over the world. Many people have said it was a hotbed for political activists of the time and that it was something like a nursery for budding politicians. In all fairness to Efon Akum, whom I got to know very well, I must say that he never intended to form a political party. His Mandzah Workers Union was a loose assemblage of workers and nonworkers established to strengthen the position of the few workers at the time in salary negotiations with their white masters. Members of the trade union at the time were nationalists who loved their country and accepted to work selflessly in the interest of workers. But what do we see today? Mr. Shidong, the socalled leader of the Mandzah Workers Union (MAWU), has been running round the country calling on members of the Union to go on a nation-wide strike to protest against the government just because we owe them a few months in back pay. Although I have explained that I am not responsible for the structural adjustment programme that requires us to lay off workers and cut down on salaries, Shidong and his unpatriotic union don’t want to listen. They assert that unless I am willing to reduce my own lifestyle and that of my ministers and cronies, MAWU will not allow its members to adjust anything. I don’t think the Union is being fair to the country. In my case, as expected, when Efon Akum started MAWU, the white establishment immediately panicked as it does even today whenever black people band together for any purpose. They called Efon Akum a rebel, a reactionary, and did everything possible to discredit not only the movement but also his family. Efon Akum stood his ground with the support of his followers. One thing I must say that saved Efon Akum initially was the outbreak of World War II. The white establishment was watching 8 Tah Asongwed to see if we would enlist in the army to fight against Hitler’s Germany as the patriots we had said we were. If we did not, we would be portrayed as enemies of the country, and if we did, we would be served first as fodder for the enemy’s cannon. This did not deter us. We believed that we should pay any price to serve the cause of justice and freedom. Most of the leaders of the Workers Union joined the army and fought valiantly. Some of them were killed and others were maimed, but there were no regrets about their participation in the struggle for freedom. Freedom always has to be won at a price. After the war, some of the key survivors, including Efon Akum, set out to reorganize the Union. The white establishment, which had thought the movement dead, raised an alarm. Efon Akum and his very lose associates were refused their war benefits and branded as Nazi sympathizers although they had fought on the side of the Allies. The Union tried to organize civil disorder and was crushed. Efon Akum was arrested, and has not been heard from to this day. Following Efon Akum’s disappearance, there was a power vacuum in the Union. Members jostled for power, and soon there was a split in the leadership. Some people preferred cohabitation with the white establishment while others wanted the Union to be transformed immediately into a political party to oppose the stranglehold of the white establishment on the country. I was one of those who opted for cohabitation. It was my view then that just as the Romance Republic had done during World War II when the Nazis had overrun it, we should, while cohabiting with the white establishment, plan to organize a resistance movement. I did not believe that standing up at that time to the white establishment, which had all the resources at its disposal to crush us, would serve any useful purpose. It is to be regretted that we did not have a united front in the country because there were now two bitterly opposing factions. Because the Mandzah Peoples Movement (MAPEM) seemed to be more vociferous, the white establishment loathed it and preferred our Mandzah Workers Union (MAWU). As experience from all parts of the world showed...