Five Minutes to MidnightRace and Nationalism: The Struggle for Power in Rhodesia-Nyasaland by Thomas M. FranckReview by: Channing B. RichardsonAfrica Today, Vol. 7, No. 5 (Sep., 1960), p. 16Published by: Indiana University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4184119 .

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BOOK REVIEWS

In Central Africa

FIVEZ MINUTES to MIDNIGHT

RACE AND NATIONALISM: THE STRUG- GLE FOR PowEm IN RHODESIA-NYA- SALAND. Thomas M. Franck. New York: Fordham University Press, 1960. 326 pp. $6.75.

In the next few weeks the Euro- pean leaders of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland will make their bids in London for Dominion status within the British Common- wealth, and for the chance to handle their "native problem" with no out- side interference from the Colonial Office, Labor Party or anyone else. Thus this book is as timely as pos- sible.

Dealing with the complicated issues of Central Africa, this volume is perforce many things in one. It serves as an introductory guidebook for out- siders who would like to know just what is the racial (and therefore political, economic, social) situation within the Federation. It gives a use- ful explanation of the brief history of the country since it was established in 1953 and why the 7,000,000 Af- ricans were so against federation. In another sense, the book is an excel- lent collection of facts, figures, and attitudes which could be used by both black and white inhabitants within Central Africa to understand their common problems. Needless to say, its sharp comments and critical evalu- ations of both groups will irritate many. However, to this reader, the book proves the old adage that fre- quently the observant spectator sees more than the players in the game.

The author has many strings to his bow, a primary one of which is legal. His discussion of the absence of clear legal standards for the pro- tection of the African is fine. He notes carefully the abdication by Britain of its reserved powers to pro- tect him and the domination of eco- nomic and settler, over constitutional, power in Central Africa. American readers can easily transfer many of the described factors to the U.S.

In an Attitude Survey, the author collected data on racial attitudes from 1,400 Europeans. The ominous gap of contact and understanding between the races is thereby explained and its potential for violence hinted at.

One of the best features of the book is its explanations of the major and

explosive issue of land ownership in the Federation. How is it that in a "democracy" 178,000 Europeans in Southern Rhodesia control 48,000,000 acres of the best land while 2,290,000 rapidly increasing Africans control 38,000,000 acres of the inferior land? The policy of forcing surplus Afri- cans out of the Native Reserves and into the cities in the necessary inter- ests of soil conservation is described.

What does happen to an African "boy" who comes in from the bush to work in an all-white suburb? How liberal is Garfield Todd? How con- servative is Sir Roy Welensky? Will a new Mau Mau rise from the root- less and de-tribalized African mobs in the slum areas around each gleam- ing European township? What role is the Christian Church playing? Labor Party, copper companies, white set- tlers, and black school teachers all march through these pages in a wealth of documented and highly per- sonalized material. Once again, the decline of the moderate (black and white) is proven as political extrem-

ism grows. The book is also a casebook of

missed opportunities in Central Af- rica. "Racial partnership," the avowed aim of the federal constitution of 1953, has been defined in such a way as to make a mockery of liberal hopes. Thus violence seems unavoidable. The Emergencies of 1959 in the Federa- tion are proof of that. The tragedy of the Congo shows what happens when the African is given no training in cooperation and government.

The author states that it is now five minutes before midnight in Cen- tral Africa, but that there is still hope. His suggestions as to what could be done at this late time are those of the remaining moderate European and African thinkers in the country. As they try to seek a way out of their dilemmas and their legacies of fear, hate, and misunder- standing, this book supplies them with peaceful ammunition. It also speaks to both black and white na- tionalists, and to us on the outside.

Channing B. Richardson

In Ghana- Prospects of Foreign Investment THE GHANA REPORT: INVESTMENT IN

GHANA. New York: G. H. Whit- man, 1959. 236 pp. Mimeographed. $25.00.

"The wind that is blowing now in Africa," said President Kwame Nkrumah recently, "is no ordinary wind; it is a raging hurricane." Hur- ricanes are notoriously destructive, and when they have passed there comes the time for reconstruction. Over much of the continent of Africa the hurricane is still raging, but it struck Ghana first. She weathered it extraordinarily well and now she is embarked on the reconstruction. By this she hopes to convert her status from that of a colonial dependency producing raw materials to an inde- pendent republic with a substantial industrial base and high standard of living.

In 1959, two years after attaining her independence, Ghana launched

her new Five-Year Development Plan, an ambitious project involving the expenditure by the Government alone of nearly $1 billion. This is quite an undertaking for a small country with a population of only 6% million, and an annual national income of $150 per head. The plan is designed to pro- vide the basic requirements of admin- istration, education, communications, electrification, agricultural reform, and some encouragement to industrial pioneers. Upon this base, the Govern- ment hopes that private enterprise will build an industrial super- structure.

Since there is as yet so little Ghanaian capital, it is clear that suc- cess depends to some extent on the attractiveness of Ghana for enter- prise from overseas. It is therefore appropriate and timely that a group of international economic consultants should examine the economy of the country in some detail, assess the

16 AFRICA TODAY

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