Highlight the external factors that aided the Nationalists in their struggle for political independence.

Answer Details

The struggle of Nigerian and other African nationalists for political independence was helped not only by internal factors but also by several developments outside the continent. The main external factors were:

1. The Second World War (1939-1945): African ex-servicemen who fought alongside Europeans returned home more politically aware, having seen that the white man was not invincible, and they demanded freedom and better conditions.
2. The Atlantic Charter (1941): the declaration by Churchill and Roosevelt affirming the right of all peoples to choose their own form of government encouraged nationalists to demand self-determination.
3. The formation of the United Nations Organisation: the UN Charter upheld the principle of self-determination and independence of colonial peoples, and the organisation put pressure on colonial powers to grant independence.
4. The independence of India and Pakistan (1947): the success of Asian nationalists in winning freedom from British rule inspired and encouraged African nationalists to intensify their own struggle.
5. Activities of Pan-Africanism: Pan-African congresses and leaders abroad, together with figures such as Marcus Garvey and W. E. B. Du Bois, created a spirit of black solidarity and fuelled the demand for freedom.
6. Rise of anti-colonial world opinion: the two new super-powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, were both opposed to colonialism, and growing world opinion condemned imperial rule.
7. Influence of Western education: nationalists educated in Britain and America absorbed liberal and democratic ideas of liberty and equality which they used to justify their demand for self-government.