ENOUGH: The French African Connection: Must Stop: Sylvanus Epiphanio Olympio (6 September 1902 – 13 January 1963) was a Togolese political figure who served as Prime Minister, and then President, of Togo from 1958 until his assassination in 1963.Sylvanus Olympio,, found a middle ground solution with the French. He didnt want his country to continue to be a french dominion, therefore he refused to sign the colonisation continuation pact De Gaule proposed, but agree to pay an annual debt to France for the so called benefits Togo got from french colonization. The French initially treated Olympio with significant hostility during the transition to independence and later, after Olympio became the President in 1961, the French became concerned that Olympio was largely aligned with British and American interests. Olympio adopted a unique position for early independent African leaders of former French territories. Although he tried to rely on little foreign aid, when necessary he relied on German aid rather than French aid. He was not part of the alliances between France and their ex-colonies (notably not joining the African and Malagasy Union) and fostered connections with former British colonies (namely Nigeria) and the United States He came from the important Olympio family, which included his uncle Octaviano Olympio, one of the richest people in Togo in the early 1900s. After graduating from the London School of Economics, he worked for Unilever and became the general manager of the African operations of that company. After World War II, Olympio became prominent in efforts for independence of Togo and his party won the 1958 election making him the Prime Minister of the country. His power was further cemented when Togo achieved independence and he won the 1961 election making him the first President of Togo. He was assassinated during the 1963 Togolese coup détat.. African leaders would work in the interest of their people if they were not constantly stalked and bullied by France.
Posted on: Tue, 10 Jun 2014 14:28:28 +0000
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