Plot and Counterplot
AS censorship.' So the murder of President Sylvanus Olympio of Togo has followed hard upon the latest attempt on the life of President Nkrumah, disturbances in Tunisia and Senegal and almost coincided with an alleged attack on President Houphouet-Roigny of the Ivory Coast. That president, like President Nkrumah before him, has responded with the dismissal of several of his Ministers and further measures for the indefinite detention of all suspects without trial. Mr. Olympio was a victim of the same course of events which has so very nearly caught Dr. Nkrumah: opposition to the government is forced to make its base in a neighbouring terri- tory from which it is not hard to gather support and organise attacks. The process is encouraged, particularly in the case of Ghana and Togoland, by the way in which present boundaries run directly contrary to the old tribal patterns. The obvious suggestion is that no one would resort to such methods if allowances were made for a legal opposition, but such a development is un- likely to come, and there can anyway be no guarantee that liberalisation would not give fur-
But this is wonderful—we're a real Lost Cause!'
ther encouragement to anyone wishing to stage a coup. To use an (at the moment) unfashionable word, the answer lies in federations, in African States themselves voluntarily coming together to form new associations and agreements with their neighbours. With .tribal boundaries dissected the way they are at the moment, there can be no hope of peace when adjacent States like Ghana and Togo refuse to maintain diplomatic relations. President Olympio's death may at least serve as a reminder of this. if it does not, it is likely to be an important stage in the already increasing balkanisation of West Africa.
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