The President and the Bishop
JHE expulsion of the Anglican Bishop of Accra and the Archbishop of West Africa from
Ghana, though exacting sympathy, should come as no great surprise. If Ghana is to gel rid of all things tainted with white paternalism, then naturally a British Bishop will be the first to go. Dr. Roscveare's criticisms were mild and, along- side his words of praise for Nkrumah's achieve- ments, it can be seen that he was leaning over backwards not to seem offensive. President Nkrumah's action in giving way to the demands of his party newspapers and ordering the Bishop from the country is probably more than anything else a blunder. If he is anti-Church, then he should know that such a move can only further Church unity (as from the statements released already seems to be happening), and promote more criti- cism. If it is tacitly accepted that the Church plays little part in public affairs, it still has a latent power over people's sympathy. The accusations of an imperialist plot, in which not only the Bishop but a Scottish woman journalist and the Anglo-American press are involved, are of course on a quite different level. Yet here it should be noticed that British press treatment of African affairs could be improved. But it would be a disservice to African nationalism to judge its behaviour by any but the highest standards. Such incidents as Mrs. Donkeroo's separation from her children would be disgraceful in any country and under any regime.
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