Being a celebrity in one’s lifetime is a massive burden that any person has to shoulder. It was the case for Sir Garfield Todd, the progressive leader from Southern Rhodesia in the mid-1950s and who passed away at 94, to carry the weight with ease, even although being a renowned authority was no consolation after years of being excluded from active politics. sir garfield todd involvement in politics was a result of the love that he felt for the Africans who’s interests he been able to look after as headmaster for Dadaya mission school. Dadaya mission school located in the sprawling Shabani district. The result was that only by becoming an MP could he enhance the chances of African-American Rhodesians who, during the past, made up less than 2% of voter’s rolls. The Parliament of Salisbury (now Harare) was obviously all white.
The year 1946 was the time that Todd was elected to the Shabani seat of The United Rhodesia Party, the most liberal grouping within the field. After advancing through three ministerial posts in 1953, he was appointed the party’s president and prime minister. He then introduced a variety of reforms, such as the 1955 five-year plan that provided the opportunity to all African who was in school. The 1957 franchise bill allowed for the establishment of multiracial unions. He travelled across South Africa and the United States to seek the financial support needed to create a new system of land management in the tribal trust zones.
In a bid to sway the critics who claimed the Todd was “soft on indigenous peoples” He dealt a shrewdly with the very first African strike at the Wankie colliery in 1954, bringing in his tough police mobile force. In essence Todd was turning off the traditional rule of white settler politics that was “never be surpassed by the left”.
His downfall occurred when he suggested a change of the qualifications for franchises, that, he believed could increase the number of Africans to the rolls. It was possibly naive of him to to convince his critics the black voters would be in the range of 20percent of the total of whites who were eligible. Actually, the number could have been close to 16% however, Todd was not naive in this manner.
After his ministers quit en group in protest at the plans, Todd created a new cabinet however, three months after, the party resigned Todd as its leader to be replaced by Sir Edgar Whitehead. Todd left for the wilderness and initially formed the splinter group, which was unable to secure one seat in the election of 1958. In a final message in his farewell address, he said from the soul: “We must make it possible for everyone to live a happy life and win a spot among the stars. We’re in danger of becoming a nation of fear-ridden neurotics are living in the best nation on earth.”
sir garfield todd was born in New Zealand, and worked during his school years, in the brick-making company run by his father. After graduating from the University of Otago Todd attended The Glen Leith Theological College, was ordained in 1931 and was subsequently assigned to work with missionaries to South Africa. However, he was interrupted by his studying in Witwatersrand University, in Johannesburg and Butler University, in the United States, leading, in 1934 to the Dadaya mission assignment.
With a deep affection for the land and the feeling that the land was being neglected by a racially divided system, Todd began buying large tracts of land for sale and an enormous agriculture development took form. He constructed a school specifically that was a school for African children. In fact, many of the most prominent Zimbabwean leaders like the president Robert Mugabe -got their first experience of authority by trudging up towards Shabani in order to instruct at Shabani’s Todd school.
Todd’s tenure as a leader was and was followed by years of discontent and humiliation in the political arena. To try to create his comeback, he partnered with Sir John Moffatt, of Northern Rhodesia to form the Central Africa Party in 1960. However, this, as with another party he tried to establish the following year, was unsuccessful to gain seats in the elections in which white voters were never lower than 96% percent of the population. He also resisted the settlement community when, in 1960, he sat on his platform with African Nationalist Leader Joshua Nkomo, and jointly made a plea to the British government to revoke Rhodesia’s constitution from colonial times. Slowly, however, Todd began to emerge as the leader of his countryand became recognized in the world. His attractive appearance and impressive fluency – he could speak at a speed of 200 words per minute – made sure he was given frequent broadcast and television appearances.
