The reins will not stop at a limit, and this contradicts our established policy which aims to extract our rights through peaceful means, unless these fail to achieve that, then we will take the other path.

Merits of the Umma Party I said that the Umma Party has mistakes, but it also has merits, including that it stood by us strongly and firmly in breaking the Sayyid-Beigin agreement. I recall that I was in Aba when this agreement was made, and a large number of tribal leaders and their members visited me there, denouncing that agreement. I told them, "I lived a long period of my life in hardship and deprivation until we ate tree leaves, and now I am ready and determined to return to what I was or worse for the sake of independence. We will not compromise on independence, no matter the cost. If sacrifice and redemption are necessary, I will be the first to answer the call." Their enthusiasm was great, and their readiness to go with me on my path was without any condition or restriction. Another merit of the Umma Party is its stance in the Cairo Agreement. Its signing of that agreement was the dividing line between colonialism and independence. This is in the purely political field, and the Umma Party has achievements in the moral field as well, and I consider these moral victories an important pillar in the life of the nation. The Umma Party has been completely fortified against the infiltration of foreign funds, and thus we have been spared the disease that afflicted many parties in the East. Not a single penny from a political source has entered the treasury of this party or the treasury of the Mahdist circle, which contributes to the party's expenses. We deal with foreigners, but on purely commercial terms, but we have not and will not accept aid from a foreign source. This is what I meant when I said at the beginning of this chapter that we wanted to establish a party that relies on Sudanese people for its life, struggle, and hope. I recall some members of the party who were inspired by such ideas when Egyptian funds poured into Sudan, and some of them thought we should take a financial loan from Britain. The word "loan" in this case is a cover for the word "political bribe." Of course, the proposal was rejected. In my opinion, the protective shield of the Umma Party against corruption is the Ansar sheikhs and youth.

Formation of the Ansar Youth League In 1946, when political activity reached its peak and the heat of the dispute between the independence advocates and those calling for Nile Valley unity escalated to the point of near explosion, I spoke with my son, Sayyid Abdullah, about the way the Ansar are organized and expressed my desire to form an Ansar Youth League.

67