NKRUMAH - The myth, his vision & mission (Front page) 18-09-09

Story: Kofi Yeboah

SIXTY-THREE years may not be too long a life, but at that age, Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, leaves a bold footprint on the sands of time. His life is a cocktail of myth, vision and ambition.
Seven times he escapes assassination attempts; three times he is buried — once abroad and twice in Ghana; many times his effigy is burnt to ashes; for many years he is mocked and scorned by the very people he liberated from oppression; for a long time his books and everything about him are ordered for destruction in an attempt to wipe out his memory, at least from Ghanaian history; but he survives and remains the most celebrated person ever to grace the soils of Ghana and Africa.
Nkrumah, indeed, never dies! His memory remains indestructible, and with the celebration of his centenary birthday and the declaration of same as statutory public holiday, Osagyefo the President, as the media call him, has gained immortality. In the opinion of Dr Edmund N. Delle, a former Chairman of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Nkrumah has achieved Martyrdom. "There is only one Nkrumah; you will not get such a person again for the next thousand years," he believes.
From his birth on September 21, 1909 to his death in 1972, and even in his grave thereafter, the life of Nkrumah is extremely sensational. In spite of all his foibles, as human as he is, his admirers, critics and enemies alike unanimously acknowledge him as the greatest African of the second millennium.

Childhood and education
Born at Nkroful, a hitherto unknown village in the Western Region, Nkrumah shows signs of vision, academic intellect, leadership qualities and mythical disposition during childhood. The date and day of his birth, as well as his family background, particularly the identity of his father, are all shrouded in mystery. One profound mystery that Nkrumah himself recalls in his autobiography is a story her mother often tells, that one day, as his mother travels with little Nkrumah strapped to her back, they wade through a stream on the way and when they get to the middle of it, he cries out in excitement that he is standing on a fish, and his mother, to her utter surprise, realises that she has actually trapped a fish under her feet and catches it for a meal in the evening.
Growing up, Nkrumah attends elementary school at Half Assini and his academic prowess is made manifest even at a tender age. Instead of the normal 10 years of elementary education, he completes it in eight years, suggesting that he may have been "jumped" over some stages of elementary education. Somewhere in 1926, as the Principal of the Government Training College (later Achimota College) visits the school, he finds Nkrumah very impressive and offers him admission to become a pioneer student of the college.
After graduating as a teacher from Achimota in 1930, Nkrumah takes up teaching appointments at the Roman Catholic Junior School at Elmina and later at the Roman Catholic Seminary at Amissano. During this period, his popularity and charisma take shape, while his appetite for politics keeps whetting every day, as he interacts with some influential figures in society. His sense of nationalism is inspired more by Nnamdi Azikiwe, a Nigerian journalist who edits The African Morning Post. Nkrumah’s interest in politics is deepened following the deportation of Azikiwe by the colonial government for sedition.
Like Moses going to the Palace of Pharaoh to acquire training to liberate the people of Israel from bondage years later, Nkrumah has to travel to the United States of America and the United Kingdom for academic, political and leadership training to redeem his people from oppressors’ rule. In 1935, young Nkrumah, desirous of pursuing higher education, and with money raised from family relations, sets out on a journey from Accra to New York. He manages to enrol at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, to study Theology and Philosophy.
It is at Lincoln University, the oldest Black American university college, that Nkrumah develops the consciousness of the Black and African personality as he interacts with Black American intellectuals. Buoyed by this new worldview, he moves to London after World War II and helps to organise Pan-African congresses with other black activists, writers, artists, and well-wishers.

Nkrumah’s homecoming
Back in the Gold Coast, the political temperature for independence is rising to a boiling point. The triumph of India over British colonialism in 1947 is strengthening the resolve of other colonies to go for the Golden Fleece. As Nkrumah returns home to join the struggle on the invitation of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), the leading political grouping in the country, his mission is clearly defined — "We prefer self-government in danger to servitude in tranquillity." His vision for an independent Ghana is also well cut out — "If we get self-government, we'll transform the Gold Coast into a paradise in 10 years."
Yes, he succeeds in giving Ghana independence. But no, he fails to transform Ghana into paradise after nine years’ rule. Perhaps, his setback is because he fails to make milk flow through the taps in Ghanaian homes. Nkrumah later admits this failure, but it is too late in the day because his regime is already overthrown.
On his return home, Nkrumah is welcomed to a charged political atmosphere for self-government. As the newly appointed General Secretary of the UGCC on the recommendation of Ako Adjei, one of its members, Nkrumah immediately unfolds his sleeves and gets down to work. He and five other members of the UGCC, namely Ako Adjei, Obetsebi-Lamptey, J. B. Danquah, Akufo-Addo and William Ofori-Atta, are imprisoned by the colonial government for allegedly causing widespread agitation, protests and violence across the country. However, their incarceration rather makes them more popular by earning reverence as the "Big Six".
After his release from prison, and dissatisfied with the UGCC’s sluggish approach towards the cause of independence, Nkrumah falls apart with the group to form the CPP. Armed with charisma, eloquence and extraordinary organisational ability, Nkrumah makes an onslaught on independence. His slogan, "Self-government now!", provides a more potent arsenal for political freedom under the circumstances than the UGCC’s cautious approach of "Self-government within the shortest possible time".
Nkrumah manages to prevail over all forms of opposition, both internal and external, but not without paying the price of incarceration. However, the masses will pronounce judgement in his favour by overwhelmingly voting for him in local election while in prison, to become the Prime Minister of the Gold Coast in 1952.
With the promised land clearly in sight, Nkrumah keeps his foot on the accelerator and at the Old Polo Grounds in Accra on March 6, 1957, he stands before an enthusiastic crowd and proclaims, "At long last, the battle has ended, and Ghana, your beloved country, is free forever." The spontaneous applause that greets the proclamation reverberates in the heavens.
Nkrumah instantly becomes a national hero. The name "GHANA" is even explained as the acronym for "God Has Appointed Nkrumah Already". Many songs are composed in his honour. He has virtually become a deity.

Religion and culture
Nkrumah is a huge symbol of culture in the country. He projects the Ghanaian culture through the wearing of "batakari" (smock) and Kente cloth. Everyone desires to be an "Nkrumah look-alike" and so the wearing of "batakari" and Kente becomes very fashionable. Some people even try their best to mimic him in speech and gesture. It is even considered a blessing for one to have a forehead that looks like Nkrumah’s.
Nkrumah is very religious and while teaching at the Roman Catholic Seminary at Amissano, he writes, "I gained the religious fervour to such an extent that I seriously formed the idea of taking the vocation of priesthood myself." He takes this desire to a higher level by studying Theology at Lincoln University, but Nkrumah has his own worldview about religion. "I believe strongly that church-going should be a matter of conscience and should not be obligatory," he argues.
Nkrumah’s philosophy on religion does not rob off well with orthodox Christians. He makes matters worse after he is believed to be a faithful of African religion by worshiping "Kankan Nyame", an African deity.

Nkrumah and African liberation
Ghana’s independence, according to Nkrumah, is not an end to the fight against colonialism, but the beginning of the emancipation of Africa from foreign domination. "Our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent," he declares at the Old Polo Grounds. In that regard, he devotes much attention and energy to the African liberation struggle, sometimes sacrificing the interest of Ghana and his own commitment to the country. He exhibits extreme passion for the unity of Africa and emphasises the point in his 1961 book, I speak of freedom, "Divided we are weak; united, Africa could become one of the greatest forces for good in the world.”
Sadly, no one is listening to him and painfully, Africa is now paying the price of its deafness to the vision and wisdom of Nkrumah. It is for this reason that a renowned African scholar and historian, Prof. Ali Mazrui, observes at one of Ghana’s Golden Jubilee Lecture series in Accra in 2007 that Nkrumah is a great son of Africa but never a great son of Ghana.
In his zeal to protect the interest of Africa, Nkrumah marshals every force at his disposal, including positive action, to resist what he considers to be "neo-colonialism and imperialism". It is on the basis of this resolve that Nkrumah convenes the "Positive action conference for peace and security" in Accra on April 7, 1960, for a united Africa response to the testing of nuclear weapon in the Sahara by France earlier in February that year. "There is no force, however impregnable, that a united and determined people cannot overcome," he tells the conference.
Angered by what he describes as "France’s arrogance", Nkrumah responds swiftly by freezing all French assets until the extent of the damage to the lives of the people becomes known. After carrying out another nuclear test in the Sahara, Nkrumah takes further action by recalling Ghana’s Ambassador to France.
As a fearless character, Nkrumah takes the fight against neo-colonialism to the arena of a world heavyweight like the USA. On March 22, 1965, for instance, Nkrumah goes on a foray and verbally assaults the US in a public speech for causing political turmoil in Africa, citing alleged American interference in the Congo. His outburst against the US is also based on the conviction that America is behind the assassination attempts on him.
The US is extremely disturbed by the comments of Nkrumah. The US Ambassador to Ghana at the time, Mr William P. Mahoney, therefore, seeks audience with Osagyefo to register America’s protest. In a telegraph to the US Department of State, Mr Mahoney recounts, "I looked up and I saw he was crying. With difficulty he said I could not understand the ordeal he had been through during the last month. He recalled that there had been seven attempts on his life…". He suspects America is behind the assassination attempts.

A man of ambition
Dr Nkrumah is overly ambitious. That character initially lifts him to the heights of fame and reverence, but later plunges him into the depths of shame and malevolence. Through his ambition, he manages to fast-track Ghana’s liberation from British colonial rule. After independence, he undertakes many ambitious projects, including the Accra-Tema Motorway, the Tema Harbour, schools, hospitals, railway lines, and factories, using them as the foundation for making Ghana an industrialised nation. Indeed, Nkrumah’s legacies to Ghana are too numerous to recount. His ambitious Seven-Year Development Plan meant to establish factories and public institutions, however, fails to achieve results. Consequently, the country’s economy suffers and the popularity of Nkrumah wanes rather badly.
Nevertheless, one singular ambitious project that stands tall among his legacies is the Volta River Project, involving the construction of a hydroelectric dam and smelter. This is a project described as "the most complex since Queen Marie was selling Romanian bonds". After lengthy negotiations for its construction, Nkrumah proudly inaugurates the dam on January 22, 1966, just in good time before his overthrow a month later on February 24, 1966.
Dr Nkrumah’s ambitious character sometimes makes him wallow in fantasies, some people say. Otherwise, he would not believe that the President of a tiny and new independent country in West Africa can broker peace between a world superpower like America and Vietnam, engaged in war.
"The Vietnam issue is a world issue and the world should be grateful to anyone who would succeed in making contribution towards its speedy solution," he confidently tells a press conference in Cairo, Egypt, as he embarks on a 10,000 mile journey from Accra to Hanoi, Vietnam, to broker peace.
While on his way to China, CIA-backed military and police officers overthrow his government in a coup. Back in Accra and elsewhere in Ghana, Nkrumah is crucified by the very people who have been singing his praise. They destroy his effigy and insignia on the streets amid singing and chanting, denouncing the Osagyefo (liberator).
"The myth surrounding Kwame Nkrumah has been broken," an army officer declares in a radio announcement after the coup. Nkrumah does not seem shattered by developments back home, not even when his trusted stewards are deserting him. His ego has not been betrayed yet as he remarks, "If I were there, who will dare!"
Interestingly, Nkrumah liberates Ghana in 1957 and becomes the happiest man on earth, but at age 57, soldiers, known as the National Liberation Council (NLC), decide to liberate Ghanaians from "Nkrumah’s dictatorial rule" and makes him the most disappointed man on earth.
After his overthrow, Nkrumah finds favour with Guinean President Sekou Toure, who, in appreciation of Osagyefo’s benevolence to Guinea, makes him co-president of Guinea.
However, in keeping with the biblical injunction that, "Where a man’s treasure is, there his heart lies," Nkrumah keeps his eyes, ears, mind and heart on Ghana, despatching shortwave broadcasts across Conakry to Accra and writing voluminous letters, ideological treaties and books, all in the hope of winning back the hearts of the people he so much loves and for whose political freedom he has devoted greater part of his life.
After six years in exile, he succumbs to sickness, and later death in 1972. He does not live a little longer to see the end of the military regime that overthrew him and to witness the emergence of another military regime that will restore some of his lost dignity.