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| Kwame Nkrumah, (21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) |
He was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1951 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana. An influential 20th-century advocate of Pan-Africanism, he was a founding member of the Organization of African Unity and was the winner of the Lenin Peace Prize in 1963. He saw himself as an African Lenin.
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| Kwame Nkrumah |
Early life and education
Kwame Nkrumah was born in
1909 in Nkroful, Gold
Coast. Nkrumah studied to be a teacher
at Achimota School in Accra from 1925 to 1935. For the following five years he worked as a teacher in several schools in the Gold Coast including a Roman Catholic school in Axim, while he was saving money to continue his education in the United States of America. In 1935, Nkrumah sailed from Takoradi, Gold Coast, to Liverpool, England, and made his way to London, England, where he applied for received his student visa from the American Embassy.
at Achimota School in Accra from 1925 to 1935. For the following five years he worked as a teacher in several schools in the Gold Coast including a Roman Catholic school in Axim, while he was saving money to continue his education in the United States of America. In 1935, Nkrumah sailed from Takoradi, Gold Coast, to Liverpool, England, and made his way to London, England, where he applied for received his student visa from the American Embassy.
It was while Nkrumah was in
London in late 1935 that he heard the news of the Invasion of Abyssinia by
fascist Italy, an event that outraged the young Nkrumah. This prompted him to
set his sights on a political career. In October 1935, Nkrumah sailed
from Liverpool to the United States, where he enrolled at the Lincoln
University of Pennsylvania. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in
1939, and then he completed his Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree in 1942.
Nkrumah also earned his Master of Science degree in education from
the University of Pennsylvania in 1942, and then his M.A.
in philosophy in 1943. While he was lecturing in political
science at Lincoln University, he was elected the president of the African
Students Organization of the United States and Canada. As an undergraduate
student at Lincoln University, he took part in at least one student theatre
production, and he published an essay on European government in Africa in the
student newspaper, The Lincolnian.
During his time in the United
States, Nkrumah also preached at black Presbyterian
churches in Philadelphia and New York City. He read
books about politics and divinity, and tutored students in philosophy. Nkrumah
encountered the ideas of Marcus Garvey and in 1943 met and began a
lengthy correspondence with Trinidadian Marxist C. L. R.
James, Russian expatriate Raya Dunayevskaya, and Chinese-American Grace
Lee Boggs, all of whom were members of an
American-based Trotskyist intellectual cohort. Nkrumah later
credited James with teaching him "how an underground movement
worked". Nkrumah's association with these radicals drew him to the attention
of the F.B.I., and he was placed under surveillance by the early part of
1945.
Nkrumah returned to London in May
1945 with the intention of studying at the London School of
Economics. After meeting with George Padmore, he helped organize the
Fifth Pan-African Congress in Manchester, England. Then he
founded the West African National Secretariat to work towards
the decolonization of Africa. Nkrumah served as Vice-President of
the West African Students' Union (WASU). Nkrumah's association with
left wing radicals meant that he was watched by the Special
Branch while he was in England between 1945 and 1947.
Return to the Gold Coast
In the autumn of 1947, Nkrumah
was invited to serve as the General Secretary to the United Gold Coast
Convention (UGCC) under Joseph Boakye Danquah. This political
convention was exploring paths to independence. Nkrumah accepted the position
and sailed for the Gold Coast. After brief stops in Sierra
Leone, Liberia, and the Ivory Coast, he arrived in the Gold
Coast on 10 December 1947.
On 28 February 1948, police fired
on African ex-servicemen protesting the rising cost of living, killing or
injuring sixty eight. The shooting spurred riots in Accra, Kumasi,
and elsewhere. The government suspected the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC)
was behind the protests and on 12 March 1948 arrested Nkrumah and other party
leaders. Realizing their error, the British released the convention leaders on
12 April 1948. After his imprisonment by the colonial government, Nkrumah
emerged as the leader of the youth movement in 1948.
After his release,
Nkrumah hitchhiked around the country. He proclaimed that the Gold
Coast needed "self-governance now", and built a large power
base. Cocoa farmers rallied to his cause because they disagreed with
British policy to contain swollen shoot disease. He invited women to
participate in the political process at a time when women's suffrage was
new to Africa. The trade unions also allied with his movement. On 12
June 1949, he organized these groups into a new political party:
The Convention People's Party (CPP).
The British convened a selected
commission of middle-class Africans to draft a new constitution that
would give Ghana more self-government. Under the new constitution, only those
with sufficient wage and property would be allowed to vote. Nkrumah
organized a "People's Assembly" with CPP party members, youth, trade
unionists, farmers, and veterans. They called for universal
franchise without property qualifications, a separate house of chiefs, and
self-governing status under the Statute of Westminster 1931. These
amendments, known as the Constitutional Proposals of October 1949, were rejected
by the colonial administration.
When the colonial administration
rejected the People's Assembly's recommendations, Nkrumah organized a
"Positive Action" campaign on 1 January 1950, including civil
disobedience, non-cooperation, boycotts, and strikes. That day the
colonial administration immediately arrested Nkrumah and many CPP supporters,
and he was sentenced to three years in prison.
Facing international protests and
internal resistance, the British decided to leave the Gold Coast. Britain
organized the first general election to be held under universal
franchise on 5–10 February 1951. Though Nkrumah was in jail, his CPP was
elected by a landslide, taking 34 out of 38 elected seats in the Legislative
Assembly. Komla Agbeli Gbedemah is credited
with organizing Nkrumah's entire campaign while he (Nkrumah) was still in
prison at Fort James. Nkrumah was released from
prison on 12 February and was summoned by Sir Charles Arden-Clarke,
the Governor, and asked to form a government on 13 February. The
new Legislative Assembly met on 20 February, with Nkrumah as Leader
of Government Business, and E.C. Quist as President of the Assembly.
A year later, the constitution
was amended to provide for a Prime Minister on 10 March 1952, and
Nkrumah was elected to that post by a secret ballot in the Assembly,
45 to 31, with eight abstentions on 21 March.
He presented his "Motion of
Destiny" to the Assembly, requesting independence within the British
Commonwealth "as soon as the necessary constitutional arrangements
are made" on 10 July 1953, and that body approved it.
Independence
As a leader of this government,
Nkrumah faced many challenges: first, to learn to govern; second, to unify the
four territories of the Gold Coast; third, to win his nation's complete
independence from the United Kingdom. Nkrumah was successful at all three
goals. Within six years of his release from prison, he was the leader of an
independent nation.
At 12 noon on 6 March 1957,
Nkrumah declared Ghana independent. The country became independent as
a Commonwealth realm. He was hailed as the Osagyefo -
which means "redeemer" in the Twi language.
On 6 March 1960, Nkrumah
announced plans for a new constitution which would make Ghana a republic. The draft included a provision to surrender
Ghanaian sovereignty to a Union of African States. On 19, 23, and 27 April
1960 a presidential election and plebiscite on the
constitution were held. The constitution was ratified and Nkrumah was
elected president over J. B. Danquah, the UP candidate, 1,016,076 to
124,623.
In 1961, Nkrumah laid the first
stones in the foundation of the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological
Institute created to train Ghanaian civil servants as well as promote
Pan-Africanism. In 1964, all students entering college in Ghana were required
to attend a two-week "ideological orientation" at the Institute. Nkrumah
remarked that "trainees should be made to realize the party's ideology
is religion, and should be practiced faithfully and fervently."
In 1963, Nkrumah was awarded
the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union. Ghana became a
charter member of the Organization of African Unity in 1963.
The Gold Coast had been among the
wealthiest and most socially advanced areas in Africa, with schools, railways,
hospitals, social security and an advanced economy. Under Nkrumah's leadership,
Ghana adopted some socialist policies and practices. Nkrumah created a welfare
system, started various community programs, and established schools.
Nkrumah's time in office was initially
successful, with forestry, fishing, and cattle-breeding expanded, production of
cocoa (Ghana’s main export) doubled, and modest deposits of bauxite and gold
exploited more effectively. The construction of a dam on the Volta River
(launched in 1961) provided water for irrigation and hydro-electric power,
which produced enough electricity for the towns as well as for a new aluminum
plant. Government funds were also provided for village projects in which local
people built schools and roads, while free health care and education were
introduced.
Politics
He generally took
a non-aligned Marxist perspective on economics, and
believed capitalism had malignant effects that were going to stay
with Africa for a long time. Although he was clear on distancing himself from
the African socialism of many of his contemporaries, Nkrumah argued
that socialism was the system that would best accommodate the changes
that capitalism had brought, while still respecting African values. He specifically
addresses these issues and his politics in a 1967 essay entitled "African
Socialism Revisited":
"We know that the traditional African society was founded on
principles of egalitarianism. In its actual workings, however, it had various
shortcomings. Its humanist impulse, nevertheless, is something that continues
to urge us towards our all-African socialist reconstruction. We postulate each
man to be an end in himself, not merely a means; and we accept the necessity of
guaranteeing each man equal opportunities for his development. The
implications of this for socio-political practice have to be worked out
scientifically, and the necessary social and economic policies pursued with
resolution. Any meaningful humanism must begin from egalitarianism and must
lead to objectively chosen policies for safeguarding and
sustaining egalitarianism.
Nkrumah was also best known
politically for his strong commitment to and promotion of Pan-Africanism.
He was inspired by the writings of black
intellectuals such as Marcus Garvey, W. E. B. Du
Bois, and George Padmore, and
his relationships with them. Much of his understanding and relationship to
these men was created during his years in America as a student. Some would
argue that his greatest inspiration was Marcus Garvey. Although he also had a
meaningful relationship with C.L.R. James, Nkrumah looked to
these men in order to craft a general solution to the ills of Africa. To follow
in these intellectual footsteps Nkrumah had intended to continue his education
in London, but ultimately found himself involved in direct activism. Then,
motivated by advice from Du Bois, Nkrumah decided to focus on creating peace in
Africa. Nkrumah's dedications to Pan-Africanism in action attracted these
intellectuals to his Ghanaian projects. Many Americans, such as Du Bois
and Kwame Ture, moved to Ghana to join him in his efforts. These
men are buried there today. Nkrumah's biggest success in this area was his
significant influence in the founding of the Organization of African Unity.
Economics
Nkrumah attempted to
rapidly industrialize Ghana's economy. He reasoned that if Ghana
escaped the colonial trade system by reducing dependence on
foreign capital, technology, and material goods, it could become truly
independent. However, overspending on capital projects caused the country to be driven into debt—estimated as much as $1 billion USD by
the time he was ousted in 1966.
Decline and fall
The year 1954 was
pivotal for the Nkrumah era. In that year's independence elections, he tallied
some of the independence election vote. However, that same year saw the world
price of cocoa rise from £150 to £450 per ton. Rather than allowing cocoa farmers
to maintain the windfall, Nkrumah appropriated the increased revenue via
central government levies, then invested the capital into various national
development projects. This policy alienated one of the major constituencies
that helped him come to power.
From 1958 onward, Nkrumah's
regime became increasingly authoritarian. After the Gold Miners' Strike of
1955, Nkrumah introduced the Trade Union Act, which made strikes illegal. While
Nkrumah had organized strikes just a few years before, he now opposed industrial
democracy because it conflicted with rapid industrial development. When
he suspected opponents in parliament of plotting against him, he wrote
the Preventive Detention Act that made it possible for his
administration to arrest and detain anyone charged with treason or
otherwise deemed a security risk without due process of law in
the judicial system. Prisoners were often held without trial, and their
only legal method of recourse was personal appeal to Nkrumah himself.
When the railway workers went on
strike in 1961, Nkrumah ordered strike leaders and opposition politicians
arrested under the Trade Union Act of 1958. He told the unions that their days
as advocates for the safety and just compensation of miners were over, and that
their new job was to work with management to mobilize human resources. Wages
must give way to patriotic duty because the good of the nation superseded the
good of individual workers, Nkrumah's administration contended.
The Detention Act led to
widespread disaffection with Nkrumah’s administration. Some of his associates
used the law to arrest innocent people to acquire their political offices and
business assets. Advisers close to Nkrumah became reluctant to question
policies for fear that they might be seen as opponents. When the clinics ran
out of pharmaceuticals, no one notified him. Some people believed that he
no longer cared. Police came to resent their role in society, particularly
after Nkrumah superseded most of their duties and responsibilities with his
personal guard - the National Security Service and presidential Guard
regiments. Nkrumah disappeared from public view out of a fear
of assassination following multiple attempts on his life. In 1964, he
proposed a constitutional amendment which would make the CPP the
only legal party and himself president for life of both nation
and party. The amendment passed with 99.91 percent of the vote, an implausibly
high total that led observers to condemn the vote as "obviously
rigged." In any event, Ghana had effectively been a one-party state
since independence. The amendment transformed Nkrumah's presidency into a de
facto legal dictatorship.
Nkrumah's advocacy of industrial
development, with help of long-time friend and Minister of Finance, Komla Agbeli Gbedema, led to the
construction of a hydroelectric power plant, the Akosombo Dam on
the Volta River in eastern Ghana. Kaiser Aluminium agreed
to build the dam for Nkrumah, but restricted what could be produced using the
power generated. Nkrumah borrowed money to build the dam, and placed Ghana in
debt. To finance the debt, he raised taxes on the cocoa farmers in the south.
This accentuated regional differences and jealousy. The dam was completed and
opened by Nkrumah amidst world publicity on 22 January 1966.
Nkrumah wanted Ghana to have
modern armed forces, so he acquired aircraft and ships, and introduced
conscription.
He also gave military support to rebels
fighting against the government of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe),
which had declared independence from Britain in 1965. In February 1966, while
Nkrumah was on a state visit to North Vietnam and China, his
government was overthrown in a military coup led byEmmanuel Kwasi Kotoka and the National Liberation Council.
Nkrumah believed that the CIA had supported the coup, but this accusation was
based on forged evidence given to him by the KGB. No official
documentary evidence exists implicating the United States in the coup.
Exile, death and tributes
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| Memorial to Kwame Nkrumah in Accra |
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| Kwame Nkrumah's grave inside the Kwame Nkrumah memorial in Accra |
Nkrumah was buried in a tomb in the
village of his birth, Nkroful, Ghana. While the tomb remains
in Nkroful, his remains were transferred to a large national memorial tomb and
park in Accra.
Over his lifetime, Nkrumah was awarded honorary
doctorates by Lincoln University, Moscow State
University; Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt; Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland; Humboldt
University in the former East Berlin; and many other universities.
In 2000, he was voted Africa's man of the
millennium by listeners to the BBC World Service, being described by
the BBC as a "Hero of Independence," and an "International
symbol of freedom as the leader of the first black African country to shake off
the chains of colonial rule."
In September 2009,
then President John Atta Mills declared 21
September (the 100th anniversary of Kwame Nkrumah's birth), Founder's Day, a statutory holiday
in Ghana to celebrate the legacy of Kwame Nkrumah.
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| A postage stamp from the Soviet Unionmarking the 80th anniversary of his birth |
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