The Life and Times of
Kwame Nkrumah,
Africa’s Man of the
Millennium
Neha Deol
Chi Won Jenny Lee
Jessica Oliveira
Course: Racialization & Ethnicity in Canada
Instructor: Dr. Charles Quist-Adade
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of Africa:
Chief architect of Ghana’s
Independence 50 Years Ago
Kwame Nkrumah
(1909 – 1972)

Ghana’s Prime Minister 1957-1960

Ghana’s President 1960-1966

An international symbol of freedom as
the leader of the first black African
country to shake off the chains of
colonial rule.
Early Life & Education


Kwame Nkrumah was
born in 1909 in Nkroful,
a small town in western
Ghana.
He graduated from
Achimota College in
1930, and taught at a
seminary in Axim.

1939: He went to U.S.
and graduated with B.A.
degrees in economics
and sociology.

1942: He earned a
theology degree and
received M.A. degrees in
education and
philosophy from the
University of
Pennsylvania.
Return to Ghana (Gold Coast)

Nkrumah sailed to England in 1945, after attaining his
Doctorate in the U.S.

He left London for Ghana (Gold Coast) and joined the
United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) Party in 1947.

His aim was to help gain the independence of Ghana
from Britain

Six UGCC leaders including Nkrumah were arrested
and detained, with Nkrumah being singled out as the
principal trouble causer.

He was later removed from the position of Secretary
General and was appointed the Party's Treasurer.

On February 28, 1948, Ghanaian WWⅡ veterans
were massacred by British police in Accra
during a protest rally.

Nkrumah condemned the massacre and broke
off from the UGCC which showed little
agitation. The popular Sergeant Adjetey was on
of the slain.

In 1951, Ghanaians elected Nkrumah’s CPP as
the leading party of the General Assembly,
prompting the British Colonial Government to
release him from prison.
Independence of Ghana

Agitation against, and dialogue with, the British
colonial government continued. Finally, 6th March,
1957 was officially set as Independence Day.

Having steered the first independence movement in
sub-Sahara Africa, Nkrumah emphasized that the work
was only beginning and articulated that “the
independence of Ghana is meaningless, unless it is
linked to the total liberation of the African continent.”

Ghana was declared a republic in 1960 and became a
charter member of the Organization of African Unity
in 1963.
Politics

He believed :
 A non-aligned Marxist perspective on
economics
 Believed that socialism was a better system
to capitalism (socialism already existed in
Africa)
 Respecting African values at the same time.

He was best known politically for his
promotion of Pan-Africanism, ‘all Africanism’.
(United States of Africa)

President Nkrumah quickly set out to sponsor
a conference for the All-African Trade Union
Federation.
His biggest success in this area coming with
his significant influence in the founding of the
Organization of African Unity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foDlCCudcsE&NR=1

Nkrumah continued to push for the Charter of
African States in 1961. To him, the
Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963
fell short of his vision for a united Africa.

He courted Ethiopia to join Ghana, Guinea and
Mali in a unifying accord.

He built economic alliances with the East.
Economy of Ghana

He attempted to move Ghana’s economy toward a
more industrial model. His reasoning was that
moving Ghana out of the colonial trade system by
reducing its dependence on foreign capital,
technology, and material goods would allow it to
become truly independent.

Building alliances, he met with JFK in March 1961
to discuss bilateral agreements and regional issues
including the Congo question
Nkrumah and JFK
Nkrumah and US President Dwight D.
Eisenhower
US Vice-President Richard Nixon at Ghana’s independence celebration
in 1957 in Accra

As Ghana’s president, Nkrumah’s foreign policy
agenda included
- The formation of the United States of Africa.
- World peace; an end to the Cold War
- Harmonization of economic and political
relations with the East and the West

Ghana took enormous steps forward under
Nkrumah’s leadership.
Nkrumah created
- a welfare system
- started various community programs
- established schools.
Kwame meets the East
Exile, Death & Tributes
Nkrumah Mausoleum in Accra

His nationalist and radical anti-imperialist and
Marxist policies and actions drew ire of Western
governments, Britain and the USA in particular.

Was overthrown by US Central Intelligence Agency
(C.I.A.) sponsored coup d’etat in 1966

Was domiciled in Guinea, Conakry, where he was
installed co-president with ideological bedfellow,
Sekou Toure.
Nkrumah never returned to Ghana, but continued
to push for his vision of African unity.


Despite his retirement, his fear of western
intelligence agencies did not abate. He lived in
constant fear of abduction and assassination.
In addition, Nkrumah:

was the only world leader to attempt a peace
accord with America to end the Vietnam War;

was one of the most important players in the
non-aligned movement;

introduced a free healthcare delivery system
as well as free, compulsory universal
elementary education in Ghana;

Established 68 new state-owned factories
within a record time of nine years.
Africa’s Man of the Millennium

He died of skin cancer in April 1972 in
Romania.

He was buried in Ghana in a tomb at the
village of his birth, Nkroful. (Re-buried
in Accra in the Nkrumah Mauseleum )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ5I
TBKZ4HY


Today, Nkrumah is still one of the most
respected leaders in African history.

Voted as Africa’s Man of the Millennium
by the British Broadcasting Corporation
(BBC).
On the flipside


But Nkrumah also had his flaws. His one-party state
‘democracy’ stifled different and divergent views from the
other side of the political divide.
His installation as “Life President” of his party, the
Convention People’s Party, made him a dictator in the
eyes of many.

Did nothing to discourage party cronies from turning him
into a demigod.

Nkrumah used the Preventative Detention Act (PDA)
enacted by the British Colonial Administration to throw
his political opponents into jail without trial.

His enforcement of the PDA to crack down on his
opponents, who were bent on unseating him through
terrorist bombings and numerous assassination
attempts, was criticized as dictatorial and draconian.
I speak of freedom… (an
excerpt)
‘…Divided we are weak; united, Africa could
become one of the greatest forces for good in the
world. I believe strongly and sincerely that with
the deep-rooted wisdom and dignity, the innate
respect for human lives, the intense humanity
that is our heritage, the African race, united
under one federal government, will emerge not
as just another world bloc to flaunt its wealth
and strength, but as a Great Power whose
greatness is indestructible because it is built not
on fear, envy and suspicion, nor won at the
expense of others, but founded on hope, trust,
friendship and directed to the good of all
mankind…'
Books by
Kwame Nkrumah


Dr. Nkrumah published over 14
books in his life time.
The following are some of his
works;
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Towards Colonial Freedom
(1947)
Ghana: The Autobiography of
Kwame Nkrumah [International
Publishers (1957)
Africa Must Unite (1963)
Consciencism: Philosophy &
Ideology for De-Colonization
(1964)
Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage
of Imperialism (1965)
I Speak of Freedom (1973)
Axioms of Kwame Nkrumah
(Freedom Fighters Edition)
Nkrumah & Martin Luther King Jr. in
Accra March 1957
Nkrumah & W.E.B Bois
Axioms of Kwame Nkrumah

“It has often been said that Africa is poor.
What nonsense! It is not Africa that is poor. It
is the Africans, who are impoverished by
centuries of exploitation and domination”
(Speech in National Assembly, Accra. 8 August
1960

“I can see no security for African states unless
African leaders like ourselves have realized
beyond all doubt that salvation for Africa lies
in unity” (Speech at the closing session of the
Casablanca Conference, 7 January, 1981)

The African personality is… defined by the cluster of
humanist principles which underlie the traditional
African Society (Consciencism, first published 1964)
AXIOMS-CONT’D

We do not see ourselves merely as Arab
Africa, Black Africa, English Africa, French
Africa. We are one people, one continent with
one destiny.

Africa is marching forward to freedom and
no power on this Earth can halt her now

The continent of Africa is compact, self
sufficient and unique.

We Must Organize as never before, for
organization decides everything.

Without discipline true freedom cannot
survive.

I do not know how anyone can refuse to
acknowledge the right of humans to be
free.

Freedom is not a commodity which is
"given" to the enslaved upon demand; it is
a precious reward, the shinning trophy of
struggle and sacrifice.

We are prepared to move ahead side by side
with African patriots everywhere until Africa is
totally free and united under an All-African Union
Government.

A Revolutionary fails only if he/she surrenders.

The guerrilla is the masses in arms.

Time is on the side of the masses, and nothing
can permanently frustrate their ultimate
fulfillment
AXIOMS-CONT’D

Our armed struggle for freedom is neither moral
nor immoral, it is a scientific historically
determined necessity.

Practice without thought is blind, thought without
practise is empty.

In a revolutionary situation it is a crime against
the people to forgive those who have betrayed
them.

There is no force, however formidable that a
united people cannot overcome.

We are running out of time in Africa not
only have we to eliminate or eradicate the
deficiencies of our past, but we must also,
in the shortest possible time, attempt to
catch up with modern techniques of our
time.

The secret of life is to have no fear.

Capitalism is but the gentlemen's method
of slavery.

Political power is the inescapable prerequisite to
economic and social power.

The Degree of a country's revolutionary
awareness may be measured by the political
maturity of its women.

Africa wants her freedom, AFRICA MUST BE
FREE, It is a simple call, but it is also a signal
lighting a red warning to those who would tend
to ignore it.
AXIOMS-CONT’D

Real Black freedom will only come when Africa
is politically united. it is only then that the Black
man will be free to breathe, the air of freedom,
which is his to breathe, in any part of the world.

No man is born a criminal, society makes him
so, and the only way to change things is to
change the social conditions.
Where ever there is economic dependence
there is no freedom.


As long as a single foot of African soil remains
under foreign domination, the world shall know
no peace.

Freedom without law is anarchy.

It is my deep conviction that all peoples
wish to be free, and that the desire for
freedom is rooted in the soul of everyone
of us.

When all is said and done, it is the socalled little man, the bent-backed,
exploited, malnourished, blood-covered
fighter for independence who decides, and
he invariably decides for freedom.

Neo-colonialism has no permanent
friends, its only companions are its own
interests.

Let us remember always that in the final analysis
the masses are the final arbiter. They will always
choose freedom and justice, as against
oppression and corruption.

The people's armed struggle, the highest form of
political action, is a revolutionary catalyst in the
neo-colonialist situation.
AXIOMS-CONT’D

It has often been said that Africa is poor, what
nonsense! It is not Africa that is poor, it is the
Africans, who are impoverished by centuries of
exploitation and domination.

To Suggest that the time is not yet ripe for
considering a political union of Africa is to evade
the facts and ignore realities in Africa today.

Africa is clearly fragmented into too many small,
uneconomic and non-viable states, many of
whom are having a vey hard struggle to survive.

I do not know of any greater satisfaction
than honest and efficient service rendered
to the people in the best interest of all the
people.

The people are the makers of history and
it is they who, in the final analysis, win or
lose wars.

Our war is not a war of conquest, it is a
war of revolutionary liberation, we fight not
only in self-defence but to free, unite and
reconstruct.

The case for African unity is very strong and the
instinct of the mass of the people right.

Only a united Africa can redeem its past glory
and renew and reinforce its strength for the
realisation of its destiny.

We are today the richest and yet the poorest of
continents, but in unity our continent could smile
in a new era of prosperity and power.

If we do not formulate plans for unity and
take active steps to form political union,
we will soon be fighting and warring
among ourselves with the imperialists and
colonialist standing behind the screen and
pulling vicious wires, to make us cut each
other's throats for the sake of their
diabolical purposes in Africa
References

www.wikipedia.org (Bibliography &
Photographs)

www.africawithin.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhI3noTmae
Q&mode=related&search=

I Speak of Freedom, Kwame Nkrumah 1961