Kwame Nkrumah

This article was originally published here.

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Kwame Nkrumah was a Ghanaian politician, revolutionary, and one of the leading figures of the Pan-African movement. He was the first president of Ghana, leading from 1960 to 1966 when he was overthrown in a US backed coup d’état. Nkrumah was one of the founding members of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU). He was also awarded the Lenin Peace Prize in 1962.

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Early Life and Political Beginnings

Nkrumah’s administration was both socialist and nationalist. Not to be confused with the The National Socialist German Workers’ Party, otherwise known as the NAZI party. Nkrumah believed that for Ghana to be successful it had to escape the colonial trade system and reduce dependency on foreign capital, technology and material goods. Curiously, these ideals also shared by Ghana’s current president, Nana Akufo-Addo.

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Reforms and Achievements

Nkrumah’s government tried to rapidly industrialize Ghana’s economy. His administration developed a strong, compulsory education system that was firmly grounded on Pan-African ideals. Nkrumah’s tenure saw a significant uptick in Ghana’s contributions to literature, especially that of African Nationalism and Pan-Africanism. His government backed liberation movements in African colonies, many times harboring liberation leaders who were in exile from their own countries. The administration promoted a national and Pan-African culture that sought to do away with ‘tribalism’ and religious associations, in place of national and continental loyalties. Nkrumah’s administration funded far-reaching infrastructure and energy projects; chief of which was the Akosombo or Volta hydro-electric dam. However, spending on capital projects drove Ghana into debt - estimated as high as $1 billion USD by the time he was ousted in 1966.

To finance the debt, Nkrumah raised taxes on cocoa farmers in the south. As the global price of cocoa, one of Ghana’s main exports, Ghana’s economic problems multiplied. Some historians argue that Nkrumah overspent on elaborate infrastructure that was built more for prestige than function. One example often cited is the vast conference complex which was to be the seat of a future government of African unity. However, African leaders disagreed with Nkrumah’s visions; the first Organization of African Unity summit was held in Addis Abba, Ethiopia, not in Accra. Nkrumah envisioned an Africa with a unified parliament, military, and economic system. His critics are quick to call his vision unrealistic and paternalistic. Professor Mike Oquaye, the speaker of the current parliament of Ghana, comments that Nkrumah “expected [Ghana] to run before [she] could walk." Professor Oquaye and President Addo also argue that too much credit is given to Nkrumah for Ghana’s independence, saying that ‘Ghana has founders and not a founder.’

Nkrumah’s government turned increasingly strict with time. In 1961, a year after independence, he introduced legislation which allowed the government to send people to prison for five years without trial. Disrespecting the president became a criminal offense and he turned Ghana into a one-party state.

Despite the growth that Ghana initially had, her economy has not quite had the same luster that it had in its early post independence era. His successors would later privatize many of the country’s state corporations, which has had dire effects on Ghana’s lower and middle classes. Following the coup, Ghana realigned itself internationally, cutting its close ties to the Communist bloc, accepting a new friendship with the Western Bloc, and inviting the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to take a lead role in managing the economy. With this reversal, accentuated by the expulsion of immigrants and a new willingness to negotiate with apartheid South Africa, Ghana lost much of its stature in the eyes of African nationalists.

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Legacy

Nkrumah will always be remembered as the great crusader of African unity. He deeply influenced and connected liberation movements in Africa, The Caribbean and The Americas. He united disparate diasporic Pan-Africanists all over the world. Briefly, Ghana became the black intellectual capital of Africa. To the West, his philosophies make him one of the most dangerous African minds. According to intelligence documents released by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Historian, “Nkrumah was doing more to undermine [U.S. government] interests than any other black African.”

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