Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana

Kwame Nkrumah, his leading role in achieving the independence of Ghana as a Nationalist country. His contributions towards other African countries independence.

He was born about 1909; Francis Nwia Kofia Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana was until his fall from power on February 21 1966, one of the greatest leaders black Africa has ever produced. After his primary and secondary school in Ghana (former Gold Coast), Nkrumah left for United States in 1935. After graduation he lectured at Lincoln University.

During his stay in the United States, he was inspired by Marcus garvey’s philosophy of “no other salvation for the negro but through a free and independentAfrica” with the determination to emancipate Africa from colonial rule and unite her in a common aspiration. Thus when he arrived in London from the united states in 1945,he soon got involved in active politics, becoming the ice president of west African student union (W.A.S.U) and one of the organizers of the Fifth Pan-Africa congress of 1945. it was at this congress that the plan to use mass party organization and “positive action” to achieve independence of African states was first mooted.

Nkrumah’s connection with Ghana’s nationalist movement began in 1947 when he was recalled to become General Secretary of United Gold Coast Convention (U.G.C.C). he soon revealed the radical nature of his leadership which alienated him from moderate U.G.C.C intellectuals. In September 1948, he founded the “Accra Evening News” as the official mouthpiece of nationalist movement and also formed the committee on Youth Organization. On June 12, 1949, Nkrumah founded the Convention People’s Party (C.P.P) after breaking away from the U.G.C.C.

The achievement of “Self-Government Now” was of top priority in C.P.P programme. To accomplish this Nkrumah lunched “positive action”. The January 1950 disturbances which followed it landed him and some other C.P.P leaders in detention at James fort Prison. But when the C.P.P won the 1951 elections and Nkrumah was elected in Accra Central constituency, he was released from prison to from the Government as leader of Government Business. This was the beginning of Nkrumah’s speedy rise to power in Ghana. In 1952, he became prime Minster. From now on, he put persistent pressure on the British Government to grant independence of Gold Coast. In spite of opposition from the National Liberation Movement (N.L.M) and its demand for Federal system for Ghana, it is to the eternal credit of Nkrumah that he led his country to independence as a united country on March, 1957.