The Pillars of Our Vision
Empowering Africa, Dedicated Hearts, Transforming Lives.
PORTRAIT OF "OSAGYEFO"
WHO IS OSAGYEFO DR. KWAME NKRUMAH
Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was born on 21st of September 1909.The road to independence in Africa for this influential 20th Century advocate of Pan-Africanism started in Manchester where the now historic meeting of the Fifth Pan-African Congress was held. The struggle for Ghana’s and indeed Africa’s independence is a direct result of the West African National Secretariat, founded by Dr. Nkrumah to work for the decolonization of Africa. He intellectually supported and financially contributed to various socio-political, economic and independence struggles. His labour soon yielded dividend as the majority of countries on the Continent gained independence. He then turned his efforts to forming a Union of African States. This pioneer Leader of Ghana and its predecessor State, The Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966, is a consequence of the impact of Colonial rule in West Africa. He believed Pan-Africanism was the key to giving the entire Continent pride of place and a strong voice to the Black man.
Indeed, Nkrumah’s contributions are legion. Apart from being a brilliant leader of the ordinary people and a great Champion of their cause, he is remembered as an outstanding Statesman. He is an African who stands shoulder to shoulder with such great leaders of the Twentieth Century as V.I. Lenin of USSR, Mao Tse-Tung (Zedong) of China, J.F. Kennedy of USA, Winston Churchill of Britain, Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe (Zik) of Nigeria. Zik’s ideas so greatly influenced him that like his mentor who had schooled there before him, Dr. Nkrumah saw the United States as an ideal place to go in order to get first-hand experience of liberty and equality. Africans described Nkrumah as a person of Vision whose fame echoed in Ghana and all over the world. His Pan-African mission, liberation struggle, politics and his assistance to refugees made him gain popularity. EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION An interesting aspect of this great achiever is that his life was influenced by his religious background. During his time in school, he was vibrant religiously and almost went into the priesthood.
During his time in the United States, Kwame Nkrumah preached at Black Presbyterian Churches in Philadelphia and New York City. Dr. Nkrumah excelled so much in the span his life time he was awarded honorary doctorates from Lincoln University, USA, Moscow State University, Cairo University in Cairo Egypt, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, Humboldt University in the former East Berlin and several other Universities all over the world. LIFE AS AN ACTIVIST/HUMANITARIAN When the Colonial Administration of the then Gold Coast rejected the People’s Assembly’s recommendations, Nkrumah organized a “Positive Action” Campaign in January 1950, including Civil Disobedience, non-cooperating boycotts and strikes. He was sentenced to three years in prison and, notwithstanding these ordeals, he remained positive in his fight for liberation. When at 12 a.m. on the 6th March 1957, Nkrumah declared Ghana Independent; he was hailed as “Osagyefo” which means “redeemer” in the Twi Language.
In 1961, Dr. Nkrumah laid the first stone in the foundation of the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute created to train Ghanaian Civil Servants as well as promote Pan-Africanism. In fact Ghana became a Charter Member of the Organization of African Unity in 1963,a cause he had championed. The Gold Cost then had been among the wealthiest and most socially advanced areas in Africa. Nkrumah created a Welfare System, started various community programs and established schools. POLITICS Dr. Nkrumah 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. In the course of his organizational work, he met C.L. R James, a historian of note from Trinidad, then living in the USA. Through James, he learned about political organizations and took deep interest in the writings of Marxists and other revolutionary philosophers.
Although he was clear in distancing himself from the African Socialism of many of his contemporaries, he however maintained that Socialism was the system that would best accommodate the changes that capitalism brought, while still respecting African values. He was also best known politically for his strong commitment to and promotion of Pan-Africanism. Having been inspired by the writings and his relationships with Black Intellectuals, like Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. Bois, and George Padmore. He attempted to rapidly industrialize Ghana’s economy, to escape colonial trade system by reducing dependence of foreign capital, technology, and material goods, it could become truly Independent.
The Akosombo Dam he initiated then was expensive, but today produces most of Ghana hydroelectric power. ACHIEVEMENTS AND RECOGNITIONS The birth of OAU in 1963 was a compromise between the point of view of the Casablanca Block and the opinions of the Monrovia Group. It was the first attempt of unifying Africa, which was the main focus of Pan-Africanism, which opposed Colonialism, oppression, racism, and exploitation. Whatever his shortcomings, Dr. Nkrumah was known to be the most eloquent Pan-Africanist and Nationalist in West Africa. He was a devoted, courageous and intelligent leader who knew that strength of government was in the masses and the workers. No one will ever doubt his devotion to African Unity. According to Hountondji, Nkrumah believed that the creation of the United States of Africa was the most urgent necessity in the struggle against neo-colonialism because the main instrument of neo-colonialism was Balkanization (Hountondji, 1996, 38).
Denis Austin in politics in Ghana portrayed Nkrumah as not merely the “Hero of the Revolution” but “Africa’s Man of Destiny”. RELIGIOUS ATTRIBUTES Guided by Consciences, that personal ‘socio-political’ philosophy devised and named by him, Dr. Nkrumah concentrated more on the contribution and impact of the ideals of equality on the Society. The traditional African Society is socialist, a society where a human being is spiritual, full of dignity, integrated and equipped with values. Dr. Nkrumah called for the evolution of an appropriate Ideology. This Ideology, he opined, should take into consideration African- Humanism and engage three main conceptions of life: the African, the Islamic and the Euro-Christian. Dr. Nkrumah declared this shall be called Consciencism. He also observed that colonialism, imperialism, disunity and under development are obstacles to the development of political consciencism, thus affecting social justice and natural equality. Dr. Nkrumah believed that the force and power of Africa lay in her unity while the strength of imperialism is found in disunity. In fact, his spiritual affinity has been re-evolved in today’s Ghana where the current President, His Excellency President Atta Mills is a charismatic renewal member who has the fear of God at heart.
DR.KWAME NKRUMAH AND UNITED STATES OF AMERICA History has it that during the reign of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr. a human rights Activist in the forefront of the American Civil Rights movement, visited Ghana and saw the extent and the resilience of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s fight for liberation for Blacks in Africa, the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr. drew inspiration from Ghana. It seems that history has repeated itself with the recent visit of U.S. President Obama to Ghana and his inspirational message to all Africans and their Leaders. No wonder in the year 2000, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was voted Africa’s Man of the Millennium by listeners of the BBC World Service. The Osagyefo, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah authored over 20 books and publications. He is a lead authority on the political theory and practical applications of Pan-Africanism. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah selflessly dedicated his life to show how future sons and daughters of Africa should prepare themselves for public service and strive to unify Africa, harnessing its wealth for the benefit of all descendants of the Continent. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah is an avatar, icon, though men may die but their ideals live forever: GREAT NKRUMAH OF AFRICA LIVETH FOREVER.
