Nkrumah should go back to Nkroful

Over the weekend, the chiefs and family members of Ghana’s first President made a case for the return of the body of Osagyefo. The body of Kwame Nkrumah was exhumed in 1992 with a promise to return the body some years later. This promise is yet to be fulfilled. For the three reasons under-listed, I believe Nkrumah should go back home.

1. A request from Kwame Nkrumah himself to be buried in his hometown when he dies. His daughter Samia Nkrumah was also in support of this idea.


2. Dr. Nkrumah was crowned theTufuhene of Nkroful and as a sub-chief of the area it is required by tradition to bury him in his hometown. Until this is done no other Tufuhene can be installed by the people of NkrofulThe return of the remains of Dr. Nkrumah to his homeland will help boost the tourism prospects of the Nkroful Township. The truth of the matter is, there is very little in Nkroful to show that a man as powerful as Dr. Kwame Nkrumah ever lived in Nkroful or was born there.


3. The return of Osagyefo’s remains will lead a great number of tourists to Nkroful for tourism purposes. It is about time the people of Nkroful started benefiting from their son.

Nkruamah was a saviour but not a messiah!

I was at the Nebuke Foundation for an art exhibition last weekend. Among the many pictures that were, in the gallery it was one particular one that caught my attention.

Nkrumah had been described in 13 different ways. I wanted to share that with you so that you tell me what you think. Are these terms really objective definition or just another hero worship for Kwame Nkrumah?

1. The Messiah
2. The Saviour
3. Fountain of Honor
4. Teacher
5. Redemeer
6. Leader
7. The Infallible
8. The Ideolgical Mentor
9. Show Boy
10. Osagyefo
11. Asomdwehene
12. Oyadieeyie
13. Kasapreko

Kwame Nkrumah vrs Muammar al-Gaddafi

After Nkrumah liberated Ghana from its colonial rulers, the effect of the achievement rippled throughout the continent, motivating others to fight for their freedom. It is therefore not so surprising to see nations like Nigeria gaining Independence in 1960. Nkrumah however continued to echo his intentions of liberating the whole landmass of Africa else his toil would have been fruitless.

For some reasons beyond his control, he was unable to fulfill the dream of being Africa’s messiah. Years after his death, does Africa want an African Union?

At the AU summit held in Accra to discuss this delicate topic, the consensus was to unify Africa slowly in a manner that would benefit all participating members. This decision did not go down well with Al-Gaddafi who was campaigning for a unified continent within the shortest possible time. I wonder sometimes, which stand Kwame Nkrumah would have taken if he were alive.

From what I have read about Kwame Nkrumah, I gather he was a radical man and was a man who believed in action. When the United Gold Coast Confederation (UGCC) preached “Independence within the shortest possible time” he was adamant and went for the “Independence Now” slogan. From this past experience one can infer that Nkrumah would have actually gone with Al-Quadafi.

On the other hand, Kwame Nkrumah was a man of discerning wisdom, and therefore strategically approached every problem (at least most of them) with caution. Nkrumah’s approach towards establishment of the first medical school in Ghana is evidence of that nature he carried in him. He took the more cautious approach which was not necessarily the fastest at that time. In the end he was glad to see the medical school established after several years. From this past experience, I can say Nkrumah would have approached this puzzling problem with caution and would probably have gone against Al-Quadafi’s approach towards the African single state.

To ‘posthumously’ think like Kwame Nkrumah, is a task no man on earth can ever do. One thing I know for sure, Kwame Nkrumah used different approaches to solve different problems. And that is why he is the man of the Century!

Kwame Nkrumah- celebrated by a few!

The 21st September, this year is going to be celebrated by Ghanaians and Africans as a whole as the Founder’s Day. At least in Ghana, this day has been declared by the president of Ghana as a holiday. My Question is how many people on the streets of Accra really know the significance of this day?

The ordinary Ghanaian will hail anyone for another holiday, and would not really care whether it is a day to celebrate past heroes or a day to remember perishing souls, all they care about is, “It is just a holiday”, and with it comes no work, no school, no alarm clocks. The awareness created by the organizing committee has not been the best. Personally I feel like the little school boy in Class 6 knows more about ASEM or Bradez than they even know about their own Osagyefo. In my opinion there are not enough books about his achievements (and failures). The few that are available are either too expensive to be afforded by the average Ghanaian or are in not in the best of shapes.

I believe Ghanaians as a people have not done enough to celebrate the man Kwame Nkrumah. A writer once complained about how he was unable to obtain pictures of Kwame Nkrumah from the nations television network GTV. They did not have a single picture of the man who had been voted “The Man of the Century”. Who is to blame?

Today, I know of some people who can sing all the lyrics in the most popular Ghanaian hip-life songs, and yet cannot even recite a single quote by Kwame Nkrumah. Should we blame the readers who are not reading enough about him, the writers who are not writing enough about him, or maybe we should blame the committee tasked to put together a memorable Founder’s day celebration and go further to ask them what they are doing the tax payers’ $6 million.

3 things I learnt about Nkrumah over the weekend

On Sunday 13th September, the Nubuke Foundation had an art exhibition in its gallery. In the gallery were some photos of Kwame Nkrumah and other pan-africanist who had contributed immensely to the liberation of the African continent. The exhibition was followed by the Poetry Talk Party; a literary program for poets and lovers of poetry designed to encourage discussions around very interesting topics. This weekend’s topic was "Kwame Nkrumah" (of course!). During the exhibitions and the discussions I learnt three things I never knew about Kwame Nkrumah.

(1) Nkrumah is Immortal.
The immortality of Osagyefo was accepted by most people among the audience. Years after his death, his writings and speeches are still alive. A contest on BBC to select the Man of the Century was won by him, even against other stalwarts like Nelson Mandela of South Africa. I learnt over the weekend that at a certain point in our Ghanaian history, most of Nkrumah’s writings were confiscated and destroyed. People even were banned from quoting him in public. These actions notwithstanding, Nkrumah’s works can still be found online, in bookshops and galleries. Nkrumah lives on.

(2) There were more than 1 attempt on his life.
Until Sunday, I personally thought there was only one assassination attempt on the life of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, I was dead wrong! The first attempt on his life was made when a bomb was placed by his residence in November 1955. There was also the major Awhaltey plot to assassinate Nkrumah while he was abroad. This plot is reported to have been planned by the opposition. Fortunately for him, a loyal official who had some information regarding the plot reported it to the authorities who then went on to foil this unbelievable attempt. Then was, the infamous Kulungulugu (a border town between Burkina Faso and Ghana) bombing on 1st August 1962. A bomb was placed in a flower supposed to be presented to him by a young girl at a ceremony in Kulungulugu. He escaped the attack and was hospitalized for a few days, but the young girl died.

(3) Nkrumah never saw Fathia again after they separated.
When Nkrumah was overthrown in 1966 whiles he was on a mediation mission in Viet Nam. He was prevented from coming back into the country by the coup makers. Nkrumah then went to Guinea where he was made the co-president of Guinea. That marked the end of the love story that existed between his Egyptian wife, Fathia and himself. They only communicated through letters. Nkrumah later died of skin cancer in a Romanian Hospital, Fathia died several years later. Today they both share the same resting place at the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum in Accra.

Kwame Nkrumah was not a god after all !!!!!

On Thursday, Ghana woke up to hear about the Founders Day celebration in Ghana and Africa. This day had been on the drawing board since President Mills’ announcement in his speech in January. Ghana now has one more holiday to celebrate. Founder’s day comes as one of the only days Ghana will celebrate in commemoration of a former head of state.

I never had the chance to meet Kwame Nkrumah, and I strongly believe you too did not have that opportunity. I grew up to think Kwame Nkrumah was a semi-god of immense capabilities and that is how come he was able to wrestle independence from his white-skinned rulers who were to be feared in that era. Today, I know a few tales and myths I heard about Kwame Nkrumah were not so true after all.

Little Kwame Nkrumah in his childhood stripped at his mum’s back, is reported to have told his mother, that she had stepped on a fish. When his mother took the pains to bend and check for herself, it was true. She had really stepped on a fish and didn’t even realize it. I found this myth hard to believe at first. Now, I have no difficulty disbelieving it. Kwame was really great but not a god.

There were also some myths about him being a true servant of one of the most powerful gods in Ghana. And as such he was protected from any human attacks. Some believe that is how come he escaped his attempted assignation at the Airport. It was reported that Kwame Nkrumah knew about the bomb that had been planted into the bouquet that was to be presented to him. This myth is a little bit difficult to disprove or substantiate.

One thing I know for sure, Dr, Nkrumah was a great ruler (although he was a little bit over ambitious with his goals). But he was certainly not a god, at least not a god enough to predict his overthrow.