Dr. Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah
My grandfather, Nana Kwame Appiah, was the Adontenhene of Toase in the Atwima Nwabiagya District of the Ashanti Region when the famous Chief Owusu (father of the equally famous Nana Akwasi Agyemang) was the chief of Toase.
Nana Kwame Appiah was an ardent supporter of UP, he bought a Peugeot Caravan for the party and as far back as I can remember, he was telling us about the Unity Party from the age of four, naming names like Baffour Akoto, Kofi Busia, Chief Dombo, BF Kusi and others.
I have never heard anything good about the “CCP” – that’s the name he called Nkrumah’s CPP. All our relatives followed the Patriarch and became members or supporters of the Unity Party and its traditions.
In later years, I came to appreciate the achievements of Kwame Nkrumah and believe he should be appreciated not only in terms of the vast and unrivalled physical edifices he built, but also in terms of the impact he had on people’s lives.
Without a doubt, he was the most important figure in the Ghanaian independence movement and a mentor to many African leaders fighting for independence in their own countries. He brought hope to black people all over the world.
Nkrumah defended the concept of African individuality, declaring that “Africans must assert their own individuality and develop according to their own way of life, their own customs, traditions and culture.”
I do not like everything that Nkrumah did, but I do not even like everything that I myself did, and that is the error of man.
Under Nkrumah’s rule, Ghanaians were respected all over the world. Ghanaians who studied abroad returned home soon after and took up positions of pride contributing to the building of Ghana. All sub-Saharan Africans living abroad called themselves Ghanaians and everyone was proud to be associated with Ghana.
Ghanaians were held in high esteem across the world. Unlike today, Ghanaian youths have a hard time travelling abroad in search of a better life due to tough economic conditions caused by corruption and mismanagement. No one would lay hands on Ghanaians. Today, we witness the killing of Ghanaians all over the world including in Gambia and Nigeria.
Nkrumah did all he could to eliminate tribalism and encouraged loyalty to the Ghanaian nation, an attitude best exemplified by his statement in his book Africa Must Stand: “We were engaged in a kind of war, a war against poverty, disease, ignorance, tribalism and disunity. We needed to ensure that the conditions could be met in which we could pursue a policy of reconstruction and development.”
Through the Ghana Educational Trust, Nkrumah established secondary schools throughout Ghana, making it possible for poor children, including me, to receive a secondary education.
Again, Nkrumah overcame all odds to establish the Ghana Medical University, making it possible for me and thousands of other young Ghanaian women and men to train as doctors in Ghana. The vital role that Ghanaian-trained doctors have played in the development of Ghana is clear to all.
Kwame Nkrumah established the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) to develop and promote the peaceful uses of atomic, biotechnological and other related technologies for socio-economic development through research, training and commercialization and to advise the Government on policy relating to the peaceful uses of these technologies.
GAEC has had a turbulent history marked by coups, bad governance, political ignorance and neglect by the government, but it has emerged as one of the leading scientific research institutions in the country’s development through institutions such as the Biotechnology and Agricultural Research Institute (BNARI), the Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute (GSSTI), the Graduate School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences (GNAS), the National Nuclear Laboratory (NRI), the Nuclear Power Institute (NPI), the Radiological Protection Institute (RPI) and the Radiological Medicine Research Institute (RMSRIS).
Kwame Nkrumah established the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, the University of Cape Coast, the Kumasi University of Science and Technology and the Komfo Anokye Hospital.
Nkrumah did not have enough technical experts like doctors, engineers, architects, scientists etc., nor did he have the best of all tools like computers, internet, GPS, scanners, mobile phones etc. But consider what he did with the little he had available.
Factories and Industries: State Shipyard, State Brick and Tile Company, State Canning Company (Nsawam), State Cocoa Products Company, State Distillery Company, State Electronic Products Company Sanyo Factory (Tema), Glass Manufacturing Company, State Marble Factory, State Paint Company, Sheet Metal Factory, State Textile Manufacturing Company Akosombo, GIHOC Nzema Oil Company, GIHOC Vegetable Oil Company, Tema Food Complex Company (TFCC), Textile Bag Manufacturing Company (Kumasi Jute Factory), Kwame Nkrumah Steel Company, Paper Processing Company, State Footwear Company (Kumasi Shoe Factory), Sugar Products Company (Komenda & Astuare), State Advertising Company, GIHOC Bottling Company, GIHOC Pharmaceuticals, GIHOC Paper Processing Company, GIHOC Printing and Paper Products, GIHOC Refrigeration and Household Products Company, Mosquito Coil Company, Abosso. Glass Factory, Zualungu Meat Factory, Wenchi Tomato Factory, Kade Match Factory, Akosombo Textile Limited, Puwalugu Tomato Factory, Tarukwabongsa Tyre Factory, Bolgatanga Rice Milling Factory, Cocoa Silos, Tema were all built by Nkrumah.
Nkrumah built state enterprises and other projects such as the Ghana Black Star Line with its 15 vessel fleet, the Bank of Ghana (BoG), the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), the National Investment Bank (NIB), the State Insurance Company (SIC), the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), the Ghana Oil Company (GOIL) and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GHAPOHA).
Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), National Management Productivity Institute, Ghana Film Industry Accra, Ghana Aviation Corporation, Afienya Gliding School, Ghana National Trading Corporation (GNTC), Cocoa Marketing Board (COCOBOD) and VALCO.
Housing and Hotel Projects: Accra (Labone Estate, Kanda Estate, Osu Ringway Estate, Airport Housing Area), Kumasi (Patasi Estate, Kwadaso Estate, Buokrom Estate, Santreso North and Santreso South), Tema Township (Community), Army Barracks Tema, Army Barracks Sunyani, Tamale Airfield, Army Officers Bungalows at Burma Garrison, Air Force Quarters on the way to Burma Garrison, YWCA, New Government Transport Terminal in Kumasi, New Government Transport Terminal in Accra, Black Star Square, Volta River Authority Housing Complex, Income Tax Office High Rise Office Building, Police Headquarters, Prison Warden Quarters, Tesano, Airport, Police Quarters at Mamprobi, New Judges Bungalows, Lalterbiokorsi Flats, Peduase Lodge.
Hotels (Star, Meridian, Ambassador, Continental (now Golden Tulip Accra), Atlantic and City Hotel Catering Rest House (now Golden Tulip Kumasi)).
Other projects: Ghana Museum, Ghana Film Corporation, Ghana News Agency, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Akosombo Dam, Accra (Kotoka) International Airport (ironically named after the man who defeated him), Accra-Tema Expressway, Tema Port and Admi Bridge.
Kwame Nkrumah wrote several books.
1. Black History: European Governments in Africa, Lincoln University, April 12, 1938, p. 2 (Lincoln University, Pennsylvania) – see Lincoln University Special Collections and Archives
2. Ghana: Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah (1957) ISBN 0-901787-60-4
3. Africa Must Unite (1963) ISBN 0-901787-13-2
4. African Personality (1963)
5. Neocolonialism: The Final Stage of Imperialism (1965) ISBN 0-901787-23-X
6. The Axioms of Kwame Nkrumah (1967) ISBN 0-901787-54-X
7. African Socialism Reconsidered (1967)
8. Voices from Conakry (1967) ISBN 90-17-87027-3
9. Ghana’s Dark Age (1968) ISBN 0-7178-0046-6
10. Revolutionary Warfare Handbook (1968) – The first introduction to the Pan-African pellet compass. ISBN 0-7178-0226-4
11. Conscientiousism: A Philosophy and Ideology for Decolonization (1970) ISBN 0-901787-11-6
12. Class Struggle in Africa (1970) ISBN 0-901787-12-4
13. The Struggle Continues (1973) ISBN 0-901787-41-8
14. Talking about Freedom (1973) ISBN 0-901787-14-0
15. The Revolutionary Path (1973) ISBN 0-901787-22-1
None of Nkrumah’s detractors have written a single book.
There were at least eight assassination attempts at Dodowa Villas, the Railway Station Annex, UAC Motors, Accra Stadium, Kumasi Assembly Hall, Flagstaff House, Kulungugu and around key ministry offices in Accra.
Nkrumah is dead.
But he has relatives and children and Nkrumah’s legacy as a global icon must be respected.
Nkrumah’s greatness and unparalleled contribution to Ghana and Africa was cemented in 2000 when he was voted “African of the Millennium” by BBC World Service listeners.
Asa!
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The author, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, is a Ghanaian physician and cardiothoracic surgeon and former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation.
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