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A HISTORY FROM TIME PAST: AN ESSAY ON NKRUMAH AND GENERATION XYZ

Probably feeling himself small :)

“Kwame Nkrumah had been living abroad for twelve years, an itinerant student, invariably penniless but politically ambitious. In the United States he had collected degrees in economics, sociology and philosophy. To earn a living during student vacations, he had worked as a laborer in a soap factory and as a ship’s steward; he even tried selling fish on street corners in Harlem. Moving to London in 1945, he had intended to study law but soon became caught up in left-wing politics, befriending leading British communists and avidly participating in anti-colonial protests. “There was nothing to stop you getting on your feet and denouncing the whole British Empire,” he recalled. He abandoned his law studies but found it difficult to make ends meet as a political activist. Short of money, he would spend hours discussing politics in cheap cafes in Camden Town, only occasionally able to afford a cup of tea and a bread roll. When the offer of a job with the United Gold Coast Convention reached him, Nkrumah leapt at the opportunity." This excerpt is taken from, ‘The State of AFRICA’ by Martin Meredith. He was a man that believed in the power of politics to cause change, in his seminal speech at the Tenth anniversary of the CPP in Accra he said, “My philosophy, based on two axioms, has been clear from the very beginning, and it is quite simple: ‘Seek ye first the political kingdom and all things shall be added unto it.’ And secondly, we believe that. ‘The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent.’ ”

The iconic picture of Nkrumah

When Nkrumah came back to Ghana, he was young but brimming with energy, ideas and ambition. He soon fell out with his colleagues in the UGCC owing to their very different views on how to achieve autonomy from the colonial powers. History remembers him as the liberator of the Ghana (then the Gold Coast) under the CPP banner making it the first country to achieve full independence south of the Sahara. He also built the Akosombo Dam, several schools, hospitals, roads, railways, heavily patronized agriculture, and various other community programs. But most importantly, Nkrumah used his new found power to encourage and support complete liberation for the entire African continent. Nkrumah was a legend among legends and in the age where the African was only beginning to release the shackles of slavery and realize his true potential, here was a man that was way ahead of his time. His vision not only affected the lives of Ghanaians but all other Africans since he turned Accra into the nexus of the African Liberation struggle, organizing conferences that brought together representatives from across the continent and nurtured many who were later to achieve prominence in their own countries – Julius Nyerere (Tanzania), Joshua Nkomo (Zimbabwe), Kenneth Kaunda (Zambia), Hastings Banda (Malawi), Patrice Lumumba (Congo), Holden Roberto (Angola), Amilcar Cabral (Guinea) among many others. At the height of his power Nkrumah was prolific on the international front, meeting with eminent personalities of all races and creeds to further his vision for the country and the continent. He travelled around the world bursting with energy, zeal and a magnetism that was unrivaled. He inspired, he motivated, and he fostered a feeling of pride amongst his fellow black men, that we were indeed capable of running our own affairs.

Despite all his achievements, Nkrumah was not perfect. According to Meredith, “Behind all the hurly-burly, Nkrumah was a lonely figure, distrustful of his close colleagues, rarely confiding in them. He enjoyed the company of women, but feared intimacy and declared he had no time to get married”. An English woman with whom he built one of the most trusting relationships he ever formed later described him as “moody, erratic, impatient and volatile, but also charming and considerate when it suited him”. Nkrumah was also known for his harsh treatment of his political opponents, and by the time he was ousted from power in 1966 he had already lost much of the overwhelming support that he had enjoyed in the early part of his political career. In fact in 1964 he orchestrated the passage of a constitutional amendment that made the CPP the only legal party and declared him President of both the nation and the party, for life. I was not there and I do not know, but I can posit that perhaps the trappings of absolute power made him loose touch with the people that he loved so much and it cost him dearly. In the introduction to Selected Speeches of Kwame Nkrumah Vol 3, Samuel Obeng states that, he [Nkrumah] was so reviled and rejected by his own people in his lifetime that it is a testament to his undying charisma that after his death he has been wholeheartedly accepted back by Ghanaians. He remains the greatest icon of love and adoration by all Ghanaians even to this day, and certainly remains one of the most prominent figures that our dark continent has and will ever produce.

Here lie the remains of Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah, forever Loved by his people

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Nkrumah has not been overthrown in a coup d’état supported by the CIA. Consider the aftermath; the vicious cycle of unproductive upheavals that brought the richest sub-Saharan African country in the early 1950s into abject poverty by the late 1980s. Consider also the plundering of Ghana’s wealth by various military regimes and the political elite that resulted in gross mismanagement of our resources, economy, politics and the very essence of our cultural identity. Sometimes I wonder but who knows perhaps it was all for the best; after all everything happens for a reason. But wonderment at Nkrumah and our nations past must pave way for the realities of the present because now I believe that we, the youth of Ghana and Africa at large, are at a crucial point in our history; a crossroads that echo the choices faced by Nkrumah and his generation: theirs was independence now or independence later and ours is development now or development later. We are the true beneficiaries of their bloody fight for total independence; it was their legacy and our inheritance. I say DEVELOPMENT NOW! Enough with the excuses and the blame game that all politicos love playing nowadays; enough with the corruption, cronyism, nepotism, and elitism that keeps the vast majority of Ghanaians, especially the youth in poverty and uncertainty. There has been enough time wasting and the we of Africa’s generations XYZ are faced with the huge responsibility of implementing system wide CHANGE because we cannot abide by the status quo – it has failed abysmally. And it is up to us, to seize the tools, the technology and the vast opportunities that the 21^st century has provided us to carve our own shining destiny out of the present rot permeating the system.

Africa's Generation XYZ.....The Hope of Africa!

However it is not enough for us to just help ourselves, as Nkrumah said, our development, be it as individuals or as a nation is meaningless unless it is linked up to the development of other individuals or nations. Ghana has enjoyed a relatively long period of freedom and stability that has lead to many socio-economic and political gains but even that is not enough. We must rapidly develop our nation and our continent but the present guard cannot do it. I think they know they truth of this matter themselves and they are not actively engaging the youth because they are afraid of losing their power. So I believe that the youth of today, the indigenous youth of Africa must position itself to use whatever means necessary to better ourselves and help others do the same; even if the Old Horses won’t give us way, we must build our muscles and shove past them. As George Ayittey said in his TEDGlobal ‘07 speech, ours is the Cheetah Generation, with whom lie the hope of Africa and we must take charge from the Generation of Hippos (aka Dinosaurs) that grow fat from the current mess and are quite comfortable with the present state of affairs. Like Nkrumah we must REJECT our past that is rife with poverty and chaos and embrace our bright and prosperous future; a future filled with promise, a future where we can catch up with the rest of the developed Global village. As our forbears will inevitably hand over the reigns of power to us, so shall we do the same to our progeny, and it is my fervent hope that we will be able to give a better account of ourselves to our children and their children. This is our chance; we must not waste it!

It is a momentous task but I know it is possible. Why? Because there was once a man who rose from selling fish on street corners to changing the destiny of millions with his words. This same man that went from toiling in a soap factory to hobnobbing with Kings and Queens; from not being able to afford a cup of tea or a bread roll to feeding a nation and freeing a continent. His name was Kwame Nkrumah; forever etched into our history books as a great man and a true visionary. He was just one of many that came before him and after him. If he was able to effect system wide change then why not you, why not me? It is not just our responsibility, it is our destiny.

We are doing our part on Nov 4 at TEDxHarambe; let us achieve our true destiny! Visit our site at www.tedxharambe.com for more details!

Cheers :D