Kwame Nkrumah: Ghana's Independence Leader
For Nkrumah, Ghana was willing to delay its independence so that other African colonies would attain independence at the same time.
On the 28th of February 1948, the British colony of the Gold Coast was thrust into an unprecedented crisis.
A group of ex-servicemen who fought for the British in the Second World War took to the streets to express their grievances over negligence and unpaid benefits the administration had promised them. The protest was soon hijacked by an angry mob and soon degenerated into Chaos.
They started out as a peaceful attempt to bring a petition to the Governor General of the Gold Coast Administration. As the group marched toward the Governor’s residence at Christiansborg Castle, they were stopped and confronted by a group of armed colonial policemen led by Superintendent Colin Imray, who refused to let them pass. Superintendent Imray ordered the ex-servicemen to stop, but they continued to advance. Seeing that his command was disregarded, he ordered a police officer to fire at the protesters, but the officer shot in the air. Frustrated and scared that the protesters might overwhelm them, Imray grabbed the gun out of one of the policemen and fired straight at the servicemen, killing three former Soldiers: Sergeant Adjetey, Corporal Attipoe and Private Odartey Lamptey. With the bodies of three of their comrades lying in cold blood, the ex-servicemen turned back and headed straight to the centre of Accra. Now, early in January, the Ga chief, Nii Kwabena Bonne III, known in private life as Theodore Taylor, had organised a boycott of all European imports in response to their inflated prices, and there were already demonstrations happening in the streets. The day the boycott was scheduled to end, 28 February, coincided with the march by ex-servicemen. Before the ex-servicemen reached the heart of Accra, news had gotten out already that the colonial police were shooting at unarmed protesters at the Christianborg castle. By the time these veterans of World War II arrived at the heart of Accra, they met an already angry mob, and what started out as a peaceful demonstration soon turned out to be a full-scale riot.
The angry mob set cars ablaze, looted stores owned by foreigners, moved against the prisons, broke down the prison doors and set the prisoners free. Within days, the riot spread in towns throughout the colony, leaving 29 people dead and over 200 people injured.
The local political leadership in Ghana, Known as the United Gold Coast Convention UGCC responded by sending a telegraph to the secretary of State in London saying,
“... unless Colonial Government is changed and a new Government of the people and their Chiefs installed at the centre immediately, the conduct of masses now completely out of control with strikes threatened in Police quarters, and rank and file Police indifferent to orders of Officers, will continue and result in worse violent and irresponsible acts by uncontrolled people.”
The UGCC blamed the Governor Sir Gerald Creasy, referring to him as Crazy Creasy, and further stated that:
"... The Working Committee United Gold Coast Convention declares they are prepared and ready to take over the interim Government. We ask in the name of the oppressed, inarticulate, misruled and misgoverned people and their Chiefs that the Special Commissioner be sent out immediately to hand over Government to the interim Government of Chief and People and to witness immediate calling of the Constituent Assembly."
In response to this, the Governor declared a state of emergency, promulgated the riot act and had the leadership of the UGCC, popularly referred to as the Big Six across Ghana, arrested and sent to Jail. They were; Ebenezer Ako-Adjei, Edward Akufo-Addo, J. B. Danquah, Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey, William Ofori Atta and Kwame Nkrumah.
This event marked the beginning of Ghana's journey towards independence and set the ground for the African revolution. It was led by the mercurial, energetic, passionate and unforgettable Kwame Nkrumah.
Introduction:
Now, If we were to name one person who played the most pivotal role in the liberation of Africa, Kwame Nkrumah would undoubtedly be one of the most influential figures to be named. This man played such an important role in the liberation of Ghana that he is called “the founding father of Ghana.” In fact, he was such a threat to the British Colonial Authority that Governor Arden-Clake called him “Our Local Hitler.”
Nkrumah faced imprisonment due to strikes and boycotts organised by his party, leading to a three-year prison sentence to be served at the Fort James Prison in Accra, Ghana. He was crucial in establishing Ghana’s present-day system of government, including its political structure and constitution, which remain a cornerstone in modern Ghana.
He was a very influential Pan-Africanist who spent his life pursuing the freedom and unification of all African countries into one United States of Africa and was one of the pioneers and founding members of The Organisation of African Unity.
For Nkrumah, Ghana was willing to delay its independence so that other African colonies would attain independence at the same time.
He quickly became the symbol of hope for the African Continent's liberation struggle.
But as soon as he got a hold of power, as if to prove that Africa was not ready to rule itself, he quickly became authoritarian. The country he started as a democracy soon took the face of an individual’s enterprise. He declared all political parties illegal, revised the constitution to give him the power to detain without trial and declared himself president for life.
This man was the hope of Ghanaians; they called him the deliverer and the emancipator. But how could a man who had done so much for the freedom of his people turn back to be the same man who wants to cage them? What Were his intentions? Was he trying to consolidate power around himself because of greed, or was he trying to be a benevolent dictator??
In this Episode of Afrinometry, we will examine the life of one of Africa's most formidable forces, His Excellency, The Honorable Osagyefo, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
You can watch the full video below