Today in History: African of the millennium, Kwame Nkrumah

Today in History: African of the millennium, Kwame Nkrumah

Voted as African of the millennium in 1999, little more can be added to the Nkrumah story that has not been said already.

He is more than just an icon to the Pan-African movement. He is a goal to be pursued, all the values he stood for and his vision for the African continent are a pressing need that should guide state leaders of the continent.

As we celebrate the anniversary of his birth, the man’s warning to leaders on the continent should they fail to unite are what fill my reflections.

The balkanisation Nkrumah warned of in his book Africa Must Unite is here with us and sadly, only mere cosmetic approaches are being applied to solve the problem for political reasons. Ghana and Nigeria are still at a standoff as to how they are going to resolve the trade row; a visit from the leadership of the Nigeria House of Representatives to the Ghanaian Parliamentary leadership has done little to bring an end to the incessant attacks on Nigerian traders in Ghana.

Nigeria’s land border to Benin remain closed to goods inflow and outflow, one of the greatest sufferers of the policy, Ghanaian traders.

The blatant neo-colonialism spreading throughout the land is more disheartening. Takeover of mining sites, oil fields and even state institutions by China, France, the USA and other big powers is just a drop in the ocean, far more disastrous than direct colonialism, as the Osagyefo predicted.

All these besides, the inherent greed and lust for power that has engulfed the most incompetent of leaders on the continent is just annoying, simply put.

The likes of Alpha Conde and Faure Gnassingbe who all arbitrarily amended their respective countries’ constitutions to perpetuate their stay in power jetting to Ghana on the call of Nana Akufo-Addo, newly elected Chairman of a discredited ECOWAS to force Mali coup-makers who ousted an incompetent president who lost his popularity to hand over power in a day is laughable at best.

The desire to appease foreign powers outside the continent is evident.

Nkrumah never dies, his followers say. His belief that Africa Must Unite in a bid to protect itself from balkanisation and neo-colonialism while pursuing a common goal still lives on.

The new scramble for Africa reaffirms Nkrumah’s call for an African identity. The mindset of the African must be retuned to look for solutions within; if greed is set aside, it would be possible.

It is a dream bigger than the man himself, for “The forces that unite us are intrinsic and greater than the superimposed influences that keep us apart” – Africa Must Unite.

Happy Birthday, Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah

Source - Oswald Azumah