“As far as I am concerned, I am happy in the knowledge that death can never extinguish the torch which I have lit in Ghana and Africa. Long after I am dead and gone, the light will continue to burn and be borne aloft giving light and guidance to all people”. – Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

Wednesday, 27th April, 2022 marked the 50th Anniversary of the death of indefatigable Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s First President, a Nationalist, a Great Pan Africanist, an intellectual icon with a unique sense of responsibility, a man of vision and foresight, a veritable pillar of truth and moral principles, brave, talented, illustrious and sagacious.

A man of invigorate integrity his personality was vibrant encompassing simplicity and frankness of thought.  The purpose of this article is to eulogise this Great Son of Ghana and Africa.

HIS VISIT TO HANOI ON 21ST FEBRUARY, 1966

Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah left the shores of Ghana on a state visit to Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital ostensibly to broker a peace deal to end the American war in Vietnam.

THE 1966 COUP D’ETAT – OPERATION COLD CHOP On 24th February, 1966, the Ghana Police and the Ghana Armed Forces aided and abetted by the sinister forces of imperialism took advantage of his absence from the country and staged a bloody coup that overthrew his government.

The coup was code-named “Operation Cold Chop”, and it was led by Major Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka.

EXILE, DEATH AND BURIAL

Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah went into exile in Guinea at the invitation of his friend, President Sekon Toure, the President of Guinea who appointed him Honorary Co-President of his country. He stayed in Guinea for six years.

In 1971, felt sick and he was flown to Bucharest, Romania for treatment. He was diagnosed of Prostrate Cancer and on 27th April, 1972, the life of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, like a candle in the wind, was blown off in this beautiful world.

The Government of Ghana, the National Redemption Council (NRC), under the leadership of Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong engaged in a protracted negotiation for his remains to be flown to Ghana. He was buried in his hometown, Nkroful, in the Western Region on 9th July, 1972.

It is significant to note that the casket that contained his body had this inscription boldly on it. “THE GREAT AFRICAN”, an acknowledgment of the fact that he was truly a Great son of Africa.

RE-BURIAL AT THE MAUSOLEUM

On 1st July, 1992 the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) under the distinguished leadership of Fit.Lt. J.J. Rawlings transferred his remains to The Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, a tomb which was constructed to honour his memory.

It serves as a Tourist Destination. Many visitors all over the world visit this tomb for excursion and educational purposes. Incidentally, that place was the Polo Ground where he declared Ghana’s independence from Great Britain on 6th March, 1957 – “At long last the battle has ended and thus Ghana your beloved country is free forever.”

So ended the life of a man who was imbued with the spirit of patriotism and nationalism, a man whose unbridled passion for the socio-economic development of his country was his priority. A philosopher par excellence, an astute political and social thinker, an avid reader, a prolific writer, an unswerving and irrepressible upholder of the principle of truth, social and ethical justice.

Even when he embarked upon his journey to the undiscovered world of mystery through whose sojourn no man returns, he had achieved the enviable record and unequalled distinction of being the first in the entire black world who with indomitable will and iron determination fought doggedly with a bull-dog tenacity of purpose to lead his country to free itself from the shackles of colonialism and imperialism.

NKRUMAH’s FAMOUS POLITICAL DICTUM

Dr. Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah’s political dictum, “The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent” was significant in the political history of Ghana and Africa.

Through his personal involvement and absolute commitment to the African liberation struggle, his charm and charisma, organisational acumen, razor-sharp intellect and quintessential display of oratorical excellence he demonstrated a superior combination of effective, dynamic and inspirational leadership which set in motion a hurricane of nationalism which was described by Harold Macmillan then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as “the wind of change blowing through the continent of Africa”, a nationalism which guided the entire colonial world to gain their own sovereign independence from their colonial masters thus ending the invidious colonial oppression.

After Ghana gained independence in 1957, Guinea followed and gained its independence in 1958. Through his persistent and consistent fight for the emancipation of the African continent, in 1960, 17 more colonies in Africa including Nigeria, and nearly all the French African colonies became sovereign independent nations.

Within four years after independence of his rule, 32 African States which were under the colonial yoke gained their independence. Thus, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s influence became the political anodyne which healed the colonial wound – oppression, suppression and servitude – a colonial system that had done an incalculable harm to the African Continent.

 In fact, it is very important to note that Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s political umbilical cord was inextricably linked to the total liberation of Africa and the political unification of the African Continent. Addressing the United Nation’s General Assembly in New York on 23rd September, 1960, he said, “As long as a single foot of African soil remains under foreign domination the world shall know no peace”.   …to be continued

The writer is a Former Regional Director,                           

Ghana National Service Scheme, Takoradi.

By Ken Gyenfi