Kwame Nkrumah: his greatest legacy

I am half Ga, half Akim. My husband is part Ga and part Akuapim. Among my friends and family, one is part Ewe, part Fanti and part Ga, one is part Akuapim and part Ga and another is part Akim and part Ashanti and there’s a whole mixture of Ga, Krobo, Fanti, Akim, Nzema and Hausa. Speaking to other African nationals I realize that this tribal mixing is very unusual outside Ghana.

So what is Nkrumah’s greatest legacy? In my opinion it is breaking our tribal barriers. In his quest for panafricanism, he had to first break tribal barriers before breaking national distinctions. By transferring civil servants to places in the country that they had no tribal link to, e.g. sending an Ashanti to Accra, a Ga to Koforidua and a Fanti to Tamale, tribal interaction was forced on Ghanaians. A young Fanti who’d been stationed in Tamale for four years would sooner or later look for a spouse and marry out of his tribe.

In addition, the system of boarding schools meant that at an early age, pupils would learn not to discriminate along tribal lines, after all a student at one of Ghana’s boarding schools, e.g. Aburi or Mfanstipim would easily find that at least three other tribes were represented in his class. At reaching university age, most pupils would have a close friend or girlfriend/boyfriend of a different tribe and many would have learnt more than a few phrases in a language other than their own tribe’s.

In a time when Ghana stands happily among few of the African countries that has not experienced a civil war, as so many others have in the past and present, we must be eternally grateful to Osagyefo for this legacy.

(Picture from my great-aunt's album. Like Abena, I have so many questions to ask about it, but now I can't stop wondering, is there a picture of Kwame Nkurmah in every family album?)

And although it seems some insist on trying to re-introduce tribalism, I dare say it’ll be hard to start a tribal conflict here. After all, if there’s a war between Gas and Akans, which side do I stand on? My situation is not unique, look around you and you’ll find that most of those around you belong to more than one tribe.

For that, Kwame Nkrumah, we thank you.

Kwame Nkrumah: Nkrumah never dies!

Yesterday I asked 'what exactly are we celebrating this coming week?' We have our Independence day, Republic day, etc. so how come we’re also celebrating the birthday of a man who’s been dead for 37 years? My conclusion is that that in itself shows the greatness of the man?!

Those alive during Nkrumah’s time tell me of his charisma and popularity. This is a man who was more of a celebrity than a head of State.
“Kwame Nkrumah - show boy”, “I want to see Kwame Nkrumah – show boy!” the Makola women would chant when they saw him in person, heard his speeches, or at any time they felt like it.

My older family members inform me that when Nkrumah spoke on the radio, people would rush to hear and there would be complete silence whilst he was on air. They often remember getting goosebumps as his eloquence pierced through the airwaves and caught the attention of each person in the listening crowds.

(picture borrowed from panafricanperspective)

The Young Pioneers, Nkrumah’s youth supporters (see Poet's excellent definition of them here, would cheer “Nkrumah never dies!”. This later became an everyday expression and it seems, is still true today, Nkrumah never dies!

As I write, I am surprisingly reminded of this fact. How? Microsoft Word spell-check recognizes Nkrumah in its vocabulary!

Kwame Nkrumah: the celebrations begin

"While the rest of the world has been improving technology, Ghana has been improving the quality of man's humanity to man."
Maya Angelou

A quote by one of my favourite persons, from her time in Kwame Nkrumah's Ghana. Was she right? Partly yes, as I believe Ghana's legacy today is still the kindness and empathy of its people. However the quote may somewhat take away focus from the many, many other achievements of Kwame Nkrumah as we approach what would have been his 100th birthday.

As we flew in to Accra early Friday morning, I saw my wonderful, well-planned Tema and the Accra-Tema motorway beneath me, both products of Nkrumah's work. All over Accra, we are reminded of this great man's succesful struggle for Ghana's freedom and his vision for the future of Ghana.


Unfortunately, much of the good work has been undone and it'll take us a long way to retrace our steps and get back on track. However, Ghana is still considered a trailblazer, leading the way for other African countries and in the week that he would have turned 100, the fact that we acknowledge and appreciate the positive aspects of Nkrumah's regime, is in itself a step in the right direction.

Are you celebrating and if so, how? I for one am trying to find a babysitter so I can make use of these tickets.

What can I say, it's good to be back home.