First President of Ghana, Osaagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
Till today, many Ghanaian historians, academicians, scholars, and veteran journalists, argue that if Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana, had stayed in office a bit longer, the country would have been far better than now. I strongly believe that too.
This article will highlight some historical facts which reveal that the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah was an event his enemies were happy about but as a matter of fact, his removal from office has adversely affected Ghana today, just as colonialism has affected the entire African foundation.
"How long shall they insult, disrespect our fathers of independence and political prophets, while we sit aside and look?" Tribute to Bob Marley, part of his lyrics I borrowed from ‘Redemption Song.’
The truth can never be swept under the carpet because it’s a perpetual light that conquers all darkness.
Apart from leading the country to attain independence, his ideology and plans to transform the entire African continent, made him the most feared African leader, creating deceitful foreign enemies against him.
Within a relatively short period, after Ghana attained its independence, Kwame Nkrumah embarked on serious developmental projects, such as the Adomi bridge, Tema harbour, The Akosombo dam, Peduase Lodge, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, the Tema motorway.
He also set up many industries and factories without unemployment problems in Ghana. His projects for decades remain unparalleled to any achievement of a Ghanaian leader until such experience was realized under the administration of the leader of the NDC political party, John Dramani Mahama.
Despite the achievements of Kwame Nkrumah, many tribalistic and politically divided Ghanaians, never speak well of him. He was accused of being a dictator and tyrannical but we have seen the worst under the administration of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Osagyefo Nkrumah was also accused of spending the state's money, yet no government has incurred such a huge debt on Ghana than the government of Nana Akufo-Addo.
Why was Nkrumah removed from office by a coup financed by the American government's CIA? The fact is the Western European countries and the US government were worried about their political and economic strength after Ghana's independence.
They knew Nkrumah will be a stumbling block on their path to take full control over the continent's vast mineral resources, since he wasn't concentrating on the progress of Ghana alone but the entire African continent.
This provoked the West and the US governments, especially when Nkrumah helped Sekou Touré, for Guinea to break free from France and later helped Patrice Lumumba of Congo, to break free from Belgium, which at that time, Belgium had taken Congo as its personal property.
Nkrumah knew foreign governments were plotting against him. He accused the CIA of numerous crises and regressions in the third world and Eastern Europe.
A leader calling for a struggle against imperialism, the creation of a pan-African organization, and an international non-aligned movement during the Cold War will definitely be a threat to the developed world.
The American and the Belgium government, succeeded in killing Patrice Lumumba of Congo, while Nkrumah was taken from office while on an official visit to China.
Decades after Belgium lost its colony -Congo, in Africa, the country hasn't recovered till now. As a punishment to the Ghanaian government for Nkrumah’s interference in Congo's politics, the Belgium government denied Ghana its embassy till today.
Kwame Nkrumah spent his last days in exile in Conakry, Guinea, and died in Bucharest Romania, when he was sick.
Nkrumah spoke about the bad intentions of Western Europe and American governments on Africa. The only disease ravaging the continent before and after the overthrow of his government is malaria, which still remains a threat in Africa.
It wasn’t surprising that years after colonialism and the fall of Apartheid, the African continent started experiencing strange diseases such as HIV, Aids, Lassa fever, Ebola, nodding disease, tuberculosis, etc.
Man-made diseases were inflicted on innocent Africans, while deceptive wicked bad scientists call them strange diseases but God is the only great one that will judge them.
As Ghanaians, if we are truly sincere to ourselves, we can accept the fact that not enough great developments have taken place in Ghana under successive governments after Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
This is one of the reasons, I strongly believe that if Nkrumah had stayed in office a little longer, Ghana would have been better than today. This is my opinion, yours are welcomed.
