Exploding the myth about the Master Tactician

They made inferno out of any literature, books, pamphlets and other innocent scrawls that referred to Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah in good light. They caricatured the greatest political icon Africa continent has ever catapulted to global politics as a despot and power hungry. On several occasions, they sent their mercenaries to assassinate, albeit unsuccessful, Ghana’s only son, who dared to question openly the `status quo’ of world politics and the inherent balance of power. Yes, enemies of Ghana, who saw their interest threatened by the master tactician, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, did everything in their power to destroy both the `person’ and the `memory’ of this political wizard.

The incessant dark forces that were at work, internally and externally, to wipe out Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah and his ideas only succeeded in halting his industrialisation plans for Ghana in midstream, but they failed to kill his ideas. The bomb throwers and arsonists found out to their cost, that an idea could not be suppressed or detonated by weapons of mass destruction. So, they resorted to mass circulation of disinformation and distortion of the truth about the ideals of Dr Nkrumah to bury forever what Osagyefo truly represent.

Ghana’s enemies’ cold perspiration and cost overruns on how to bury the truth about Dr Nkrumah’s political life filled buckets! But, half a century on, those enemies have nothing to show for their effort in the psychic of true Ghanaian patriots, because the truth refused to die. Perhaps now that his pivotal place in Ghana politics has been formally confirmed, by the current President of Ghana, Mr Attah-Mills, the truth would be separated from the fiction. It is timely, therefore, to explode the myth and separate the facts from the fiction about the great visionary, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

The truth about Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah is that he stood for Ghana unity, Africa unity, Unity of the Black race against Global balance of power that favoured the White race; and zero tolerance for weapons of mass destruction in a world that was counting its heavy cost, in terms of human life, after the devastation of two World Wars. The veracity of these assertions can be tested by the perusal of Nkrumah speeches at home and abroad. There are also surviving tapes of his speeches that the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation could be a good source.

Another truth which cannot be submerged by disinformation, repackaging, distortion or slander is the rapid economic infrastructure development in Ghana under Nkrumah’s leadership. Ghana saw the greatest and fastest economic infrastructure development the country had ever experienced, when Osagyefo took the baton from the British. Relative to Dr Nkrumah’s period of government, our colonial masters’ long years in Ghana saw no discernible infrastructure development. The structures the British erected were restricted to those ones, which assisted them in channelling Ghana’s natural resources to Great Britain.

Nkrumah put our colonial masters to shame by demonstrating to the world, what a true son of Ghana could do for mother country with his industrialisation plan. The grand scheme stretched across the entire nation, culminating in the construction of Akosombo Dam that arguably became the jewel-in-the-crown for his industrialisation plan. The Hospitals, colleges, universities, roads, rundown towns like Accra that received a face-lift, the agricultural revolution, etc, that suddenly became part of Ghana landscape are all monumental proof of the great work of Dr Kwame Nkrumah. These structures are real and tangible that cannot be wished away by Nkrumah’s detractors. They speak volume about the vision of Ghana’s first president; especially when consideration is given to the fact the structures have remained the economic backbone for Ghana to the present day.

Many attempts have been made by political foes of the Titan of Africa, to discredit or downplay the importance of his achievements, especially those feats that have stood the test of time. They cite some generous cash handouts from the British to Nkrumah; but never the existence or location of the proof to authenticate their assertion. The supposed cash handout varies according to how economical-with-the-truth the proponents of such theory are predisposed or the source of their assertion. These imaginary figures are designed to weaken the argument that Nkrumah embarked on his developmental plans out of love for Ghana. The presumption is that any fool with money will do the same.

Of course, this is a barmy idea that can only be cooked in the dark recesses of the devious minds of Nkrumah’s enemies. The British, if they were `sitting’ on the massive `dough’ that they were supposed to have handed over to Osagyefo, what prevented them from using that `dough’ to embark on massive infrastructure development earlier in Ghana? Why did the massive development wait until Nkrumah took charge of the reins of government? I challenge anyone who still believes that the British handed Nkrumah substantial cash, to point us to an existing document bearing the signatories of the British and Ghanaian representatives at the changeover from British rule to self rule; that can substantiate their assertion of event.

The truth is the British were strapped for cash after the ruins from Hitler’s war on the Island and didn’t have enough to rebuild their own country, let alone embark on charity work for a surrogate country like Ghana. The great visionary, Osagyefo, mortgaged his industrial plans on Ghana’s untapped wealth! Nkrumah secured loans and technical expertise from international financial institutions and the Developed countries respectively for his industrial plans, which explains the National debt in Feb 1966.

Dr Nkrumah imposing presence, at the helm of government of the first African state to gain independence from her colonial masters, sent tremor down the spine of those who thought little of the intellect of Africans. Dr Nkrumah quickly changed the perception of the black man by those who regarded them as only good for nothing slave dogs! He brought flair, passion, selflessness, resolute, determination to succeed where the colonial masters had failed Africa, intellectual prowess and independence to his reign. His flamboyance at the world stage and his unyielding character not to dance to the tune of powerful external forces made him a marked man for assassination by those who could not reconcile Ghana’s interest to their own interest.

Osagyefo did not rule by dictate as some commentators would want us to believe. He sought approval from parliament for planned projects and major policy shifts he envisaged such as the change from multi-party to one party state. The uniqueness and harsh environmental realities that Nkrumah operated under, necessitated some of the draconian measures that made him appear dictatorial. Documented parliamentary procedures during Nkrumah’s tenure of office exist to back his `rule-by-consensus’ up.

Anybody under constant threat of assassination would surely develop defensive mechanism to combat the threat! His defensive tools were not ideal, but the options were very thin indeed at the time. America and Britain under the respective leadership of George Bush (Jnr) and Tony Blair, when faced with the harsh realities of Terrorists’ threat from the Muslim extremist, used legislative instruments similar to those of Nkrumah to counter the threat. I don’t hear anybody calling them dictators, do you?

It is therefore sad that some ill-informed Ghanaians seek to dishonour the image of the titan of political wizardry in Africa, with off-the-shelf cock and bull stories borrowed from Dr Nkrumah’s sworn enemies, who have spent years unsuccessfully rewriting the great man’s political life.

Nkrumah’s legacy lives on because Ghanaians are still surrounded by functioning structures he erected to carry the country through to its socio-economic and political freedom. The Akosombo Dam, for example, has powered the nation’s economic life through thick and thin since its inception by the great visionary; and continues to be the major source of electricity in Ghana. The benefits from this project have outweighed the cost of capital set up many fold. Hence, only those with impaired vision will talk of squandered national income!

Yesterday, we saw a very welcoming sight when Professor Mills, the current President of Ghana, resurrected the ideals of Dr Nkrumah regarding national unity. Nkrumah is synonymous to Unity! He injected pride into the word `Ghana’ and relegated tribalism into the backburner. President Mills’s speech was the most brilliant speech I have heard him deliver since he took office. Indeed he spoke like a true statesman!

I hope his call for Ghanaians to honour a great son of Africa, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, would be heeded by all true patriots. I expect the President to lead in this `crusade’ by abandoning the political witch hunt of opponents, and the job-for-our-boys mantra to create the necessary political atmosphere for unity. It would be a fitting tribute to the memory of Osagyefo!

Kwaku Frimpong