The first African leader who brought independence to his country: Who is Kwame Nkrumah?

African politician is known for his fight against imperialism. He is the first prime minister and head of state of Ghana.

Educated in the USA for several years, Nkrumah adopted socialist principles in his political work.

One of the leaders and co-founders of the Non-Aligned Movement, Nkrumah was among the pioneers of the national movement on the Continent.

Before gaining independence, Ghana was called the 'golden coast'.

Ghana is the local translation of the British name.

Ghana's experience with Nkrumah was to be ideal in independent Africa.

But administrative corruption, bribery, and nepotism soon destroyed Africa's first democratic experience.

Accra is one of the most beautiful places in Africa. The government chose a building built by Danish slave traders in 1661 as its seat after the country gained independence.

First the Portuguese and then the Danes came and occupied this beautiful white castle.

When the country came under the authority of the British, they converted the castle into a sanatorium.

This place has become the administrative center since 1900.

When Kwame Nkrumah began his political career, he lived in Accra in a house loaned by a wealthy photographer friend.

When he bought his first black Cadillac, rumors surfaced that it was given to him in exchange for serving some suspicious people.

Nkrumah denied this and said he borrowed money to buy the car. But in the last days of his term, his wife was known to sleep in a bed made of gold.

Nkrumah was born in 1909 in a small village near the borders of the former French colony of the Ivory Coast.

Because he was born on Saturday, he was given the local name Kwame, which means this.

He received his first education from missionaries and became a teacher at the age of 18.

One of his uncles sent him to Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.

There he became president of the Association of African Students in the USA and Canada.

Nkrumah also spent several years at universities in London after the USA. When he returned and entered politics, he was elected prime minister.

Nkrumah proclaimed the establishment of the Republic of Ghana in 1960. He also declared himself president for the rest of his life.

However, in 1966, he left office in a military coup while he was visiting Beijing.

Crowds of thousands welcomed the event.

The first African leader to bring independence to his country died in 1972 after a long illness and exile.

Some details from his life

He was brought up as a Catholic. After graduating from Achimota College in 1930, he taught with Elmina at Catholic schools in Axim and a theological school. While considering becoming a priest, he turned to politics under the influence of Nnamdi Azikiwe and other pro-independence leaders. He went to the USA and studied at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania between 1935-39; He also did graduate studies at the universities of Lincoln and Pennsylvania. He was influenced by socialist writers, especially Marx and Lenin, and by Marcus Garvey, who aimed to unite all Blacks of the world. At the time, he described himself as "a non-sectarian Christian and a Marxist socialist". Meanwhile, he actively participated in political activities, reorganized the African Students' Union, and assumed the presidency. He went to England in 1945 and started to study at the London School of Economics and Political Science. There he became vice president of the West African Students' Union and leader of the "Environment" group, an experimental group for building revolutionary action cells. He published his first book, Towards Colonial Freedom, in 1947.

With a referendum in 1960, Ghana became an independent republic and Nkrumah became the head of state with broad legislative and executive powers. But many sectors of the economy were controlled by foreign companies. The gradual deterioration of the economic situation led to a general strike in September 1961. After that, Nkrumah turned to tighter political control and sought help from socialist countries.

After the failed assassination attempt he faced in Kulugungu in August 1962, he largely withdrew from public life, his personality gradually turned into a cult, and his security organization was strengthened. In early 1964, Ghana has proclaimed a one-party state, and Nkrumah was proclaimed both party and head of state for life. As power was concentrated in the hands of party officials, Nkrumah's efforts focused on the ideological education of a new generation of political activists. Meanwhile, Nkrumah embarked on a search for new ways to connect the masses to the party, such as "democratic centralism" and the representation of all major interest groups in parliament.