Forward Ever, Backward Never

Today we visited the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. So this blog will be about Kwame Nkrumah’s role in Ghana’s history. Nkrumah is a vital historical figure in Ghanaian and African history. He was Ghana’s first President and one of the “Big Six” who laid the groundwork for Ghanaian Independence from England.

Before independence Ghana was known as the Gold Coast, because of the gold sought by colonizers. Nkrumah argued that this name illustrated the colonizers primary concern, which were the natural resources found in the land and represented the disregard for the people of that land and their development. He stated that “We take pride in the name of Ghana, not out of romanticism, but as an inspiration for the future. It is right and proper that we should know about our past. For just as the future emerges from the present, so has the present emerged from the past. Nor need we be ashamed of our past.” He was very proud of his African/Ghanaian heritage and was often wearing traditional clothing when visiting foreign leaders.

Nkrumah was imprisoned by the British for subversion and while imprisoned was elected Ghana’s first Prime Minister and eventually lead the nation to independence and was elected their president. Ghana became the first West African nation to gain independence on March 6^th, 1957. During his “midnight speech” he proclaimed Ghana “Free forever” and stated that “Our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent.”

Nkrumah was a well known Pan-Africanists and argued that Africa “must unite in order to achieve the full liberation of our continent.” He saw Ghanaian independence as a part of a larger changing world. He expressed his viewpoint by stating “I have never regarded the struggle for the Independence of the Gold Coast as an isolated objective but always as part of a general world historical pattern.” He was often criticized for this viewpoint and Ghanaians were not happy that he traveled the world to further the Pan-African movement, on their dime. There was also criticism that he ruled as a dictator and wanted all the power for himself. There were two (‘62 and ‘64) assassination attempts made during his time as president.

In February of 1966, while Nkrumah was on a trip to North Vietnam, his government was overthrown in a military coup. It is believed the coup was supported by the CIA, who lured Nkrumah to Vietnam in order to get him out of the country. Nkrumah fled to Guinea, where he served as co-president. He never returned to Ghana but continued to push for African unity. He died in Bucharest, Romania, where he was undergoing treatment for cancer, at the age of 62.

Here are some pictures and quotes from the Memorial Park:

"Forward Ever, Backward Never"

“We face neither East nor West, we face forward.”

(This was in reference to his ties to communist countries.)

“No man is born a criminal; society makes him so, and the only way to change things is to change the social conditions.”

“A revolutionary fails only if he surrenders.”

“Capitalism is but the gentlemen’s method of slavery.”

“Any compromise over principle is the same as the abandonment of it.”

In the left of this picture (very very small) you can see the headless statue of Nkrumah which was vandalized during the coup in 1966.The head has been recovered but the current government has decided not to display it next to the statue.