Stepping into the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park on a sunny Ghana morning, I was well aware I was treading on hallowed ground.
US schools don’t teach about Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s founding father and visionary, not even during Black History Month. Folks in Ghana say they grow up hearing about Nkrumah as this big-shot, fearless political leader who led Ghana to independence. But the textbooks kind of skim over the insanely tense tightrope he had to walk with countries like the USA.
Here was a guy who used to be an assistant Lecturer at Lincoln University now getting unwanted attention from the CIA because he wouldn’t play puppet to Western Economic powers.
Ironically, it was his ambition for Ghana’s industrialization, his unwavering notion of African identity, and most importantly, his open-handed assistance to other African countries in their independence struggles that painted a target on his back. He wasn’t just a leader; he was the flickering flame igniting the African spirit, a force the West deemed a threat. I’m reminded of the “Malcolm X” movie quote “That’s too much power for one man to have.”
For a long time, people thought Nkrumah was being paranoid when he spoke about the plots to remove him from power… until documents came to light proving him right. Yes, American and British intelligence had allegedly been plotting to remove him way back in 1961 — a full five years before they managed to boot him out.
My visit was a massive eye-opener. The political chess games of the past make you think about the stories behind the headlines, and about the guts it takes to stand up for what you believe in, especially when the superpowers decide you’re a bit too independent.
Cruising out of that place, I couldn’t help but feel a mix of admiration and a kind of weird, reflective mood about the whole thing.
The Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, an incredible journey into the heart of Ghana’s modern identity and a masterclass on the cost of freedom and the crazy dynamics of international politics. Damn!
