In 1919 in the village of Nkroful, Western Region of the country now called Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah was born. One hundred and ten years later (and forty seven years after his death) he is widely regarded not just as the Afrikan of the century but of the millennium. (1)
To commemorate this milestone the Convention of Nkrumaists is holding a conference in London on September 28 at Lewisham Village, Unit 3, Lewisham Retail Park, Laompit Vale, London SE13 7RZ from 9.45am to 6pm. (https://www.nkrumaists.org/):
“Under the theme, The New Wave of Nkrumaism – The Continuing Relevance of Nkrumaism, the conference is the sixth in a series of conferences that aim to galvanise ‘old soldiers of the cause with the young and exuberant crusaders who will carry the torch of Nkrumaist transformational principles and vision upward and forward to a glorious future for all Africans.’
According to the secretary of the Convention, Kofi Roberts, ‘the group has determined that the vision and the political doctrine, propounded by Ghana’s first president, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, offers the most promise for progressive, transformational changes that will raise the standards of living and benefits for all citizens,’
Speakers at the conference include Ade Sawyerr, a business consultant, Dr Adotey Bing-Pappoe of the University of Greenwich, Tetteh Kofi, a media consultant and Rev. Herman Asafo-Agyei.” (2)
The background to the conference stem from early 2015 when a group of Ghanaian professionals, based in the USA:
“Decided they had seen and heard enough about the needless sufferings of the masses of Ghana and Africa as a whole. They therefore decided to form an action group to advocate social and economic justice for all.
So, on the first Sunday of May 2015 the Concerned Nkrumaists of North America (CN-NA) was launched. Since then the seven initial core members of the group conference by phone each week to discuss ways and means of actualising their mission goals of helping to establish social and economic justice for all through progressive interventions.
CN-NA realised that the promulgation of such Nkrumaist progressive agenda will essentially require the leadership of a well oriented Nkrumaist political organisation. It further realised that the established Nkrumaist groups, as a family, was fragmented and woefully plagued by confusion, sentimental and self-serving tendencies and by inwardness and therefore not capable of well-intentioned initiatives.
CN-NA consequently decided and set out to intervene and unite the various groups to make the Nkrumaist tradition, once again, a contending and highly formidable political organisation in Ghana and Africa.
To this end, in early 2016, CN-NA commissioned a team to bring together the more recognised Nkrumaist groups i.e. the PPP, CPP and PNC for face-to-face negotiations with the goal of reunification / amalgamation of sort.
After several meetings, the mission fell just short of achieving the much coveted goal of reaching a unifying accord. CN-NA remain undaunted, however, and even more resolute to seek out and bring Nkrumaist groups together, enough to form the necessary critical mass for mandated progressive politics that may redeem the suffering masses of Ghana and Africa.
Thus CN-NA has merely changed tactics and has embarked on organising conferences around the world. CN-NA is organising such conferences with the hope that it will draw attention to its clarion calls and for sowing the seeds for the formation of local / regional chapters of Nkrumaists.
In April 2017 CN-NA held its first conference at the Dubois Centre in Accra, Ghana. In September of same year it held a conference at Mt. Crogan, South Carolina, USA and in September the following year the conference was at University of Ghana, in Accra.
In April, 2019 the group changed its name to Convention of Nkrumaists and held its 5th conference in Toronto, Canada. The conference in London on September 28 is the 6th in the series and it is hoped to be a watershed event, bringing together old soldiers of the cause with the young and exuberant crusaders who will carry the torch of Nkrumaist transformational principles and vision upward and forward to a glorious future for all Africans.” (3)
The emphasis on the resurgence of Nkrumaism is not new. A decade ago, on the occasion of the Osagyefo’s centenary Dr Ama Biney, then of the Pan-African Development Education and Advocacy Programme, writing in The Journal of Pan African Studies (vol.2, no.3, March 2008), contended that:
“There is no doubt that there has been a resurgence in Pan-Africanist thinking, policies and interests on the African continent since Nkrumah’s death and it is Nkrumah’s ideas and concept of continental unity that continues to motivate Africans within Africa and in the Diaspora.” (4)
Similarly, the late, great Pan-Afrikainst organiser Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, before his untimely death asserted:
“It is clear to everybody today that Pan-Africanism is not a dream anymore but a precondition for the survival of Africa and Africans in the face of new rampaging and rapacious exploitation, packaged as globalisation. Those who had accused Nkrumah of being too impatient had the honesty to admit in public that they were wrong and regretted that they were not as radical as Nkrumah had been. Africa could have been saved the wasted decades.” (5)
However, more recently, Pan-Afrrikanism has been increasingly assailed from within. For example, Dr Kehinde Andrews, Associate Professor of Sociology at Birmingham City University in the epilogue of his 2018 book, Back To Black: Retelling Black Black Radicalism for the 21st Century analyses the philosophy from what he regards as Du Boisian paternalism through to the compromises that forged the Organisation of African Unity that were gifted to its successor the African Union. Dr Andrews asserts that Pan-Africanism is neo-colonial in essence but the ideology has benefitted from its association with other forms of radicalism but classing these as Pan-Africanism does them a disservice. He concludes:
“I have always been invested in Pan-Africanism as the solution to Black Struggle. That the opposite was true was a difficult but necessary realisation.” (6)
Other critics of Pan-Africanism include Yvette Carnell, co-founder of the social media phenomenon #ADOS (American Descendants Of Slaves):
“Pan-Africanism really still lives within us as kind of a self-esteem booster, rather than any kind of real political exchange or any real political ideology… We have this kind of relationship with America that causes some people to say they don’t have a country. No, you have a country. We just have a country that is abdicating our responsibility to us, but we still have a country … We’re American. We’re not Pan-African. We’re not African. We’re American. We’re Black American descendants of slaves. We are as American, if not more American, than anybody else” (7)
Yet, it is clear that within the context of a “new scramble for Afrika,” (8) a coherent strategy is needed to resist the onslaught. A year before his 1966 CIA ordained ouster, (9) Kwame Nkrumah published Neo-Colonialism The Last Stage of Imperialism. In it he argued that the neo-colonial state has all the outward trappings on international sovereignty but that its “economic system and thus its political policy is directed from outside.” (10) He asserted that Afrikan unity would destroy Neo-Colonialism:
“The only effective way to challenge this economic empire and to recover possession of our heritage is for us to act on a Pan-African basis, through a union government.” (11)
While this may be the case, the extent to neo-colonialism still exists on the continent needs to be confronted. Every progressive leader since the other throw of Nkrumah from Cabral to Sankara had met a premature end. More recent resistance in form of Zimbabwe’s land reclamation programme as been met a crippling global economic onslaught (aided by an insidious propaganda war). (12) These same strategies were deployed against Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah in his da, leading many to act/agree to interventions against out best interests. (13)
So the challenge is finding means to fortify Afrika and Afrikans against the relentless material and psychological attacks, galvanising our people, particularly our young in the process.
(1) Meserette Kentake (21/09/15) The Right Honorable Kwame Nkrumah: Man of the Millennium. https://kentakepage.com/the-right-honorable-kwame-nkrumah-man-of-the-millennium/
(2) Africa Briefing Editorial Staff (15/09/19) Pan-Nkrumaists to hold convention in London. https://africabriefing.org/2019/09/pan-nkrumaists-to-hold-convention-in-london/
(3) Ibid.
(4) Ama Biney (25/05/11) Kwame Nkrumah’s undying legacy. https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/Kwame-Nkrumah-s-undying-legacy-208919#
(5) Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem (28/02/06) Nkrumah’s legacy 40 years after the coup. https://www.pambazuka.org/pan-africanism/nkrumah%E2%80%99s-legacy-40-years-after-coup
(6) Kehinde Andrews (2018) Back To Black: Retelling Black Black Radicalism for the 21st Century. Zed Books. p. 296
(7) Bryan 18X Crawford (27/05/19) ADOS Its origins, troublesome ties and fears it’s dividing Black folk in the fight for reparations. https://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/ADOS-Its-origins-troublesome-ties-and-fears-it-s-dividing-Black-folk-in-the-fight-for-reparations.shtml
(8) Ahmed H Adam (27/03/18) Are we witnessing a ‘new scramble for Africa’? https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/witnessing-scramble-africa-180324124416405.html
(9) Charles Quist-Adade (02/03/16) The coup that set Ghana and Africa 50 years back. https://www.pambazuka.org/governance/coup-set-ghana-and-africa-50-years-back
(10) Kwame Nkrumah (1965) Neo-Colonialism The Last Stage of Imperialism. International Publishers. p. ix
(11) Nkrumah. p. 259
(12) Olatunji Heru (2008) Land Or Democracy? Truth Has Become The First Casualty In The Battle For Zimbabwe: The Whirlwind, Edition 6, p. 20-1
(13) Olatunji Heru (2010) Rightful Heir? The Whirlwind, Edition 8, p. 21
we ask the question:
Is there a new wave of Nkrumaism?
1) What is Nkrumaism?
2) How are young people engaging in Nkrumaism?
3) Is Pan-Africanism “a precondition for the survival of Africa and Africans”?
4) Or is it just “a self-esteem booster” but not a “solution to Black Struggle”?
5) To what extent is neo- colonialism still a factor in Afrika?
6) Is an Afrikan union government viable?
Our Special Guest:
Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and UNIA-ACL Ambassador for the UK and national co-Chair of the interim National Afrikan People’s Parliament. Bro. Ldr is a renowned Afrikan-Centered Education Consultant and educator and is a veteran activist of over 30 years standing. He is a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An African-Centred Guide To Excellence.
Eld. Emmanuel Amevor: if a former Young Pioneer in Kwame Nkrumah’s Ghana and Ex-CEO of the Centerprise Trust Ltd. He is also the ounder of Word Power, International Black literature Festival and Book Fair.
Dr. Kwame Osei: is a well-travelled Afrikan Historian, Writer, Political Commentator and Entrepreneur that has been on study tours to Kemet, Australia and India. He has written over 100 articles that have appeared in a range of international publications and outlets including BBC, Black Britain, New African Magazine, as well Ghanaian journals The Daily Graphic, The Catalyst and Public Agenda.