Afrika Speaks with Alkebu-Lan teams up with The Sista Shanice Show (https://www.youtube.com/c/TheSistaShaniceShow) to present a live simulcast also streaming on YouTube and Zoom as part of the series of remembrance events honouring 50 Years since the passing of Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah (21/09/21 – 27/04/72).
As such we want listeners to have an intimate feel and understanding of what Dr. Nkrumah, his life, thought and praxis mean to the Afrikan world. The breathtaking expanse of his impact on the second-half of the Twentieth Century which changed the geopolitics of the European world order as it affected the fate of colonial territories in Afrika and the Caribbean and the human rights and civil liberties of Afrikans in the United States, Canada and Europe.
It is the case that independent Ghana was the fulcrum point of the fight to free the rest of the Motherland from colonial domination under the leadership of Dr. Nkrumah while at the same time engaged in the task of nation building and decolonisation in Ghana through the Convention People’s Party (CPP).
However, the Osgayefo famously said that “neo-colonialism is the last stage imperialism.” 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.” (1) This outside influence was tragically brought home in 1966 when the CIA fomented a coup using a treacherous coterie of military and police personnel laughably called the Nation Liberation Council brought “doom” to much of the continent. (2)
Nkrumah asserted that ultimately 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.” (3)
Attempts to establish sovereignty have met with staunch opposition from the Euro-USA axis, evidenced by their responses to Sankara’s Burkino Faso, Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, Magufuli’s Tanzania and their current manoeuvres in the horn of Afrika. (4) We also cannot forget that the USA has a staggering thirty military bases stretching from one side of Afrika to the other. (5) The flipside to sovereignty is submission and we see this currently with the disgraceful capitulation of Rwanda to effectively manage a UK penal institution on its own soil (an offer that Jamaica had the sense to reject a few years ago). (6)
How does this chime with the vision of Kwame Nkrumah? It does not project a sense of being free and being free from domination and humiliation. It doesn’t stir up “the Nkrumah” in the us and awaken us to the urgency of decolonisation in all areas of national life, international relations, trade and commerce to continue the task of humanising the world as Nkrumah gave his life for. So if the current climate clearly doesn’t do this then what will?
What will make us see the urgency of decolonising every aspect of our lives (and our children’s lives) from our governments at home to the national curriculum and public spaces abroad. How can we restore our legacy as a sovereign people, garnering the respect of the world wherever we may be? It was said that in his day Nkrumah “had given pride and self-respect, not only to Ghana, but to the whole of Africa and to black people the world over.” (7)
In sum, Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah went some way to realising that Garveyite maxim “a strong man (or woman) is strong everywhere.” (8) Unfortunately, the pre-requisite unity or even union government has not come to pass. This must be the main task facing the Afrikan world right now.
(10) Kwame Nkrumah (1965) Neo-Colonialism The Last Stage of Imperialism. International Publishers. p. ix
(2) Charles Quist-Adade (24/02/21) How Did a Fateful CIA Coup—Executed 55 Years Ago this February 24—Doom Much of Sub-Saharan Africa? https://covertactionmagazine.com/2021/02/24/how-did-a-fateful-cia-coup-executed-55-years-ago-this-february-24-doom-much-of-sub-saharan-africa/
(3) Nkrumah. p. 259.
(4) Ann Garrison (02/02/22) Eritrea and the Tripartite Alliance in the Horn of Africa https://www.blackagendareport.com/eritrea-and-tripartite-alliance-horn-africa/
(5) Nick Turse (27/02/20) Pentagon’s own map of U.S. bases in Africa contradicts its claim of “light” footprint. https://theintercept.com/2020/02/27/africa-us-military-bases-africom/
(6) Diane Taylor (16/04/22) Refugee who fled torture in Rwanda attacks UK asylum deal https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/apr/16/refugee-who-fled-torture-in-rwanda-attacks-uk-asylum-deal; Alecia Smith (14/01/17) Gov’t Turns Down UK Offer of New Maximum-Security Prison. https://jis.gov.jm/govt-turns-uk-offer-new-maximum-security-prison/
(7) Beatriz Mate-Kodjo (2011) Kwame Nkrumah: Harbinger of African Independence https://annsvg.com/index.php/2019/03/23/plain-talk-by-jomo-sanga-thomas-a-reparationist-response-to-prince-charles-visit/
(8) Garvey’s Voice (06/08/20) Hon. Marcus Mosiah Garvey’s Famous Quotes. https://www.unia-aclgovernment.com/hon-marcus-mosiah-garveys-famous-quotes/
we ask the question:
Do we have unsolved colonial trauma?
1) What was the impact of Ghana’s independence on the Afrikan world?
2) How did the 1966 coup affect Afrika’s development?
3) Why has neo-colonialism been so hard to overcome?
4) What strategies can we employ to overcome it now?
Our Special Guests:
Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and an Afrikan-Centred Education Consultant. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of almost 40 years standing, a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An African-Centred Approach To Excellence.
Bro. Ebusuabaatan Joojo Hughes: was a member Kwame Nkrumah’s Young Pioneer Movement whose father oversaw the personal security of The Osagyefo at the seat of government.
Sis. Dr. Wendy Akua Addae: is a cognitive, developmental and research psychologist currently working as a senior business analyst in adult social care.
Our Special Guest Co-Host:
Sis. Shanice Lindsay: is the founder and host of the Sista Shanice Show YouTube channel. She is also an entrepreneur and economic development strategist. Sis. Shanice is an independent film maker and hosts the Afrikan Empowerment Zone show every Wednesday from 10am to 1pm and the Community Talk Show on from 10am to 1pm alternate Saturdays on Galaxy Radio.