A Soviet postage stamp of Ghanaian leader from 1952 to 1966, Kwame Nkrumah. Nkrumah was a profound supporter of African socialism and pan-Africanism.
BLACK POWER
Ghana Becomes Independent
Pandora’s Box: Black Power [BBC 1992]
Produced by Adam Curtis, this documentary explores the rise and fall of Africa’s first black President Kwame Nkrumah and his commitment to technocratic development as a means of industrialising Ghana. Nkrumah had a vision for Ghana and a vision of a united Africa that as a Pan-Africanist I applaud. However, Nkrumah’s vision for Ghana suffered as he solicited foreign aid and influence to fund the building of the Akosombo (Volta) Dam and other development projects in Ghana. Therefore despite his intentions and public ridicule of imperialism and condemning of foreign private investment, Nkrumah’s development model led Ghana to became trapped by political and economic imperialist forces. Nkrumah’s intention was for the foreign capitalist machine to mobilise Ghana’s workforce and fulfil his socialist agenda of wealth distribution and greater opportunity in Ghana. Yet, the complexities of international politics and Nkrumah’s inability to assert leverage in his final days as President eventually led to bankruptcy and growing poverty in Ghana. Nkrumah’s government was eventually disposed of by a CIA supported coup d’etat in 1966.