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Nkrumah’s 100th birthday
A wake-up call for a new generation
Absalom Mutere
CELEBRATIONS in Ghana of Kwame Nkrumah’s birthday offered a
sobering reminder of how far Africa has come.
Ghanaians visibly needed this day just as they needed the honour
in July of being the only sub-Saharan African country to be
visited by the first African-American President of the United
States with his message, ‘Yes we can!’, Young Ghanaians needed
both experiences.
Unfortunately, too many do not make the connection between
Nkrumah’s legacy and the out-standing business of liberating
Africa from its crippling state of dependency. In their minds,
what drove Nkrumah in 20th century reality has no bearing on
today’s reality.
The date 1884 which saw the partitioning of Africa is of little
significance to those who say: ‘that was then, this is now.’ It
was a preoccupation of Nkrumah.
Writing in his book, Neo-colonialism, the last stage of
imperialism, he made it known that Africa’s struggle against
western domination did not end with independence.
In their neo-colonial form, they have hounded Africa’s effort to
develop throughout the 20th century. However, getting the next
generation of leaders to understand that imperialism,
colonialism and neo-colonialism are not just events of the past
poses a challenge. Discussing with them the nature of the
dialectic that is with us today, is too often an exercise in
futility.
The late Tanzanian President, Julius Nyerere, was a dedicated
supporter of Nkrumah. Before he passed away, he said, ‘This is
my plea to the new generation of African leaders and African
peoples: Work for unity with the firm conviction that without
unity, there is no future for Africa. That is, of course, if we
still want a place in the sun.”
He added , “A new generation of self-respecting Africans should
spit in the face of anybody who suggests that our continent
should remain divided and fossilised in the shame of
colonialism, in order to satisfy the national pride of our
former colonial masters.”
Nyerere’s challenge today complements the one Nkrumah set by
example and through his writings. The question is whether young
Ghanaians can rise to the plate. The current global economic
crisis offers an opportunity, especially for those who
understand that it is part of the ongoing dialectic that Nkrumah
challenged.
They may also need to imagine the crisis as being neither
financial as it is billed, nor the result of myriad systemic
disruptions. Rather says Samir Amin in an article entitled,
“Emerging from the crisis of capitalism”, it derives from
imperialist capitalism which is controlled by global oligopolies
being challenged by the marginalized. “While global powers seek
to its pre-crisis state, the current crisis in fact allows us to
conceive of a ‘possible integrated front’ involving all the
social and political forces which collectively represent the
victims of the exclusive power of the oligopolies”, Amin
contends.
Challenging historical capitalism represents the core element in
the emancipation of the oppressed, a challenge that will only be
met when the peoples of the global South and North struggle
together, and without which capitalism will ultimately be
overtaken by the destruction of civilization, and perhaps even
life on our planet, Amin concludes.
Amin’s message is no different from Nkrumah’s. In his day,
Nkrumah brought the same forces together under a non-aligned
movement which, during the Cold War asserted, “we are neither
East nor West, we are moving forward’. A 1.2 billion strong
African Diaspora; an African-American President of the world’s
most powerful nation; and exploited workers of the world are all
on hand to support what could be seen as this phase of the
liberation struggle. The next generation would do justice to
Nkrumah’s efforts by engaging in the discourse aggressively.
September 22, 2010 could serve as a benchmark for assessing
progress. The World Cup Soccer Tournament scheduled for South
Africa in July 2010 offers a global platform for spreading the
word. The symbolism of this year’s celebrations would be
enriched by those who are willing to take up the torch and run.
Amnesia has no place in this equation. Hopeful sounds were heard
during the September 21 celebrations. They came specifically via
a message from a UK-based youth group who lamented the fact that
African countries were in their divided states begging for aid
from former colonial masters instead of demanding that their
wealth be returned to rightful owners.
They pledged to form Pan African chapters around the continent
and in the Diaspora which would challenge this global order and
unite a new generation of African leaders who recognised that
changing things around meant, of necessity, working together.
Their pledge promises to keep hope and Nkrumah’s legacy alive.
The writer is the Dean, Journalism and Communication, Africa
University College of Communication (AUCC)
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