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Let me pay a every important tribute to the man Dr.Kwame Nkrumah, he was a man who was ahead of his time, when the Russian-Ukrainian war broke, Ghana was one of the first “kiddie” African Countries that was quick to condemn Russia this raised a very critical question of what Ghana’s Foreign Policy direction really is and I’m sure Nkrumah was turning in his grave.
You see Nkrumah adopted a foreign policy of positive non-alignment with the West and the East, he said, Ghana is ready to work with any Country that is willing and ready to work with Ghana and help the nation achieve its vision but it cannot be permanently aligned to the East nor the West but only aligned to its interest!!
This Foreign Policy direction came to bear when Nkrumah wanted to build the Akosombo dam and provide nationwide electricity supply to the new nation Ghana, he approached the Americans( representing the Western Allies) who were playing games with Nkrumah, tired of their games Nkrumah flipped and went straight to the Soviet Union( representing the Eastern block), the Soviets agreed and decided to fund the project, Nkrumah was elated and started making plans.
When Britain who at the time was struggling to keep their grips and influence on post-colonial Ghana found out that Nkrumah had approached the Soviets and that the Soviets had agreed to fund the project, they panicked, they perfectly understood the risks of allowing Ghana to fall for the Soviets.
You see Ghana was the first Country in the South of the Saharan who gained Independence, so Ghana was a symbol of freedom on the Continent, Nkrumah had also remarked that the Independence of Ghana was meaningless unless it was linked with the total liberation of the African Continent, this means Ghana was at the fore front of the Independent struggle for a lot of the other African Countries that also wanted Independence, that decade was a decade of Independence for Africa.
The Brits knew that if they allow Ghana the pioneer of the Independence movement on the continent to fall for the Soviets, other African Countries gaining independence will follow suit and it will be only a matter of time and communism and socialism will spread over Africa and they would loose their influence on the Continent but most importantly access to the rich mineral resources of the Continent.
The Brits then intervened spoke to the Americans and the Americans agreed to fund the project but now there was another big task, the task of convincing Nkrumah to dump the Soviets who had already agreed to fund the project for the Americans, and there was no better person to send to convince Nkrumah than Queen Elizabeth II, the reigning monarch of England , this was what brought Queen Elizabeth II to Ghana for the first time in 1961.
And it had to take the reigning monarch more than just an appearance, infact she had to dance with Dr.Nkrumah at the State ball organized in her honor, her best charm had to come to play to achieve that important purpose of her trip, in the end she succeeded but Nkrumah became the first ever black man to dance with Queen Elizabeth at a public function.
People don’t understand this, this happened at a time where racial segregation was still a big deal in America and for not just a white woman but a reigning monarch at the time to dance and fall in the arms of a Blackman was a huge deal, and the following day it was splashed all over the front pages of the international media with interesting captions.
In the end Nkrumah got not just his dam and electricity for his people but he also achieved an impeccable international prominence that prevails till today, this is the man whose birthday we are celebrating today, this is the legacy that will prevail any day over that of bomb-throwers and spies who died in prison.