ABSTRACT

Kwame Nkrumah (1909-72) led the British colony of Gold Coast to independence and became the President of the re-named Republic of Ghana from 1960 until 1966. Although as president he became increasingly dictatorial, he was able to gain considerable concessions and aid from both the Soviet Union and the United States. Nkrumah was also among the most passionate advocates of panAfricanism. In the present essay, he tries to integrate the ideals of African communalism with socialism and materialism in order to oppose both colonialism and capitalism. As such he also tried to create the philosophical ground for panAfricanism by reversing the imperialist association of tribalism and communalism with backwardness. Although pan-Africanism as a political force has been difficult to achieve, the Organization of African Unity (founded in 1963) has survived, and it played an important role in ending apartheid in South Africa.