Ghana in Focus Special: Ghana's Day of Shame Revisited!! The Removal of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah 24 February 1966

February 24, 1966, is a date that marks a significant moment in Ghana's history, often dubbed as "Ghana’s Day of Shame."

 This episode of Ghana in Focus revisits the rationale for the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president, in 1966. 

The podcast sheds light on the reasons behind this coup and how external forces, particularly the CIA and MI5, played a crucial role in the collapse of a visionary leader. Dr. Nkrumah was not merely a politician; he was a symbol of hope for a unified Africa, advocating for ideals that extended far beyond Ghana's borders.

Nkrumah's aspirations were significant. He understood that true independence for Ghana could only be realised in the context of African unity. Following Ghana's independence in 1957, he championed the notion that "Ghana's independence is meaningless unless it is linked to the total liberation of Africa."  

Nkrumah's vision was clear: a united Africa could withstand external pressures and command global respect.

Another aspect of the rmovsl of Kwame Nkrumah was his the idea of a single African currency. He recognised that Africa’s potential was hindered by the disparate currencies that complicated trade and economic interaction among African nations. The implementation of a shared currency, he argued, could unify the continent economically, facilitating seamless transactions and fostering economic cooperation among member states.

Nkrumah's commitment to an independent African economy extended to his call for establishing a Central African Bank. This institution would serve as a bulwark against Western interference, providing financial support to African nations without resorting to international lenders like the IMF or World Bank. 

A key aspect of Nkrumah's removal was his proposal for an African trading bloc. His vision predates today’s African Continental Free Trade Area and underscores the importance of intra-African trade. He argued that if African countries traded amongst themselves rather than relying heavily on external partners, wealth would remain within the continent, allowing for viable domestic development.

Furthermore, a crucial factor in Nkrumah's downfall was his advocacy for an African High Command. He envisioned a collective military power that could deter meddling from foreign mercenaries and protect the continent's resources. This idea would not only strengthen Africa militarily but also politically, ensuring that African nations stood united against external exploitation. 

Sources:

(1) AFRICA IS RICH, AFRICANS ARE POOR! This speech by KWAME NKRUMAH Should Unite Africans - YouTube

Chapters

• 0:05 Ghana's Day of Shame Revisited
• 20:22 Nkrumah's Threat to the West

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

Welcome to this week's edition of Ghana in Focus with myself Kwame, ghanaian writer, journalist, broadcaster, entrepreneur and podcaster. And in this week's edition of Ghana in Focus it's a special it's Ghana's Day of Shame Revisited. So that's the theme for this week's podcast Ghana's Day of Shame the removal of Dr Kwame Nkrumah 59 years ago today. So, before we get into the podcast, if you like what you hear, please share with your friends, your family, your social media networks. Tell them about this great podcast. Please subscribe to Ghana Africa and Fix on YouTube. It doesn't cost anything. Just watch out for Ghana Africa and Fix on YouTube and just click the notification button, meaning that every time I upload a new podcast, notify you by YouTube. Again, we want to get at least 100 subscribers by the end of the year, so please tell your friends and family. Again, we're also on Spotify. So look out for Ghana Africa and focus on Spotify. Click the follow button, meaning that Spotify will notify you every time I upload a new podcast on Spotify. So, again, with Spotify, we're looking for thousands of subscribers by the end of the year. So we're on 575. So thank you to all those who are subscribed on Spotify. Peace to your friends and family about this great podcast called Ghana, africa in Focus. And also, if you'd like to donate to the show, please do, and it will help us to continue to bring some fantastic content for you from Ghana and also from the African continent as well. And if you want to donate, you can donate as little as three pounds a month and you can just go on to the website and also there's a link also in the footnotes to the show where you can donate if you like to do so, all right, so let's get into this podcast A special Garnet's Day of Shame the removal of Dr Kraming Krumer.

Speaker 1: 2:24

Garnet's Day of Shame the removal of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, ghani's First President. So exactly 59 years ago, aside from Dr Kwame Nkrumah, ghani's First President was removed in a CIA, mi5 orchestrated coup when he was on his way to Hanoi, present-day Vietnam, in 1966, to find a diplomatic solution to the war in Vietnam. Such was the criminal status at the time that he was sent by the United Nations to try and find a peace deal to end the war in Vietnam. Alright, so the purpose of this podcast is not to go into the CIA, uk MI6 as to why they took him out we know why they was talking about, but but not to tell you how it was orchestrated by them, because you can find that in the decasper documents. If you just put, you know, google CIA decasper documents, you can get all the information you need to know as to why the CIA and Britain's MI5 you, you know got rid of Kwame Nkrumah and how they used, you know, local saboteurs like JB Dankwa, like the US ambassador to Ghana at the time, and also renegade armed forces like Kutaka to actually get rid of Nkrumah. And it is a state inof-the-art democracy that the national airport is actually named Kota Ka international airport after this treasonous African who allowed himself to be manipulated by Europeans to get rid of Kwame Nkrumah. So I'm not going to dwell as to the actions of the CIA and MI5. Like I said, you can google it for yourself, get some information.

Speaker 1: 4:30

The purpose of this podcast is to tell you the reasons why in Crimea was removed as part of Ghana by the Western forces. Alright, so before I get into it in more detail, 24th of February 1966 is Ghana's Day of Shame, because this marks the day that Assange for Crime and Criminal was removed from power in a blood thirsty coup in Ghana Ghana, you know, sponsored by America's CIA and also Britain's MI5, when they used, like I said, renegades from the Ghanaian army to stage this coup that would go with Nkrumah. So why did America and Britain, who were spearheads of this coup d'etat, why did they, throw that Nkrumah? So why did America and Britain, who were spearheads of this coup d'etat, why did they throw that Nkrumah to go? So I'm going to give you six reasons why Nkrumah had to go. The first one is African unity.

Speaker 1: 5:39

As you may or may not be aware, kwame Nkrumah was at the forefront of the drive for African unity. And let's not forget, when Ghana got its so-called independence on March 6, 1957, nkrumah said that Ghana's independence is meaningless unless it is linked to the total liberation of Africa. Now, what does he mean by that? Yeah, so this new country called Ghana, being independent, could not swim alone in a sea of colonial states unless the states were free and independent of colonial interference, colonial domination. And so Nkrumah was at the forefront of the drive for African unity.

Speaker 1: 6:38

Because Nkrumah understood that an Africa united divided, we fall. So if Africa was not united, it would be easier for the Western powers and others to divide the content by picking up these smaller countries who were not yet free or independent. And so Nkrumah understood that a united Africa was the only way that these entities would be able to survive in the global context. And this is why he made a point at the famous organisation of African Unity speech in May 1965, because that's what it was called, the Organization of African Unity, today's so-called African Union. He made it crystal clear that if Africa did not unite, or if Africa did not make plans to form a union, the enemy will sooner or later come to divide us and pull strings to make us tear each other apart for the sake of their diabolical purpose in Africa.

Speaker 1: 8:05

And we see now what's happening in the Congo, with this vicious war for Congo's $30 trillion plus on-tank resources. We see what's going on in Somaliland. We see what's going on in Central African Republic. We see what's going on in the Sudan A vicious civil war there. So Nkrumah foresaw all of this. This is why he was, you know, he talked about unity day and night, because he knew that Africa could not stand on its own as 54, 55 individual countries own as 54, 55 individual countries by coming together, harmonising the colonial boundaries that were drawn and on that you need to understand, listeners, that the map of Africa that you see today is an artificial map. That map was not drawn by Africans. That map was drawn by Europeans. And for more information, that map was not drawn by Africans. That map was drawn by Europeans. And for more information, that map was drawn by wicked Europeans.

Speaker 1: 9:10

In the 1884-1885 Berlin Congress, with European powers met and Russia yes, russia was also invited to the Congress of Berlin. That was organized by the then German Chancellor, otto von Bismarck, and they met at the round table in Berlin to cover Africa like a pizza. Yeah, so that was the genesis of the boundaries, of the map of Africa that you see today. So Nkrumah was well aware of this that these are artificial boundaries that are dividing us. That's why he wanted Africa to unite, and Africa united would be a powerful force in the world. So if Africa had heeded Nkrumah's call, africa today would be a major superpower, global superpower, bigger than India, bigger than China, bigger than the European Union and bigger than the United States. Yeah, and particularly America and Britain could not countenance a United Africa. This is why Nkrumah had to get rid of, because he was he alone, not countenance in Africa. This is why Nkrumah had to get rid of, because he was here alone, alongside his majesty and Abdul Gamal Nasser of Egypt. Those three men were championing the cause of African unity because they could see down the line what power Africa could have as a united force.

Speaker 1: 10:50

Yeah, so the second reason why Nkrumah was overthrown? Because Nkrumah was talking about a single African currency. But before I get that, when we talk about unity, you see, today Europe, europe has just got the European Union. Just the other day, what in the in the late 90s? Yeah, the European Union. Unkrumah talked about that 60 years ago. Yeah, so that tells you how far advanced Unkrumahazi's thinking and understanding of western geopolitics and also western geoeconomics.

Speaker 1: 11:33

So, moving on, the second reason why Nkrumah was overthrown had to go, because Nkrumah 60 years ago yeah, more than 60 years ago was talking about a single African currency that was backed by gold, because every single African country has got gold deposits in West Africa, north Africa, east Africa, central Africa, southern Africa. Africa is washed with gold and Nkrumah understood this and also understood the importance of having our own single currency. So, rather than having these currencies particularly the French speaking African countries, which had the Cepha Single currency, so you know, rather than having these currencies, particularly, you know, the French-speaking African countries which had the CFA, which was controlled by Paris, yeah, and then other countries that Ghana had the city at the time, nigeria over Naira. You know Gambia over Dalai Lama. You know Kenya over Kenya shilling, tanzania over Tanzania, shilling, tanzania for Tanzanian shilling, etc.

Speaker 1: 12:41

And Kibbutz understood that if Africa united around this single currency, africa would be a major player in world affairs Because we've got one currency that could be used within the continent and also outside the content. So, within the content, the second currency would be used to trade and do business with one another, and I'll go into that in a bit more detail in terms of doing business and trading with one another also. So so, rather than use these single different currencies that we have today, yeah, they'll be just one currency, boredless currency. So there'll be no need for exchange rates, there'll be no need for banking fees where you transfer money from one currency to another. There'll be no need for, you know, these other charges that you use when you want to do business in another country because you've got different currencies. Unkuma over service for service.

Speaker 1: 13:42

So this is why he advocated a single currency, because internally, it would make Africa a much stronger body. Externally, it would make Africa stronger because now Africa would be trading as a whole block, following the unity and the union, with one single trading currency. And so if India or China or Europe or the UK or America, if they wanted to do business in Africa, they would need to change their currency into the single African currency. Yeah, and that will mean that the Africa's currency remains strong. That currency remains strong because, a it's backed by gold and, b other countries who want to trade with Africa will need to change their pounds or their euros or their dollar into that single African currency. Yeah, and that will give Africa power, not just financial and fiscal power and economic power, but it will also give Africa geopolitical power and also geo-economic power. Yeah, and the single currency was definitely definitely too much for Britain and America and other Western powers to contemplate, which is why it increased to go, because the single African currency would have made Africa by now a global superpower. And if you see today, you know African countries, you know, with their currencies that are basically worthless, the kenyan shilling, the, the ghana city, the nigerian naira, the tanzania shilling. You know the morocco indiana, the algerian dina, the uh. You know the kwacha in malawi, the South African Rand. All these countries in the world market are useless. Yeah, and so if Africa had heeded Nkrumah's call, africa would have had a currency, seen currency long, long time ago, maybe by early 70s or mid-70s.

Speaker 1: 15:54

And we're talking about single currency to Europe. Yeah, yeah, the Euro. Do you know that Euro only came out January, the 1st 1999. So when you come was talking in the 60s about a single currency. Europe only adopted a single currency on the 1st of January 1999.

Speaker 1: 16:17

Before that, they had their own currency. So the Italians had the Italian lira, the French had the French franc, the Swiss had the Swiss franc, the Dutch had the Dutch guilda, the Germans had the German. What was the German? The German mark, yeah, you know. So all these single European countries before the 1st of January 1999 had their own currencies. But because they all understood the value of having a single currency which Nkrumah talked about in 1963, yeah, they adopted the euro as a single european currency mechanism on the 1st of january 1999. Yeah, so even though the us had these problems in terms of you know we can particularly against the dollar in recent years, yeah, they are still able to do business with this single currency called the Euro, and it makes it far more easy to do business in member countries because they're all using the same currency. This is what Europe has adopted. So when Europe killed Nkrumah, they stole Nkrumah's idea of the single currency and put it their own that they call the Euro today. So that tells you how Nkrumah was thinking very smart. And Nkrumah was thinking far, far, far long into the future. So that's another reason why Nkrumah had to go because the man was too smart for the Europeans and the West. So the third reason why Nkrumah had to go is that to back the currency.

Speaker 1: 18:00

Incrim was also talking about a single African bank. Yeah, so a single African bank would house the single African currency, meaning that Africa would no more go to the IMF or World Bank or seek aid from USA or UK or what have you. Yeah, that Central African Bank would be the depositor of that single African currency and will also be contributed by member states. Yeah, to that single African bank. Yeah, and that African bank would also be a lender to those African countries who were struggling in terms of their economy and also in terms of their development, by giving those African countries who were struggling in their interest-free loans or soft loans to actually help them with infrastructure projects, agricultural development, etc. So a single currency was a direct threat to the US and Britain, particularly because that would not allow them to get the raw materials in Africa dead cheap, because they had to, you know, buy currency via the African Central Bank in order for them to get Africa's raw materials. And so this was a big no-no and this is why Nkrumah had to go, because a single African currency would deflect African power, both internally and on the world stage, and also make Africa economically independent of Western agencies like the IMF, like the World Bank, like the international monetary community and these other Western geo-economic entities that borrow money today to African countries at exorbitant rates. So Nkrumah understood he knew he could see foresight what would happen if Africa did not have a central bank. And we see today what's happening in Africa with our currencies and the African central bank that is, their own bank, owned and controlled by Africa. Nkrumah was a wise man.

Speaker 1: 20:22

So the fourth reason why Nkrumah had to go yeah, and I touched upon it earlier in terms of unity is the African trading bloc. So Nkrumah in 1963 was talking about one Africa trading block, long before this idea of Cape Tukaro and long before what we have today, the so-called Africa Free Trade Continental Area that was established on January 1st 2023. So Nkrumah was talking about this more than 60 years ago. Because, again, nkrumah understood. Talking about this more than 60 years ago because again Nkrumah understood that once we are united, once we have a single currency, once we have a single African Central Bank, we now are in a position to trade and do business with one another.

Speaker 1: 21:12

So you've got America 50 or 51 states, yeah, texas trades with Alabama. So you've got America 50 or 51 states, yeah, texas trades with Alabama. Alabama trades with Montana, montana trades with Wisconsin. Wisconsin trades with, you know, illinois, illinois trades with Iowa. This is the same principle that Ingram was thinking of when he talked about an African trading bloc.

Speaker 1: 21:39

So all these countries that were geo-colonial entities carved up by the 1965 Bill in Congress, these countries would now trade together as one single African bloc, meaning that all the revenue, unlike today, will stay in Africa and that revenue, because we trade amongst each other, will be used to build infrastructure projects, development projects and develop those individual African countries, rather than, as you have today, whereby only two percent of global trade is into Africa, whereby only 2% of global trade is in Africa. So we are trading more with Germany, with France, with America, with Japan, with China, than the UK, than with ourselves. And when we trade with them, we are trading on unfair terms because we're not united. And so when UK trades with Ghana, for example, uk is the main benefactor and most of the profits go back to the UK at the expense of Ghana's economy. And so Nkrumah understood this. That's why he was encouraging an African trading book, because when we trade and do business with ourselves, the money stays in Africa rather than in Africa Like today. More than $5 trillion a year goes out of Africa because we're not trading with one another and also because of illicit flows that come by not trading with one another, not having a single currency, not having a single African central bank. So this is the benefit of having one single trading block whereby we do business together and the money stays on the continent.

Speaker 1: 23:23

So the fifth reason and this is probably one of the most important reasons why the West got rid of Nkrumah was that Nkrumah was talking about an African high command. What did Nkrumah mean by African High Command? Nkrumah understood, yeah, way back then, more than 60 years ago, that if Africa does not have a single army, yeah, there'll be a time when mercenaries from the West, from the UK, from America, would come into Africa, meddle in our affairs, collude with treasonous Africans and create proxy wars which will enable them, via the back door, to take African resources for their own benefits, and as you see today, classic example being the Congo. The conflict in the Congo is a classic example of why Nkrumah wanted to have an African high command, because we see mercenaries in the DR Congo and we see treacherous Africans supporting them in the guise of Paul Kagame of Rwanda, who is behind the M23 traitorous, rebellious group who is raving havoc in the Congo. Now, if Africa had fought in Krumah and we had an African high command, all the individual countries would allocate troops, allocate weaponry, allocate manpower, woman power. Yeah, to defend Africa by these, from these treacherous Africans like Kagame and like, and from these mercenaries you know, who are hell-bent on causing fiction Africa and we've seen in the last 25 or so years how most of us have, you know, weak Africa. Just to give you two examples the Wagner, you know group before they got disbanded by Putin, who knows they're probably still there, but the havoc that they were wreaking in parts of Burkina Faso, in parts parts of Mali before the two got their freedom, the havoc that they were doing in the Central African Republic? Yeah, russian mercenaries, wagner Group.

Speaker 1: 25:53

Second example you know, way back in about 2000,. Early 2000s, there was a cool attempt sponsored by ex-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's son, mark Thatcher, and also former SAS commander Simon or Colonel Tom Spicer. Under the guise of executive outcomes, they were going to stage a coup in Nicotoria, guinea, whereby they would get rid of Tia B'Obyan and put in place their puppet to loot the mineral rich resources of Equatorial Guinea. Yeah, but that was stopped by our ancestor, robert Gabriel Mugabe, who got wind of this coup attempt and was able to ground a plane that was on its way to Equatorial Guinea to stage a coup.

Speaker 1: 26:48

And so this is what Nkrumah knew and visioned more than 60 years ago. That's why he called for an Africa High Command. And you know what the Europeans stole that idea. And the Africa High Command high command in the in the west, uh example is nato. Yeah, nato is basically a copy and paste of incriminate african high command. And you see what nato is trying to defend europe from from russia. But they can't do that because obviously america under Trump is backing off sadly and telling Europe to put its socks up. But NATO has been protective of Europe for the best part of 65 years. But the Nkrumah vision is what manifests itself in NATO.

Speaker 1: 27:39

So had the Afghanis at the time under Zindkrumah and had the Afghan high command. What we see in the Sudan with the vicious civil war there, what we see in Somaliland, somalia, with al-Shabaab, what we see in northern Nigeria with Boko Haram, what we see in Congo, will not happen because the African High Command will be there to stop this, nip us in the bud. So that's why Nkrumah had to go, because the military threat that an African High Command will pose to the West will be too much for them to countenance. This is why Nkrumah had to go.

Speaker 1: 28:20

And the last reason why Nkrumah had to go is because he wrote a book that exposed the West's plans to sabotage and destabilise Africa, and I would urge you all listeners to get a copy of that book. And that book is Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage of Imperialism. And that book was written by Nkrumah in November 1965, a mere three months before he was overthrown in that CIA MI5 orchestra crew. That book by Nkrumah which, by the way, britain and America wanted him to ban, wanted that book to be banned, but Nkrumah said no, because I'm going to expose your hypocrisy. So that book exposed the hypocrisy of the West in how they deal with Africa and how they use clandestine tactics to cause proxy wars, like we've seen in DR Congo and Sudan, for their own benefit. So that book became such a thorn in the side of Europe and the West and America that Nkrumah had to go. So what I've outlined for you today is the key reasons why Nkrumah had to go and why the West were hell-bent Britain and America in particular of getting rid of Nkrumah. Because Nkrumah had to go, and why the West were hell-bent Britain and America in particular of getting rid of Nkrumah. Because Nkrumah was very smart and he was fostering African unity, yeah, and also contentizing the minds not just of African leaders but also the masses of the people of the continent, and that posed a very serious, posed a very dangerous threat to the western interest in Africa, yeah. So that's why Nkrumah had to go and that's why, on that fateful day on February 24th 1966, osaja for Dr Kwame Nkrumah was on ceremony removed in that vicious coup that took place.

Speaker 1: 30:27

And so this concludes this special edition of Ghana in Focus with myself. Kwame, hope you've enjoyed the show. Please like the show. Please share to your friends, family and social media networks. Subscribe to Ghana African Focus on YouTube. Subscribe to Ghana African folks on YouTube. Subscribe to Ghana African folks on Spotify and also, if you'd like to donate to the show, I will leave you the link where you can donate as little as three real dollars a month. All right, so thank you very much for listening to this week's show. Until next week. Goodbye for now, and we see you for some more great content from Ghana and from Africa.