Building the Ghanaian Nation-State AFRICAN HISTORIES and MODERNITIES

Building the Ghanaian Nation-State AFRICAN HISTORIES AND MODERNITIES

Series Editors Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin Matthew M. Heaton, Virginia Tech Editorial Board Aderonke Adesanya, Art History, James Madison University Kwabena Akurang-Parry, History, Shippensburg University Nana Amponsah, History, University of North Carolina, Wilmington Tyler Fleming, History, University of Louisville Barbara Harlow, English and Comparative Literature, University of Texas at Austin Emmanuel Mbah, History, College of Staten Island Akin Ogundiran, Africana Studies, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

This book series serves as a scholarly forum on African contributions to and nego- tiations of diverse modernities over time and space, with a particular emphasis on historical developments. Specifically, it aims to refute the hegemonic conception of a singular modernity, Western in origin, spreading out to encompass the globe over the last several decades. Indeed, rather than reinforcing conceptual boundaries or parameters, the series instead looks to receive and respond to changing perspectives on an important but inherently nebulous idea, deliberately creating a space in which multiple modernities can interact, overlap, and conflict. While privileging works that emphasize historical change over time, the series will also feature scholarship that blurs the lines between the historical and the contemporary, recognizing the ways in which our changing understandings of modernity in the present have the capacity to affect the way we think about African and global histories.

Published in the series

Contemporary Africa: Challenges and Opportunities (2014) Edited by Toyin Falola and Emmanuel M. Mbah African Postcolonial Modernity: Informal Subjectivities and the Democratic Consensus (2014) By Sanya Osha Building the Ghanaian Nation-State: Kwame Nkrumah’s Symbolic Nationalism (2014) By Harcourt Fuller Prisoners of Rhodesia: Inmates and Detainees in the Struggle for Zimbabwean Liberation, 1960–1980 (2014) By Munyaradzi B. Munochiveyi Building the Ghanaian Nation-State

Kwame Nkrumah’s Symbolic Nationalism

All rights reserved. First published in 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States— a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-49652-5 ISBN 978-1-137-44858-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137448583 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fuller, Harcourt, author. Building the Ghanaian nation-state : Kwame Nkrumah’s symbolic nationalism / by Harcourt Fuller. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–1–137–44856–9 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Nkrumah, Kwame, 1909–1972—Influence. 2. Nationalism—Ghana. 3. Symbolism in politics—Ghana. 4. Ghana—Politics and government— 1957–1979. I. Title. DT512.3.N57F85 2014 966.7051—dc23 2014020338 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: December 2014 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents

List of Illustrations vii Foreword: Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah—His Symbolic Nationalism and Nation Building xv Acknowledgments xxi Abbreviations xxv Timeline of Important Dates in the Life of Kwame Nkrumah xxix Ghanaian Premiers, 1951—Present xxxi

Introduction: The Symbolism of Ghanaian Nationalism 1 1 Banal Symbols of the New Nation-State 21 2 Philatelic Nationalism 39 3 Economic Nationalism 55 4 Civitatis Ghaniensis Conditor 69 5 Exhibiting the Nation 81 6 Monumental Nationalism 119 7 Pan-African Nationalism 133 8 The Downfall of Kwame Nkrumah 149 9 The Death and Symbolic “Resurrection” of Kwame Nkrumah 163 10 From “Redeemer” to Redeemed? 175 Conclusion 189

Notes 193 Bibliography 231 Index 251 This page intentionally left blank Illustrations

MAP

0.1 Map of Ghana xxxii

TABLES

1.1 Ghana’s national anthem (1957, original) 35 1.2 Ghana’s national anthem (1960, Republican version) 36 3.1 World price for cocoa, 1956–1965 64 3.2 Final designs for permanent independence stamps proposed by the Reconstituted Stamp Advisory Committee 67

PLATES AND FIGURES

Plates and figures appear between chapters 5 and 6. All captions and sources for the corresponding figures are located on the recto side of the plate

Plate 1

1.1 The Adinkra symbol Funtunfunefu-Denkyemfunefu (the Siamese Crocodile) 1.2 Asantehene Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II, seated beside the Golden Stool (Sika Dwa Kofi) 1.3 The Golden Stool (Sika Dwa Kofi) 1.4 The “elephant and palm tree” flag of the colonial Gold Coast, 1877—1957 1.5 The Ethiopian imperial flag 1.6 The Ghanaian national flag 1.7 The flag of the Asante nation 1.8 The NLM flag 1.9 A Ghanaian coat of arms sculpture at Independence Square (Black Star Square) viii ILLUSTRATIONS

Plate 2

2.1 Kofi Antubam and US Postmaster General 2.2 2d “Ghana Independence Commemoration 6th March 1957” stamp 2.3 1d “Nkrumah Statue Parliament House” stamp, 1958 2.4 2/- “National Founder’s Day 21st Sept. 1962” stamp 2.5 3d “National Founder’s Day 21st Sept. 1962” stamp

Plate 3

3.1 2/- BWA coin (obverse and reverse sides), 1915 3.2 1/- BWA banknote (obverse side), 1918 3.3 20/- BWA banknote (obverse side), 1957 3.4 100/- (£5) BWA banknote (reverse side), 1954 3.5 £1 Ghanaian banknote (obverse and reverse sides), 1958 3.6 £5 Ghanaian banknote (obverse and reverse sides), 1962 3.7a 5p “Decimal Currency System 19–7-65” stamp 3.7b 2/- “Inauguration of Ghana Airways July 1958” stamp 3.7c 1d “Ghana Railway 1903–1963” stamp 3.7d 5/- “Inauguration of the Black Star Line 1957” stamp 3.7e 24p “Volta River Project” stamp, 1966 3.7f 2/6 “New Town & Harbour Tema” stamp, 1962 3.7g 6d “Oil Refinery Tema” stamp, 1964 3.7h 4d “Red Cross Centenary 1863–1963” stamp 3.7i 4d “The World United Against Malaria” stamp, 1962 3.7j 4d “Freedom From Hunger Campaign March 21st 1963” stamp 3.7k 6p “Herring and Fishermen” stamp, 1966 3.7l 2 1/2d “Cocoa” stamp, 1959 3.7m 3d “Harvesting Corn in a State Farm” stamp, 1964 3.7n 1/2d “Ambassador Hotel” stamp, 1958 3.7o 1 1/2d “Ghana Timber” stamp, 1959 3.7p 4d “Diamond” stamp, with overprint, 1965

Plate 4

4.1 Republic Day commemorative gold coin, 1960 4.2 ¢1 Ghanaian banknote (Obverse side), 1965 4.3 ¢10 Ghanaian banknote (obverse side), 1965 4.4 CPP Minister Paul Tagoe 4.5 CPP Minister Paul Tagoe ILLUSTRATIONS ix

4.6 CPP Minister Paul Tagoe 4.7 CPP Minister Paul Tagoe

Plate 5

5.1 The main dome-shaped building of the Ghana National Museum 5.2 The Asante Cultural Centre

Plate 6

6.1 The Independence Square Monument 6.2 The Independence Arch Monument 6.3a The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Monument 6.3b Close-up of Figure 6.3a 6.3c Another view of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Monument 6.4 The Three Marble Slab Cenotaph at Independence Square 6.5 Slab of Plaque-Monument 6.6 Memorial Plaque-Monument 6.7a Statue of Kwame Nkrumah at Parliament House, Accra 6.7b Front plaque of Nkrumah Parliament House statue 6.7c Side plaque of Nkrumah Parliament House statue 6.7d Side plaque of Nkrumah Parliament House statue 6.7e Back plaque of Nkrumah Parliament House statue 6.8 Statue of Kwame Nkrumah at the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute in Winneba

Plate 7

7.1a Shield and spears given to Nkrumah by Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia 7.1b Close-up of shield in Figure 7.1a 7.2 The “Port Said,” given to Nkrumah by Egyptian President Nasser around 1965 7.3 Italian mortar captured in WWII and put on display at the GAFM 7.4 Belgian weapons, Congolese “juju mask” and guns captured by the Ghana Armed Forces in the Congo 7. 5a 2 1/2d “Conference of Independent African States Accra 1958” stamp x ILLUSTRATIONS

7. 5b 6d “First Anniversary of the Signing of the African Unity Charter” stamp, 1964 7.5c 24p “O.A.U. Summit Conference Accra 1965” stamp 7.5d 1d “Save the Monuments of Nubia” stamp, 1963 7.5e 1/2d “West African Football Competition 1959” stamp 7. 5f 15p “African Soccer Cup Competition 1965” stamp, with overprint 7. 5g 3d “1st Anniversary of the Death of Patrice Lumumba Premier of the Congo 12th February 1962” stamp 7. 5h 3d “1st Anniversary Casablanca Conference Jan. 4, 1962” stamp 7. 5i 3d “United Nations Human Rights Day 10th December 1960” stamp 7.5j 2 1/2d “Inauguration of the Black Star Line 1957” stamp 7.5k 2/- “15th April 1961 Africa Freedom Day” stamp 7.5l 6d “George Washington Carver” stamp, 1964

Plate 8

8.1 NLC-constructed 24th February 1966 Cenotaph-Plaque at Black Star Square 8.2 Original Parliament House statue of Kwame Nkrumah, damaged during the NLC coup 8.3 Headless, broken Kwame Nkrumah Winneba statue, damaged during the NLC coup 8.4 1Np “Ghana’s Revolution of 24th February 1966 1st Anniversary 1967” NLM commemorative stamp 8.5a 4np “2nd Anniversary of the 24th February Revolution” NLM commemorative stamp 8.5b 12 1/2np “2nd Anniversary of the 24th February Revolution” NLM commemorative stamp 8.5c 20np “2nd Anniversary of the 24th February Revolution” NLM commemorative stamp 8.5d 40np “2nd Anniversary of the 24th February Revolution” NLM commemorative stamp 8.6a 4np “Human Rights Year” NLM commemorative stamp, 1968, featuring Dr. J.B. Danquah 8.6b 12 1/2np “Human Rights Year” NLM commemorative stamp, 1968, featuring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ILLUSTRATIONS xi

Plate 9

9.1a Monument of General E.K. Kotoka being removed from the Kotoka International Airport 9.1b Same as Figure 9.1a 9.2a Frontal view of statue of General E.K. Kotoka at the National Museum, Accra 9.2b Rear view of statue of General E.K. Kotoka at the National Museum, Accra 9.3a 4np “First Anniversary of the Death of Lt. Gen. E.K. Kotoka 17th April 1968” NLM commemorative stamp 9.3b 12 1/2np “First Anniversary of the Death of Lt. Gen. E.K. Kotoka 17th April 1968” NLM commemorative stamp 9.3c 40np “First Anniversary of the Death of Lt. Gen. E.K. Kotoka 17th April 1968” NLM commemorative stamp 9.3d 20np “First Anniversary of the Death of Lt. Gen. E.K. Kotoka 17th April 1968” NLM commemorative stamp 9.4a 4np Progress Party stamp inaugurating the Kotoka International Airport, April 17, 1970 9.4b 40np Progress Party stamp inaugurating the Kotoka International Airport, April 17, 1970 9.5 4np “Inauguration of the Second Republic” Progress Party stamp 9.6 40np “The Official Opening of Parliament of the Second Republic” Progress Party stamp 9.7 20np “Unity is Strength” Progress Party stamp 9.8 12 1/2np “Busia Declaration” Progress Party stamp 9.9 1p “Acheampong Declaration” National Redemption Council stamp 9.10 “Gen. I.K. Acheampong Head of State” commemorative coin 9.11 Restored and mounted Parliament House statue of Kwame Nkrumah

Plate 10

10.1a Frontal view of the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum—“The Tree Cut Short” 10.1b Rear view of the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum—“The Tree Cut Short” xii ILLUSTRATIONS

10.1c Lateral view of the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum—“The Tree Cut Short” 10.2a Statues of abeng blowers in a fountain at the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum 10.2b Panoramic view of the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Mausoleum 10.3a Danquah Circle and statue 10.3b Danquah Circle signage 10.3c Plaque at the base of the Danquah Circle statue 10.4 Monument of the Ga king (Gamankye) K ing Tackie Tawiah I, Makola Market, Accra 10.5 Monument of Asantehene Otumfuo Sir Agyeman Prempeh II, Kumasi 10.6a Wax manikin of Yaa Asantewaa with rifle at Manhyia Palace Museum, Kumasi 10.6b Statue of Yaa Asantewaa with rifle at the National Museum, Accra 10.7a ¢2 “Past Great Sons of Ghana” stamp, 1980 10.7b ¢200 “Proponent of African Unity & Liberation” stamp, 1989 10.7c ¢20 “Receiving Ghana’s president Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in New Delhi” stamp 10.7d ¢200 “Tenth Non-Aligned Ministerial Conference Accra: 1991” stamp 10.7e ¢2000 “40th Independence Anniversary Ghana 1957— 1997” stamp 10.7f GH¢1 “Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and President J.A. Kufuor Swearing with the State Sword” stamp, 2007 10.7g GH¢10.40 “Dr. Nkrumah with Chairman Mao” stamp 10.7h 75GP “Switching on Akosombo Generating Station” stamp 10.7i The central label from the Nkrumah birth centenary stamp series sheet, 2010 10.8 Liberation Roundabout street sign in Accra 10.9 New GH¢10000 cedis banknote (obverse side), 2002 issue 10.10 Redenominated GH¢1 cedi banknote (obverse side), 2007 issue 10.11 Redenominated GH¢2 cedis banknote (obverse side), 2010 issue 10.12 1.50s 10th Anniversary of the OAU Guinean stamp 10.13 Guinean 5 sylis banknote, 1980 ILLUSTRATIONS xiii

10.14 10k ““Activist in the African national liberation movement” Soviet stamp, 1989 10.15 Kwame Nkrumah statue erected at the new African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa 10.16 Kwame Nkrumah’s flag-draped statue at the National Museum of Ghana, 2007 10.17a Busts of “The Big Six” at the Kotoka International Airport Roundabout 10.17b Close-up of Nkrumah bust at the Kotoka International Airport Roundabout This page intentionally left blank Foreword: Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah—His Symbolic Nationalism and Nation Building

“The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked [up] with the total liberation of the African continent.”1 –Kwame Nkrumah

As one of the few African journalists, who had the opportunity of meeting and interviewing Dr. Kwame Nkrumah during his exile in the Guinean capital of Conakry in the late 1960s, and having written three books on Nkrumah during my academic career, I am pleased to see young scholars such as Dr. Harcourt Fuller produce novel and exciting (re)interpretations of the history and enduring legacy of Ghana’s first democratically elected leader, who was voted “Man of the Millennium” by BBC listeners in Africa at the dawn of the new millennium. Coming only a few years after both the fiftieth anniversary of Ghana’s independence, as well as the centennial of Nkrumah’s birth, Building the Ghanaian Nation-State: Kwame Nkrumah’s Symbolic Nationalism is a book of historical and political importance, which represents a largely ignored dimension of the Nkrumah story. Upon leading his country to independence from Britain on March 6, 1957, some of the political ideals promoted by Nkrumah, including his lifelong quest for uniting the African continent, prompted him to make the much-heralded and oft-quoted statement above. Within the context of African history, Dr. Fuller has accurately noted that Nkrumah’s status as one of modern Africa’s most iconic per- sonalities—who is seen as a benevolent nationalist by some and as a political dictator by others —cannot be overemphasized. Veteran scholars of African, and specifically Ghanaian history, have written xvi FOREWORD voluminously and debated passionately about Kwame Nkrumah’s record as a nationalist, Pan-Africanist, and international statesman, and in so doing, have kept his name and history ever-present in the academic literature and popular press. From reading the immense secondary literature, it seems that every archival collection within and outside of Ghana, every article and book written anywhere in the world about Nkrumah, everything ever written by Nkrumah that was not destroyed in the 1966 coup, and every firsthand account of the Osagyfo, have been used and analyzed to exhaustion. It is difficult to imagine, therefore, what new sources and (re) interpretations about Kwame Nkrumah’s political ideology and practices have yet to be discovered, analyzed, and made available to the academic community and those interested in the history of Ghana. Luckily for us, Professor Fuller has unearthed a cache of omnipresent yet surprisingly neglected and unappreciated historical evidence, which he has used to vigorously research and reinterpret the history of postindependence Ghana as it relates to the country’s first president. The book’s chapters are underpinned throughout by Dr. Fuller’s developed theoretical framework, which he vari- ously terms “symbolic nationalism,” “symbols of nationalism,” and “symbols of nationhood.” In addition to the well-known means of nation-building, Fuller argues, Nkrumah also relied on symbolic nationalism to attempt to construct and forge a new national iden- tity for the citizens of Ghana from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s. Dr. Fuller’s examination of Nkrumah’s use of these unique tools of spreading nationalist propaganda through the political iconography embedded in such semiotic mediums as Ghanaian money, postage stamps, museum exhibits, monuments, Akan Adinkra symbols, the national anthem, emblems, the national flag, and political party flags, is simply unprecedented. As a Ghanaian and an Akan who knows the importance of symbolism to Africans, as expressed through mediums such as Adinkra symbols embossed and printed on traditional cloth (my father was a Kente weaver), as well as gold weights and proverbs, I can assert that this book is an important contribution to African history, politics, and cultural studies. The analysis of these kinds of visual sources and their meanings presents another dimension to the history of Nkrumah and postindependence Ghana that we have seldom seen before. For example, Professor Fuller analyzes the self-promoting minting of Nkrumah’s likeness on Ghanaian coins, which were encircled by the coined Latin term, Civitatis Ghaniensis Conditor, or the “Founder of the State of Ghana.” This and other symbolic slogans created a firestorm of FOREWORD xvii accusations leveled at Nkrumah by his foreign and domestic critics, who viewed them as evidence of Nkrumah’s insatiable appetite for acquiring and maintaining political power. Always cognizant of his public image, Nkrumah used the international and domestic media to defend the minting on his likeness of Ghana’s new coins, currency, and postage stamps. He argued that he was forced to take these actions given Ghana’s high rate of illiteracy, which compelled him to use visual signs and symbols to convince the people that their country was really free, and that he, and not Queen Elizabeth II, was now the ruler in charge of Ghana. Fuller’s interpretation of other important symbols of Ghanaian nationalism, such as the various versions of the national anthem, the national flag, the exhibits established at the national and regional museums, and the many monuments and statues erected across the country, offer a rare insight into the construc- tion, contestation, and continuation of the Ghanaian nation-building project, with Nkrumah as its main protagonist. While the book focuses on the domestic scene, Fuller’s articula- tion of Ghanaian symbolic nationalism under Nkrumah’s leadership reveals the intricate symbolic, yet substantive connections between Nkrumah’s national, Pan-African, and international politics, chiefly the Cold War, the Third World, and Non-Aligned Movements. The guest list of international dignitaries who attended Ghana’s independence inauguration signaled from the beginning that Nkrumah intended to make his mark on the world stage. These foreign guests included then US Vice-President Richard Nixon and Mrs. Pat Nixon; Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King; future Jamaican prime minister Norman Manley, and several others. Initially, the United States viewed the support of Ghana’s independence, and Nkrumah’s leadership, as important to its counter-communism campaign in the Third World. Nkrumah not only welcomed, but also courted American financial support of his economic development programs, the poster child of which was the Volta River/Akosombo Hydroelectric Dam. President Dwight D. Eisenhower endorsed the program, and persuaded Henry Kaiser of Kaiser Aluminum to build the dam, which also provided much-needed electricity to neighboring West African countries. For its part, the Soviet Union also tried to make inroads into newly independent Ghana, by providing the Nkrumah government with technical training, equipment, and financial assistance. By analyzing the iconography and archival documents associated with Nkrumah- era postage stamps and currency, for example, Dr. Fuller presents readers with a seldom-seen picture of Ghana’s most significant xviii FOREWORD development projects to date, which were at the heart of the contestation for African hearts and minds by the Cold War superpowers. Dr. Fuller’s treatment of such symbols of nationhood as postage stamps, currency, and monuments from Ghana and other countries to explain the final years and legacy of Nkrumah is not only refreshing from a methodological standpoint, but also reveals another dimension of this history that other scholars have not had the vision to pur- sue. In the final chapters of the book, Dr. Fuller examines Nkrumah’s downfall in 1966, his death in exile in 1972, and, above all, his sub- sequent symbolic resurrection, whereby his supporters have clamored for a return to some of his nationalist principles and continental leadership, while others have remained critical of his legacy. As a graduate of the Lincoln University’s Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, and a self-proclaimed “Non-Denominational Christian and a Marxist Socialist,” Nkrumah would have been amused by the notion of his symbolic resurrection, as Christians believe that the act of resurrection is reserved only for Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Professor Fuller has worked very hard to make this book very use- ful in the context of African studies and the more specific history of Ghana. It is a publication that researchers as well as teachers and students will find invaluable and enjoyable to read. They will find that Building the Ghanaian Nation-State offers a fresh perspective on the history and legacy of Kwame Nkrumah—the twentieth cen- tury’s most pointed African nationalist and Pan-Africanist leader, who rubbed shoulders with other iconic Pan-Africanists from the African Diaspora, including George Padmore, C. L. R. James, Dr. W. E. B. DuBois, and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In the 1960s, Nkrumah was very vocal in his efforts to unite Africa through the Ethiopia-based erstwhile Organization of Africa Unity (OAU). Indeed, the OAU was founded in 1963 by Nkrumah and such dynamic African leaders as Presidents Julius K. Nyerere of Tanzania; Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya; Kenneth K. Kaunda of Zambia; William V. S. Tubman of Liberia; Sékou Touré of Guinea; Modibo Keita of Mali; Léopold Sédar Senghor of Senegal; among others. In 2002, to give the organization a fresh lease on life, the OAU was renamed the African Union (AU), still with its headquarters in Ethiopia but housed in an ultramodern building that was built and donated to the continental body by the Chinese government. In his final analysis, Dr. Fuller discusses how the erection of a golden statue of Nkrumah at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa is further evidence of Nkrumah’s enduring relevance to postcolonial Africa’s past, present, and future. As with all things related to Nkrumah, as Professor Fuller reveals, FOREWORD xix there was tremendous debate in both Ghana and Ethiopia regard- ing whether or not Nkrumah, as opposed to the former Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie (or some other noteworthy statesman), mer- ited being immortalized in front of the continental organization that he was partially responsible for creating. Above all, Building the Ghanaian Nation-State is a book that brings to light several aspects of the symbolic nationalist policies of Kwame Nkrumah, which, combined with other nationalist political programs of his leadership, enabled him to play significant roles in Ghanaian as well as in continental affairs. Nkrumah’s symbolic but real Pan-Africanist record included placing at the disposal of liberation movements much-needed resources to fight colonialism, and the draconian racialized system of the apartheid regimes in Africa, particularly in South Africa, which imprisoned Nelson Mandela, himself an iconic leader, and several of his colleagues for decades. In addition to addressing the South African problem through symbols of Ghanaian nationhood, Kwame Nkrumah commemorated the murder of Patrice Lumumba, the first democratically elected prime minister of the Republic of the Congo, and promoted Ghana’s attempt to rem- edy the crisis in the Congo, through postal iconography and museum exhibits, as Fuller analyzes in this book. This underscores Nkrumah’s use of symbols of nationhood to promote his Pan-Africanist ideals and preoccupations. In summary, this publication makes a serious contribution to the history of African nationalism, Pan-Africanism, and African biog- raphy in general, with particular emphasis on Ghana and Kwame Nkrumah. Readers will appreciate Fuller’s use of novel and rich photographs, illustrations, and archival material that have been provided by various Ghanaian sources, including private collections, the Ministry of Information, the Museums and Monuments Board, Manhyia Palace Museum, the Ghana Armed Forces Museum, Ghana Post Company, the Bank of Ghana, and the Public Records and Archives Administration Department, as well as continental sources from the African Union, and other sources from Britain and the United States. Many of these visual sources and their associated written archival material have never been incorporated into an academic work previously. Unequivocally, I commend Professor Fuller for pro- ducing a very significant treatise that will spark further intellectual interest in how Kwame Nkrumah and other CPP members utilized symbolic nationalism to construct an official narrative of the new nation-state, and how the Asantes, Gas, and outgoing British colonial officials, as well as post-Nkrumah governments in Ghana, other xx FOREWORD

African countries. and internationally have used similar symbols of nationhood to rewrite, reinterpret, or reaffirm this Nkrumah-centric version of Ghanaian history. Indeed, all of the accomplishments and challenges of the late Ghanaian leader, coupled with the various books and articles that continue to be published about him, go a long way in demonstrat- ing axiomatically that, in line with the thinking of the members of the Ghana Young Pioneers Movement, maybe Nkrumah, in symbolic terms, never really dies intellectually, but, of course, physically!

A. B. ASSENSOH, PHD, Professor Emeritus, Indiana University-Bloomington & Courtesy Professor Emeritus, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA Acknowledgments

A wise person once said that life is a journey and not a destination. I owe a debt of eternal gratitude to my family, friends, and colleagues who have paved the way and laid the foundation so that I would have the opportunity to embark on this journey, which has taken me to three continents and three countries (the United States, Britain, and Ghana) to complete this book. My interest in the history and culture of Ghana actually began high up in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, where, through my father, I discovered our family’s Akan roots as one of the Windward Maroon clans of the Rio Grande Valley. I therefore would first like to thank the Maroon peoples of Jamaica, past and present, for preserving and sustaining their West African ancestry for over three and a half centu- ries. Thanks also to the people of Ghana—“The Gateway of Africa”— for (re)introducing me to their history, society, and culture, as well as for giving me the opportunity to connect with the source of my Maroon ancestry. In particular, I thank “Aunty” Emily Asiedu, for her consistent support of my research, for her hospitality, memorable meals, and conversations over her kitchen table. Thanks also to Bright Kojo Botwe of the Ghana National Archives (The Public Records and Archives Administration Department—PRAAD) for all his assistance in locating, photocopying, and sending me archival material. Takwia Manu also facilitated my presentation of the research in one of the seminars at the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon. Peter Tagoe of the Ghana Post Company Limited was also instrumental in providing me with philatelic archival material, which was thought to be nonexistent, but which literally saved my project. Special thanks also to the Bank of Ghana, Emmanuel Quainoo at the Ghana Armed Forces Museum, Frimpong Gordon at the Manhyia Palace Museum, and Fati Mango. Ivor Agyeman- Duah of the Ghanaian High Commission in London also provided me with valuable research information and feedback. I am also greatly indebted to the Reverend Dr. Kumi Dwamena and Alfred Aporih, whose valuable mentorship has sustained me and my research over xxii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS the years. I would especially like to thank Merrick Posnansky, whose writings and personal conversations have inspired me to utilize non- traditional sources such as postage stamps in historical writing. There are also several colleagues in the International History Department and the LSE IDEAS/Cold War Studies Centre at the London School of Economics whom I would like to thank for their scholastic support and camaraderie. In particular, I would like to thank Odd Arne Westad for his rigorous guidance, exceptional encouragement, and confidence in my research. I’d also like to thank Antony Best, Joanna Lewis, N. Piers Ludlow, Kirsten Schulze, Svetozar Rajak, Michael Cox, Tiha Franulovic, Tanya Harmer, Nayna Bhatti, Demetra Frini, John Breuilly, and John Hutchinson. Thanks to Catherine Eagleton and Joe Cribb at the British Museum; my former colleagues at the Association for the Study of Ethnicity & Nationalism (ASEN) and the editors of Nations and Nationalism; and David Beech and Paul Skinner at the Philatelic Collections Department at the British Library. Mandy Banton, an archivist at the British National Archives (the Public Records Office), also greatly assisted me in identifying relevant and significant primary documents within their collections. Other colleagues whom I would like to thank for their assistance include John Parker and Tom McCaskie at SOAS, as well as Eric Helleiner, Nigel Dodd, and Tim Unwin. Ghana Studies Association hosted the presentation of a chapter of this book at an African Studies Association meeting. Thanks to my colleagues at t he Cit y College of New York (where my interest in A frica was sparked) including Marina Fernando, Chudi Uwazurike, Gerardo Rènique, Jim McGovern, Elsy Arieta Padro, Jeanette Adams, and Joe Brown. Thanks also to colleagues at Boston University, particularly Linda Heywood and John Thornton in the African American Studies Program; Jennifer Yanco at the West African Research Association (WARA), and Barbara Brown in the Outreach Program of the African Studies Center. Emmanuel Acheampong and Emmanuel Asiedu in the Department of African and African American Studies at Harvard University also gave me insightful feedback about the research, especially on organizing the Nkrumah centennial sympo- sium at Connecticut College. I owe a special debt of gratitude to colleagues at Connecticut College, especially Leo Garofalo and Cathy Stock in the Department of History. Mohammed Hassen Ali, Michele Reid-Vazquez, and other colleagues in the Department of History at Georgia State University have also given me the opportunity to present and develop parts of the book. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xxiii

Finally, I would like to acknowledge that my early research for this book was supported by funds from a variety of sources, including Mr. Maurice Pinto, the University of London Central Research Fund and the Convocation Trust Award, the LSE International History Department Research Students Travel Grant and the Postgraduate Travel Fund, the Directors of the LSE IDEAS/Cold War Studies Centre, the Newby Trust Ltd, and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library and Museum. This page intentionally left blank Abbreviations

AA African Affairs ADA Avoidance of Discrimination Act ABC African Banking Corporation AEB Atomic Energy Board AFRC Armed Forces Revolutionary Council AHR American Historical Review ANA American Numismatic Association ANC African National Congress ANS American Numismatic Society ANZAC Australia New Zealand Army Corps ARPS Aborigines’ Rights Protection Society ASEN The Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism ASR African Studies Review AU African Union BBC British Broadcasting Corporation BBWA Bank of British West Africa, Ltd. BDEEP British Document on the End of Empire Project BM The British Museum BOE Bank of England BOG Bank of Ghana BON Bank of Nigeria, Limited BPMA British Postal Museum and Archive BWA British West Africa CAF Central African Federation CFA Colonies françaises d’Afrique (French colonies of Africa) CHA Cambridge History of Africa CJAS Canadian Journal of African Studies CO Colonial Office CRO Commonwealth Relations Office CPP Convention People’s Party CYO Committee on Youth Organisation DAAPE Digital Archive of African Political Ephemera DBPO Documents on British Policy Overseas xxvi ABBREVIATIONS

DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa)) EACB East African Currency Board ECO A proposed common currency for several West African countries ECOWAS The Economic Community of West African States EU European Union FLN Front de Libération Nationale (National Liberation Front—Algeria) GAFM Ghana Armed Forces Museum GAP Ghana Action Party GAS Ga Aborigines Society GBC Ghana Broadcasting Corporation GCP Ghana Congress Party GMMB Ghana Museums and Monuments Board GNSM Ghana National Science Museum GPA Ghana Postal Archive GPC Ghana Post Company Limited or Ghana Post GSC Ga State Council HSG Historical Society of Ghana IAS Institute of African Studies (University of Ghana, Legon) ICOM International Council of Museums IGPC Inter-Governmental Philatelic Corporation IMF International Monetary Fund IRA Irish Republican Army JAH Journal of African History JICH Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History JMAS Journal of Modern African Studies JSAS Journal of Southern African Studies KNUST Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology LPDR Lao People’s Democratic Republic MoC Ministry of Communications MNC Movement National Congolais (Congolese National Movement, DRC) NA The National Archives (UK) NAL National Alliance of Liberals NAM Non-Aligned Movement NCBWA National Congress of British West Africa NDC National Democratic Congress NLC National Liberation Council NLM National Liberation Movement NPP New Patriotic Party NPP Northern People’s Party ABBREVIATIONS xxvii

NRC National Redemption Council NTC Northern Territories Council OAU Organization of African Unity OCA Optimum-Currency-Area OXBE Oxford History of the British Empire P&T Posts & Telecommunications Department PAIGC African Party for the Independence of Guinea and the Cape Verde Islands PAP People’s Action Party PDA Preventive Detention Act PG Prison Graduate PNDC Provisional National Defence Council PNE Peaceful Nuclear Explosions PNP People’s National Party PP Progress Party PRAAD The Public Records and Archives Administration Department (National Archives, Ghana) PRC People’s Republic of China PRO Public Record Office (UK) RC Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) RDA Ressemblement Démocratique Africain (African Democratic Rally) RLG Royal Lao Government RMS Regimental Sergeant Major RNS The Royal Numismatic Society ROC Republic of China SDC Standing Development Committee SMC Supreme Military Council SOAS School of Oriental and African Studies SEN Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism SWAPO South West African People’s Organization TANU Tanganyika African National Union TUC Trade Union Congress UAC United Africa Company UAS Union of African States UGCC United Gold Coast Convention UL University of London UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization VRA Volta River Authority WACB West African Currency Board WACC West African Currency Committee WAMZ West African Monetary Zone This page intentionally left blank Timeline of Important Dates in the Life of Kwame Nkrumah

Date Event

September 21, 1909 Nkrumah is born in Nkroful in the south-western part of the Gold Coast 1935 Nkrumah attends Lincoln University in the United States, and stays in the United States for ten years 1945 Leaves the United States for London, England 1945 Participates in the 5th Pan-African Conference in Manchester 1947 Summoned back to the Gold Coast to become general secre- tary of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) 1949 Splits from UGCC and creates the Convention People’s Party (CPP) 1950 Nkrumah launches “Positive Action” campaign against British colonial government January 21, 1950 Nkrumah and other CPP members are jailed for their activities February 12, 1951 Colonial government releases Nkrumah from prison February 23, 1951 Nkrumah elected as leader of government business in the Gold Coast assembly 1952 Nkrumah is sworn in as prime minister of government business of the Gold Coast March 6, 1957 Ghana gains independence, with Nkrumah as prime minister July 1, 1960 Nkrumah declares Ghana a republic and becomes its first president 1964 Ghana declared a one-party state, with the CPP as the only official party and Nkrumah as president for life February 28, 1966 NLC stages first military coup in Ghana (against Nkrumah) March 2, 1966 Nkrumah seeks asylum in Guinea-Conakry. President Sekou Touré names him co-president of the Republic of Guinea April 1972 Still in exile, Nkrumah dies in a Romanian hospital in Bucharest This page intentionally left blank Ghanaian Premiers, —Present

Tenure Name Title Party

February 20, 1951, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Leader of Government CPP to March 21, 1952 Business March 21, 1952, to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Prime Minister CPP March 6, 1957 March 6, 1957, to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Prime Minister CPP July 1, 1960 July 1, 1960, to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah President CPP February 24, 1966 February 24, 1966, Major-General Joseph Chairman of the National Military to April 2, 1969 Arthur Ankrah Liberation Council April 2, 1969, to Brigadier Akwasi Chairman of the National Military September 3, 1969 Amankwa Afrifa Liberation Council October 1, 1969, to Dr. Kofi A. Busia Prime Minister PP January 13, 1972 January 13, 1972, Colonel Ignatius Kutu Chairman of the National Military to October 9, 1975 Acheampong Redemption Council October 9, 1975, General Ignatius Kutu Chairman of the Supreme Military to July 5, 1978 Acheampong Military Council July 5, 1978, to Lieutenant-General Chairman of the Supreme Military June 4, 1979 Frederick William Military Council Kwasi Akuffo June 4, 1979, to Flight Lieutenant Chairman of the Armed Military September 2, 1979 Jerry John Rawlings Forces Revolutionary Council September 24, 1979, Dr. Hilla Limann President PNP to December 3, 1981 December 31, 1981, Flight Lieutenant Jerry Chairman of the Military to January 7, 1993 John Rawlings Provisional National Defence Council January 7, 1993, to Jerry John Rawlings President NDC January 7, 2001 January 7, 2001, to John Agyekum Kufuor President NPP January 7, 2009 January 7, 2009, to John Evans Atta Mills President NDC July 24, 2012 July 24, 2012, to John Dramani President NDC Present Mahama Map 0.1 Map of Ghana