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The Political and Social Thought of Kwame Nkrumah The Political and Social Thought of Kwame Nkrumah pal-biney-00fm.indd i 2/8/11 7:56 AM pal-biney-00fm.indd ii 2/8/11 7:56 AM The Political and Social Thought of Kwame Nkrumah Ama Biney pal-biney-00fm.indd iii 2/8/11 7:56 AM the political and social thought of kwame nkrumah Copyright © Ama Biney, 2011. All rights reserved. First published in 2011 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: 978-0-230-11334-3 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Biney, Ama. The political and social thought of Kwame Nkrumah / by Ama Biney. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-230-11334-3 (alk. paper) 1. Nkrumah, Kwame, 1909–1972—Political and social views. 2. Ghana—Politics and government—1957–1979. 3. National liberation movements—Ghana— Philosophy. 4. National liberation movements—Africa—Philosophy. 5. Pan- Africanism. I. Title. DT512.3.N57B52 2011 320.54'9092–dc22 2010040966 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Scribe Inc. First edition: April 2011 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America. pal-biney-00fm.indd iv 2/8/11 7:56 AM To Tajudeen Abdul- Raheem and all those unknown Africans killed prematurely as he prophetically and ironically said, “through inadequate public services compromised by corruption. Monies meant for drugs, roads, hospitals, schools, public security, etc. are siphoned away making all of us vulnerable to premature death.” —Tajudeen Abdul- Raheem, “Corrupt Leaders are Mass Murderers” pal-biney-00fm.indd v 2/8/11 7:56 AM pal-biney-00fm.indd vi 2/8/11 7:56 AM Contents Acknowledgments ix Abbreviations xi 1 The Discourse on Nkrumah 1 2 Nkrumah’s Intellectual Influences, 1927– 1945 11 3 From Activist to Leader of the CPP, 1945– 1951 29 4 Nkrumah and the Dyarchic Partnership, 1951– 1954 47 5 Nkrumah and the Opposition, 1954– 1957 65 6 Nkrumah’s Politics, 1958– 1966 81 7 Economic, Social, and Cultural Policies, 1958– 1966 99 8 Nkrumah’s Political Writings, 1958– 1966 119 9 Nkrumah’s Foreign Policy, 1958– 1966 135 10 Nkrumah in Exile, 1966– 1972 155 11 Nkrumah in Retrospect 173 Notes 193 Bibliography 233 Index 243 pal-biney-00fm.indd vii 2/8/11 7:56 AM pal-biney-00fm.indd viii 2/8/11 7:56 AM Acknowledgments As students of history we can learn to honour great men and women without shutting our eyes to their faults. Perhaps these human imperfections make their achievements all the more heroic. — Michael Stanford, A Companion to the Study of History, p. 41. My fascination with Kwame Nkrumah began in my late teens during my under- graduate studies at the University of Birmingham in 1983 where I encoun- tered Nkrumah as a larger- than- life figure and then in my years as member of the United Kingdom Chapter of the All African People’s Revolutionary Party (AAPRP) led by Kwame Ture, formerly known as Stokely Carmichael. At Bir- mingham, Nkrumah was vilified in the readings I came across and by lecturers. In the AAPRP, he was shrouded in hagiography; critique was inconceivable. My interest in Nkrumah eventually led to my formal enrollment as a part- time PhD student at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London in 1998, under the supervision of Prof. Richard Rathbone and later Dr. John Parker. At this juncture I was, as most doctoral students were, unclear on what to focus on. It was June Milne, Nkrumah’s literary executrix whom I met back in 1990, who inspired me to consider the subject of Pan- Africanism and Nkrumah. She wrote a reference for me and continued to offer encouragement and research materials at her wonderful house in Pinner, just outside central London. Gradually it became clear that the evolution of Nkrumah’s ideas, essen- tially what motivated Nkrumah, was of immense interest to me. This became the focus of my doctoral dissertation and is the subject matter of this book. However, my approach to Nkrumah is encapsulated in the quotation from Michael Stan- ford that begins these words of acknowledgment. All great figures of history are simply flawed human beings, like all of us. How these defects and strengths in human character impact on their agency, vision, and material reality makes an analysis of the past fascinating. Along my intellectual sojourn, I would like to sincerely thank my supervi- sors Richard Rathbone for his encouragement, his infectious enthusiasm, and for passing me into the rigorous supervision of John Parker when he retired in 2003. pal-biney-00fm.indd ix 2/8/11 7:56 AM x ● Acknowledgments While in Accra, the director of the national archives of Ghana, Cletus Azan- gweo was persistently welcoming and pleasant in his offers of afternoon tea and bottles of cold water; Mr. Mensah, senior archivist; William Ashaley and Killian Onai were efficient and helpful. Winifred Hassan at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London Library, along with my line man- ager, Anna Byers at Kensington and Chelsea College, who permitted me to pur- sue scholarly activity, deserve special mention. My gratitude also extends to the School of Oriental and African Studies for a research student fellowship and the Royal Historical Society that financially sup- ported my field trips to Ghana in both 1999 and 2002 and to the United States in 2003. A part- time researcher balancing work and study immensely appreciated these funds. To the late Tajudeen Abdul- Raheem, my adopted “senior brother” who shared with me his thoughts, survived my badgering, and was a colossal source of strength and moral comfort when occasionally times were tough— I miss you profoundly and express my immense gratitude to you. A big thank you to my mother, Gladys Charlotte Biney for accompanying me on my 2002 trip to Ghana. To my father, Charles Otoo Biney and cousin Kofi Ofori-Duodu— thank you for chasing some materials for me at Legon, as the request was last min- ute and as they say in Ghana “by force!” To my good friends and colleagues: Molara Solanke, Heather Gunter- Harewood, Gamal Nkrumah, Wassa Fatti, Iyiola Solanke, Kwesi Adabunu, Mohammed Umar, Marilyn Naden, Joseph Kingsley- Nyinah, and Ivan Gibbons— your encouragement and the many times you listened and inquired of my progress are deeply appreciated. To Michelle and Tao at the SOAS IT help desk—thank you so much for the last- minute technical assistance! To Yaa Osun and Tunde Osun, who were complete strangers to me but welcomed me into their lovely home in northwest Washington, DC, so that I could access the Moorland Spingarn- Center at Howard University in the summer of 2003— your genuine Pan- African hospitality was deeply appreci- ated. To my publisher, Palgrave- MacMillan, particularly, Chris Chappell, Sarah Whalen, and Ciara Vincent; Colleen Cantrell at Scribe; and other faces unknown to me— yet silently working behind the scenes to put the book together— your patience, swift responses to e- mail correspondence and technical support were hugely invaluable. Lastly, I sincerely thank David Owusu- Ansah for his read- ing of the manuscript and attentive constructive criticism; A. B. Assensoh and Patricia Daley for their regular insistence and encouragement that I get the work published over the years that it lay dormant. Without their regular inquiries, the work may never have been published. Lastly, while I owe an enormous debt to others, the shortcomings in this work are my sole responsibility. Ama Biney, December 6, 2010 pal-biney-00fm.indd x 2/8/11 7:56 AM Abbreviations AAC African Affairs Centre AACPC All African Committee for Political Coordination AAPC All African People’s Conference AAPRA All African People’s Revolutionary Army AAPRP All African People’s Revolutionary Party AAPSP All African Socialist Party AAS African Affairs Secretariat AAS Association of African Students AATUF All African Trade Union Federation ANC African National Congress ARPS Aborigines Rights Protection Society AU African Union AYA Asante Youth Association AYC African Youth Command BAA Bureau of African Affairs CA Constitutive Act CAA Council of African Affairs CIAS Conference of Independent African States CMB Cocoa Marketing Board CPC Cocoa Purchasing Company CPGB Communist Party of Great Britain CPP Convention People’s Party CYO Committee of Youth Organisations FLN Front de Liberacion Nacional/the National Liberation Front of Algeria pal-biney-00fm.indd xi 2/8/11 7:56 AM xii ● Abbreviations GCCMB Gold Coast Cocoa Marketing Board GCP Ghana Congress Party GCTUC Gold Coast Trade Union Congress GNTC Ghana National Trading Corporation GCTUC Gold Coast Trade Union Congress GYPM Ghana Young Pioneer Movement ICFTU International Confederation of Free Trade Unions KNII Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute KNWS Kwame Nkrumah Welfare Society LSE London School of Economics MAP Muslim Association Party MI military intelligence MNC Mouvement Nacional Congolais/ Congolese National Movement NAG National Archive of Ghana NASSO National Association of Socialist Students Organization NCBWA National Congress of British West Africa NCGW National Council
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