Francis Kwame Nwia Kofie Nkrumah’s African consciousness aroused itself from his student days at Lincoln University, Pennsylvania. In time, he attracted the observance of the FBI. They must have feared that his electric charisma would fire up the Civil Rights Movement. Thankfully, they did not try (or maybe failed) to set him up for a jail term. That’s how these stories usually end.
The real story, this time, is that with all its sophisticated ways, the FBI did not get even his name right. They kept a file on Kwame “Ukrumah”. Shame! Returning to the the issue of sinister setups: many years later, the FBI’s sister (and rival) agency would trail him into his own country, and help depose him in a coup d’etat!
Actually, depose him for being too close to the East and Dada Nikita although he professed to be non-alligned to the East or West. Or if you are one of the Ghanaian generals who physically took part in the deposition, for having made himself irremovable from office, except vie armis.
ReplyDeleteAs of June last year, Mandela was on the CIA list of terrorist and the ANC was a terrorist organisation. It tells you how deep they are. Full of intelligence and yet cannot fathom the simple things in life.
ReplyDeleteYou Africans make too much about the CIA ete..They are not that organized ..i know..peace..
ReplyDeleteMost of Kwame's problems was from within his own people ie his ministers they were very corrupt..They had no concept of financial management...very sad but true..Byway my dad was a young man who campaigned for Kwame and later work for him in the background,i remember very well the night he was overthrown dad was out of the country doing his work in a place called Southern Rhodesia. Our house was at the back of the Flagstaff housing complex close by the zoo..Three little boys mom all freaking out from the load guns shots coming from Kwame's complex and down the street Ghana Boardcasting..i will never forget it i was almost 9yrs..From talking to Dad latelyhe said kwame knew a lot of his people and some African leaders were undermining him you name it..and it was all documented but kwame was kinda bushed it off..which was very dangerous for such a visionary.Sad thing is most of the data that was collected by Kwame's Bureau of African Affairs was all brunt that nite so it makes it hard to understand what kwame knew about some African leaders behavior to his plans for a united Africa...Dad had some data he kept in the house and mom kept some books and stuff before we were force to do bonfire buning of all or anything about Kwame fire dance..Dad just recently gave me some writing he hid somewhere before let for Southern Rhodesia.it is very personal and will not let anyone have it or sell it...Bye way he spent 5yrs in southern African before he was allow to come home..peace y'all...
ReplyDeleteYes, Kiz. I was thinking about the pretext used to get him out of Ghana. A black African plucked from his own country to go and mediate in was it the Vietnam or the Korean war.
ReplyDeleteYes, Nana F-A, that about Nelson Mandela is true.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, Anon.
ReplyDeleteWow, Patrick, I am totally educated on your point of view and recollections! Wow!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting Nana Yaw! Had never heard of the Ukrumah dimension...it is actually quite hilarious! Also finding the comments most informative...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Abena. And I am learning sooo much myself!
ReplyDeletewhy is he both Kwame and Kofi?...lol...oh ma bad it's Kofie? what's the difference? Can there ever be good governance in Africa without corruption? I'm talking the kind of corruption which we experience in African politic not the Western type...hehe
ReplyDeleteIt puzzled me too, Maxine, especially when "Kofie" is almost certainly a corruption of "Kofi". But it may have been his father's name. I believe he registered at Lincoln with that name.
ReplyDeleteI'm so... green,i need serious tutoring on "Ukrumah" lol!
ReplyDeleteDon't we all, lucci? ;-)
ReplyDeleteHe was born Kofi but took on Kwame when he was older......
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anon. Now, I think I remember that. Thanks again.
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