The one person I would bring back from the dead if I could is Kwame Nkrumah. I always feel like if that was possible, he and I would have a very lively chat. I see him as a true African hero who was not just concerned about Ghana (then known as the Gold Coast) but saw himself as an African citizen. He is known for declaring that the independence of Ghana was nothing unless all African states were liberated.

I wonder how many people today see themselves as African citizens. With all the divisions and so called barriers, people have difficulty seeing beyond their national borders.

He frequently cried out for African Unity which has not happened. It is indeed difficult to judge what Africa would be like now had we gone with Nkrumah’s idea but he did raise valid points and more so his constant dedication and enthusiasm is worthy of praise.

Here are some of his famous quotes:

“A State in the grip of neo-colonialism is not master of its own destiny. It is this factor which makes neo-colonialism such a serious threat to world peace.”

“Freedom is not something that one people can bestow on another as a gift. Thy claim it as their own and none can keep it from them.”

“Revolutions are brought about by men, by men who think as men of action and act as men of thought.”

“The best way of learning to be an independent sovereign state is to be an independent sovereign state.”

“We face neither East nor West: we face forward.”

We prefer self-government with danger to servitude in tranquility.”

 

Personally, I think he is under rated. Seems like the world would rather celebrate Mandela or maybe he does not get recognised because he is dead. Whatever the case, he was truly Pan-African and his legacy lives on.