Remembering Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah On His Birthday…
Happy Founders Day: Ghana Marks the Birthday of First President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
In 2010, the late President John Mills instituted the Founders Day to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
”..Our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent.” ~ Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
The Convention People’s Party (CPP) which was founded by Nkrumah will celebrate the 105th birthday of their founder who was born September 21, 1909.
The celebration which began on September 14 has so far been highlighted by a series of activities including a durbar and launch of the reprint of ‘The Big Lie’, a book written by Nkrumah in 1969.
The CPP says it is not enough to set a day aside as a holiday to celebrate Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
Biography
Kwame Nkrumah was born as Francis Nwia Kofi Ngonloma in Nkroful, Gold Coast.
He studied to be a teacher at Achimota School in Accra from 1925 to 1935.
He worked as a teacher in several schools in the Gold Coast including a Roman Catholic school in Axim, while he was saving money to continue his education in the United States of America.
In 1935, Nkrumah sailed from Takoradi, Gold Coast, to Liverpool, England, and made his way to London, England, where he applied and received his student visa from the American Embassy.
It was while Nkrumah was in London in late 1935 that he heard the news of the Invasion of Abyssinia by fascist Italy, an event that outraged the young Nkrumah. This prompted him to set his sights on a political career.
In October 1935, Nkrumah sailed from Liverpool to the United States, where he enrolled at the Lincoln University of Pennsylvania.
He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1939, and then he completed his Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree in 1942.
Nkrumah also earned his Master of Science degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania in 1942, and then his M.A. in philosophy in 1943.
Return to the Gold Coast
In 1947, Nkrumah was invited to serve as the General Secretary to the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) under Joseph Boakye Danquah.
The government suspected the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was behind the protests and on 12 March 1948 arrested Nkrumah and other party leaders.
Realising their error, the British released the convention leaders on 12 April 1948.
After his imprisonment by the colonial government, Nkrumah emerged as the leader of the youth movement in 1948.
Facing international protests and internal resistance, the British decided to leave the Gold Coast…
Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah led Ghana to independence on 6th March 1957 from Britain their colonial master
Source: Education/Ghana News/GTV/Research
