African leaders have been urged to return to the founding ideals of intercontinental unity by Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

A renowned Pan-Africanist and Kenyan legal luminary, Prof. P.L.O. Lumumba, said 66 years after independence, Africa remained politically divided and economically colonised amid its enormous natural resource endowment.

He described the situation as a betrayal of Nkrumah’s vision of a united Africa, which must be reversed.

Prof. Lumumba was speaking at this year’s NkrumahFest celebration at Nkroful, the birthplace of Dr Nkrumah in the Western Region, last Saturday, on the theme: Nkrumah at 117, celebrating his enduring legacy – Africa must unite or perish.”

NkrumahFest is an annual heritage and cultural festival to honour the legacy, vision, and birth anniversary of Dr Nkrumah, which was spearheaded by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellembelle, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah.

The celebration, which started last Friday, saw the unveiling of a roundabout with the statue of Dr Nkrumah in the Ellembelle District in the Western Region.

The event was attended by the Paramount Chief of Essikado Traditional and President of the Western Regional House of Chiefs, Nana Kobina Nketsia V; the former running mate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2024 general election, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh; the daughter of Osagyefo Dr Nkrumah, Samia Nkrumah, and a Pan-Africanist and veteran journalist, Kwesi Pratt Jnr.

Others included some members of the political divide and guests from various parts of the country and the world.

Prof. Lumumba said Nkrumah’s vision for a united, dignified Africa remained relevant and intergenerational decades after his death.

He described Dr Nkrumah as one of the greatest Africans to have lived, saying his contribution to the liberation and dignity of Africa went far beyond his country of birth, Ghana.

Dr Nkrumah dedicated his life to restoring the dignity of Africans and reminded the continent that its political independence could only be protected through African unity.

Prof. Lumumba recalled Nkrumah’s advocacy for African unity, including his role in the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union, in 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

He also recalled the historic moment when Nkrumah warned that if African countries failed to unite, the forces that had previously colonised the continent could return in different forms.

Independence and sovereignty

Prof. Lumumba further referenced Nkrumah’s book “Africa Must Unite”, saying it reflected his strong conviction that African countries needed to work together to protect their independence and sovereignty.

He linked Nkrumah’s Pan-African vision to the civil rights struggle in the US, saying Ghana became an important source of inspiration for leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., among many others.

He said although Nkrumah’s political career was cut short following the 1966 coup, attempts to suppress his legacy could not extinguish his ideas even after death.

The remains of Dr Nkrumah were first interred in Guinea, moved to Nkroful, and later to the current resting place in Accra.

The convener of the event, Mr Buah, who is also the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, said Nkrumah’s legacy should inspire renewed commitment to self-determination, Pan-Africanism and shared prosperity, particularly among the younger generation.

The country under the regime of Nkrumah, he said, saw the establishment of major institutions of learning, infrastructure projects such as the Akosombo Dam, the Tema Harbour, the Adomi Bridge and factories, among many other investments which could best be described as intergenerational.