The saying, all men are created equal is one of the most profound statements of the modern era. Most of our religious sects espouse this particular theory. But, are all men, indeed, created equal?? Probably this was the source of Nkrumah’s delusion, because he ended up believing in the illusory ability of his Ghanaian compatriots. However, 57 years down the line, we’ve managed to make our point so clear and forcefully that we deserve a pat on the back for managing to prove Nkrumah wrong. Nkrumah believed that the black man, like the white man, was capable of managing his own affairs, thus he asserts,
“… I made it quite clear that from now on-today- we must change our attitudes, our minds, we must realise that from now on we are no more a colonial but free and independent people… my last warning to you is that you are to stand firm behind us[government] so that we can prove to the world that when the African is given a chance he can show the world that he is somebody…. I made a point that we are going to create our own African personality and identity. It’s the only way that we can show the world we are ready for our battles”- Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
Identity crisis
It was in March this year when I attended a leadership/entrepreneurial workshop. At the workshop we were asked to introduce ourselves. It was a small number of shortlisted participants. After introducing myself, a gentleman seated by me, inquired, “don’t you have an English name”? I smiled and shook my head in the negative. He wasn’t the first to ask me such a question-I get that a lot. Most of the people who ask such questions do so, I think, out of ignorance as they fail to realise the import of such a question.
Assuming you meet a Brit and he gives you his name as George William Ferguson, and then you proceed to ask, don’t you have an Akan or an Ewe name? Why should he have one? In the same vein, why should I have an English name since I am not English?
Such a question is considered normal in Ghana due to the elaborate co-existence with the British. Certainly Nkrumah was not oblivious of this. Thus he advocated for the need for attitudinal change and a change of mindset in order to create a distinct African personality and identity. Continue reading
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