In Kwame Nkrumah and the Dream of African Unity, Lansiné Kaba describes some of the epic phases of Kwame Nkrumah’s struggle for the independence of his country, Ghana, and the unity of his continent, Africa. These two tasks were gigantic, complex, and even frightening. Each separately was promethean in scope, perhaps beyond the capacity of a single leader, however able and determined. Yet, Nkrumah dared to accomplish them and thus deserves a place among the great figures of his world. Far from being a hagiography or a biography, or an essay on the ideology and foreign politics of Nkrumah, this work follows the adventures of his dream of African unity, from the years studying across the Atlantic to the Accra Summit in 1965 and the coup d’état in 1966. Throughout, the analysis tries to understand the genesis of the dream and the effort required for its realization. These discussions deal with the difficulties of implementing a policy of regrouping independent states into a continental body.
Author(s): Lansiné Kaba
Publisher: Diasporic Africa Press
Year: 2017
Language: English
Commentary: illustrations in both grayscale & color. no page numbers; pagination does not match physical copy.
Preface
1. Nkrumah, the Idea of Unity and the Africa of Today
The Need for Unity
The Crisis of African Institutions
Culture and Unity
2. Pan-Africanism or the Genesis of the Dream
The Vision on Board the Ship
Pan-Africanism and the Origin of the Dream of Unity
Pan-African Congresses and the Dream of Unity, 1900–1945
Nkrumah and the Congress at Manchester
3. The Independence of Ghana and Planning the Dream
Return to His Country
The Gold Coast in 1947
Setting the Fire: The Creation of the Party
Independence in Unity
From the Dungeon to Triumph
4. The Mechanisms of Nkrumah’s African Policy
The Celebrations of Independence
Nkrumah’s Foreign Policy
Nkrumah’s Collaborators
An Overview of the Obstacles
5. Attempts at Regional Union and the Dream
First Conference of Independent African States
The First All-African Peoples’ Conference
The Union between Ghana and Guinea
The Union of Ghana, Guinea and Mali
6. The Congo Crisis and the Dream of Unity
The Crisis in Congo
Casablanca or Trans-Saharan Regroupment
7. The OAU and the Dream of Unity
Nkrumah and the Creation of the OAU
Nkrumah before Africa
Nkrumah and the OAU
Conclusion
Bibliography
Chronology
Notes
