To kick start things a bit -- here's a post that was on the "Nkrumah" discussion --
You suggest that Nkrumah is "yours", but always come out to indicate that he was a bad man. When Nkrumah was toppled, many books and pamphlets were written to vilify the man. Some of them are sickening propaganda, and show a decided lack of wisdom. Note that there was a sustained effort to destroy the man politically. The western media played a great role (do a search for news items from the period from Western newspapers and journals). One of those articles praised to high heavens Azikiwe (of Nigeria) comparing him loftily to Nkrumah, who was described essentially as intellectually vapid, and rather weak in mathematics. (If I recall correctly, this was from Time magazine). It is funny what history tells us. Compare now, Nigeria, and Ghana. Nkrumah was not a genius. He was not perfect, nor even highly moral. But he loved his country, and he had the strength to believe in an idea, and give his life for it. His detractors (who shamelessly were financed from the west to topple him) went as far as to consider blowing up the Akosombo dam, in order to destabilise the country and make the man unpopular. These are the kind of people who wrote those books that Andy seems to have such great faith in.
I could go on and on. Not because I like Nkrumah (I am ambivalent, really) but because I have so much respect for a man who has a great idea and fights for it - especially when this idea is meant to generate progress and security of life and reason.
Just a little note. When Nkrumah was toppled, there was a project to build a nuclear reactor (in collaboration with the Russians). The coup makers allowed the Americans to dismantle and take the equipment away. Note that at this time the cold war was in full swing, so this was no laughing matter. Personally, I believe that the Russian technology might have not have been superior to the Americans', but by God! what a start we would have had, if the reactor had at least been completed. We would have a foot in the latest technology. By this time, had the thinking been right, we would have had generations of Nuclear technologists. We probably would have other nuclear reactors as well. At this time, all that remains of the reactor is an ageing concrete structure. I weep when I see that building. (Interestingly, Ghana now has a small research reactor. It was installed at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commision during Rawling's time. I'm just seeing patterns, forgive me.)
Look, therefore, at the work of Nkrumah for the people! and compare with the work of the detractors, who, as history has shown, had their own selfish interests at heart.
Nkrumah's failure, really, is a failure of Ghanaians, who are so weak minded that they only want to destroy (or level - i.e., keep all things the same) and not build, and who are rabidly uncomfortable with the mark of a strong individual (the prelude to genius). This is one reason why our culture fails to create geniuses of men of great intellectual impact. I have more to say on this topic!
Finally, I am attaching a speech read by Nkrumah at the laying of the foundation stone for the reactor in 1964. Read this, and then tell me which other Ghanaian leader has had such vision and passion (even then, the man was talking about employing solar energy. "'My God! Only half the Truth is told'. -- Mamacita".)
See here:
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=122255
