Relations with Radical African States (1957–62)

Abstract

The first wave of independence in sub-Saharan Africa had begun on March 6, 1957, when Kwame Nkrumah led Ghana away from its colonial past and to independence. In the late 1950s, Nkrumah seemed to be the embodiment of everything pan-African. The inscription on a statue of him in front of the Parliament building in Accra read, “Seek ye first the political kingdom and all things shall be added unto you. We prefer self government with danger to servitude in tranquility. Our task is not done and our safety not assured until the last vestiges of colonialism have been swept from Africa.”1