Who was Kwame Nkrumah?
Born in Nkroful in the then Gold Coast in 1909, Kwame Nkrumah studied in the United States and Britain, where he immersed himself in Pan-African thought and organising before returning home in 1947.
He founded the Convention People's Party in 1949 and campaigned for "self-government now". On 6 March 1957 the Gold Coast became independent as Ghana, with Nkrumah as prime minister and, from 1960, president. His motto was "Seek ye first the political kingdom".
Nkrumah championed continental unity and was a founding figure of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963. He was overthrown in a 1966 coup while abroad and died in exile in 1972. His legacy as an architect of African independence remains central to Pan-African history.