10 Kwame Nkrumah Quotes Every Ghanaian Should Know

Kwame Nkrumah remains one of Africa’s most influential political figures, decades after Ghana gained independence under his leadership.

Although the younger generation did not witness his leadership and vision firsthand, many of his ideas about African unity, independence, self-reliance and the continent’s development continue to feature prominently in discussions about Africa’s future.

Through speeches, writings and public addresses delivered mainly in the late 1950s and 1960s, Nkrumah articulated a vision that extended beyond Ghana’s independence to the broader liberation and unity of Africa.

Here are 10 memorable quotes attributed to the former Ghanaian leader:

1. “The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa.”

2. “I am not African because I was born in Africa, but because Africa was born in me.”

3. “We must unite now or perish.”

4. “Africa is one continent, one people, and one nation.”

5. “Action without thought is empty. Thought without action is blind.”

6. “We have awakened. We will not sleep anymore. Today, from now on, there is a new African in the world!”

7. “Africa is a paradox which illustrates and highlights neo-colonialism. Her earth is rich, yet the products that come from above and below the soil continue to enrich, not Africans predominantly, but groups and individuals who operate to Africa’s impoverishment.”

8. “Freedom is not something that one people can bestow on another as a gift. They claim it as their own and none can keep it from them.”

9. “All people of African descent, whether they live in North or South America, the Caribbean, or in any part of the world, are Africans and belong to the African nation.”

10. “The best way of learning to be an independent sovereign state is to be an independent sovereign state.”

Nkrumah’s vision placed African unity, independence and collective development at the heart of the continent’s future. More than six decades later, his ideas continue to be discussed in conversations about Africa’s political and economic direction.

By: Paulina Armah/ Radio1.