"A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and in his own house."
 Jesus

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's birthday past on September 21st without pomp or circumstance, no festivities, not even a moment of silence, just a mention on the radio here and there.  What does that say?

No one would openly argue that Nkrumah's efforts on behalf of African peoples as a whole and Ghanaians in particular, aren't due praises for generations to come.  Ghana was blessed with the first seed of the revolution, Nkrumah, the embodiment of the struggle.  It is in great part due to his vision and self sacrifice that Ghana as a country and Africa as a whole have reached where we are today.  Before 'pan-Africanism' was a coin phrase to be used by poltricians, black and white, Nkrumah gave it meaning by joining forces with Africans throughout the continent and in the far reaching Diaspora.  He promoted total and absolute independence, allowing for Africa's destiny to lie in the hands of Africans and not at the discretion or mercy of the  so-called developed nations of  the world, with their pseudo interest in Africa's welfare.  He sought his strengths from neighboring African countries, importing knowledge from as far as Ethiopia's empire down to Harlem's streets and supporting all struggles against oppression with soldiers and money from Ghana's own coffers (something that didn't make him popular at home).  Imagine that, an African leader persecuted for assisting a neighboring country in pursuit of freedom when today, our leader can allocate 3.5 million USD for the renovation of one of the presidential palaces, in which he has not spent one good night in his last five years as president, and no one is complaining about that!?!  Times have changed and the policies of today have changed with the times.  Now it is vogue to sit amongst the G-8 and discuss how to eradicate poverty while towing an entourage of durbar proportions.  Applying for loans that will only further enslave future generations and deny present day Africans of any rights to determine the value of their many commodities and the absolute neglect of our brothers in the struggle, so far as they offend one of our donor-countries.  Long gone are the days when Ghana represented a significant pillar in the fight for freedom from colonial powers.  Instead Ghana boasts a new era in which capitalizism and democracy are the talk of the day, which in Africa simply means, he who takes orders best gets the funding necessary to win any election.  If any serious opponents rise and actually seek to redistribute the wealth and rights to the people, then those same sponsors/donors will either revert to the policy of elimination, as was done, admittedly and unapologetically, by the C.I.A. to rid themselves of Nkrumah, and a host of others,  or their more 'civilized' approach, a blasphemous media campaign, as is being done to The Honorable Robert Mugabe.

We all know, real Freedom Fighters get no accolades lest their spirit rise in the people and cause even more problems for the powers that be.  However, we who were born again and again to fight this fight, know that our struggle is not in  vain and our strides are being measured by the Most High, who will top off our works with the final Judgment! 

It must be noted that 2 years after this article was written, Dr. Nkrumah's 100th Earthday was celebrated in grand style and his Earthday has been celebrated since. Give thanks.