Kwame Nkrumah Quotes
Kwame Nkrumah was a Ghanaian political philosopher and the first Prime Minister and President of independent Ghana. After studies in the United States and the United Kingdom, he returned to the Gold Coast in 1947 to lead the campaign for independence, achieved in 1957. The quotes below are attributed to Kwame Nkrumah, organized by topic.
Browse Kwame Nkrumah by topic
Kwame Nkrumah on Freedom
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“"It is far better to be free to govern or misgovern yourself than to be governed by anybody else.” Source: “I Speak of Freedom: A Statement of African Ideology,” by Kwame Nkrumah.”
Wikiquote -
“"I prefer freedom in danger than servitude in tranquility" [4]”
Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare(1968) -
“As long as we are ruled by others we shall lay our mistakes at their door, and our sense of responsibility will remain dulled. Freedom brings responsibilities, and our experience can be enriched only by the acceptance of these responsibilities.”
The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah on Justice
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“For centuries, Europeans dominated the African continent. The white man arrogated to himself the right to rule and to be obeyed by the non-white; his mission, he claimed, was to "civilize" Africa. Under this cloak, the Europeans robbed the continent of vast riches and inflicted unimaginable suffering on the African people.”
Wikiquote -
“Capitalism is a development by refinement from feudalism just as feudalism is a development by refinement from slavery . … Capitalism is but the gentleman's method of slavery .”
Consciencism: Philosophy and Ideology for Decolonisation [2] , 1964
Kwame Nkrumah on Knowledge
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“Capitalism is too complicated a system for a newly independent nation. Hence the need for a socialistic society.”
The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah (1957), p. x. | We face neither East nor West: we face forward. [ 1 ] -
“The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah (1957), p. x.”
Capitalism is too complicated a system for a newly independent nation. Hence the need for a socialistic society. -
“Just as in the days of the Egyptians , so today God had ordained that certain among the African race should journey westwards to equip themselves with knowledge and experience for the day when they would be called upon to return to their motherland and to use the learning they had acquired to help improve the lot of their brethren. ...I had not realized at the time that I would contribute so much towards the fulfillment of this prophecy.”
The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah (1957). As quoted by George P. Hagan in Nkrumah's Leadership Style—An Assessment from a Cultural Perspective , in Arhin (1992), The Life and Work of Kwame Nkrumah . -
“At the Second Conference of African Journalists; Accra, November 11, 1963.”
To the true African journalist, his newspaper is a collective organizer, a collective instrument of mobilization and a collective educator—a weapon , first and foremost, to overthrow colonialism and imperialism and to assist total African independence and unity.
Kwame Nkrumah on Life
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“The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah (1957). As quoted by George P. Hagan in Nkrumah's Leadership Style—An Assessment from a Cultural Perspective , in Arhin (1992), The Life and Work of Kwame Nkrumah .”
Just as in the days of the Egyptians , so today God had ordained that certain among the African race should journey westwards to equip themselves with knowledge and experience for the day when they would be called upon to return to their motherland and to use the learning they had acquired to help improve the lot of their brethren. ...I had not realized at the time that I would contribute so much -
“Speech delivered by Osagyefo the President at the Laying of the Foundation Stone of Ghana's Atomic Reactor at Kwabenya on 25th November, 1964". As quoted ny E. A. Haizel in Education in Ghana, 1951 – 1966 , in Arhin (1992), The Life and Work of Kwame Nkrumah .”
We in Ghana, are committed to the building of an industrialized socialist society. We cannot afford to sit still and be mere passive onlookers. We must ourselves take part in the pursuit of scientific and technological research as a means of providing the basis for our socialist society, Socialism without science is void. … We need also to reach out to the mass of the people who have not had the o -
“The critical study of the philosophies of the past should lead to the study of modern theories. For these latter, born of the fire of contemporary struggles, are militant and alive.”
Philosophy In Retrospect | p. 5.
Kwame Nkrumah on Politics
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“Seek ye first the political kingdom, and all things shall be added unto you.”
The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah -
“Africa must unite.”
Africa Must Unite -
Attributed to Kwame Nkrumah:
“Independence is meaningless without economic and political emancipation.”
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“Neo-colonialism is the worst form of imperialism.”
Introduction," xi -
“We face neither East nor West; we face forward.”
Capitalism is too complicated a system for a newly independent nation. Hence the need for a socialistic society. -
Attributed to Kwame Nkrumah:
“The forces that unite us are intrinsic and greater than the superimposed forces that divide us.”
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“We cannot tell our peoples that material benefits in growth and modern progress are not for them. If we do, they will throw us out and seek other leaders who promise more … We have to modernize. Either we shall do so with the interest and support of the West or we shall be compelled to turn elsewhere. This is not a warning or a threat, but a straight statement of political reality.”
Quoted in Canadian Institute of International Affairs International Journal , Volumes 13-14 (1957), p. 160. -
“The only effective way to challenge this economic empire and to recover possession of our heritage, is for us to act on a Pan-African basis, through a Union Government.”
Neo-Colonialism, The Last Stage of Imperialism(1965) | "Conclusion," 259 -
“Never in the history of the world has an alien ruler granted self-rule to a people on a silver platter.”
The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah -
“The essence of neo-colonialism is that the State which is subject to it is, in theory, independent and has all the outward trappings of international sovereignty . In reality its economic system and thus its political policy is directed from outside.”
Neo-Colonialism, The Last Stage of Imperialism(1965) | "Introduction," ix
Kwame Nkrumah on Truth
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“To the true African journalist, his newspaper is a collective organizer, a collective instrument of mobilization and a collective educator—a weapon , first and foremost, to overthrow colonialism and imperialism and to assist total African independence and unity.”
At the Second Conference of African Journalists; Accra, November 11, 1963.