4 Things Ghanaians didn’t know about Kwame Nkrumah

21st September 2020, marks the 111th birthday of the first president and Pan-Africanist of the Republic of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

The great man was born to Kofi Ngonloma and Elizabeth Nyaniba of the Asona and Anona Clan respectively. He was born in Nkroful in the Western Region in the then Gold Coast before it was changed to Ghana. He is given the accolade for gaining independence for the country from the British in 1957.

Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was one of the founding members of the Organisation of African Unity, now the African Union. He was overturned from power in a coup on February 24, 1966, by the military-backed by the Western Countries.

He is reported to have died of prostate cancer while he was in exile in Guinea. Although much information has been gathered about Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, here are the five you may have never heard of.

1. Real Name

Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s real name was Francis Nwia-Kofi Ngonloma. He later changed it in 1945 in the United Kingdom due to the fact that he was born on Saturday. Also, other people have the knowledge that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was born on Friday.

2. Birthdate of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

Ghanaians have accepted the date of birth of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah to be September 21, 1909. Confusingly, in applying for a London school, he wrote his date of birth as September 12, 1909, before later changing it to September 21, 1909.

3. Assassination attempt

In the course of the presidency of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, he had close encounters with death for about 7 times. He was even bombed in his office during political rally addresses. Other people lost their lives from the attempt to the assassination of the founding father.

4. Relationship with Guinea

Dr. Osagyefo Nkrumah was very instrumental in the overall independence of African states. He was honored with a Co-President in Guinea for supporting Guinea when French colonial masters ignored them.

Moreover, it is known that Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah applied to study at the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom.

In conclusion, we celebrate the memorial of the founding father as his legacy lives on.