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With the advent of
independence in the late 1950s and
early ‘60s, euphoria began to sweep
through Africa as nation after nation
attained self-determination. To most
Africans this was the end of a long
struggle for freedom, a dream that
was soon to be shattered as
government after government fell
victim to coups d’état. The new
military juntas accused the civilian
governments of everything from
corruption and incompetence to
mismanagement of the national
economy; but experience shows they
are no better when it came to
running governments, the continent
having been driven into even further
suffering and turmoil. They are likely
to continue, as long as political and
economic instability prevails.
The first African country to gain
independence was the former Gold
Coast, renamed Ghana after the
ancient historical empire. The first
leader, from 1952, was Kwame
Nkrumah, who was inspired by
Gandhi and had a similar
philosophy. For Nkrumah, Pan-
Africanism was part of the deal:
“We are going to see that we create
our own African personality and
identity. We again rededicate
ourselves in the struggle to
emancipate other countries in
Africa; for our independence is
meaningless unless it is linked up
with the total liberation of the
African continent.”
But Nkrumah became far too
authoritarian, as was subsequently
to be the case with other leaders. In
1964 Nkrumah declared himself
president for life and banned
opposition parties. He was
overthrown when the National
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