THE BOOK THAT GOT NKRUMAH DEPOSED?

Today marks 59 years since pan-African icon and Ghana's founding leader Kwame Nkrumah was removed from office in a military coup engineered by the CIA.

After leading Ghana to independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah embarked on a mission to unite the African people on the continent and in the diaspora. It was his firm belief that Africans share not only a common history, but a common destiny.

He was one of the founding leaders of the African Union's predecessor, the Organization of African Unity, in 1963. In a key speech at the opening summit, he eloquently made the case for African unity. He explained that true independence and prosperity could only be attained if African nations united on both the economic and political front. He said this was the only way they could defeat the menace posed by the neo-colonial system, which was hell-bent on maintaining its control over the continent, even as most countries attained 'flag independence.'

To the CIA, revolutionary pan-African leaders like Nkrumah were a danger that needed to be 'neutralised.' Their words were seen as threats by the US establishment. It is perhaps telling that it was only after Nkrumah's overthrow that the IMF engaged in debt restructuring with Ghana.

In this clip, Nkrumah's editorial assistant, June Milne, relates how his book - Neo-Colonialism, The Last Stage of Imperialism - was the last straw for the US. In it, he detailed how Western countries were looting Africa's resources. Milne claims the book spurred Washington into sponsoring the coup that removed him.

Credit: One on One with June Milne, FineLine Production
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjUc_9Nmr_M&t=0s