OSAGYEFO DR. KWAME NKRUMAH-THE LEGEND OF AFRICA NATIONALISM

It is a privilege and honor to welcome all of you to this auspicious occasion of the Launch of the book ‘OSAGYEFO DR KWAME NKRUMAH-The Legend of Africa Nationalism’. In doing this, I bring you greetings, not only from Africana First Publishers Plc, but indeed from the members of the Nigeria Publishers Association (NPA) and of course also course also from the people of my country, Nigeria.This ceremony coincides with the actual entry of Africana First Publishers Plc into the educational publishing industry of Ghana. With the past 2 years we had engaged ourselves in studying the publishing direction of Ghana; particularly educational publishing, where were have made very significant input back home in Nigeria. To be able to have our present footing, we must pay tribute to Mr. Sam Woode of Sam wood publications Ghana Ltd who has literarily held us by the hand. His advise, encouragement and provision of office space and many other unqualifiedly contributions are expression of Africa brotherhood.By this bilateral relationship, are to reciprocate and replicate the same gesture in Nigeria. This is a wonderful exemplary and practical relationship in our quest for economical integration and cooperation within our sub-region. Nigeria and Ghana have a lot of similarities touching on our colonial past. Both countries have the strong attachment to the cultural of the people. Publishing helps to sustain such cultural origins. Interestingly, both countries deriving from our colonial experience are still members of the West Africa Examination Council.Africana, the company I represent I present, has within the 28 years of its life became a very leading educational publishing in Nigeria. We are in so many ways influenced curricular educational publishing, yet to be the best titles in Physics, chemistry and biology. We had published, yet to be beaten titles for Primary Mathematics, Secondary English, and Home management, Economics and many outstanding titles in the tertiary education. As a fully indigenous company,We have snatched the initiative wrested the controlling influenced of the multinational publishers and heading to be no 1 educational publishers in Nigeria. This is no mean feat as there are over 100 such publishing houses to contend with.Our aim here is to use our 28 years experience to participate and grow indigenous educational publishing in Ghana. Develop qualitative textbooks for the using Ghanaian people. To end, we solicit the co-operation of the Government, the schools and all the agencies charged with education development in Ghana. We know we cannot achieve these set objectives without your support, patronage and encouragement. Publishing is culture, it is dissemination of the information and conservation of what the people hold dear. It is the developments of the finest action minds to give their ideas in print. Publishing is a paramount instrumental in the education of the citizenry as no formal education can complete without textbooks.Finally, ladies and gentlemen, this books we are here to launch today is our own contribution to keep aglow NKRUMAISM not only Ghana but indeed in West Africa and the world. We have done a similar thing for Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwie with the title Azikiwe and Africa Revolution. These two great Legend of Patriarchs had fired the minds of Africans towards the agitation for liberation from the shackles of colonialism. They were men of unbeatable charisma, demagogues and unparalleled oratory. They enriched our political economy and gave real expression to Africa democracy. Their political ideas and erudition tower above any in the continent of Africa and their political philosophy are complimentary. it should be said of them that they were the men who gave their people freedom.Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I conclude by once more thanking you for your love in coming, for your love for Africa emancipation and your contributions seen and unseen to promote and sustain the growth of West Africa sub-region. May the Almighty bless you all.ADDRESS BY THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK,Prof. M.C Okany-The funeral ceremony of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in the June 1992, in the Conakry Guinea’s Pala De Peuple, as reported by Comrade Uche Chukwumerije (now the Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria) demonstrated that President Kwame Nkrumah is more alive than when he lived. According to Uche Chukwumerije, “Inside the dimly lit hall, the first impression was one of void and complete halt of all motions. For an hour, nothing seemed to stir, except the tip-toes of ghost of photographers and occasional explosions of flash bulbs. But the hall was in fact filled beyond the usual capacity of 1,000 in the auditorium; there was estimated audience of the 3000 while some eighty representatives of the governments and parties sat in six rows in the far end of the stage. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, lying in state in the closed casket in the centre of the stage dominated Africa even more fully than he ever did in his life time. The eleven hours of the symposium sped fast so quickly. The tones of the 20 speeches varied, but a heavy foot-note of repentance underlined all. All the speeches left one with the impression of sudden fear, even panic in most delegates. I was at first wondering how a casket (even after due allowance was made for our firm belief in the omnipotence of supernational) could unnerve so many……”.The President of the African Party for the independence of Guinea-Bissau, Amilcar Cabral spoke eloquently at a symposium held in memory of Osagyefo on May 13, 1972, at the Palais De Peuple in Conakry. In the words of Amilcar Cabral, “Nkrumah certainly died not of any cancerous disease but of a “cancer of betrayal” , as stressed repeatedly in the volume from Panaf’s series on African Great Lives: “Nobody can tell us that Nkrumah died of a cancer of the throat or some illness. No, Nkrumah was killed by the cancer of betrayal, which we must uproot from Africa if we really want to bring about the final liquidation of imperialist domination from this continent. But we