‎Samia Nkrumah rejects claim that Ghanaians were happy of his father’s overthrow

By: Godbless Asaana‎
‎Samia Yaba Nkrumah, daughter of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, has rejected claims that Ghanaians broadly welcomed the 1966 overthrow of her father’s government.
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‎Speaking at the 2026 NkrumahFest at Nkroful in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region, she challenged what she described as negative historical narratives surrounding Nkrumah’s overthrow and legacy.
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‎Samia recalled the destruction of Nkrumah’s statue at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Museum in Accra following the coup, arguing that the events surrounding the overthrow did not represent the feelings of all Ghanaians.
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‎“That negative propaganda that Osagyefo when he left, Ghanaians were happy is not true,” she said.
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‎She also cited the unveiling of a new statue of Nkrumah at a roundabout in Sunyani as an indication of what she described as a renewed appreciation of his legacy.
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‎“When we unveiled the statue at the roundabout, I realised that yes, we are going to rise. Nzimaland will rise, Africa will rise, Ghana will rise, and Africans everywhere are going to rise,” she said.
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‎Samia stressed that the significance of such monuments was not to worship symbols but to preserve the ideas associated with Nkrumah’s leadership and use them to inspire confidence, strength and freedom.
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‎She also rejected descriptions of her father as an isolationist or rigid leader, arguing that his nationalism and Pan-Africanism coexisted with his relationships with people across the world.
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‎“They say he was an isolationist. They say he was dogmatic, rigid in his ideas. Let me tell you, this is not true,” she said.
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‎Samia said the Nkrumah family would continue supporting NkrumahFest, particularly because of its role in exposing younger generations to the former President’s ideas.
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‎“It is for this reason that the Nkrumah family will always support what our brother is doing, what Honourable Buah is doing with NkrumahFest, enlightening the younger generation. Honourable, the Nkrumah family is behind you,” she said.
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‎She said the family’s renewed engagement with the festival was intended to encourage young Ghanaians and Africans to examine Nkrumah’s philosophy and Pan-African vision beyond what she considers negative historical narratives.