CPP UNBANNED

"It was on the 12th of June, 1949, that the masses of our people witnessed the coming into being of the Convention People's Party. It was a time of great political awakening, and our Party was destined to lead the people to victory. This revolutionary Party of ours was to rekindle the torch of African nationalism and blaze the way to the total emancipation and unity of our continent."

Kwame Nkrumah, speaking for the CPP and the Government of Ghana, Address to the National Assembly. 12 June 1965

Modern day Ghana has had a greater impact on human civilization than any single area of the Continent. Its legacy is really a legacy of the mass movements and organizations brought together under the Pan-Africanist banner of the Convention People’s Party (CPP). Together, with its sister party the Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG), the CPP set the standard by which all Pan-Africanist organizations are measured.

The CPP, this great socialist party, is the dialectical consequence of the overall anti-colonial struggle inside of the Gold Coast (as colonized Ghana was called) generally, and of the ideological and organizational tension inside of the United Gold Coast Convention, in specific. The CPP, beyond its yeoman service to the anti-colonial struggle in Ghana, played a critical role in many, many, African struggles, chief among them was the CPP’s material support for the PDG in Guinea, their tireless effort to bolster the legitimate Congolese government headed by Patrice Lumumba, and aid of all kinds to every liberation movement on the Continent. Indeed it well known that the CPP provided succor for African revolutionaries everywhere, at home and abroad. This is borne out by the great respect shown to the CPP and its leadership, by so many African movements and individuals, from ANC and PAC in the south of our home, to leaders in the Diaspora such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the DuBois (WEB and Shirley Graham), George Padmore, and Omowale Malcolm X, just to name a few.

To get a better idea of the nature of the CPP and how it functioned, and why it is so universally loved and respected by African people, we need only look at a couple of quotes from Osagyefo:

"I must once again emphasize that the masses of the people form the backbone of our Party and their living conditions and their welfare must be paramount in everything we do. It is for them in particular and Africa in general that our Party exists."

Speech at the 14th Anniversary of the Convention Peoples Party. 12 June 1963

"Our aim is to make this country a worthy place for all its citizens, a country that, will be a shining light throughout the whole continent of Africa, giving inspiration far beyond its frontiers. And this we can do by dedicating ourselves to unselfish service to humanity. "

Motion of Destiny speech. 10 July 1953

"We shall measure our progress by the improvement in the health of our people; by the number of children in school, and by the quality of their education; by the availability of water and electricity in our towns and villages, and by the happiness which our people take in being able to manage their own affairs. The welfare of our people is our chief pride, and it is by this that my Government will ask to be judged. "

Broadcast to the Nation. 24 December 1957

Recently, Ghana has taken a step forward, the Rawlings government has seized the initiative and UNBANNED the CPP. Let us hope this is indicative of a renewal of Ghana's role in building Pan-Africanism.