Heed Nkrumah's Call for African Unity: Divisions Hold Back Growth Kwesi Pratt Jnr

Veteran journalist and Pan-Africanist Kwesi Pratt Jnr has argued that Africa's political and economic fragmentation remains a major obstacle to genuine sovereignty, renewing Dr Kwame Nkrumah's case for deeper continental integration, industrialization and greater African control over strategic resources.

The setting
Pratt made the case during the concluding session of the 15th Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Lectures at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) on Friday, September 18.

The two-day lecture series, held under the theme "Kwame Nkrumah Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Perspectives on Constitutionalism, Development and Pan-Africanism," formed part of activities marking Nkrumah's 117th birthday on September 21, observed nationally as Founder's Day.

UCC's memorial lecture series, instituted in the 1970s, focuses on political, economic and social questions affecting Africa and the Black world.

Unity as the core of Nkrumah's politics

Pratt argued that Nkrumah saw Ghana's independence, African unity and economic sovereignty not as separate causes but as parts of the same unfinished project.

"Pan-Africanism was not an additional feature of Nkrumah's politics," Pratt said. "It was at the centre of his worldview." He traced that outlook to Nkrumah's political formation in the United States and Britain, his engagement with Black intellectual and anti-colonial movements, and his participation in the Fifth Pan-African Congress in Manchester in 1945, arguing those experiences convinced Nkrumah that Ghana's independence could never be secure while large parts of Africa remained under colonial rule.

After 1957, Accra became a hub for African liberation movements, hosting both the Conference of Independent African States and the All-African Peoples' Conference in 1958.

A development lesson, too
In the same lecture series, Pratt urged Ghana to draw on Nkrumah's Seven-Year Development Plan (1963-1970) in confronting today's economic challenges. He described the plan, anchored on state-led industrialisation, economic diversification, agricultural modernisation, infrastructure development, human capacity building and an African economic purpose, as one of the most comprehensive post-independence attempts to transform Ghana's colonial economic structure.

Pratt said Nkrumah understood that political independence without economic transformation would leave the country dependent, noting Ghana's economy then relied heavily on exporting raw materials like cocoa, gold and timber while importing manufactured goods, a pattern he said persists today.

Honoured by his own words
At a special congregation on September 18 following the lectures, UCC conferred an honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) on Pratt in recognition of his decades of contribution to journalism, public discourse, democracy and the ideals of African emancipation.

UCC Chancellor Dr (Sir) Sam Esson Jonah said the honour recognised Pratt's use of journalism and public engagement to hold power accountable and promote social justice and Pan-Africanism, and that the University valued independent journalism, courage and openness to new ideas as pillars of democracy.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,

International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding. ( USIP)

[email protected]
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References
Africa Briefing, "Pratt renews Nkrumah's African unity call" (https://africabriefing.com/pratt-renews-nkrumahs-african-unity-call/)

GBC Ghana Online, "Revisit Nkrumah's seven-year development plan – Kwesi Pratt urges Ghana" (https://www.gbcghanaonline.com/news/politics/revisit-nkrumahs-seven-year-development-plan-kwesi-pratt-urges-ghana/2026/)

Ghana Business News, "Pratt urges Ghana to revisit Nkrumah's seven-year development plan," Sept. 21, 2026 (https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2026/09/21/pratt-urges-ghana-to-revisit-nkrumahs-seven-year-development-plan/)

Adomonline.com, "Kwesi Pratt urges Ghana to draw lessons from Nkrumah's Seven-Year Development Plan" (https://www.adomonline.com/kwesi-pratt-urges-ghana-to-draw-lessons-from-nkrumahs-seven-year-development-plan/)

Graphic Online, "UCC confers honorary doctorate on Kwesi Pratt Jnr" (https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ucc-confers-honorary-doctorate-on-kwesi-pratt-jnr.html)

Wikipedia, "Kwesi Pratt Jnr" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwesi_Pratt_Jnr)

Kambale Musavuli, "Seek Ye First the Political Kingdom" (eyewitness account of the lectures) (https://kambalemusavuli.substack.com/p/seek-ye-first-the-political-kingdom)