Nationalism and Tribalism as obstracles to Pan-Africanism

Abstract

This Magister dissertation is on the obstacles that faced the success of Pan-Africanism through the case study of the Gold Coast. We try to clarify the role of Pan-African leader Kwame Nkrumah in Pan-Africanism and his efforts to achieve national unity in Ghana and continental unity in Africa and the obstacles that faced him. We introduce a background picture of Africans' role within the Pan-African movement until 1945 Manchester Congress. After this period, the leadership of this movement moved from the West Indians and Afro-Americans to continental Africans like Nkrumah. Nkrumah worked tirelessly for the independence of the Gold Coast from the British rule. He saw the unity of Ghana under a single government transcending racial, tribal and regional considerations as an ideal to the unification of Africa under a union government surpassing racial, tribal and regional regards. Key words: Pan-Africanism - Naionalism - Tribalism- Colonialism- Balkanisation