In 1957 Ghana became the first nation in sub-Saharan Africa to win its independence from a colonial power (Great Britain). The independence struggle was led by Kwame Nkrumah who became the nation’s first Prime Minister. Nkrumah visited Nigeria in 1959. He specifically toured Eastern Nigeria … Read More(1959) Nnamdi Azikiwe Honors Kwame Nkrumah on his Visit to Eastern Nigeria
Nnamdi Azikiwe, by the 1950s the best know nationalist leader from Nigeria, addressed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) at its 50th anniversary celebration at the Polo Grounds, New York City, July 19, 1959. His speech appears below. I am greatly … Read More(1959) Nnamdi Azikiwe Addresses the NAACP Convention on the Organization’s 50th Anniversary
On November 17, 1948 the University of Ibadan became the first modern institution of higher education in Nigeria when it began as an external college of the University of London. Fifteen years later the University became independent of all ties with the British university. Sir … Read More(1963) Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, “Chancellor’s Address at the University of Ibadan”
What follows is the speech by Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa on the occasion of the creation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) at Addis Abba, Ethiopia, on May 24, 1963. Your Imperial Majesty, Mr. President, Your Excellencies, First, I want to express the thanks … Read More(1963) Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, “Addis Ababa”
On Saturday, October 1, 1960, Nigeria became an independent nation. What follows is Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa’s speech delivered at Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos at the Independence Ceremony. Today is Independence Day. The first of October 1960 is a date to which for … Read More(1960) Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, “Independence Day”
By 1957 Nigeria was clearly on the path toward independence. In preparation the British Government named Abubakar Tafawa Balewa the first Prime Minister of the soon to be independent nation in a power sharing agreement among the colony’s three major political parties. In the following … Read More(1957) Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, “First Speech as Prime Minister”
The political situation in the Congo deteriorated rapidly after it gained independence on June 30, 1960. By July Belgian paratroopers had arrived in Stanleyville, the capital of Katanga province, attacking the Congolese army and police in a bid to aid the province in resisting the … Read More(1960) Patrice Lumumba, “National Radio Address”
On October 2, 1958 Sekou Touré, proclaimed Guinea’s independence from France and became its first president. One year later he gave a speech in Conakry, the capital in which he outlined the role of political leaders in reflecting and developing the culture of their nations. … Read More(1959) Sekou Touré, “The Political Leader Considered as the Representative of a Culture”
In a speech celebrating the life of Dr. Eduardo Mondlane, leader the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO) who was assassinated by Portuguese agents on February 3, 1969, Amilcar Cabral, leader of the liberation movement in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, described the role of indigenous culture in … Read More(1970) Amilcar Cabral, “National Liberation and Culture”
In 1966 Amilcar Cabral was the Secretary-General and President of the War Council of the P.A.I. G. C. (African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde). In January 1966 he delivered an address to the first Tricontinental Conference of the peoples of Asia, … Read More(1966) Amilcar Cabral, “The Weapon of Theory”
