{"id":2490,"date":"2026-02-24T19:35:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T19:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parliamentnews360.com\/?p=2490"},"modified":"2026-02-24T19:35:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T19:35:29","slug":"nkrumah-overthrow-at-60-ellembelle-mp-declares-1966-coup-international-aggression-against-ghana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parliamentnews360.com\/index.php\/nkrumah-overthrow-at-60-ellembelle-mp-declares-1966-coup-international-aggression-against-ghana\/","title":{"rendered":"Nkrumah Overthrow at 60: Ellembelle MP Declares 1966 Coup \u201cInternational Aggression\u201d Against Ghana"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On the 60th anniversary of the overthrow of Ghana\u2019s first President, Kwame Nkrumah, the Member of Parliament for Ellembelle has described the 24th February 1966 coup as \u201can act of international aggression\u201d that disrupted Ghana\u2019s industrial transformation and Pan-African destiny.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delivering a statement on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, Hon. Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah said the events of that day went beyond a mere military takeover and must be understood within the broader geopolitical context of the Cold War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat was termed \u2018Operation Cold Chop\u2019 was, in reality, the assassination of the African dream,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot Just a Military Coup\u201d<\/strong>
According to the MP, newly available declassified documents from international archives show that Nkrumah\u2019s overthrow was carried out with the complicity of external forces threatened by his Pan-African vision and economic independence agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He referenced remarks made by President John Dramani Mahama during Ghana\u2019s 68th Independence Day celebration, which pointed to foreign involvement in the coup that removed Nkrumah while he was on a peace mission to Hanoi during the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe crime of Nkrumah was not mismanagement,\u201d the MP argued. \u201cIt was his audacity to pursue a United States of Africa and a self-reliant Ghana that controlled its own resources.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He insisted that the coup halted Ghana\u2019s forward-looking industrial agenda, including efforts to process cocoa locally, refine oil domestically, and build a strong manufacturing base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reaffirming Nkrumah\u2019s Central Role in Ghana\u2019s Independence<\/strong>
The MP also used the occasion to defend Nkrumah\u2019s legacy amid what he described as attempts at historical revisionism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While acknowledging the contributions of other nationalists, he maintained that Nkrumah was the central architect of Ghana\u2019s independence struggle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He highlighted Nkrumah\u2019s formation of the Convention People’s Party, the launch of the \u201cSelf-Government Now\u201d campaign, and the Positive Action movement that mobilised ordinary Ghanaians against colonial rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was Nkrumah, he said, who stood before the world on March 6, 1957, to declare Ghana\u2019s independence, while also linking the country\u2019s freedom to the total liberation of Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nkrumah\u2019s Development Footprints Still Visible<\/strong>
The MP pointed to major national infrastructure projects initiated under Nkrumah\u2019s leadership as evidence of his enduring legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Akosombo Dam, which powers homes and industries across the country<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tema Harbour, a critical hub for maritime trade<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), a leading institution for science and technology education<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Black Star Square, a national symbol of sovereignty<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese were not accidental projects,\u201d he stressed. \u201cThey were deliberate instruments of national transformation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Call for Renewed Commitment to Self-Reliance<\/strong>
As Ghana reflects on six decades since the coup, the MP called for renewed commitment to the ideals of self-reliance, Pan-African unity, and industrialisation championed by Nkrumah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He quoted the late President\u2019s famous words that \u201cdeath can never extinguish the torch\u201d he lit in Ghana and Africa, arguing that the vision of economic sovereignty remains unfinished business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statement adds to ongoing national conversations about Nkrumah\u2019s legacy, Ghana\u2019s development trajectory, and the long-term impact of the 1966 coup on political stability and economic transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Clement Akoloh||parliamentnews360.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the 60th anniversary of the overthrow of Ghana\u2019s first President, Kwame Nkrumah, the Member of Parliament for Ellembelle has described the 24th February 1966 coup as \u201can act of international aggression\u201d that disrupted Ghana\u2019s industrial transformation and Pan-African destiny.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2491,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[1489,1490,1492,1486,1487,1488,1491],"class_list":{"0":"post-2490","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-news","8":"tag-1966-coup-ghana","9":"tag-60th-anniversary-nkrumah-coup","10":"tag-akosombo-dam-legacy","11":"tag-armah-kofi-buah","13":"tag-kwame-nkrumah-overthrow","14":"tag-operation-cold-chop"},"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n