While Ghana's first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, was on a peacemaking mission in Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, his government was toppled on February 24, 1966.
The coup d'état was code-named "Operation Cold Chop" and was launched by the National Liberation Council.
Kwame Nkrumah had left a three-person presidential commission in control of the country, but it was then that the new Ghana had its first coup d'état, which would become commonplace in the country in coming years.
Even the fact that Nkrumah was just out of the nation at the time, doing an assignment for Ghana, couldn't spare him from the humiliation.
Kwame Nkrumah is heard speaking about the coup d'etat and how detrimental it was to the country's progress and development, considering everything that had been accomplished since independence, in an audio clip visualized into a video and shared on Facebook by a group called 'Fighters.'
The following is a transcript of Kwame Nkrumah's speech regarding his assassination:
"Fellow countrymen, my heart is sad as I see the destruction that this clique of neo-colonialist conspirators is wreaking on our nation at the behest of their offshore neo-colonialist masters; they're tearing down the 50-year effort of our forefathers." They are telling you that Ghana is bankrupt; they are telling you that our country owes 240 million pounds in debt. What a bunch of knuckleheads! What a moron they are.
"Look around you with your eyes open. See for yourselves; see the beautiful new Tema Harbour, the massive Volta Dam, and the excellent roads that the Convention People's Party and its administration have developed. Take a look at the schools, colleges, and universities. Take a look at the hospitals and facilities we've built. Take a look at the factories that are already sprouting up. These aren't debts; they're investments in our country's future independence.
"These are the tangible promises of the bright, fresh future I promised you and for which I have been laboring." We can put our Ghana firmly and squarely on its feet if we work together. Instead of going cup, we may work together to make the goods we need.
"I know these are difficult times for you, and I've never tried to hide the fact that true independence, that is, economic independence, does not come without hard work and sacrifice; unlike the cheats who deceived us, the liars and traitors who are now attempting to lord it over you, I've never promised you an easy road." I admired your common sense, your work ethic, your self-confidence, and your sense of national pride.
"Why do you believe these traitors, these agents and (sic) of colonialism and international intrigue who want to restore Ghana's independence picked this time to carry out their heinous act?" I'll tell you about it. They attacked less than a month prior to destroying everything.
"The same individuals who sought to destroy our political freedom nine years ago are again attempting to sabotage our political independence by demolishing our socialist accomplishments and successes." Before the traitors and the rebellious National Liberation Council sought to destabilize the country while I was away, Ghana was a haven for the downtrodden from all over Africa to continue their struggle.
"For freedom fighters, for independence, and against colonialism, it was a paradise." Ghana was seen as a loyal ally of the oppressed throughout the African continent. African brothers and sisters from South Africa, Rudisha, Mozambique, Angola, so-called Portuguese Guinea, the Cape Verde Islands, and other subjugated colonial territories.