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theheads of those standing closest, as Polish boys douse girls on Easter Monday.
    Nkrumah’s speech begins. (The following day, the text of the address appeared in the
Evening News
under the title ‘ A NEW BIBLE FOR AFRICA ’.) Nkrumah stands before the microphone, looking around the square, and says: ‘Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!’
    It is 8 January, and so the people burst out laughing. Nkrumah pulls a serious face, and the crowd falls silent in an instant. The people wait, staring at him. Now Nkrumah laughs, and everyone laughs with him. He becomes serious, and the faces of everyone there become serious immediately. He smiles and the crowd is grinning. He begins in Fanti, saying that it is a long time since their last meeting, but he can see that they are all looking well.
    ‘That’s thanks to you, Kwame!’ answer voices.
    He looks over his shoulder, a signal for Adamafio, the Secretary General of the party, to approach, dragging a high lectern. On the lectern are the pages of his speech. It is in English. The Premier addresses his audience: ‘Comrades and gentlemen!’ Nkrumah speaks in a clear, measured way. His gestures are spare but expressive. Even the English say they take pleasure in watching him speak. He is of average height, but handsome and well-built, with an intelligent face and a high forehead and a sad look in his eyes. Even when Nkrumah laughs, he still looks sad.
    He recalls his two maxims: first achieve the political kingdom and then you will conquer all the rest; the independence of Ghana is only an empty phrase until it is accompanied by the complete liberation of the African continent.
    Kwame said that one battle for Ghana has been won: the country is free. Now the second battle is underway, for ‘economic construction and liberation.’ This battle is muchmore difficult and complicated. It demands greater effort, sacrifice and discipline.
    He then attacks his own supporters sharply, striking out at party bureaucracy, at careerists and dignitaries.
    ‘I must firmly warn those who, appointed by the party to responsible and influential positions, grow forgetful and believe they are more important than the party itself. I must warn those who join the party thinking that they can exploit it to their own advantage, praising themselves at the cost of the party and the nation.’
    Whew! Do they like that! The square bestows a great ovation on the speaker. The square shouts: ‘
Anko
, Kwame!
Anko, anko
!’
    ‘More, Kwame, again, oh, again!’
    Amid the cheers, calls and chants a boy in a shirt displaying both the party and national colours (red, white and green) jumps up in front of the tribune and does vertiginous back-flips. Three back-flips in one direction, turn, and three in the other. Nkrumah stops speaking and looks at this feat with some curiosity. Three back-flips and then three somersaults. He is a good acrobat, believe me. He finally grows tired and disappears into the crowd amid its cheering.
    Now, Nkrumah moves on to his favourite subject: Africa.
    During the speech, Secretary General Adamafio stands near Nkrumah. Adamafio removes the pages that have been read, perusing the ones the Premier is in the middle of delivering. When Nkrumah sees a passage that will merit applause, he raises his hand in a gesture that means: Watch! Here it comes! And as he finishes the last sentence and Adamafio’s hand whips the page away, the crowd goes wild. When the response is convincingly enthusiastic, Adamafio rubs his hands together and winks to those near him.
    Nkrumah attacks the colonialists: ‘Their policy is to create African states that are frail and weak, even if independent. The enemies of African freedom believe that in this way they can use our states like marionettes to continue their imperialist control of Africa.’
    The crowd is outraged. People shout: ‘Down with them! Down with them. Lead us, Kwame!’
    The speech lasts three quarters of an hour. The crowd stands listening