Chapter 3 independence that had recently been attained, and particularly not to lose sight of the nation-building and integration tasks ahead. Speaking during his first visit to the United Kingdom as Prime Minister to attend a Commonwealth meeting, Nkrumah responded to allegations of growing dictatorship and self­aggrandizement by declaring that, “…my cabinet and I have decided, with my agreement, to put my head on the coinage, because many of the people cannot read or write. They have got to be shown that they are now really independent. And they can only be shown by signs. When they buy stamps they will see my picture – an African like themselves – and they will say'look, here is our leader on the stamps. We are truly a free people'… We are not doing this because I am a vain man. We are doing this for my people. Because they wish it.” (Danquah, 1957:1)[our emphasis] The coinage in question duly bore Nkrumah's portrait, as well as the inscription,'Kwame Nkrumah, Founder of the State of Ghana'. Apart from placing his portrait on stamps and the currency, the language used by Nkrumah in justifying this action among others is telling. First, is the possessive word'my'. To Nkrumah, the people belonged to him, he was their saviour and he knew and could interpret their needs and their 9 wishes. Secondly, it was important for the people also to identify with him as an individual and to appreciate the heights he had attained from his humble beginnings in Nkroful, his home village in the Western Region, as well as the sacrifices he had made and struggles he had endured in the quest for independence. To that 9 Interestingly enough, the political descendant of the major opposition party in the pre- and post-independence Parliament that had been critical of this shift to the personalization of politics in Ghana, 50 years later placed Nkrumah's portrait together with those of the other five key actors in the broad independence movement('the Big Six') on all Ghana's currency notes. 71