Kwame Nkrumah had swept from prison in the Gold Coast to become President of independent Ghana in 1957 and inspired all British Africa to follow suit. The opportunity to visit two of our closest friends at such a time was too tempting to be resisted. In 1958 we arrived in Accra on the day Lord Listowel, the last Governor-General of the Gold Coast, was leaving in a burst of pageantry severing the final bond between Britain and its colony. The atmosphere in Ghana was electric. Nkrumah had gathered from various countries ideological allies who seemed as committed to Ghana's development as his many compatriots, who were determined to take the country into the front line of nations. His Attorney-General Geoffrey Bing, for instance, a successful British QC and member of the Westminster parliament, was as integrated into this ideal as any native-born Ghanaian. In parliament, democracy flourished as we watched the two protagonists confronting each other in debate; the passionate Nkrumah, resplendent in Kente, and the intellectual Busia in his Western-style suit. All seemed set for a flourishing future. The mood pervaded every aspect of life. Churches, mosques, markets, schools, the university, theatre, poetry and the arts all vibrated with the promise of a new Africa.