The history of Pan-Africanism is a subject that has attracted considerable interest among scholars and practitioners in African development issues. Pan- Africanism is associated with the quest for political independence by the early African leaders and freedom fighters alike. Soon after Ghana, obtained independence in 1958 (the third country to do so after the Second World War), Kwame Nkrumah warned the African continent that without serious commitment to a people-centered development process and mutual reliance, and without political unity at the continental level, neocolonialism would continue to balkanize Africa and poverty will be perpetuated. The focus of this article is not simply to give coherence to a shared ideology of Nkrumah and other frontline African leaders, but also to critique the Pan-Africanist ideology, revealing its myths, falsifications and lacunae, reinforcing its strong points and identifying its new sources of