Ghana marked Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day on Thursday with a nation divided on whether the day ought to be used to celebrate Dr Nkrumah as the sole founder or include other past key leaders.
This became evident when the day was marked with different series of activities, including press conferences, solidarity marches and youth dialogue.
Activities
While the Convention People’s Party (CPP) marked the day with a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Accra, the youth wing of the party and Kwame Nkrumah Pan African Centre (KNAC) held a youth dialogue at the Institute of African Studies, Legon to celebrate Dr Nkrumah.
The dominant opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), on the other hand held a solidarity march along some principal streets in Accra while the ruling party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), had a low-key event.
Already, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has proposed a legislation to Parliament to designate August 4 as Founders’ Day to celebrate the Big Six, while September 21 will be known as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day, both of which will be observed as public holidays.
The Big Six are Nkrumah, William Ofori Atta, Ako Adjei, J.B Danquah, Edward Akufo-Addo and Obetsebi Lamptey.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the daughter of Dr Nkrumah, Madam Yaba Samia Nkrumah, said it was most unfortunate that the founders debate which had already been settled was being used as an NPP versus NDC game to score cheap political points and divide the nation for their own parochial interests at a time when there was consensus about Kwame Nkrumah’s valuable contribution to nation-building.
Youth Dialogue
At the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, Madam Nkrumah challenged Ghanaian youth to read more about Nkrumah through his books.
That, she said, would allow them to know the facts about who is the founder of modern Ghana so as not to be deceived or to distort Ghana’s history.
The youth dialogue attracted both old and young Nkrumaists, academicians and some prominent members of society.
At the dialogue, the Executive Director of Kwame Nkrumah Pan African Centre (KNAC), Dr Danaa Nantogmah, said if the enemies of the African people thought that February 24, 1966 coup was the end to the African Revolution then they were mistaken.
’Dark Days in Ghana’
At the launch of the African Edition of Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s book ‘’Dark Days in Ghana’’ at the youth dialogue series, Ms Nkrumah, who is also the President of the KNAC, said the philosophy, policies and ideas of her father were still relevant for the country.
The panellists at the youth dialogue argued that Ghana could not become a prosperous nation without fashioning its own destiny in the form of an ideology that would guide the nation’s development.
They were of the view that the try and error approach currently being practised would not guarantee the rapid development of the country.
The occasion also witnessed the cutting of cake by Madam Samia Nkrumah and some comrades to celebrate the 108th anniversary of the birth of Dr Nkrumah.
From the CPP headquarters, a delegation from the NDC made up of Messrs Lee Ocran and Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo and a group from the Socialist Forum of Ghana (SFG) led by Mr Kwesi Pratt joined their counterparts from the CPP at a press conference to mark the occasion.
The National Chairman of the CPP, Dr Edmund Delle, reiterated that attempts by the President and his NPP to distort the history of Ghana by playing down the role of Nkrumah and play up those from the UGCC in the attainment of independence for the country would fail.
He told the Daily Graphic that the presence of the other Nkrumaists fraternity at the event was a good omen for the realisation of the desire for the unity of the Nkrumah family, which had been fragmented for sometime.
He said the doors of the CPP remained open for a united front for Nkrumaist fraternity and urged all to work towards a unified CPP to contest and fight against the current manipulation to relegate the role of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah as the founder of modern Ghana.
A statement issued by the SFG and signed by its Convenor, Justice Heneku, said the group would proactively engage with other activist organisations and representatives of working people and marginalised groups to discuss its perspectives and explore the scope for collaboration in building a new social movement for accountability and against inequality.
The statement described the SFG’ s position as its pledge to Ghanaians in the name of Nkrumah and as its contribution to ensure that Nkrumah never dies and urged all to join hands to fight for an equal and productive society.
Source: Graphic.com.gh