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Despite objecting to the notion that Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah is the founder of Ghana, President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the nation’s first President is the only person whose date of birth is commemorated by Ghanaians.
According to Akufo-Addo, despite the many unfortunate incidents that occurred under Nkrumah’s watch, he has recognised his remarkable effort in the final lap to the nation’s independence.
He is still strong in his assertion that the son of Nkroful cannot be regarded as the founder of Ghana since many contributed to the struggle for the nation’s independence.
His government, since assumption of office, championed the promulgation of an Act rescinding a memorial day celebration which was commemorated in honour of the founder of the Convention People’s Party (CPP).
Parliament changed the hitherto Founder’s Day to Founders’ Day in an Act that was passed in 2019.
The President, however, through the same Act set September 21 as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day.
In his 2024 Founders’ Day address on Saturday, August 03, 2024, President Akufo-Addo insisted that one person cannot take the credit as the founder of the nation relegating the collective efforts of others from different generations.
He indicated that his government’s ability to acknowledge Nkrumah’s birthday to be commemorated by Ghanaians is something commendable.
“I speak to you this evening, rejecting completely, the notion that Ghana was founded by one man. While Kwame Nkrumah’s contributions to our independence are undeniable, it is important to acknowledge for ourselves that respect that the struggle for our nation’s freedom was a collective effort spanning several generations,” the president said in his broadcast.
“The formation of the Aborigines Rights Protection, the British West African Nation Congress, the United Gold Coast Convention, the work of countless unsung heroes, and the tenacious spirit of our people all played vital parts in bringing us to freedom and independence.
“Kwame Nkrumah with his charismatic visionary leadership was undoubtedly a major actor in the final lap of our journey to independence and that is why despite the several unfortunate things that happened after independence under his watch, Parliament in 2019, decided to memorialise his date of birth as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day, the only Ghanaian so far to be so honoured in our history,” he argued that groups including Joseph Casely Hayford and Thomas Hutton-Mills’ British West African Nation Congress and several others contributed to Ghana’s freedom and subsequent independence,” the President stated.
NKONKONSA.com
