The Convention Peoples’ Party (CPP) has maintained that although many people contributed to the struggle of the country’s independence, Dr Kwame Nkrumah is the main founder of modern day Ghana.
According to the Chairman of the party, Prof Edmund Delle, Dr Nkrumah moved the motion of destiny that led to independence.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra as part of activities to mark this year’s Founder’s Day on Thursday, September 21, Prof Delle said: “Osagyefo is the main architect of Ghana’s independence and the foundation stone of modern Ghana.”
He said Nkrumah’s achievements transcend Ghana as he “dismantled colonial rule in Africa, advocated for Pan-Africanism and he was the architect and pillar for the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) now AU”.
For the CPP, Dr Nkrumah was the symbol of hope and emancipation for black people across the globe.
The views by the CPP resonate with that of former President John Dramani Mahama, who argues that Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, founded Ghana.
“Osagyefo’s emergence as the founder of modern Ghana and an international symbol of freedom was not by accident,” Mr Mahama said in a statement.
Mr Mahama’s statement comes at a time there is an on-going debate on whether Ghana has one founder, which is Nkrumah, or founders, which include key members of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), Ghana’s first political party.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is set to propose to Parliament to adopt August 4 – the day the UGCC was born – as Founders’ Day for the Republic while September 21 will be observed Nkrumah Memorial Day.
But Mr Mahama, in a statement to mark Nkrumah Memorial Day, said attempts to discredit Nkrumah as the founder of Ghana are unfortunate.
“It remains a dark irony of our history that, the very political tradition which conspired to truncate his unparalleled vision on 24th February 1966, is today seeking to revise Ghana’s history,” Mr Mahama said.
He continued: “The song ‘Kwame Nkrumah never dies’ has proved true, not in the sense of his immortality, but in the fact that his name will continue to be written in letters of gold whenever the history of Ghana, Africa and the world is recounted.
“It is an indisputable fact that Nkrumah was the critical spark that put Ghana on a high velocity path to independence.”
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
