Dr. Sekou Nkrumah, a son of Ghana’s first President, has called on President Akufo-Addo and the government to move beyond the pettiness regarding the founding of Ghana.
This remark follows President Akufo-Addo’s Founders’ Day message on August 3, 2024, in which he disputed the claim that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the sole leader in Ghana’s fight for independence and the country’s founding.
“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.
The comment has sparked criticism, with Dr. Sekou Nkrumah’s party, the Convention People’s Party (CPP), rejecting President Akufo-Addo’s statement. Other political historians have also criticized the President for his remarks.
This statement comes five years after Ghana’s Parliament established August 4 as Founders’ Day to honor all contributors to Ghana’s journey to independence.
In an interview with 3FM’s Beatrice Adu, Sekou Nkrumah suggested that the NPP government is still grappling with past issues, which he believes is influencing its current actions.
“The President is still living in the emotions of the past and still unable to let go of what happened in the past. We all agree that Nkrumah led Ghana to independence. People would argue that others struggled with him. But the point is that he captured power. He led us to independence. So, let’s not take that away from him. The big 6, their contribution cannot be disputed but it was unfortunate …. three of the big 6, and two actually died under Nkrumah,” he recalled.
Sekou added that “…we all accept the contribution that the others made. And actually, they even invited him to become the General Secretary of the UGCC. But at the same time, we don’t need to be petty. I think we should all rise above that and try to understand our history and the history is for all of us as Ghanaians.”
