Professor De-Valera Botchway
Professor De-Valera Botchway, Head of History Department of the University of Cape Coast(UCC) has asked Ghanaians to uphold the legacies and live the visions of legendary Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President.
He said Ghanaians and Africans must pursue African unity, and promote the spirit of unity, hard work and raise high the social and cultural values that identified all Africans and particularly, Ghanaians.
Prof Botchway, speaking at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day celebration marked to raise national consciousness on the need to recognize his efforts to ultimately, achieve his visions.
The celebration organized by the Cape Coast Centre for National Culture (CNC), on the theme: “The African personality consciousness in a pandemic era: reliving Nkrumah’s vision”, brought people together and were treated to good cultural performances, music and dance.
Professor Botchway, described Dr. Nkrumah as a ‘strong force and a deep thinker’ whose ideas had continued to live for years and there was the need for all to fight to achieve his uncompleted mission of seeing the unification of the African Continent.
According to him, the first Prime Minister had the will to create a new Africa with people who were conscious of who they were and stood for what they represented; projecting the African personality.
In other to build a strong African personality, therefore, Prof. Botchway underscored the need for all to reason, show compassion, be morally upright, exhibit communalism and focus on nationality and cohesion.
“You can only exhibit communalism if you understand who you are with the knowledge that you can not exist without the society and vice-versa,” he added.
The History Professor urged all to revisit Dr Nkrumah’s visions, relive his ideologies, work hard and be selfless, keeping in mind the essence of nationalism and African unity.
Mr. Kohain Halevi Rabbi, the Executive Director of the Pan-African-Historical-Theatre-Festival (PANAFEST), said there were no questions about the brilliant endeavors and selflessness of the great Dr. Nkrumah.
He said he was not a leader just for Africa, but for humanity, and as such generations would not stop celebrating his personality and achievements.
“In our society today, great personalities now stand not in their own capacities but on his legacy and we would be ungrateful if we shun the history he has created for us” he indicated.
Mr. Rabbi stated that Dr. Nkrumah had raised the African personality to an unimaginable pedigree and made Ghana’s liberation unquestionably successful which he was sure, would remain if all embrace the essence of emancipating themselves from all forms of mental slavery.
“ Thirty African countries were liberated from their colonial masters just three years after he declared that Ghana’s independence was meaningless unless it was linked up with the total liberation of Africa, he stressed.
“Each and everyone of us can make a change in and around us, let’s commit ourselves to the freedom and liberation of the African mind “ he further added.
For his part, Mr. Kwame Gyasi, Central Regional Manager of the Ghana Tourists Authority (GTA), said the Kwame Nkrumah museum was the second most visited place after the Kakum National Park and that showed the love that all had for him.
He, however, suggested a partnership between the GTA and the CNC to leverage on the scenery to generate income to support national development.