President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says he rejects completely the notion that Ghana was founded by one man.
The president in his 2024 Founders’ Day broadcast on Saturday, August 3, said he does not agree with claims that Ghana was founded singlehandedly by Kwame Nkrumah.
Some individuals and groups protested when Parliament passed a law in 2019 making August 4 Founders’ Day to celebrate the efforts of persons who contributed to Ghana’s independence struggle while declaring September 21 as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day.
“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.
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 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.”
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