The following is the article by Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbah published in the Daily Graphic of September 23, 2009 which drew the sharp retort from National Democratic Congress high profile member, Ato Ahwoi.
HONOURING NKRUMAH’s LEGACY: A CHALLENGE FOR THE NDC
The decision by the government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to honour Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, by declaring his official birthday, 21st September, a national holiday has been welcomed by all-true Nkrumahists and Pan-Africanists around the world. The fact that the African Union has also officially adopted the day and recommended it to member countries as a holiday, has given the Mills’ government decision even greater credibility. Alongside the official holiday, a National Committee set up by the government has also proposed a series of year-long programmes and activities to commemorate Nkrumah’s centenary, and suitable budget has been proposed and approved for the related activities. Had the NDC not won the 2008 elections, there is considerable doubt as to the extent to which the NPP government would have bothered to celebrate Nkrumah’s legacy. Many NPP adherents see promoting Nkrumah’s achievements as somehow dimming the lights of their forbears of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), from which Party Nkrumah broke off to form his Convention People’s Party (CPP).
Notwithstanding these official efforts, the true and most sustainable way in which Nkrumah’s memory can be conserved is not so much by a holiday or programmes of celebration but rather by the extent to which Ghanaians can be taught to live up to the sense of urgency with which Dr. Nkrumah fought for Ghana’s independence, became Leader of Government Business, Prime Minister, President, and died in exile.
In that respect, it is useful on such a historic occasion to review some of the ideals for which Kwame Nkrumah stood.
- Nkrumah promoted respect and value for all levels of Ghanaian society, whether literate, educated, urban or rural. “I will make you fishers of men, if you follow me,” he said to many of the down-trodden in society. To others he said: “Seek ye first the political kingdom and all other things shall be added unto it.”
- He had a high level of passion for Ghana, Africa and believed that “the black man can be in charge of his own affairs”. He promoted the concept of the African personality and Pan-Africanism.
- His entire life was dedicated to Ghana and Africa, so even in his marriage decision, he married a woman he barely knew but made sure she was from another part of Africa, in order to demonstrate the Pan-Africanist ideals that he stood for.
- He was selfless in his approach to leadership. Although he had a unique sense of dress style and lived comfortably, he died without owning any piece of land or even a 2-bedroom house in Ghana or elsewhere.
- A keen political strategist and organizer, a man of action with a keen ear to the ground, he declared that “Organisation decides everything”, and recognized earlier than his political competitors that “Independence Now” was what the majority of then Gold Coasters wanted rather than “Independence in the Shortest Possible time.”
- An intellectual, who wrote many books while performing the work of Prime Minister and President, he spoke and wrote with clarity on the anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggle, helped to create the Non-Aligned Movement and notably stated: “We face neither East nor West, we face forward.”
- In his bid to bring rapid development to Ghana, he had to drag some conservatives along, and sometimes had to threaten those who fought his plans to modernize Ghana. For some of such non-progressive thinkers he declared: “The chiefs will run away and leave their sandals behind.”
- A man of great ideas, Nkrumah’s tall list of initiatives cannot be summarized in any one article. His aim at promoting economic independence and at raising the standard and quality of living of the average man led him to create the Workers Brigade, Builders Brigade, Trade Union Congress, Ghana’s Farmers Council, Young Pioneers and more than 300 state enterprises. His “Work and Happiness” programme for job creation, the External Service of Radio Ghana by which he espoused Ghana’s positions on international affairs, and his launching of an Atomic Energy Reactor programme put Ghana leagues ahead of other African and other developing countries.
- A man in a great hurry for Ghana, the building of Akosombo, an upgrading of Tema Harbour, the establishment of the University of Science and Technology, the construction of the Accra-Tema Motorway, the establishment of the Ghana Education Trust, were amongst his many enduring legacies. Above all, he conscientised the youth of his day, and many of the children of that generation, some now in their 50s and 60s, continue to live in his spirit.
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