Remembering Kwame Nkrumah
Today we are remembering the birth of one of the great sons of this country: his contribution towards the attainment of independence etched in the marble of our history as are those of his five other freedom struggle colleagues.
We would have rather the controversy surrounding whether or not he was the sole initiator of the independence struggle did not arise. Not, however, when some persons relish distorting history.
We are guided by the chronology of the country’s independence struggle from Saltpond to the time when the Union Jack was lowered to be replaced by the colours of the newly independent country at the Polo ground.
Ignoring the role of the other members of the Big 6 would be a travesty of history which for the sake of the younger generation should not be encouraged. The kids need to be told the proper history of the country.
We are not discounting the role of Kwame Nkrumah in the building of the country, no, not at all. We recognize his commitment to the development of education in the country, especially, the continuation of the free education policy as started by the colonial administration in the Northern Territories and how the policy has brought parity between personalities from the north and their southern counterparts.
It is important that those who have been falling over each other as they seek to thwart the new education policy to bring education to the doorsteps of every Ghanaian child take note of the first President’s recognition of this intervention and be schooled accordingly.
Although the 7-year development plan did not achieve the bulk of its objectives, it was an outstanding and ambitious programme even in those days of our post-independence period for which we doff our hats.
We wonder how the socialist tendencies would have been today considering the fact that countries which inspired Kwame Nkrumah to tread along that path have had a rethink of the policy obviously finding it antiquated and therefore requiring changes or even moderation to catch up with the fast moving world.
We recognize the spirit of nationalism which the Young Pioneer Movement sought to instill in the youth even as we disagree with some aspects of the indoctrination.
Democracy under the founder of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) was threatened and almost at the precipice. No matter the reason behind the President’s decision to have politics move in the direction it did, having only one political party dominate in a country cannot be acceptable.
The act which allowed for the detention of persons assumed to be threats to the CPP, and for that matter, the President, was an affront to the rule of law as much as was the arbitrary dismissal of a Chief Justice as Sir Arku Korsah suffered.
These are but some of the controversial segments of the rule of the man whose birthday we are celebrating today.
It is regrettable that the party he founded and upon which he rode to political stardom has been reduced to a struggling grouping in the country’s politics.
It is our hope that the birthday of this important personality in our country’s political history and beyond would encourage us to reflect upon his tenure with a view to learning the bountiful lessons therein.