Let’s stop the pettiness – Sekou Nkrumah tells Akufo-Addo

A son of Ghana’s first President, Dr. Sekou Nkrumah has asked President Akufo-Addo and the government as a whole to stop the pettiness of who founded Ghana.

The comment comes after President Akufo-Addo, as part of his Founders’ Day message on Saturday August 3, 2024 said that he rejects suggestions that it was only Dr. Kwame Nkrumah who led the country’s independence fight and founded Ghana.

“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 attracted criticism from many with Nkrumah’s party, the Convention People’s Party (CPP) rejecting that notion from President Akufo-Addo.

Other political historians have also come at the President for his comment.

President Akufo Addo’s statement comes 5 years after Ghana’s Parliament passed a law instituting August 4 as Founders’ Day to honour the contributions of all who played a role in Ghana’s journey to independence.

In an interview with 3FM’s Beatrice Adu, Sekou Nkrumah said that the NPP government is still suffering from the pains of the past which is influencing its’ actions now.

“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.”