Onsy Nkrumah Reacts to Govt’s Founders Day Proposal

Mr Onsy Nkrumah, a Pan Africanist, has appealed to the government to drop the idea of Founders Day, slated for August 4, since it is more divisive.

He has, however, supported the government’s stance that September 21 should be renamed Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day in honour of the country’s first President.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra last Tuesday, he declared: ‘’All along, I have kicked against the Founder’s Day idea since its inception in 2010 because it was not going to unite the nation and I congratulate President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for suggesting Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day.’’

However, he opined that, “To declare August 4 as Founders Day will be much more divisive because historically and symbolically, the day had nothing to do with the founding of the country.”

In his view, the nation must rather place premium on how to make the March 6 independence celebration a very significant and important national holiday which could also symbolise Founders Day.

“The March 6 anniversary is not divisive and no doubt all Ghanaians are comfortable with its celebration which can also be used to celebrate the role of the Big Six in the independence struggle,” he argued.

Maximising legacy

According to Mr Nkrumah, currently the nation was not maximising the legacy bequeathed it by the founding fathers as is the case with other countries.

He noted that other countries such as South Africa and the United States of America (USA) were using their founding fathers to attract tourists, with the legacy of Mandela and Martin Luther King Junior being exploited to attract foreign exchange in those countries.

Celebration of Founder’s Day, introduced by the administration of Prof. John Evans Atta Mills since 2010, had been an annual feast of divisiveness which was not auguring well for the unity of the country.

In his view, the replacement of that day with Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day as suggested by President Akufo-Addo was a very good idea.

He also said dropping the Founders Day could help steer the country away from the annual scenario of arguments as to who the sole founder of modern Ghana was.

Independence struggle

Mr Nkrumah said Ghanaians had no doubts in their minds about the role Dr Kwame Nkrumah and the other members of the Big Six played in the independence struggle.

He stated that already, many African countries were honouring Dr Nkrumah for his role in the independence struggle, adding that he would not need any of their definition and introduction.

Mr Nkrumah noted that what was missing now was how to use Dr Nkrumah’s name to attract investors and tourists into the country for the benefit of the people.

He said the role of the Big Six in the independence struggle ought to be a unifying force for the country to rally around instead of a source of divisiveness, saying what unites the country should be more than what divides it.

Source: Graphic