Dr Onsy Nkrumah, self-acclaimed son of Ghana’s first president Dr Kwame Nkrumah, has said his father was the sole founder of Ghana and that any attempt by the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition to warp that history would be “mischievous”.
“Those misguided people who sought to re-write, revise and or edit our history for their own ulterior motives will sooner or later discover that only the truth, nothing but the truth will stand the test of time and only truth can set people free, but lies, half-truths, twisted facts, spin doctoring and false fabrications can only cause deception and harm to themselves and to those who would be misled and taken in by such lies and follies.
“It makes you wonder if they can be that ignorant of our well-recorded, even if not always fully-documented history? If so, we may give them the benefit of the doubt and forgive them! However, if their reasons were to deceive in total disregard of our factual history, then our history and future generations may NOT forgive them for their damaging ill-motivated attempts and deeds to tamper with genuine historically chronicled facts,” Dr Nkrumah said in article following President Nana Akufo-Addo’s replacement of Nkrumah’s birthday, September 21 with August 4 – the date of formation of the UGCC (forebears of the NPP) – as founders’ Day.
Read Dr Onsy Nkrumah’s full article below:
DR KWAME NKRUMAH IS THE SOLE FOUNDER OF GHANA
I never thought that one day I’d need to write on the above topic or that anybody would raise any question or doubt as to who has obtained independence for Ghana and by so doing has founded Ghana as an independent sovereign self-ruling nation.
But be as it may, we found ourselves in the recent months facing some futile efforts by a handful of people who tried to re-write and edit big chunks of our history in an apparent attempt to belittle the role of our founder and first President and to exaggerate the roles of others in an attempt to elevate them to be considered as fellow founders worthy of equal recognition as that of Dr Kwame Nkrumah Senior (hereinafter referred to as KNS).
First, let me remind readers of the Genesis of Founder’s Day’s history and how it came into being.
The African Union (AU) found it fitting and overdue to celebrate and recognise KNS as the founder of United Africa as he truly was its mover, its champion, its advocate, its incarnate embodiment, its shining Black Star of Africa and the ultimate epitome of the African Personality and the African Dream as it were, which subsequently carried his name by many Pan Africans as the “Nkrumah African Dream”.
KNS famously said and deeply believed that “Ghana’s independence was meaningless unless it was linked to the African Unity”. He believed the same to be true of all African states after they gained their independence from their respective colonial shackles. He was a powerful driving force to firstly achieve the independence of all the African colonies from their colonial masters then to achieve the African unity which is an absolute-must for Africa to be fully developed and for Africans to realise their full potential as free and united African people. He wrote the well-known book “AFRICA MUST UNITE” which is widely circulated and read and its message is as relevant and as valid today as it ever was. So, we all have to keep working together for African unity to come about and to finish all the good work and mission that KNS has started on the national level, the African level and on the international level. It is our duty to seriously act, not just pay lip-service but to be fully committed to his great ideals with real action and passion on all levels. So, help us God.
So, the AU called on all Africans to celebrate the centenary anniversary or the 100th birthday of KNS on 21st / September / 2009 and to mark it on the calendar of all of its 54-member states as FOUNDER’S DAY. So, it was done and it was a great success and a rarity to have something or someone to be celebrated, loved and honoured by all Africans across the length and breadth of our beloved continent and mother Africa.
Late Prof Mills was our president at the time and he felt adequately ashamed on behalf of Ghana as how and why should all Africans in all of the 54 African states celebrate and honour our very own Ghanaian leader and founder of Ghana and of the African Unity Concept and we in Ghana are still fast-asleep unaware of the great asset that Ghana has produced and has contributed to Africa and to the whole world in the person of our founder, liberator, first President, redeemer or Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah of blessed memory? Giving meaning and substance to what the Bible has said that: “No Prophet is without honour except at his home and amongst his own people”. That certainly was very true and was clearly borne out here.
So late President Mills tried to correct this wrong by instituting our own Founder’s Day here in Ghana on the same birthday of the following year on 21st / September 2010 and declared it as a public holiday in Ghana and it was carried on as such ever since 2010.
Those misguided people who sought to re-write, revise and or edit our history for their own ulterior motives will sooner or later discover that only the truth, nothing but the truth will stand the test of time and only truth can set people free, but lies, half-truths, twisted facts, spin doctoring and false fabrications can only cause deception and harm to themselves and to those who would be misled and taken in by such lies and follies.
It makes you wonder if they can be that ignorant of our well-recorded, even if not always fully-documented history? If so, we may give them the benefit of the doubt and forgive them! However, if their reasons were to deceive in total disregard of our factual history, then our history and future generations may NOT forgive them for their damaging ill-motivated attempts and deeds to tamper with genuine historically chronicled facts.
If they have poor grasp and recollection of history, then what about their grasp of Geography?
The brief and scope of the UGCC was limited to the Gold Coast Territory and the Ashanti Kingdom.
KNS’s CPP brief and scope were well beyond what UGCC had stood for. As KNS’s Ghana of today has extended to include British Togoland / Trans Volta Regions, which would have been either lost to Togo in the East or gone independent. And it also extended to include the Northern Territories also known as the Northern Protectorates (Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions) from being annexed by the then-French Colonial Republic of Upper Volta, today’s Burkina Faso.
KNS also resisted and overcame repeated attempts by the French Ivory Coast colony from carving up a significant part of our very richly-endowed Western Region under the guise of the need to join together the Traditional Kingdom under one Traditional Paramount King who rules over extensive territories including Brong Ahafo Region to date and spanning across borders between Ghana and the Ivory Coast. KNS did not buy that sentimental theory and did not allow it to happen. Ghana undoubtedly needed and had a formidable founding father in KNS.
Now Ghana goes with Ivory Coast to international courts from time to time to defend our oil and gas fields, reserves and mining rights, onshore and offshore relating to parts of that same territory which our father KNS refused to give up as legitimate integral part of Ghana. In fact, most of our national wealth of immense natural resources come from the Western Region which has been so neglected ever since the birth of Ghana. Although it is the home and birth place of KNS and of our family. We need to correct that as a matter of utmost urgency mainly because it is a major source of our national wealth, natural resources and national income of all Ghanaians today and of future generations. Thanks to God and to the formidable patriotic tenacity, foresight and determination of our founding father.
In fact, the map of what UGCC stood for is significantly less than 50% of Ghana’s map today. Ghana is a lot larger and richer as the direct result of KNS’s tireless, bloodless but forceful struggle for an independent prosperous Ghana seeking to develop and to industrialise her for the benefit of all of our people regardless of their ethnic tribe, creed, religion, political persuation …etc. We are all Ghanaians and we should all come together in unity of purpose for the general good of all of our people today and of future generations.
History recorded that JB Danquah stood up with the Trans-Volta-Refuse-Niks against KNS in 1955 / 1956 opposing and resisting our founder’s efforts to join those territories to Ghana. They were not in favour of UN-sponsored Plebiscite of 1956 which KNS and Britain have proposed to decide democratically whether British Togoland / Trans Volta Regions should be joined with Ghana when it subsequently gained its independence from Britain in March 1957. So, any attempt to try to join JB Danquah as co-founder of today’s Ghana is utterly misguided and is pure mischief because his views, his scope and his legal brief as lawyer were NOT of today’s Ghana but were of rather much smaller country, and poorer country and to have been achieved at a much later date and not in 1957 as our sole founding father KNS has envisioned and has fought for with every fibre in his body 24 / 7. KNS was completely consumed and even obsessed of giving birth to Ghana which he foresaw prophetically and astrologically that should fall as soon as possible but to fall precisely in the Fire Rooster Year of 1957. If anybody cares to consult history books (I mean genuine history not edited or air-brushed history) they would find that the budding aspirations and flames of the independence struggle activism fire had actually started back in 1897 which itself was a Fire Rooster Year in Astrology. Ghana prophetically also had to be born in a Fire Rooster Year namely after February of 1957 or after Feb 2017. As Fire Rooster Years come only once every 60 years. KNS could not bear the thought that if he lost the fight for his “Independence Now Campaign”, that Ghana would be independent only in 2017 which was the next Fire Rooster Year. That was a terrible nightmare scenario for him, hence his subsequent famous saying of “Independence Now or Never”, had his UGCC opponents and erstwhile colleagues had their way to win the elections with their Independence Progressively or Slowly Campaign.
Thankfully our Independence Day was right on time on 6th / March / 1957 not 2017. I explained that in a previous article on our 60th Independence Day and I even explained that it was that very reason why KNS has chosen a Red Fire Rooster as the symbol of our Convention People’s Party which achieved our Independence as foreseen prophetically by the Grace and Anointing of God which anointed KNS not JB Danquah or any other name for that prophetic task and it was perfectly carried out according to God’s Divine and Perfect Will. Glory be to God for loving Ghana that much to give us the best gift He could have ever gifted to us in KNS. Praise God and bless His Holy name with me all you blessed fellow Ghanaians.
Greater larger and richer Ghana was founded and declared BORN FREE FOR EVER by our sole-founding father KNS for the benefit of all Ghanaians alike on 6th of March 1957. Ghanaians proudly emerged on the African scene as shining pioneers and stars ready, willing and able to lighten up the dark continent and to lead the way for independence, for development, for progress and prosperity not only for all Ghanaians but ultimately for All Africans when they succeed to achieve their UNITY WHICH IS A MUST. SO, HELP US GOD.
LONG LIVE GHANA FREE FOR EVER
HAPPY FOUNDER’S DAY MY BELOVED GHANA
HAPPY FOUNDER’S DAY FELLOW GHANAIANS
FORWARD EVER, BACKWARD NEVER BY THE GRACE OF GOD. AMEN
