Kwesi Pratt has bitten the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, over his comments regarding Ghana’s first President and historic hero, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, on the Founders’ Day.
The President, addressing the nation on August 4 which marks the Founders’ Day, set the country on a controversial journey into the history of Ghana.
As widely known by all and sundry that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah led the country to attain independence in 1957, the President, in his speech, disputed the fact and notion that Nkrumah is Ghana’s only founder.
“I speak to you this evening, rejecting completely, the notion that one man founded Ghana. 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,” President Akufo Addo said.
He continued that, “the formation of the Aborigines Rights Protection, the British West African Nation Congress, the United Gold Coast Convention, the work of countless unsung heroes, and the tenacious spirit of our people all played vital parts in bringing us to freedom and independence”.
The President concluded; “Kwame Nkrumah with his charismatic visionary leadership was undoubtedly a major actor in the final lap of our journey to independence and that is why despite the several unfortunate things that happened after independence under his watch, Parliament in 2019, decided to memorialise his date of birth as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day, the only Ghanaian so far to be so honoured in our history.”
But Kwesi Pratt vehemently disagrees with the President.
Speaking in an interview with the media, Mr. Pratt stressed the President cannot rewrite history, stating categorically that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah is the sole founder of Ghana.
He stated that Nkrumah’s legacy continues to live on despite the President’s attempt to normalize his achievements.
“He (Nkrumah) is the man of the millennium,” he exclaimed, adding the President cannot challenge this description of Ghana’s heroic leader.
To Kwesi Pratt, the President is rather ruining the chances of the New Patriotic Party and their flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, to win the December 7 election.
“Don’t you want the NPP to win again?”, he queried the President.
“The analysis is that when you take the two major political parties, none of them can win with the support of their members alone…If none of them can win with the support of their members alone, what you do is to cultivate other constituencies but this man is destroying everything”, he emphasized, warning that “if the NPP loses, Nana Addo will suffer more than any person”.
Story by: Richard Nana Appiah Kubi/Ahotoronline.com
