The Executive Director of the Busia Institute for Rural and Democratic Development (BIRDD), Anane Agyei, has underscored the need for Ghana to honour the memories of its heroes and heroines.
In his view, that is one of the surest ways to inspire succeeding generations to excellence in service for sustainable national development.
Mr Agyei made the point when he spoke to the Daily Graphic ahead of a symposium, the first of activities lined up to mark the 110th anniversary of the birth of Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia, Ghana’s Prime Minister during the Second Republic.
Symposium
The Busia 110th Symposium slated for tomorrow, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, at the African Regent Hotel in Accra, will be held under the auspices of former President John Agyekum Kufuor. The symposium, which will take place at 4.30 p.m. on the day, is on the theme, ‘The Relevance of Busia’s Ideas to Our Contemporary Society’.
The panellists for the symposium are eminent people from academia, politics, industry and other spheres of life.
The event will be chaired by Rt. Rev. Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye with the welcoming address delivered by Baffour Adjei Bawuah, a Diplomat and former Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States of America (USA).
Dr Busia, born on July 11, 1913, and died on August 28, 1978, was a politician and a scholar. He administered the Republic of Ghana as an executive prime minister from 1969 – 1972. His reign is noted for massive rural development as he sought to industrialise the rural areas for holistic national development. His period of stewardship is also remembered as a watershed for democratic governance as the regime promoted free speech, parliamentary opposition and respect for human rights, among other things.
As a scholar, Busia became the first African to have held a professorship in Ghana. He also held professorships in many institutions of higher learning in Europe and the Americas.
Among the notable Ghanaian politicians he nurtured was J. A. Kufuor, the second President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana.
Activities
Apart from the symposium, BIRDD has targeted to distribute books on Dr Busia to all second-cycle institutions and Colleges of Education across the country before the end of this year.
ALSO READ: