A former Senior Governance Advisor at the United Nations, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has stated that the contributions of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, cannot be understated.
According to him, despite personal disagreements with some of Nkrumah’s domestic policies, Nkrumah’s contributions to Ghana’s development merit full recognition.
In his 2024 Founders’ Day address on Saturday, August 3, President Akufo-Addo firmly rejected the idea that Ghana was founded by a single individual.
The president disagreed with claims that Kwame Nkrumah single-handedly founded Ghana, emphasising the collective efforts of many individuals in the independence struggle.
While acknowledging Nkrumah’s undeniable contribution, he stressed that Nkrumah was not the sole architect of Ghana’s independence.
Speaking on the JoyNews AM show, Professor Agyeman-Duah said, “No matter what you say, Nkrumah stands tall in our politics, and nobody can belittle his accomplishment.
“Even though personally as I speak, there were certain domestic policies that I never liked and still don’t like, but still, even after discounting all those negativities, Nkrumah is a person that deserves the fullest recognition. After all, he (Nkrumah) was the man of the millennium, and that in itself says it all.”
Prof Agyeman-Duah stated that while several people contributed intellectually to the founding of Ghana, it was Kwame Nkrumah alone who shaped the nation’s ideological and emotional aspects.
He emphasised that understanding who founded Ghana requires acknowledging Nkrumah’s ideological and emotional contributions while also recognising the significant role of the UGCC [United Gold Coast Convention].
“After all, they [UGCC] brought Nkrumah; perhaps even if they had not brought him, he was going to come himself. Yet he was brought down to help them achieve independence. How can you take that away?” he quizzed.