Resist attempts to wipe out memory of Nkrumah — NDC

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on Ghanaians to resist attempts by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to wipe out the memory of Dr Kwame Nkrumah as the founder of the country.

The party said the attempts by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to include others in the Founders’ Day must not be allowed since that would change entirely the history of the country.

“The inclusion of J.B Danquah, Edward Akufo-Addo, Dr Busia and others shall not become more important than Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah,” the party stated.

The Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Koku Anyidoho, made the call when he addressed supporters of the NDC at the Community Park near the Kwame Nkrumah mausoleum on Thursday.

Solidarity walk

Earlier, hundreds of supporters of the party took to the streets in Accra to express their solidarity with the Founder’s Day celebration.

The walk, which started at about 7 a.m. from the Nima Roundabout, through main streets, the Kwame Nkrumah interchange, ended up at the Community Park near the Kwame Nkrumah mausoleum where the executive members of the party took turns to address the crowd.

The two-hour walk attracted personalities, including the former Chief of Staff, Mr Julius Debrah; the Chairman of the party, Mr Kofi Portuphy; First National Vice Chairman, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo and the former Chief Executive of Accra, Dr Alfred Oko Vanderpuye.

‘Resist oppressors rule’

Addressing the party faithful, Mr Anyidoho said on March 6, 1957 at the Old Polo grounds, Dr  Nkrumah lowered the Union Jack of the British Crown and hoisted the national flag of the Republic of Ghana when the first national anthem was played for the first time.

“Sixty years down the line, imperialist forces want to obliterate the memory of Dr Kwame Nkrumah which must not be allowed to happen as Kwame Nkrumah never dies,” he stated.

He pointed out that the NDC, as a party, would resist what he called “oppressors rule with all our will and might.”

‘Let’s unite’

Mr Portuphy stated that Dr Nkrumah was the founder of the country.

He said in a bid to restore unity and peace among the supporters of the party, the elders of the NDC, including its founder Mr Jerry John Rawlings, had gone to the various constituencies to unite the party faithful.

He, therefore, encouraged the party supporters to continue to throw their weight behind the party to enable it to win power in 2020. 

Dr Vanderpuye appealed to the rank and file of the party to come together and work towards wrestling power from the NPP in the next general election in 2020.

For his part,a former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Sylvester Mensah, said although other people contributed to helping Ghana to gain its nationhood, it was Dr Nkrumah’s contribution that helped the country to gain independence.

“As we commemorate the Founder’s Day, with Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah as the founder of Ghana, we solidarise with all Ghanaians whose toil helped Ghana to get to where it is right now,” he said.

It would be recalled that President Akufo-Addo proposed recently that August 4 should be designated as Founders Day and September 21 as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day, a decision many Ghanaians, particularly the NDC, described as an attempt by the NPP to rewrite the history of the country.