Political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Prof. Ransford Gyampo has taken a swipe at President Akufo-Addo reminding him that Ghana’s political history cannot be re-written a single government’s regime interest or imposed on the people of Ghana.
Prof. Gyampo said “JB Danquah and co thwarted the efforts at founding Ghana, and it just cannot make sense that suddenly, those who frustrated the fight for independence are being inserted by force, as part of the fighters.”
The outspoken lecturer’s outburst comes less than 24hours after President Akufo-Addo in his address to the nation insisted Ghana was foundered on August 4 and that no single individual can be held as the founder of the nation. Mr. Akufo-Addo went further to dismissed the claims the singular effort of the late former President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah led to Ghana’s independence hence being honored as the founder.
This claim by President Akufo-Addo has equally been rejected by many Ghanaians with Prof. Gyampo being the latest to joint the condemnation.
Prof. Gyampo further explained that “On account of some of the pioneering roles the UGCC played, particularly in serving as the first political party to be formed in the Gold Cost and the party’s subsequent invitation of Nkrumah to serve as its General Secretary, we can negotiate and by consensus, insert the UGCC people somewhere as far as the founding of Ghana is concerned. Not until this is done, there’s only one founder of Ghana, just as there’s only one founder of Kenya, Guinea, etc.”
“History cannot be altered by force and through imposition. We can dialogue and build consensus to acknowledge the role that others played in our quest for independence. But really, it is Founder’s Day and the idea of Founders’ Day can only be accepted and properly institutionalized through nationwide consensus building and never through the whims and caprices of any regime.” – he added
Read his full post of Facebook:
That, there should Founders’ Day, should come as a result of a plea for recognition and consensus. This government cannot re-write Ghana’s political history, it is just not possible. The best they can do, is to temporarily play with “apostrophe s and s apostrophe”. But this is transient. We know our history.
JB Danquah and co thwarted the efforts at founding Ghana, and it just cannot make sense that suddenly, those who frustrated the fight for independence are being inserted by force, as part of the fighters. Just read the letter authored by JB Danquah below and see.
On account of some of the pioneering roles the UGCC played, particularly in serving as the first political party to be formed in the Gold Cost and the party’s subsequent invitation of Nkrumah to serve as its General Secretary, we can negotiate and by consensus, insert the UGCC people somewhere as far as the founding of Ghana is concerned. Not until this is done, there’s only one founder of Ghana, just as there’s only one founder of Kenya, Guinea, etc.
History cannot be altered by force and through imposition. We can dialogue and build consensus to acknowledge the role that others played in our quest for independence. But really, it is Founder’s Day and the idea of Founders’ Day can only be accepted and properly institutionalized through nationwide consensus building and never through the whims and caprices of any regime.
We must go back to our history! We must note that without consensus, what we have done to our history is temporary, as the political history of Ghana would by all means go back to its “factory settings”.
Yaw Gyampo
A31, Prabiw
PAV Ansah Street
Saltpond
&
Suro Nipa House
Behind Old Post Office
Larteh Akuapim
