Retired diplomat, K.B Asante is fuming with anger as he describes plan by the New Patriotic Party-led government to rechristen the Founder’s Day as silly.
The political historian known for his frankness opined that observing the birthday of Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah as Founder’s Day is a foregone conclusion and should be kept as sacrosanct.
The presidency has suggested to Parliament to change the 21st September Founder’s Day to August 4 and marked as Founders Day. The September 21 would still remain a statutory public holiday but observed as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day.
The proposal has set the tone for a divisive debate with historians, academicians, politicians among others joining the fray.
But K.B Asante who worked closely with Dr. Kwame Nkrumah is incensed by the proposal.
“I don’t want to consider the idea of changing it,” he rejected the proposal in an interview with TV3’s Bright Nana Amfoh on Midday Live Thursday, September 21, 2017.
“If you don’t know your history that you have all these silly ideas that Nkrumah not being the founder and find other reasons to support [the proposal]”, he asserted.
“He was the founder, we have decided on it, and that is the end,” he forcefully stressed.
He charged the government to busy itself with other important development in the country, rather than trying to change an idea accepted globally.
Proponents advocating for a change of date argued strongly that Nkrumah cannot be the sole founder of Ghana, insisting that the change would give due recognition to others who played critical role leading to Ghana’s independence.
But K.B. Asante indicated that August 4 in which the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was inaugurated cannot even be exhaustive because there are several other unrecorded heroes who were not part of the UGCC but contributed immensely to the country attaining independence.
Prof. Edmund Delle, Chairman of the Convention People’s Party, a party founded by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, told TV3 there is no doubt that others played a part in Ghana’s independence, but like in other jurisdiction, the country has accepted that he is the founder, and that should end the debate.
He saw Nkrumah as a “unique” person who would forever remained great irrespective of what his critics do.
“I find the debate needless” he stated, and warned that without thinking about it, the CPP will with “immediate effect” change the date again when it comes to power.
Read: Mahama celebrates Nkrumah: Founder of modern Ghana
By Isaac Essel | 3news.com | Ghana