The Convention People’s Party (CPP) on
Wednesday called on the government to commemorate January 8, as a ‘Sacred Day’
on the national calendar as it marks the beginning of the country’s
independence struggle.
It said it was on that important day on January
8, 1950, that Positive Action Day which ignited the independence struggle.
The CPP explained that the January 8 was
observed as a Red-Letter Day and a critical moment, which enabled workers,
farmers, youth, men, women, chiefs and all sections of society united and
mobilised against the usurpers and foreign occupiers of the native land.
“Weapons used to demand independence were
strikes, boycotts, and non-cooperation based upon the principle of
non-violence,” Mr James Kwabena Bomfeh Junior, CPP acting Secretary-General,
said in Accra to mark the day.
He said the call for ‘self-government now’ by
the CPP led by its Founder, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, was achieved because of
organisation, hence it deserves a place on the national calendar roll of honour
for sacred days in the nation’s history.
The CPP organised a media engagement to set the
tone for national observation of the Sacred Day – “Positive Action which meant
the application of constitutional and legitimate means to cripple the
imperialist forces in the country,” Mr Bomfeh Jr quoted Osagyefo Dr Nkrumah.
Speaking about the observance of the
‘Constitution Day’ on January 7, he said, the Fourth Republican Constitution
despite being the longest to survive in the history of the country was fraught
with many fundamental paradoxes, which made any effective function a mirage.
“Today, organisations are messing in our
partisan and national lives and in its place disorganised chaos appeared to be
taking us hostage.
We must evolve a new dynamic people’s party
that is conscious of the needs and aspirations of her people and diligently
works to meet them,” the CPP Acting Secretary-General said.
The CPP, he said, was declaring a positive
action against corruption, as generally, their thinking was warped, corrupted
and deeply immersed in unbridled and unrestrained selfishness.
“If as individuals, we shall each exhibit
attitudes of non-cooperation, intolerance, abhorrence, disgust and opprobrium
to corrupt practices, no matter how pervasive or endemic they may be, we shall
succeed.
Once we uproot corruption from our daily lives,
we shall experience fearless honest lives the national anthem invites us to,”
he said.
Mr Bomfeh Jnr called on the public to give the party
a listening ear to enable it to advocate and influence policymaking to enhance
their welfare.
Hajia Hamdatu Ibrahim, CPP Acting Chairperson,
urged members of the party not to allow themselves to be used as tools for
violence and destruction in the upcoming general election.
“The CPP wants to win power but not through
violent means. Violence is not in our DNA as CPP is all about sharing ideas,”
she added.
Mr Benard Mornah, the National Chairman of the
Peoples National Convention, commended the CPP for its positive and bold step
to promote the interest of the citizenry.
He said it was time for the other political
parties to save the people from the two major political parties that were
taking the people for a setback ‘ride’.
-GNA
pix – Mr James Kwabena Bomfeh Junior
