As Ghana celebrated its first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah on Tuesday, a lot of people have shared their thoughts about the man whose contribution to development of his country and the unity of Africa is unmatched.
While some held the view that it was impossible to turn fortunes of the economy around, others remained optimistic.
Those who expressed optimism noted that in spite of the sorry state of the Ghanaian economy, the cocoa rich country could reach the pinnacle if she revisited Nkrumah’s blue print.
Speaking to the Ghanaian Times, Bernard Mornah, the former Chairman of the People’s National Convention (PNC) said Dr Nkrumah was a tree that had been truncated.
He said Dr Nkrumah left an economy that was mismanaged by his predecessors to the point where the country imported goods from the west including products from which Ghana had comparative advantage.
“We have shown on the contrary that we have mismanaged our own affairs but there is hope. There is hope because if you go to the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and you are an artist and you take an artist impression of the Mausoleum, you will see that it is a tree that has been truncated and so you have only the stem and the roots.
“We have to graft the tree so that it will be able to produce the fruits that Dr Nkrumah intended for Africans and Ghana as a microcosm. That grafting will come out as a result of us staking the ideas of Dr Nkrumah and running to town with,” Mr Mornah stressed.
He explained that Dr Nkrumah envisaged a society where the youth had employable skills and well paid jobs, a society that was self-sufficient in food production, a society where industries were used to add value to goods produced in the country.
Touching on the debate about the founder of Ghana, Mr Mornah indicated that it was not in doubt Dr Nkrumah founded the National Flag, the Coat of Arms and the National Anthem and found it ridiculous people thought that could change or distort history just by design of the pen.
Mr Mornah stated the nation needed visionary leaders who would ensure she controlled its resources and stopped going cap in hand begging from Asia, United States and Europe.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
