Prof. Baffour Agyeman-Duah, a co-founder of the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has asked that Ghanaians focus on building an economy that would be self-reliant rather than engaging in needless debates over who founded the country.
According to him, the history books make it clear how the nation was founded and focusing attention on who did what is not the way to go.
He admits that no country is entirely self-sufficient across the globe, however, there are areas that Ghana has competitive advantage where it can leverage rather than depending on the global economy.
Speaking on the KeyPoints on TV3 Saturday, August 10, 2024, the former Senior Governance Advisor to the United Nations averred that “there are many important challenges that we are facing as a people and that should be our focus.”
Speaking on the economy, he said “every country thrives on economy and as you know, our economy has been wobbling for the past many years. Through that, it seems more challenging this time around but the fact is that, we have not sought to build an independent economy that is self-sustaining to a large extent.”
“I understand that no country can be solely self-reliant but in areas where nature has endowed us with the resources, we should be able to build self sufficiency in the areas,” he added.
The Chief Executive Officer of the John Agyekum Kufuor Foundation says “we should be looking at how we develop an economy that is not dependent completely as we have now, on the global economy.”
His comments come on the back of President Akufo-Addo’s Founders’ Day speech which has created controversy.
President Akufo-Addo has maintained his stance, opposing the notion that an individual founded Ghana.
In his 2024 Founders’ Day address, President Akufo-Addo rejected claims that Kwame Nkrumah single-handedly founded Ghana, emphasising that the struggle for independence was a collective effort by many which has span through generations.
Although he acknowledged Dr Nkrumah’s significant contributions, he stressed that the nation’s freedom was achieved through the efforts of many and cannot be attributed to Ghana’s first President alone.
The President, addressing the ongoing debate surrounding the commemoration of August 4 as Founders Day, acknowledged the differing perspectives on Ghana’s history.
Speaking on the matter at the senior citizen’s luncheon at the Jubilee House, President Akufo-Addo noted, “I know that there are some who question the ceremony – that is 4th August as Founders Day, because they believe that we were all asleep in Ghana until the arrival of Kwame Nkrumah and the CPP.”
“I have already stated my views on that several times, including in my speech last Saturday evening. I don’t intend to go over that matter again,” he said.
In 2019, Parliament established August 4 as Founders’ Day to honour all who contributed to Ghana’s independence, and September 21 as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day.
However, this stance has sparked protests from those who support Nkrumah’s singular role, including the Conventions Peoples Party (CPP).
President Akufo-Addo, however, has reemphasised his support for the consensus reached by Parliament in 2019, which recognises both the significance of Kwame Nkrumah and the importance of August 4 in Ghana’s history.
According to him, “Preserving the critical importance of August 4 in our history is a good consensus and it deserves to last.”
Meanwhile, former President John Mahama argued that Ghana’s history is well-known and promised to restore the previous historical narrative if elected, criticising the United Gold Coast Convention, which included J.B. Danquah, for historically opposing Ghana’s independence.
