Veep: Ghanaians must emulate the life of Nkrumah

Vice President, John Dramani Mahama

The Vice President, John Dramani Mahama is urging Ghanaians to emulate the life and vision of the country's first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

Mr Mahama was speaking at a function Tuesday, September 21, which has been observed in Ghana as a holiday in commemoration of the 101 birthday of Ghana's first president and also for his pioneering role both home and abroad.

“For most of us the celebration of the birth of Dr Kwame Nkrumah raises questions of patriotism, vision and loyalty to one's country – ideals and humanity on one hand and conspiracy and betrayal of one's compatriot on the other,” Mr Mahama said.

The Vice-President said the relevance of Dr Nkrumah's ideas and the “validity of his vision for Ghana and Africa have gained more and more recognition and legitimacy as the years go by.”

This, he said, therefore imposes on Ghanaians the responsibility to work for the realization of what Nkrumah fought for but could not achieve in his lifetime.

Chairman of the committee that was put together to plan the centenary celebrations of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Professor Akilakpa Sawyer said complaints about inappropriate spending of the monies allocated for the event are unfounded.

He said the committee's books were being audited and wondered how anybody could conclude that monies had been misappropriated.