Imbibe values of Patriotism

Last Saturday was Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day, a day set aside to celebrate a global icon and illustrious son of Ghana who has left a mark as one of the greatest African leaders of all time.

As the day fell on a weekend, today has been declared a statutory public holiday to recognise the exemplary works of Ghana’s first Prime Minister, first President and development-oriented leader and pan-Africanist.

Without doubt, Dr Nkrumah deserves to be recognised and celebrated. As the first President of the country, he did not only play pivotal roles nationally but also contributed immensely to Africa’s emancipation and global peace.

The Daily Graphic rightly agrees with many that Ghana is ever grateful and cannot forget his contribution to the independence struggle and final attainment of nationhood.

As we honour this great son of the soil, we urge Ghanaians and other stakeholders in the affairs of the state to rise up to play their part, not only towards the economic and social advancement of the country but also the entrenchment of good governance, the rule of law and acts of patriotism across the country.

In spite of the legacy Dr Nkrumah left and the role successive leaders have played to ensure a unique nation, it is sad that the country is still confronted with issues of corruption, poor sanitation, conflicts and indiscipline in the various facets of our body politic.

We believe strongly that we can work together as a people to address these challenges if we imbibe the values of patriotism and fellow-feeling and adopt the nation-first attitude as Dr Nkrumah espoused and stood for.

The Daily Graphic believes that if we adopt these values in our day-to-day activities, we can collectively work to make Ghana a better place for all.
Not only that; considering Dr Nkrumah’s contribution to Africa’s emancipation and his desire for a united Africa, the Daily Graphic thinks that the Nkrumah Memorial

Day could be marked with activities that will bring Africans living in Ghana together to forge greater bonding.

With the incidence of xenophobic attacks in some countries, those activities will also remind the younger generation of where the continent had come from and the need to remain united.

It is our contention that we must go beyond making the day a holiday of merry-making and fun and make it a productive day where hard work and the desire to transform the economy will be espoused.

Although Ghana has made some strides since the attainment of independence, we must not be complacent, as there is a lot more to be done to graduate from a lower middle-income country to a higher middle-income and ultimately a developed economy.

Against this backdrop, we need all hands on deck to drive good governance processes and ensure that we improve our human development index for the benefit of all.

In this vein, we believe Dr Nkrumah’s sense of national unity and patriotism comes in handy. As a people, we must see ourselves as one people with a common destiny.

We must at all times seek to rally behind our leaders through constructive criticism in the development of the nation.

Dr Nkrumah has contributed his quota to the development of Ghana and Africa and it is up to each individual citizen to also ask himself or herself what he or she would be remembered for as far as the development of the country is concerned.

We must let the ideals of unity, patriotism, youth activism, self-reliance, pan-Africanism and mental re-orientation espoused by Dr Nkrumah be our guiding principles in all we do to make Ghana a better place for all and generations yet unborn.