Nkrumah is not sole founder of Ghana – Dr Vladimir Antwi Danso

A member of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), Dr Vladimir Antwi Danso who is the Director of Academic Affairs at the Ghana Armed Forces and Staff College, has made a strong case for recognition for all who played a role in the attainment of independence for Ghana.

According to him, he will not dabble in untruths as an intellectual in what seeks to project Dr Nkrumah as the sole founder of Ghana.

Dr Antwi Danso stated this when he addressed a symposium organised by the Danquah Institute (DI) on Thursday on the theme, “The advent of UGCC and independence of Ghana. Examining their relevance in our contemporary society.”

The Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, had at a lecture on the 70th anniversary of the formation of the UGCC in Accra last Friday stated that Dr Kwame Nkrumah cannot be credited to be the sole founding father of Ghana, since the struggles for independence were started by other prominent Ghanaians.

He said the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) leaders fashioned the independence struggle and Dr Nkrumah came later through the invitation of UGCC leaders, "and added significantly to the struggle".

Prof. Oquaye said he had great respect for Dr Nkrumah because of his significant contribution to the independence struggle and his numerous development projects, such as the Tema Motorway.

However, he said, to say that Dr Nkrumah was the only founding father of Ghana was not true, but rather, "I consider him one of the founder fathers."

"Dr Nkrumah, who was invited, became one of the founder fathers because of that invitation," he said.

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The celebration of the 70th anniversary of the UGCC has ignited the debate on whether Ghana was founded by Dr Nkrumah alone or with the support of the others.

Speaking at the Danquah Institute symposium, Dr Vladimir Antwi Danso said: “I know the history of Ghana very well and it will be bad on my part as an intellectual to dabble in untruths.

“There can’t be one founder to anything. Prof Mike Ocquaye didn’t say anything untoward, anything that is not the truth, there were several fronts. So if Paa Grant hadn’t gathered the people and put his money there where would our independence be? Would there have been an Nkrumah, who knew him?

On her part former minister of state in the Kufuor era, Madam Elizabeth Ohene stated the historical account of Ghana’s independence and said the historical account was deliberately distorted.

Adding, she said if the NPP has the opportunity to write the wrong so be it.

She questioned the 21st September birth date of Dr Nkrumah using it as a basis and justification for her claims of distortion in Ghana’s history.

“Our history was deliberately distorted by the victors of the independence struggle, it is time we faced up to it. Every part of the history of the victors of the first Republic was written with an ideological slant, if the NPP, now has the opportunity to add to the history, by adding things that had been deliberately omitted because it did not suit the politics of the victors, so be it,” Madam Ohene said.