Having read that rather extraordinary piece of junk, a champion in its class of absurdity and overwhelming nonsense, I just had to write this rebuttal for the disgust that I have always harboured for Kwame Nkrumah’s latter days in office that were nothing short of asinine crime and wanton heartlessness. It is imperative to note that history could hardly be charitable to this first president of Ghana if only it would be told as was without embellishment that has always sought to make the criminal figures of the past more honourable than the shoes that they polished with such alacrity and skill. Compared to the cruelty of the AFRC and PNDC under the late former President Jerry John Rawlings which were stratocracies of immeasurable crime and dissipation of life and resources, that of Kwame Nkrumah was more an organised system of crime assisted by legislative instruments that stripped the rule of law off its basic elements of humanity and freedom of speech, same that is being violated by headless chicken referred to as journalists in this era of our democracy!
The famous Roman, Writer/Historian/Lawyer, Cicero, once said, “To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history!” For that matter, and as a matter of urgency, I am going to deal with the actual occurrences under the criminal regime of Kwame Nkrumah!
Yes, he was revered by many an African Leader! Yes, they saw Pan Africanism in him! Yes, they were happy to receive millions of British Pounds left the Ghanaian coffers by the then indomitable colonialists whose power was, suddenly, beginning to crumble like the edges of a charred biscuit. Little did the applauding African Leaders, including Gamal AbdulNasser of Egypt, who, it was said, gave Fathia to him in marriage, pay attention to the egregiousness of his local policies. They did not bother to see through the lens of objectivity the perpetration of the special kind of crime that he happily meted out to the freshly liberated Ghanaian, who would have prayed the colonialists remained had they known that Kwame Nkrumah was going to institute a one-party state in order to cement his control over Ghana to soon declare himself President for life, an idea that had, ostensibly, formed in his head and would have debuted in Ghana’s political landscape had he remained in office!
The few projects like the Akosombo Dam, Tema Motorway, the Tema Harbour, and a couple others were all made possible by funds left by the British, which he dissipated a large percentage of in a bit to polish his image on the African scene and internationally. Ghanaians suffered exile and executions that were never told. People just disappeared while Nkrumah was busily snoring at FlagStaff House or en route to a communist country from which he drew a lot of inspiration. Who has ever heard of the death of the Lampteys? The father of Jake Obetsebi Lamptey (Emmanuel Odaikwei Obetsebi Lamptey), his brothers (Walter Oko Lamptey and Henry Odartei Lamptey), and his sister (Madam Koshie Emashie Lamptey) were all assassinated in jail under the very criminal “Preventive Detention Act” between 1962 and 1964. Some were paralysed by injections and buried in coffins only to die from asphyxiation. Of course, the venerable luminary and illustrious son of Ghana, Hon JB Danquah, cannot be forgotten, either. His was pre-meditated murder of the most malevolent type.
Unfortunately, in this country, we have people blinded by the witchy blotch of darkness that has covered every space of their heart that they feel no empathy as they lie through their teeth. It is so endemic in many CPP turned NDC benefactors of monstrosity that they will never tell the truth. I am going to leave the issue of the NDC in this context for now in order to lay bare the truth as it has never been related to Ghanaians ever before!
The endemic penchant for telling untruths, prevalent in many leaders since colonial and precolonial days that has caused the warping of some historical facts, gives me the impetus to rebut the delivery of disgraceful articles!
First of all, the sharp decline of Kwame Nkrumah’s popularity spiraled out of control since his faculty became shrouded with hatred for some elements, apparently, due to their origins, creeds, and societal inclinations. He soon forgot that being a true Ghanaian patriot meant that no ethnic group should be left out of the very governance that all contributed to achieve! So what if he had a few Ashantis in Cabinet, after all, they were people who associated with him for very long and could not, even if he wanted to, dissociate from? That does not exonerate him from the tribalistic tendencies he exhibited.
When Kwame Nkrumah’s party lost the Atwima Nwabiagya elections, how many of you know the extent he went to in order to suppress the opposition? Of course, no one would bother to even ask because true history was swept under the carpet for good, it seems! Kwame Nkrumah constantly made mockery of himself by his continual rhetoric of freedom, which he never practiced. You were a free person if only you subscribed to his alien ideology of a one-Party State and made it a habit to kiss his behind. To him, all was well so long as he continued to bask in inglorious glory with his fake statement, “Yo kentry is free forevaa!”
With such high criminal records under his sleeve, the writer of the above-mentioned article to which this rebuttal has become necessary put his integrity on the line to write hogwash to please his master(s)! I cannot say in particular who might have paid him to write such denigrating rubbish, but whoever that person is must bow their head in shame!
I know where the mention of Akoto was heading, but never mind that, I shall tackle it in Part II. However, I want everyone to know that in the NPP, all the flagbearer hopefuls are of high moral integrity, competence, and honour! Yes, you heard me right!
Dr Mahmoudu Bawumia is of sterling manners and competence! Honourable Alan Kyerematen is superbly competent, so much so that he is touted as the best Minister of trade on the African Continent! Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto is a formidable source of inspiration due to his astute policies in agriculture and his laudable social intervention policy of “food for jobs”. He is also touted as one of Africa’s best Minister if not the best of Agriculture!
I have not heard of a single scandal involving any of them. There is acknowledgement across the political divide that attest to their integrity and vouch for their competence. I do not care what the idiot naysayers think. They can drink the whole of the volta river like the Gogs and Magogs would river Tabaraya when they are finally unleashed!
Let me end this “Part I” with an admonishment to all contestants of our noble NPP to refrain from character assassinations! My advice to all!
Part II coming up!
By Fadi Dabbousi