Historian: Akufo-Addo made a mistake by choosing August 4 as Founders’ day

Historian Kwaku Darko Ankrah has criticized President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s choice of August 4 as Founders’ Day.

In 2019, Parliament established August 4 as Founders’ Day to honor the collective efforts of those who contributed to Ghana’s independence, while September 21 was designated as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day. This decision was met with opposition from those who felt that Kwame Nkrumah deserved sole recognition for Ghana’s founding.

In his 2024 Founders’ Day address on August 3, President Akufo-Addo rejected the idea that Ghana was founded by a single individual, disputing claims that Nkrumah single-handedly established the country.

In an interview with Bernard Avle on The Point of View on Channel One TV, Kwaku Darko Ankrah condemned the President’s decision, labeling it as “totally wrong.” He argued that August 4 marks the formation of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), and using this date diminishes the contributions of other key figures in Ghana’s independence movement. “The President was totally wrong when he selected August 4; you state August 4, it means that you are truncating the work others have done… The significance of August 4 is the formation of UGCC, it’s a political party. Never, how can you use a political party’s formation as the foundation of Gold Coast?” he said.

Ankrah suggested that a more unifying date should be chosen to foster national cohesion rather than division. “Unifying the country is very important; it’s not about personal interests or political affiliations. So, the date itself must be able to unify the people,” he explained. He also warned that future governments might change the date if it reflects the interests of a particular political party. “If you use the date that your party or the grandparent of your party started as a celebration day, other political parties will have cause to blame you, and when they also get political power, they will try to [change it],” Ankrah cautioned.

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