We must work to break free from colonial control – Akufo-Addo
President Akufo-Addo has charged Ghanaians to strive towards liberation from colonial domination.
President Akufo-Addo was particularly concerned about Ghana’s economic dependence on foreign superpowers.
In his message on commemorating Founders’ Day, President Akufo-Addo said, “We must make concerted efforts to break away from the neo-colonial structure of the raw material producing and exporting economy, which has, largely, been our lot”.
August 4 is celebrated in Ghana as Founders’ Day to celebrate Ghana’s who played a role in the struggle to attain independence.
“Today, we pay homage to successive generations of Ghanaians who played significant roles towards the liberation of our country from colonialism and imperialism.
“We must, as a mark of reverence to our forebears, work to free ourselves from the economic arrangements designed by the former colonial power to serve its particular purpose at the time, which continue to bind us. We must make concerted efforts to break away from the neo-colonial structure of the raw material producing and exporting economy, which has, largely, been our lot.
“Let us all put our shoulders to the wheel and drive our nation to its destination, a united, developed, prosperous, free, democratic and independent Ghanaian nation.”
Founders’ Day
The Founder’s Day was formerly called ‘Founder’s Day’ with the letter ‘S’ appearing after an apostrophe, and it was celebrated to earmark the achievements of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
Kwame Nkrumah was Ghana’s first president and a member of the ‘Big Six’.
He was born on 21 September, hence, the ‘Founder’s Day’ celebration on 21 September each year in honour of his bravery to save Ghana from the British Governors of the Gold Coast dictatorship.
However, upon assuming office and based on the call to celebrate other members of the ‘Big Six’, President Akufo-Addo proposed legislation to Parliament to designate 4 August as a new date of the Founders’ Day celebration, to widen the scope to cover all people who played a key role in the liberation of the country.
President Akufo-Addo again proposed that 21 September be instituted as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day to commemorate ex-president Nkrumah’s birthdate.
The decision separated the ‘Founder’s Day’ celebration as an honour of the ‘Big Six’.
The members of the “Big Six” were Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Edward Akufo-Addo, Joseph Boakye Danquah, Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey, William Ofori Atta, and Ebenezer Ako-Adjei.