Former Government Spokesperson on Governance and Security, Dr. Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, has argued that Ghana cannot be said to have a single founder, insisting that independence was won through the collective efforts of many political figures.
Speaking on Breakfast Daily on Channel One TV on Monday, September 22, 2025, Dr. Boakye-Danquah reflected on the 116th birthday of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, marked on September 21.
He said while Nkrumah deserves national recognition, it is misleading to describe him as Ghana’s sole founder.
“In a strict sense, Ghana does not have a founder. It was a group of people who came together and contributed to securing independence for the country in 1957. Ghana should have a separate day to celebrate Kwame Nkrumah as our first President, but not necessarily as the founder of the nation,” he said.
Dr. Boakye-Danquah further noted that Ghana’s development is shaped by a shared national identity rather than the vision of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
“Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s dream is not just a dream that everyone must follow. I believe the blueprint of Ghana has already been laid, if you look at some of the historical antecedents. It is difficult for me to say successive governments are living out Nkrumah’s dream, because I feel that it is the ‘Ghanaism’ that we all share which must drive our development, not necessarily the ideals and ethos of one individual,” he explained.
He added that Ghana’s survival through successive republics should be credited not only to Nkrumah but also to the colonial administrators and other leaders who played critical roles in the independence struggle.
“We need to appreciate the journey we’ve had as a country. We must weigh the successes of all the republics in the context of global politics and pat ourselves on the back for surviving. Our survival is premised on the foundations laid by the colonial fathers and the people who fought for our independence,” Dr. Boakye-Danquah said.
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