Ningo-Prampram Member of Parliament, Sam Nartey George, is of the view that the legacy left by late former President Dr Kwame Nkrumah cannot be matched by any of his successors.
While contributing to the subject of coup d’etats in Africa on JoyNews on Monday, Mr George noted that Dr Nkruamh proved to the world, particularly the West, that the black man is capable of managing his own affairs.
However, he noted that after his passing, all the leaders Ghana has encountered have failed to fill the shoes once worn by the country’s first president and prime minister following its independence from British colonial rule on 6th March 1957.
“Look, a black man, Kwame Nkrumah, showed that it is possible.
“Over the weekend, I took my kids across about three regions and showed them a few things Nkrumah did and you know what my soon to be 8-year-old son said to me, he said ‘Nkrumah did a lot for Ghana and he wasn’t President for a very long time.’ And I said yes, he set a bar that nobody can meet.
“None of our following Presidents have been able to meet,” he said.
According to the Ningo-Prampram legislator, Ghana has not seen such impressive development as the current crop of leaders are more interested in serving themselves than the citizens.
“So it is possible if you have the leadership, the desire to serve your people and not to serve yourself,” he said.
Mr Nartey George is of the view that Ghana and Africa as a whole need “a crop of young leaders who are afrocentric in their thinking and will say to the West and Europe, ‘we will stay, hold our own, trade among ourselves, and we will only trade with you if you are willing to come and negotiate with us as equals.’”
The MP stressed that the older generation have failed the current generation. Citing President Akufo-Addo as reference, he noted that the president cannot demand a return to democratic governance in Niger when he failed to criticize the likes of Alassane Ouattara, who attempted to run for a third term by altering Ivory Coast’s constitution.
“This whole talk by Akufo-Addo that the hunter must withdraw and allow democratic institutions. What did he say when his friend Alhassan Wattra attempted to change the constitution of Ivory Coast. What did he say when his friend in Senegal tried to do it? It is that hypocrisy of African leadership that is leading to a revolution in the younger generation of Africans to say these old folks have had their day, and it is time for us to take our destiny into our own hands,” he stated.
Ouattara reversed an earlier commitment and announced his intention to participate in the October 31 election, prompting allegations that he is emulating the actions of other African leaders who have manipulated constitutional rules to retain control.
Although Ivory Coast’s legislation restricts presidential terms to two, Ouattara argues that the adoption of a new constitution in 2016 effectively reset the counter, thereby permitting him to seek re-election.