A national holiday was declared on September 21, 2022, to honor Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
However, commemorating the day frequently leads to political debates about Nkrumah’s contribution to the creation of the modern-day state of Ghana.
The phrase “Nkrumah Never Dies” has been used by many to mock people who they feel are hurt by the respect – or primus inter pares status – that Nkrumah receives in comparison to his contemporaries in the infamous “Big Six.”
Samuel Bryan Buabeng, a presidential staffer weighed into the conversation via a tweet that explained why no member of the New Patriotic Party, NPP, was pained by how Nkrumah was celebrated.
“No one in the NPP is pained or hurt about how Nkrumah is being celebrated, his contribution or what he stood for.
“Our forebears brought him and we currently being led by President Nana Akufo-Addo have also celebrated him than those who claimed to love him more than H. R. Fathia Nkrumah,” his tweet of September 21, 2022 read.
The Minister of the Interior, Ambrose-Dery, declared the September 21 since it marks the birthday of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
Parliament in 2018 passed the new Public Holidays Act, 2018, to amend the Public Holidays Act, 2001.
The Act replaced three public holidays, including September 21 and introduced two new holidays, January 7 (Constitution Day) and August 4 (Founders’ Day).
According to the government, the real fight for Ghana’s independence started on August 4, 1947 (the day the United Gold Coast Convention, UGCC was formed), which is why it replaced the September 21 holiday.
No one in the NPP is pained or hurt about how Nkrumah is being celebrated, his contribution or what he stood for. Our forebears brought him and we currently being led by Pres @NAkufoAddo have also celebrated him than those who claimed to love him more than H. R. Fathia Nkrumah.
— 𝒮𝒶𝓂𝓊𝑒𝓁 𝐵𝓇𝓎𝒶𝓃 𝐵𝓊𝒶𝒷𝑒𝓃𝑔 (@Sambryanbuabeng) September 21, 2022