EXPLAINER: Here’s why Founder’s Day was changed to Founders’ Day by Akufo-Addo

President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, during his Founders’ Day celebration address to Ghanaians on August 3, 2024, called on the citizenry to reject the single founder narrative.

According to him, the struggles of other founding fathers who helped the nation accomplish its freedom from colonial masters must be acknowledged and celebrated.

“I speak to you this evening, rejecting completely the notion that Ghana was founded by one man. While Kwame Nkrumah’s contributions to our independence are undeniable, it is important to acknowledge that the struggle for our nation’s freedom was a collective effort spanning several generations,” the president said in his broadcast.

President Akufo-Addo’s sentiment resonates with his government’s change of the name "Founder’s Day" to "Founders’ Day."

What is the real reason behind this?

GhanaWeb gives insights into the reason Founder’s Day had to be changed to Founders’ Day;

The former Founder’s Day was celebrated annually on September 21, the birth date of Pan-Africanist Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

This was to celebrate Dr. Kwame Nkrumah for his monumental developments in the country, mark his birthday and to remember his historic legacies and accomplishments as the founder of Ghana, across Africa and beyond.

The September 21 Founder’s Day had been in existence as far back as 1964, according to Ghana Facts and History page on X.

In the previous name, it is significant to note that the ‘S’ appears after an apostrophe, which significantly celebrated the achievements of ‘only’ Dr. Kwame Nkrumah as the founder and a member of the Big Six, sidelining the other 5 members.

However, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, upon assuming office, proposed legislation to the Parliament of Ghana, seeking to change the date and the spelling of the Founder’s Day celebration.

The proposed date, August 4, marks two significant historical events in Ghana.

Firstly, the formation of the Gold Coast Aborigines’ Rights Protection Society led by John Mensah Sarbah on August 4, 1897, and secondly, the formation of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) on August 4, 1947, by J.B. Danquah and Paa Grant.

President Akufo-Addo’s proposal to change the Founder’s Day celebration from September 21 to August 4 was to ensure that other contributors and members of the Big Six who played a key role in Ghana’s independence were recognized and not forgotten.

The public holiday amendment bill was officially passed in 2019 by the government, giving a brand-new significance to Founder’s Day.

For this reason, Founder’s Day was changed to Founders’ Day with the apostrophe now appearing after the ‘s’ and not before it.

Subsequently, August 4 officially became the date of the Founders’ Day celebration, with the first celebration being observed on August 4, 2019.

The new Founders’ Day, which now includes other founding fathers, celebrates and honours members of the Big Six; Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Edward Akufo-Addo, Joseph Boakye Danquah, Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey, William Ofori Atta, and Ebenezer Ako-Adjei.

MAG/AE