Ghana needs a selfless leader -Prof Akosah

Accra, Sept.21 GNA - Professor Agyeman Badu Akosah, a leading member= of the Convection People's Party (CPP), on Wednesday stated that Ghana needs= a selfless leader whose commitment to the total development of the country is unquestionable. "Ghana needs a nation builder, someone who is prepared to work with the masses for the collective good of all people".

Prof. Akosah was speaking at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Lectures as part of activities marking the 3rd Founder's Celebration in Accra. The lecture which was on the theme: 93The relevance of Nkrumaism today", was organized by the Socialist Forum of Ghana (SFG). The lecture also attended by Convention People Party (CPP) bigwigs as well as National Democratic Congress (NDC) ministers including Ms Samia Yaaba Nkrumah, Chairperson of the CPP, Mrs Susan Adu Amankwah, second Vice Chairperson of the CPP and Prof Edmond Dele.

The rest are Madam Sherry Ayitey, Minister of Science and Environment, Mr Alban K. Bagbin, Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing and Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Deputy Minister of Science and Environment. Prof Akosah said during the reign of Dr Nkrumah, he ensured that education and healthcare was free and one could truly judge his government by assessing the welfare of the people in his day. He said though the country is endowed with resources including large tracts of arable land which have been taken over by weeds while many youths roam the streets unemployed.

He said Dr Nkrumah was able to generate employment for the youth by introducing the Workers Brigade which ensured that the youth were not employed but acquired employable skills.

He said he cannot accept the claim by people that it is not government's responsibility to provide employment for the people and that government only has to create the congenial environment for the private sector to take off.

According to him, it is written in the constitution that government will among other seek the welfare and wellbeing of the people. Prof Akosah insisted that Nkrumaism is still relevant today because th= e mass of the people continue to wallow in squalor and poverty even in the face of the numerous resources that the country is blessed with. He said the country needs to set up a minimum standard or level that the poor and the vulnerable in the society must not be allowed to fall below.

Dr Gamel Nasser Adam, Head of Department, Department of Modern Languages, University of Ghana, said Dr Nkrumah's legacy would endure for= a long time because of his ideals and what he stood for.

He said Dr Nkrumah's seven year development plan was to fundamenta= lly transform the Ghanaian economy especially, the agricultural sector. He said Dr Nkrumah development strategy is what was pursued by the former Soviet Union and later China which has the potential of changing the face of any economy especially infrastructural development within a short time. According to Dr Adam, Nkrumah's persistence to awaken the consciousness of Africans to fight the colonial exploitation was significan= t and helped in doing away with neo-colonialism and imperialism. He said the people that Africa lost to the slave trade were the most productive segment of the society and was largely responsible to the underdevelopment of the continent.

Dr Adam said though Ghana has won her independence, she is still in throes imperialism manipulation which has taken various forms. Ms Emilia Arthur, Deputy Minister of Western Region said Dr Nkrumah was a visionary leader who wanted social development for all the segments o= f the society. She said Nkrumah was a man of conscience who came from a humble background to achieve greatness for Ghana and the rest of the world. Ms Arthur said Ghana needs a consistent strategy and policy that woul= d protect the nation from colonial exploitation.