Historian and lawyer, Yaw Anokye Frimpong, has descended heavily on the running mate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh (NAPO), for saying that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has performed better than Ghana's first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
Speaking in a radio interview which has gone viral, Anokye Frimpong could not hold his displeasure at NAPO's attempt to compare President Akufo-Addo to Ghana's first president.
He asserted that NAPO is only comparing Akufo-Addo to Nkrumah because of ignorance.
He said that if NAPO were aware of the achievements of Nkrumah in the Ashanti Region alone, which includes the headquarters of the National House of Chiefs, the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, he would not even think of the statement he put out.
"The reason why I'm saying that he is (sic) is because when Kwame Nkrumah created the National House of Chiefs, he said that the Asantehene is greater than any chief in Ghana and so it would not be good for him to travel to Accra for meetings of the House of Chiefs, and so, he established the National House of Chiefs headquarters in Kumasi. This is why to date, the National House of Chiefs headquarters is in Kumasi.
"It did not even end there; Nkrumah made the Asantehene the life president of the National House of Chiefs until it was made rotational in the 70s when Nkrumah was no longer in power," the historian said in Twi.
The private legal practitioner also said that NAPO was ignorant of the fact that Kwame Nkrumah was adjudged the African of the Millennium in 2000.
He said that the only reason Nkrumah was honoured as the greatest African for the past 1000 years was because of his achievements as president.
"Also, if NAPO is not (sic), he would know that the entire world honoured Nkrumah as Africa's Man of the Millennium. This means that Nkrumah was the greatest African for the past 1000 years. If NAPO had (sic) and he was not so (sic) blinded by politics, he would not be thinking like a child who was born today.
"If not for that, he would know that being selected as the greatest African for 1000 years is no mean feat. He should have asked himself why Nkrumah was selected as Africa's Man of the Millennium. You would have seen that it was because of his governance because he (Nkrumah) was not the UN Secretary-General like Kofi Annan or a businessman like Sam Jonah; he was the President of Ghana," he said.
The historian added, "So, if the president of Ghana is the greatest African for the past 1000 years, it was because of his achievements while he was in office."
Background:
NAPO, who is Ghana's current energy minister, has been under intense criticism after he was accused of disrespecting Dr. Kwame Nkrumah at his unveiling as the running mate of NPP flagbearer, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, on Tuesday, 9 July 2024.
The running mate, in his initial remarks at the event, emphasized that not even Ghana's first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, comes close to President Akufo-Addo when it comes to spearheading development in the country's history.
"It has never happened in the history of Ghana. If President Akufo-Addo retires, I can hit my chest and state that since the nation's inception in 1957, there has not been a president who has helped the state more than Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
"I am saying that from 1957 to now, whether you pick 'your' Kwame Nkrumah... there is nobody who has led Ghana and protected the country or developed Ghana more than Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo," he stated.
He defended his remarks on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, when he paid a call on the Paramount Chief of the Wassa Amenfi Traditional Area, Tetrete Okuamoah Sekyim II.
Listen to Anokye Frimpong's remarks in the clips below:
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