B/A remains divided on Dr Busia's statue

Sunyani, Oct. 2, GNA - A cross-section of people GNA interviewed in Sunyani have expressed varied opinions about the alleged plan by authorities to remove the bust of Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia, the late Prime Minister, from the Jubilee Park in the Brong-Ahafo Regional capital. They also spoke dispassionately about a recent pronouncement by Mr. Kwadwo Nyamekye Marfo, the Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, that the park would be re-named after late President Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah. Miss Faustina Dabonaa, a student of St. Don Bosco Senior High School, said though she could not understand why the authorities wanted Dr Busia's bust to be removed "I still think it will be the right thing to do to honour Dr. Nkrumah by erecting his bust at the park rather than that of Dr Busia".

She said Dr. Nkrumah would forever remain a national and global icon as a result of the many good things he did for Ghana and Africa and urged politicians to refrain from giving the issue a political slant, considering that Dr Busia's bust could be erected at another place. Mr Tommy Wiredu, a shoemaker, said there was no point in demolishing the structure "in view of the lot of money that was sunk into its erection".


He suggested that in case it was demolished, Dr Busia should still be honoured at a location where everybody could have a full view of him, particularly visitors to the region and suggested it could be erected at the roundabout near Sunyani Polytechnic. Mr. Daniel Yeboah, a retired public servant, supported the idea to remove the bust.


He said the decision to revert the name to Nkrumah Park was not misplaced and explained that Dr Nkrumah, after constructing the Centre for National Culture (CNC), set aside that portion of land to be used for hosting other cultural events including durbars of chiefs and people.


Mr. Yeboah alleged that the previous government erected Dr Busia's bust at the Jubilee Park as a cover up for the late Prime Minister's failures in spearheading and advancing the course of the country's infrastructural development.


"Although Dr Busia was once the head of government, there are no edifices or roads constructed in the region during his regime. On the other hand the Dormaa, Berekum, Hwidiem, Nkoranza and Techiman Senior High schools were all built during the Nkrumah regime", he said. Rev Stephen Baffour-Awuah of the Wesley Methodist Cathedral appealed to authorities to rather channel resources that would be spent on the removal of the bust into profitable ventures to create employment or use it to organise clean-up exercises to keep the environment clean. In his opinion Mr. Andrews Kyeremeh, security assistant at COCOBOD in Sunyani, said the bust was intended to serve as a memorial for posterity as to who the man represented and what he stood for and its removal would be "unjustifiable".


"Apart from Wenchi and Sunyani there is nowhere else in Ghana that one can find something in honour of Busia", he said and expressed his support for the idea to honour him.

Mr. Anthony Kofi Kusi, NPP Brong-Ahafo Regional Secretary, described the planned removal of the bust as "out of place". He said Dr Busia was one time a leader of the nation and a personality of the region, so erecting a bust to immortalize him was not a bad idea.


Mr. Kusi said as Nkrumah was instrumental in Ghana's independence struggle and nation-building "we don't object to re-naming the park after him".


He suggested that a statue of Dr. Nkrumah could be erected alongside that of Dr Busia in memory of the two personalities.


Mr. B. K. Ameyaw, Brong-Ahafo Regional Chairman of the Convention Peoples Party, said there was the need to find out what motivated the previous government to change the name of the park, Kwame Nkrumah Park, to Jubilee Park.


He said that action was unfair to Dr Nkrumah and an affront to the history of the region.


A civil servant, who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity, described the intention to demolish the structure as "wickedness, because they are failing to recognize and appreciate what Busia did for Ghana".

He called on the authorities to rescind their decision and avoid politicizing the issue, which was largely of great concern in the region.


"Busia was born and bred in Ghana and was a true son of the Bono state. The jubilee park was used by Nkrumah to make public speeches whenever he came to the former Western Ashanti, which is now Brong-Ahafo Region. The park has never been officially named after Dr Kwame Nkrumah so they can't change the name Jubilee Park", he said. The civil servant urged the chiefs in the region to boldly come out and voice out their opinions on the issue, otherwise they would be considered to have taken sides.


Nana Kwaku Fosu, Area One Mbrantehene, called for a dispassionate debate on whether or not to demolish the structure since state money had been pumped into its construction, adding it would be economically unwise and unwarranted to destroy it.


Adomako Francis, a driver, criticized the NPP for erecting the bust at the park saying leaders of successive governments did not set something in place to immortalize their heroes and asked why President Kufuor alone allowed this to be done during the Ghana @ 50 celebrations. He suggested the construction of Dr Nkrumah's bust alongside Dr Busia's and the name be reverted to Kwame Nkrumah Park.