Nkrumah was a great man with powerful message - President Kaunda

Accra, May 26, GNA - Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda on Tuesday described Osagyefo Dr

Kwame Nkrumah as a great man with a powerful message that liberated the African Continent. "Dr Nkrumah prophetically stood on the biblical command of love your neighbour as yourself to declare

that Ghana's independence was meaningless unless it was linked up with the total liberation of the African

Continent. "This was in obedience to the divine command of love your neighbour and Dr Nkrumah extended love to

other African countries, supported and played a key role in their liberation movements," he said. Former President Kaunda was contributing to a round table discussion under the tag "Session with

Veteran Freedom Fighters" at the Nkrumah Centenary Colloquium in Accra. It coincided with African Union (AU) Day celebration on May 25. He said Dr Nkrumah inspired freedom fighters across the continent to fight for independence from

Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa and many other countries. The former Zambian President who momentarily used the platform to preach noted that: "Love God with

your soul, mind and heart and love your neighbour as yourself. Wherever these commandments are accepted

there is peace, but where they are ignored there is war". He urged the new crop of African Freedom Fighters to focus on leading the crusade against poverty,

disease, especially the HIV/AIDS menace, adding "Fight diseases together through unity.remember that

prevention is better than cure". Mr Dudley Thompson, a Veteran Freedom Fighter, commended Ghana for being the first African country

to establish a Foundation for Africans in the Diaspora in Accra and challenged other African countries to

emulate the gesture. He noted that Dr Nkrumah stood for and spoke for the entire black population the world over, which was

epitomised by putting a "Black Star" in Ghana's National flag, signifying that Ghana stood for the Blackman. Mr Thompson, 93, called on African Governments to recognise Africans in the Diaspora and consider

them as non-resident Africans.."We don't need visa to come home, Ghana should grant citizenship to

them". Mr K. B. Asante, a former diplomat, tasked Africans to take their destiny into their own hands and work

hard to liberate the mind. He said the era where Africans copied and judged their actions and inactions through the lenses of

Americans and Europeans must come to an end. "We must develop and promote our own brand". b