Rejoinder: Danquah On Nkrumah's Propaganda Climb To Greatness

Chris Gyamfi Boateng, Philadelphia, USA.

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It’s quite amusing and amazing to read from people with feeble and questionable
intellectual and historical standings when it comes to Ghana’s political experience
to question Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s democratic stance and his onerous quest for
political, social, economic and cultural extrication for Ghanaians from the clutches
of the paymasters of the UP/NPP imperialists.
Unlike JB Danquah and and his colleagues who felt entitled to rule Ghana and only
cared about the stomachs and their egos as demonstrated by the property grabbing NPP
in recent years, Dr. Nkrumah exhibited a sense of selflessness, patriotism and a
genuine love for our country. Therefore, to describe Dr. Nkrumah as “…his propaganda
to climb to greatness” is quite disingenuous and shameful on the part of JB Danquah
and his Mate Me Ho goons.

To remind the nephew of NPP’s 2008 defeated presidential candidate, in the person of
Gabriel Otchere Asare Darko that Ghana, if he cares to know, had over 3 years of
one-party rule led by the nation wrecking and bomb throwing UP/NPP thugs protected
by the NLC military junta from February 24, 1966 to September 30,1969. Indeed this
Otchere Darko guy who wants to crave the reputation he doesn’t have and hiding
behind the tenuous and the so-called Danquah-Busia Institute should contrast the
above to his lame castigation and blackmailing of the Nkrumah rule; Asare Darko is
reminded and directed to read Ghana’s historical accounts that Nkrumah won the
mandate of majority of Ghanaians to rule the country and he – Nkrumah, in all
elections held in the country, defeated and humiliated the UP led by JB Danquah,
even at the time that Nkrumah was in prison and that an overwhelming majority of
Ghanaians were hungry for freedom (independence) now!. The people at the time saw
the urgency in Kwame Nkrumah and therefore opted to follow him to the political
promise land, while leaving Danquah and his feet-dragging antics behind. Indeed,
Nkrumah’s charisma didn’t start from his association with UGCC or with Danquah;
visit the University of Philadelphia and one gets to know who Dr. Nkrumah actually
was. This was a man who got attracted by the USA Black Civil Rights’ Leaders of his
time and due to sheepishness and jealousy, we have a JB Danquah questioning his
genuineness? What an abomination!
Discerning Ghanaians know the arrogance of Otchere Darko and his cohorts in their
desperate attempts to re-write our country’s political history with his deceptive
and the unmitigated one-party chorus of Nkrumah that he tried to shove down the
throats of unsuspecting readers.
However, for the benefit of the younger generation Ghanaians who may not be aware
about dastard and nasty acts of the UP/NPP in those days, here are some short but
detailed accounts about the over 3-year UP/NPP/NLC one-party rule as outlined and
catalogued by my friend Kweku Dondoo.

1. The late Mr. Victor Owusu was the UP/NLC Attorney-General, to be later appointed
as their External Affairs Commissioner (equivalent to Minister of Foreign Affairs).
Under Mr. Victor Owusu's watch, the "Rumours Decree" (NLC Decree 92) was issued
which enabled the UP/NLC jail Ghanaians for what they considered as peddling
rumours!! Under that Decree, Asare Darko with his lies disrespect for authority
figures and half truths would have been detained without warrant for up to three (3)
years in prison for publishing anything "likely to cause alarm and
despondency...disturb the public peace....or cause disaffection against the NLC".

2. The Protective Custody Decree by the NLC under the watch of the late Victor Owusu
(of the UP/PP/PFP/NPP was Foreign Minister in Dr. Busia’s Progress Party government)
as Attorney-General had 1850 supporters of Nkrumah, including CPP ministers detained
without trial with three of them dying in detention. Kofi Owusu, a 19-year Konongo
Odumase Secondary School student was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment on May 29,
1967 by the UP sponsored NLC rightly and unequivocally described by Dr. Nkrumah as
the Notorious Liars Council –under the watch of the late Vctor Owusu being the NLC's
Attorney-General at the time- for opposing the NLC military junta.

3. Mr. J. H. Mensah and the late E.N Omaboe (all staunch UP/NPP supporters) were the
economic advisers of the UP/NLC junta.

4. Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia and Edward Akufo-Addo (the father of Mr Akufo-Addo the NPP
2008 defeated Presidential candidate) were members of the UP/NLC "Political
Committee" responsible for political decisions, with Dr. Busia becoming the head of
the "centre for civic education" giving him the opportunity to start campaigning and
organizing political rallies while the military kept the lid on political activities
of others. This finally led to Busia becoming the Prime Minister and Akufo-Addo the
President after the bogus 1969 elections

5. Mr. Kwabena Gyimah Osei-Bonsu was the Commissioner of Information (equivalent to
the Minister of Information) under the UP/NLC govt. K.G. Osei-Bonsu became an MP and
Minister of the Progress Party government after the 1969 "election". He was the
Chairman of the Board of Ghana Commercial Bank under former president J.A. Kufour's
agonizing and tortuous NPP misrule from 2001 - 2008. It was K.G. Osei-Bonsu's bank
account, while a student at Leeds University in the UK in the 1950s, that the late
Mr. R.R. Amponsah used to buy the military accoutrement for the first planned coup
attempt in 1958 by Captain Awhaitey, R.R. Amponsah and Apaloo of the UP.

6. The former president J.A. Kufour was in the Constituent Assembly that drew up the
1969 constitution with Article 71, that proscribed the CPP and which led Afro
Gbedemah losing his seat in parliament. “I heard with some amusement one Nana Asante
Bediatuo (linked to the Danquah Institute) on the Joyfm's Frontpage on Friday
September 18, 2009 claiming that Edward Akufo-Addo was instrumental in drawing up
the 1969 constitution” (p.2).

7. The least said about the 1969 constitution and the 1969 elections that banned the
CPP and the apostles of liberal democracy who were behind all the nonsense the
better. Mere effigies of Dr. Nkrumah were banned and became contraband in Ghana
under the so-called apostles of rule law which Otchere Darko is shamelessly
espousing here. Even the People's Popular Party of Dr. Lutterold was banned in 1969
because they openly declared support for Nkrumah. Not only that but Dr. Lutterold
died mysteriously and suddenly and was suspected to have been murdered by the
UP/NLC.

8. Criminalizing the display of Nkrumah's photo in public, when the so-called
liberal democrats got in power after the bogus 1969 election, under a certificate of
urgency legislation tells it all.

Asare Darko is being urge as a matter of urgency, to shed off his arrogance, digest
the above and then go to a good library and educate himself (that will be his start
of what is called life-long learning) to know when we had tyranny in Ghana. Perhaps,
it would help him think through his statements before opening his lying and hollow
mouth to spew out his jaundiced and unsolicited opinions and write-ups about Nkrumah
and the part he played in the history of Ghana. Nkrumah is nothing but the FOUNDER
of today's Ghana and his greatness is incomparable to anybody in our dear country.
The best we the youth can get from JB Danquah and Busia are lecture notes and how to
make bombs.