President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has pledged to execute the desires of Ghana’s political stalwart, Dr Joseph Boakye Danquah, in making Ghana deep-rooted in the tenets of freedom, the rule of law, equity, and justice.

He said the late J.B. Danquah had a seamless and inspiring passion for the national cause that placed the betterment of Ghana beyond any other consideration and that was what he (the president) was committed to emulating.

President Nana Akufo-Addo made the pledge at a ceremony to commemorate Dr Danquah’s death at his graveside in Kyebi on Saturday. Dr Danquah was a member of the Big Six of Ghana’s independence struggle and the president’s uncle. It was a solemn and emotionally moving scenario when President Nana Akufo-Addo laid a wreath on the grave of his uncle while tears streamed down his face.

Fighting back tears, the president said: “The work you did, the values you stood for, are today the principles on which our nation is being built. You never held office and yet the work you have done has gone beyond the work of all those who have held offices.”

Flanked by the Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Oquaye, and some New Patriotic Party (NPP) bigwigs, Nana Akufo-Addo said Ghanaians had embraced Dr Danquah’s teachings and that the desires for which he died had been realised.

Virtues JB believed in

“The Ghanaian wanted to live in the conditions of freedom — the freedom that you gave your life for — the rule of law and constitutional government and to project what you believed was noble in the Ghanaian character. We are here to let you know that you have not been forgotten and that you can never be forgotten as long as the nation of Ghana lives,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo gave an assurance that he was stoutly committed to serving the country in a manner that would make Dr Danquah proud where he was.

To that end, he affirmed: “We can never thank you enough for your sacrifice. I am one of those persons who continue to make sure these principles guide us and provide the strength for what we do. Like you, we have no personal aggrandisement or outlook for wealth and riches — they were never your considerations and they are not the concerns of our generation.”

Atta Akyea’s eulogy

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa South, Samuel Atta Akyea, described Dr Danquah as a great man who started the journey for the country’s independence and who, while in incarceration, passed away on February 5, 1965.

The reason for his imprisonment, the MP said, was that he was defending the rule of law because “he felt that the Preventive Detention Act (PDA) was very pernicious — one black man trying to oppress another. They said he should quit Ghana because death was very imminent but he did not quit”.

“I see him as our redemption sacrificed politically, but God is just. It seems to me that all that he did has paid off with the overwhelming victory of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the president of the Republic of Ghana,” he added.

Making a comparison between Dr Danquah and President Akufo-Addo, Mr Atta Akyea said: “Dr Danquah was insulted and vilified and I saw Nana Akufo-Addo being insulted and vilified. Some people said Nana Akufo-Addo was not worthy to be the president of Ghana and said all manner of things about him, but I also saw that he had the same iron will that Dr Danquah had.”

JB reflected in Akufo-Addo

“Beyond the worst dream of those who said it was impossible for one of your kind to lead this country, God has defied everybody. I am confident in God that Nana Akufo-Addo has the ideals that you held dear. Even your manner of behaviour, I find them in Nana Akufo-Addo. I stand at this graveside and declare that he will never be an ordinary president but that we are going to see a legacy president,” he prophesied.

Forthright man

In a sermon, Rev. Ansah Peasah of the Akyem Abuakwa Presbytery compared Dr Danquah to Prophet Daniel in the Bible who had to be punished for his forthrightness in doing what pleased God.

He described Dr Danquah as exemplifying the kind of politician and patriot whose life ought to be emulated by modern-day politicians.

He said the political circus had now become an avenue for the hurling of insults by younger persons at elderly ones who are old enough to be their parents.

“That political nonsense must stop for this country to move forward in dignity, freedom and respect,” he said.