Ghana@60 lecture: Oquaye was a shadow of a professsor – Mornah

The National Chairman of the Peoples National Convention (PNC) Bernard Mornah has slammed Speaker of Parliament Prof. Mike Oquaye, over his recent lecture at the Ghana @60 celebration saying the renowned Historian was intellectually dishonest on the day.

According to him, Prof. Mike Oquaye’s lecture in which he claimed to set the records straight in relation to Ghana’s struggle for independence, did injustice to the country’s past as he mutilated and bastardized the country’s political history, adding that he was a shadow of a Professor at the event.

Professor Mike Oquaye argued that even though the first President, Dr. Nkrumah played a significant role in the struggle for independence from colonial rule, the contributions of others must not be forgotten.

He added that Ghana has founders and not a founder.

“Men and women inspired by love for country met in Saltpond to work for self-governance and freedom from globalization. I have great regard for Dr. Kwame Nkrumah as a great Ghanaian but the truth must be told. A recap of the chronology of events shows that before the arrival of Nkrumah, some gallant Ghanaians were taking steps to lead Ghana to independence. That is a truism. People have regrettably asked how can we have more than one founder to such compatriots. I humbly lend them this advice. Foundership cannot be pursued in monopoly terms.”

Prof. Oquaye further advised members of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) to extricate themselves from the bowels of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) if they want to survive and be a formidable political force.

He noted that the CPP has been swallowed by the NDC because they allowed themselves to be widely penetrated by the newly created NDC.

“The CPP has been penetrated by the newly created NDC…..and that they have created confusion within the party which was then broken and fragmented into six political parties. And I wrote if the CPP wants to survive, they should not look our way because we are not out to destroy them”.

“They must proceed to extricate themselves from the bowels of the NDC, then they will survive because as at now they are swallowed and as a truism, they know or should know who swallowed them”, the Speaker stressed.

But Bernard Mornah stated that the NPP is equally guilty as the NDC, as it has over the years turned to the PNC to grab some of its leading members into their fold.

“The NPP didn’t find anyone competent enough to fill the Ambassador at Large portfolio so they came to the PNC to pick our leader. What the NPP sought to do with this appointment was to weaken the PNC’s front because Dr. Edward Mahama is our leader and if you take a leader of any organization what then remains of it? Calculatedly, they’ve come for our leader, so what is Prof. Mike Oquaye talking about, when recent evidence around his nose he cannot smell the scent.

Both the NDC and NPP should leave our party alone. You[NPP] can come to the PNC and ‘chop’ but if another party to comes to the PNC, then you’ll be there lamenting. I think Prof. Mike Oquaye was a shadow of a professor on that occasion. History was mutilated, bastardized and caricatured and put into a dustbin.”