The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and Member of Parliament for Ellembelle, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has urged Africans to defend the legacy of selfless leadership left by Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

NkrumahFest, instituted by Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, celebrates the life, ideas and Pan-African legacy of Dr Kwame Nkrumah. It also seeks to promote pilgrimage to his birthplace at Nkroful and encourage patriotism, unity and self-determination among Ghanaians and Africans.

The festival brings together chiefs, students, political leaders and Pan-Africanists at the birthplace of Ghana’s first President to reflect on Nkrumah’s vision for Ghana and Africa.

This year’s edition, NkrumahFest @117, was held under the theme, “Nkrumah @117: Celebrating His Enduring Legacy – Africa Must Unite or Perish,” at the Nkroful Agricultural Senior High School park in the Ellembelle District on Saturday, September 19, 2026.

Addressing the grand durbar, Armah-Kofi Buah described the annual pilgrimage to Nkroful as a collective return to the birthplace of the man who led Ghana to independence.

“One hundred and seventeen years since a child was born in a small village of Nkroful, a child who would grow to rearrange the map of a continent and the conscience of a world,” he said.

He said Nkrumah’s influence was based not on his position but on his willingness to sacrifice for Ghana and Africa.

“Nkrumah’s authority never rested in his title. It rested in his willingness to sacrifice everything including comfort, safety and even his freedom for a continent that had not yet learned to believe in itself,” he said.

Armah-Kofi Buah said Nkrumah’s legacy should be measured by the projects and institutions he established rather than the number of years he lived.

“We must not measure his life in years but in what he built. Measure it in concrete — Akosombo, Tema Harbour, Tema Township, the Motorway. Measure it in electricity — that still powers our homes 60 years later. Measure it in graduates — KNUST, University of Cape Coast, Ghana Medical School,” he said.

“He did not build for the next election; he built for the next century. That is the difference between a builder and a caretaker. A caretaker manages what exists. A builder imagines what does not yet exist,” he stated.

Nkrumah’s Pan-African vision

The Convenor recounted three defining moments in Nkrumah’s life — his imprisonment at James Fort, Ghana’s Independence declaration and his eventual removal from office — to illustrate his resilience.

“Between that prison and that fall, he built a country from scratch,” he said.

On Pan-Africanism, Armah-Kofi Buah said Nkrumah’s ideas remained relevant to Africa’s current challenges, including climate change, economic instability and neo-colonialism.

“And he told us plainly: Freedom Now. Not tomorrow. Not when convenient. Freedom Now. And he warned us: We face neither East nor West, we face forward. Africa must unite or perish,” he said.

He said the call for African unity was not merely rhetoric but a warning about the continent’s survival.

To illustrate the effects of colonial-era divisions, he cited the partitioning of the Nzema people along the Tano River.

“Look at the Tano River behind us. That river was cut like a cake — half for Ghana, half for Côte d’Ivoire — by colonial rulers who never asked the Nzema people,” he said.

Armah-Kofi Buah said NkrumahFest was intended to encourage reflection on self-determination, innovation and Pan-Africanism.

Call to fight illegal mining

Linking the celebration to current national challenges, Armah-Kofi Buah called for collective action against illegal mining and environmental degradation.

“As Minister responsible for Lands and Natural Resources, I respectfully call on all of us as citizens to join this government in this renewed fight against illegal mining and environmental degradation,” he said.

“Osagyefo loved this land as fiercely as he loved his people. To honour his legacy is to defend the soil beneath us,” he added.

Armah-Kofi Buah commended President John Dramani Mahama and Parliament for placing the Journey to Nkroful on the national calendar and enacting Founders’ Day into law.

He urged citizens to continue promoting Nkrumah’s ideals.

“Let us leave this field today not merely inspired but transformed. Let us carry the fire of Nkrumah into our homes, our offices, our classrooms and across our borders until the day when the Africa he dreamed of is no longer a dream deferred but a destiny fulfilled,” he said.

The 2026 NkrumahFest attracted renowned Pan-Africanist Prof Patrick Lumumba, Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s daughter Samia Yaba Nkrumah, National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, Ashanti Regional Minister Dr Frank Amoakohene, 2024 Running Mate to Dr Mahamudu Bawumia Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, former Chairman of the People’s National Convention (PNC) Bernard Mornah, Deputy Transport Minister and MP for Jomoro Dorcas Affo-Toffey, as well as chiefs, queen mothers, students and Pan-Africanists.