Tamale North lawmaker, Alhassan Suhuyini has expressed his confusion regarding the Founders Day, Nkrumah Memorial Day, and Constitution Day statutory holidays Ghanaians commemorate on August 11, September 21, and January 7 annually.
Speaking on Good Morning Ghana on Metro TV, he pointed out that perhaps the celebrations are a reflection of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s ideological bewilderment – a former Nkrumaist and a current believer in the Dambo, Danquah, and Busia tradition.
“He belongs to a tradition which for example; may not want to recognize [Kwame] Nkrumah as the founder but we also, are told in his youthful age, admired Dr. Nkrumah and was an Nkrumaist at some point,” Alhassan Suhuyini opined.
These holidays in my view reflect that ideological confusion that I think resides in the mind of HE the president,” he stressed.
Background
In December 2018 a bill was laid before Parliament to amend the Public Holidays Act 2001 to provide for three different holidays.
These new holidays were the 7th of January which was observed as Constitution Day earlier in 2019, the 4th of August which was described as Founders’ Day, and the 21st of September was marked as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day.
In 2017, President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, proposed that August 4 should be observed as Founders’ Day in memory of the successive generations of Ghanaians who contributed to the liberation of the country from colonial rule and September 21 should be set aside as a Memorial Day for Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President who was instrumental in the fight for the 6th March independence.
This bill was subsequently passed by Parliament and assented to by the President.
By: Bernard Ralph Adams | Metrotvonline.com | Ghana