On this year’s Founders’ Day, writer Kay Cudjoe honors Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, with a powerful and imaginative tribute. Rather than offering a conventional homage, Cudjoe crafts a reflective piece written in the voice of Nkrumah himself, posing a provocative question: What would Nkrumah say if he could address Ghanaians today?
What follows is a heartfelt, fictional message from Nkrumah—one that critiques, inspires, and calls for a renewed commitment to the ideals on which Ghana was founded. Below is the full reflection:
A Message from Nkrumah (As Imagined by Kay Cudjoe):
My dear Ghanaians,
On this day when you remember my birth, I do not come to you from marble statues or history books, but from the living spirit of our unfinished journey. I did not fight for Ghana to merely celebrate my name on anniversaries, while abandoning the very ideals for which we sacrificed so much.
I envisioned a Ghana that would stand tall—proud, independent, and self-reliant. A nation that would never bow to foreign masters or trade the future of its children for a fleeting bowl of aid.
But now, I ask: what has become of the freedom we declared at dawn?
The Black Star still hangs in the sky, yet its light is dimmed—tarnished by corruption, weakened by greed, and poisoned by division. Your rivers run brown with illegal mining. Your youth cross deserts and seas in desperate search of dignity. Leaders barter the nation's tomorrow for crumbs that cannot feed today. This is not the Ghana we declared free.
Still, I do not speak only of despair. You are a people forged from resilience and imagination. I see young voices rising—in the streets, online, and in classrooms—refusing to let the dream die. These voices are proof that hope still breathes.
Guard that hope.
Do not allow fear to silence you. Speak truth to power. And never forget: Ghana’s independence means nothing if it is not tied to the broader liberation of Africa. That liberation begins by freeing yourselves from ignorance, exploitation, and despair.
Reject the politics of division. Do not let party colors blind you to the destiny you share. Do not let religion, which should heal, be twisted into a weapon of division. And never let tribal conflict destroy the unity we fought to build.
On this day of my birth, I ask you: stop applauding mediocrity. Demand more from those you entrust with leadership. Hold them accountable—not just with whispers but through decisive action.
Build with your own hands. Serve the motherland with uncompromising faith. Remember the pledge you made to Ghana. Recite it when your patriotism falters. Let it stir your soul. Then rise—and become the change you seek.
Though my voice may live only in your memory, my call to you remains alive.
Ghana, rise again.
Let your Black Star shine—not as a relic of past glory, but as a beacon for Africa’s future.
History gave me one lifetime. It has given you another.
Do not waste it.
With love and revolutionary hope,
Kwame Nkrumah
Source: MyNewsGH.com
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