President Akufo-Addo has said Ghanaians will forever remain indebted to J.B Danquah for his contributions and influence on the country’s history.
Speaking at a ceremony to commission the newly built J.B. Danquah Memorial Centre at Kyebi in the Eastern Region, Akufo-Addo said his late maternal uncle’s memory will continue to live on as long as the country Ghana lives.
“It will not be far-fetched for me to say that Danquah’s memory will continue to live at least for as long as this nation of Ghana lives,” he said.
The Many Parts of Danquah
J.B. Danquah, according to Akufo-Addo, was an educationist, freedom fighter, historian, journalist, jurist, philosopher, playwright, poet, scholar, statesman and theologian.
“He gave our country its name Ghana after years of research into the history and tradition of the people of Gold Coast. He fought first for the union of the geographical entity we now call Ghana and then he fought for Ghana to be established as a free independent state.
“Finally he fought to defend the liberties of the Ghanaian people by insisting on a democratic system of government under the rule of law as the best form of government for independent Ghana,” the President stated.
“Even though Danquah never exercised executive authority of the State,” said Akufo-Addo “his influence in Ghanaian history has been thoroughly astonishing and can be felt in virtually all areas of our national life, constitutional, cultural, economic, educational, intellectual, moral, political, and religious.”
Several key institutions in the country Akufo-Addo noted, “owe their inception directly to his work; the Cocoa Marketing Board; the University of Ghana, Legon; the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi; the Bank of Ghana; Ghana Commercial Bank, and the Accra Sports Stadium amongst others.”
The Memorial Centre
The President said the long-awaited J.B. Danquah Memorial Centre, “will provide not only children but also adults, a better insight into Dr Danquah’s achievements”.
“This Centre which comprises a fully furnished ICT Centre and a library, yet to be stocked with a wide array of books and scholarly articles written by and about him, will show that there is still a lot to learn about him,” stressed Akufo-Addo.
He urged the youth of Kyebi to take advantage of the facilities and learn all they can about the illustrious son on Okyeman and Ghana and to follow after his exemplary life and love for the homeland.
The construction of the Centre was supported by the Chinese government through Huawei.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/Wilberforce Asare
