Kwame Nkrumah (left) and Dr. Palgrave Boakye-Danquah
Source: Africa Publicity
A former Spokesperson of the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, Dr. Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, has said Ghana was not founded by late President Kwame Nkrumah alone.
He made this known in an interview on Accra-based Channel One TV’s Breakfast show on Monday, September 22, 2025, as Ghana marks the birthday of Dr. Nkrumah.
According to him, contrary to claims that Nkrumah won independence for Ghana back in 1957, Ghana’s independence was won through collective efforts of many political figures.
Dr. Palgrave says while Dr. Nkrumah deserves national recognition for his role in Ghana’s independence fight, it was misleading to describe him as Ghana’s sole founder.
He noted that “In a strict sense, Ghana does not have a founder. It was a group of people who came together and contributed to securing independence for Ghana in 1957.”
He added that “Ghana should have a separate day to celebrate Kwamena Nkrumah as our first President, but not necessarily as the Founder of the nation.”
He also said Ghana’s development is shaped by a shared national identity rather than the vision of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
According to him, “Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s dream is not just a dream that everyone must follow. I believe the blueprint of Ghana has already been laid, if you look at some of the historical antecedents. It is difficult for me to say successive governments are living out Nkrumah’s dream, because I feel that it is the ‘Ghanaism’ that we all share which must drive our development, not necessarily the ideals and ethos of one individual.”
