As the Founders’ Day debate rages on, Kofi Asare, Executive Director of Eduwatch, has highlighted the propensity of politicians to take credit for accomplishments.

He cited examples such as Ghana’s independence and the Free SHS policy, where politicians often prioritize self-aggrandizement over factual accuracy.

Kofi Asare revealed that while Nkrumah passionately advocated for immediate independence on the UGCC platform, JB Danquah concurrently penned a letter to the British Parliament, voicing his opposition to Ghana’s independence.

Kofi Asare pointed out that JB Danquah believed self-government was premature and advocated for a more gradual approach to independence, emphasizing the need for a delayed and phased transition to self-rule.

Kofi Asare pointed out that JB Danquah played a pioneering role in the formation of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), actually leading the effort to establish the organization.

“When Nana Addo stood on a 1992 Constitutional Provision developed by Rawlings to propose free SHS NOW in 2008, Rawlings and his party opposed it. In their opinion, free SHS NOW was too early; let’s take our time and approach free SHS progressively”.
“Against all odds, defiant Nkrumah delivered the Independence NOW agenda, just as Nana Addo has delivered on his free SHS NOW agenda”.
Kofi Asare

Kofi Asare observed that ironically, the descendants of JB Danquah now claim to have founded Ghana as well, simply because they contributed to the independence struggle, despite their ancestor’s initial opposition to immediate self-government.

According to Asare, JB Danquah’s descendants are attempting to reframe history by asserting that he was the driving force behind the formation of the UGCC, the same platform that Nkrumah utilized to achieve the independence that Danquah initially opposed.

Rawlings’ Legacy: A Claim To Free SHS

Furthermore, Kofi Asare observed that in a similar vein, the descendants of JJ Rawlings are now claiming credit for the introduction of Free SHS, simply because they advocated for making free secondary education a constitutional right.

He noted that this claim is particularly ironic, given that Rawlings’ descendants did not actually execute the Free SHS policy, despite trying to take credit for its inception.

He pointed out that Rawlings’ descendants claim that while JB Danquah’s faction allegedly abstained from participating in the 1992 Constitution’s Consultative Assembly, their own ancestor was actively engaged in shaping the country’s constitutional framework.

“Their claim is also anchored on the over 100-day schools they started constructing, and the introduction of progressively free SHS for day students”.
“How similar are the principles underpinning these two founding claims? Should accepting one claim automatically lead to accepting the other?”
Kofi Asare

As such, Kofi Asare questioned the logical consistency of accepting the claims of the JB Danquah faction while rejecting those of the JJ Rawlings faction, and vice versa, highlighting the apparent double standard.

He pondered whether it would be more prudent to dismiss both claims altogether, in order to achieve clarity and consistency, rather than trying to reconcile the conflicting narratives.

This propensity for politicians to take credit for accomplishments, rather than acknowledging the contributions of others, has far-reaching implications.

Accordingly, Asare indicated that this distorts the public’s understanding of history, creating a narrative that is more myth than fact.

He stated that it also perpetuates a culture of self-interest, where individuals prioritize their own legacy over the collective good.

Meanwhile, some ‘Nkrumaists’ noted that the NPP is deliberately downplaying Nkrumah’s contributions to promote the legacy of JB Danquah instead, of effectively campaigning against Nkrumah’s memory to advance their own political agenda.

These ‘Nkrumaists’ pointed out that the historical record is clear and well-known to Ghanaians, emphasizing that JB Danquah had, in fact, opposed Kwame Nkrumah’s push for immediate independence, attempting to thwart his vision for a free Ghana.