Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called for an end to hate speech that seeks to discredit Dr. J.B. Danquah’s role in the political history and advancement of the country.
Speaking at the Ebenezer Presbyterian congregation in Kyebi, Eastern Region, on the 60th anniversary of Dr. J. B. Danquah’s death, Akufo-Addo stated that it is impossible to downplay Danquah’s political achievements to Ghana.
Additionally, a commemorative compilation of J. B. Danquah’s legacy was launched on the occasion.
The former president declared that the current disputes concerning his contribution to the nation’s progress were “unnecessary” and demanded their cessation.
“Yet Dr. Danquah’s contribution to the development of Ghana, his name continues to elicit needless controversy in death as in life. We recall vividly the inhuman conditions of Kwame Nkrumah’s CPP government attached to the conduct of his burial in 1965, after his cruel death in solitary confinement in the dungeons of Nsawam prisons.”
“We are current witnesses, 60 years after his death, to the vicious name-calling that attends his mention by would-be responsible members of society.
“Those of us who love the work of this great champion of Ghanaian freedom and progress must take solace in this matter, not just from the benevolence of our God in heaven, but also from the philosophic calm which Dr. Danquah claimed for himself in the cells of Secondi prison.”
According to Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the minority leader in Parliament, the memory of JB Danquah serves as a reminder to members of the New Patriotic Party to exercise caution in order to ensure that Ghana’s democracy is a lived reality rather than just a theoretical idea.
“The memory of Danquah demands that we remain vigilant, ensuring the democracy in Ghana is not just a rhetorical idea but a lived reality.”
“As I stand before you today, I can not help but reflect on the weight of Dr Danquah’s legacy; his portrait in my office is more than a symbol. It is a daily reminder of the duty we bear as public servants, as citizens and as inheritors of democracy.”
