Pratt: Some Danquah-Busia Elements Suffer From Lack Of Knowledge Of History

Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr., believes some elements in the Danquah-Busia tradition are suffering from a lack of knowledge of historical facts, following remarks by the Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akomea... that sought to suggest that Ghana�s first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was able to initiate and complete some enviable projects during his era because of the availability of huge funds left behind by the country�s colonial masters. Irked by Nana Akomea�s alleged comment, the staunch Nkrumaist construed that per his (Akomea�s) remarks, there was some good in the colonial enterprise and advised people of his caliber to find time to to know the country�s history. Sharing his view as a panelist on Radio Gold�s Alhaji and Alhaji programme on the commemoration of the 46th anniversary of the overthrow of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, he said: �by inference people like Nana Akomea think that the colonial enterprise was so good that at the end of it so much money has been left for the development of Africa. This is the mentality of people who want our mandate to rule us; people who believe that there was some good in the colonial enterprise. It is a clear indication that they have no knowledge of our recent history of the 1950s�" He stressed that quite contrary to what is being speculated by Nana Akomea, the country�s colonial masters left nothing behind of substantial value for development. To him, the NPPs Communications Director cannot be blamed for making such �annoying noises�, since the Nkrumaist front has �failed to organize, mobilize, challenge and fight them boot for boot�. ��the colonial masters left the seat of government empty, without a pencil; not a blank sheet of paper and Nkrumah�s government had to start from scratch but Nana Akomea and the others think that they left us with a pot of gold and that pot of gold was responsible for all the developments we chalked under Nkrumah. Lack of knowledge of history can destroy a people and that is what some elements in the Dankwa Busia tradition are suffering from�� �They should begin to think and stop making all these noises which are annoying�these people make noise; they make incredible noises but sometimes I say that it is not their fault. It is the fault of the progressive forces in Ghana. It is the fault of those of us who claim to be Nkrumaist, because we have failed to organize, mobilize, challenge, fight them boot for boot and that is why they have the audacity to be making the kind of claims they have been making��