The flag bearer of New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the 2016 elections, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has bemoaned the culture of intolerance that is eating deep into the body politics of the country.
He said intolerance in the body politics would not augur well for the democratic dispensation of the country.
Nana Akufo Addo made the observation when he launched a book titled “Thing Every Child of Ghana should know about J.B. Danquah’’ to mark the 51st anniversary of the death of the Doyen of Ghana politics.
He said the launch of the book, authored by Abyna-Ansaa Adjei, had come at the opportune time to acknowledge the fact that J.B. Danquah’s contributions should never had been contested.
The flag bearer stated that there was a deliberate attempt to wipe out the contributions of some illustrious sons in nation building.
He expressed the hope that every child would be inspired by the remarkable life and positive character of JB Danquah which had been captured aptly in the book.
Well-researched book
The flag bearer said the well-researched book by the author had brought to light some aspects of the life and times of J. B. Danquah which both adults and the younger generations would learn from.
Nana Akufo-Addo ,therefore, pledged to purchase 1,000 copies of the book for public libraries across the country.
Professor Kumi Ansah-Koi, professor of Political Science of the University of Ghana, who reviewed the book, said there was a dangerous trend in the Ghanaian democracy where opponents resorted to mudslinging, distortions, defamation and fabrications to destroy one another .
He said the worst victim of slander of character was Dr J.B. Danquah and his descendants and that it ought to be nipped in the bud in order not to destroy the democracy in the country.
Breeding ground
Prof. Ansah-Koi said the breeding ground for this dangerous trend was mass ignorance and mass illiteracy and the only remedy was to stress education to dispel the darkness with light.
Ms Elizabeth Ohene, a former Minister of Education, who spoke on the life and times of J.B. Danquah, said funny electoral results in the country did not start in the fourth republic.
She said in one of the elections in the 50s, J.B. Danquah was said to have scored zero in the Ashanti Region, however, he won some votes in some parts of the Volta Region.
She explained that not withstanding all the obstacles, including the ban on his funeral, the people of Abuakwa rose to the occasion and defied the government and performed a fitting burial for JB Danquah.
Honour his memory
She expressed the hope that when the country put their acts together one day, a state funeral would be organised to honour his memory for his outstanding contribution to the political history of the country.
The 72-page long book, authored by Abyna-Ansaa Adjei, and launched at the Presby Hall, Osu, Accra by the NPP flag bearer, targeted especially the younger generation of readers on the life and times of Dr J.B. Danquah.
The book, the 10th by the author, tells the story of Dr Danquah’s life from his childhood, his years of academic excellence as a student in the United Kingdom, through his political career as a freedom fighter and politician until his death in prison on February 4, 1965.
It also details the contributions Dr Danquah made to virtually all areas of national life, including his role in naming the country Ghana, and his leading campaign for the setting up of the University of Ghana, Legon.
Mr Keli Gadzekpo, Group Managing Director of Enterprise Group Ltd., who chaired the function, said both children and adults had something to learn from the life of J.B. Danquah, which is “make a mark and leave a legacy”.
By: Dan K. Prince//dailyviewgh.com
