Harold Stephen Ato Eshun, the General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), urged Ghanaians today to rekindle Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s dream of economic self‑reliance, industrial growth and continental solidarity. The call came just before the nation marks Nkrumah’s 117th birthday on September 21, a day that has become a statutory holiday known as Founder’s Day.
Eshun warned that persistent unemployment, corruption, economic hardship, inequality and abandoned projects compel a national re‑examination of how Ghana manages its resources and charts its future. He said the country must look beyond merely remembering the first president and instead ask how his ideas can address present‑day challenges.
“Our independence is meaningless unless linked up with the total liberation of Africa,” Eshun quoted Nkrumah, stressing that Ghana’s freedom was part of a broader African project to control resources, shape economic destinies and build knowledge‑based, industrial economies united across the continent. “Without economic independence, we as Africans remain vulnerable,” he added.
Tracing the CPP’s roots, Eshun noted that Nkrumah founded the party in 1949 after leaving the United Gold Coast Convention. The CPP’s early slogan, “Self‑Government Now,” mobilised support for independence, leading to the party’s 1951 electoral victory and Nkrumah’s rise to Leader of Government Business and later Prime Minister. Ghana gained independence on March 6, 1957.
According to Eshun, the party’s legacy should continue to inform national debates on self‑determination, development and resource management. He highlighted education as a key pillar of Nkrumah’s agenda, calling it essential for national transformation. He urged the current generation to advance the former president’s vision through entrepreneurship, industrial development, technology and the creative arts.
“Young Ghanaians should establish businesses and industries, while encouraging the use of technology to improve sectors such as education and healthcare,” Eshun said. He also appealed to journalists and creatives to showcase Ghanaian stories worldwide through journalism, music, film and the arts.
In closing, Eshun posed three questions for the nation to contemplate on Nkrumah’s birthday: what did he envision for Ghana, what legacy did he leave, and what will we do with it? He urged that the answers translate into tangible efforts to build a productive, self‑reliant and united Ghana.
The CPP’s appeal comes as Ghana prepares to celebrate September 21 as Founder’s Day, a public holiday that commemorates Nkrumah’s birth and legacy.
