On Tuesday, Member of Parliament for Ellembelle and Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah‑Kofi Buah, unveiled the Osagyefo Roundabout at Sanzule, a suburb of Eikwe, in honour of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah. The ceremony was part of the celebrations marking the 117th anniversary of the late leader’s birth.
The new monument, situated on a busy intersection, recognises Dr Nkrumah as an iconic figure who spearheaded Ghana’s independence struggle and championed the liberation of Africa. Armah‑Kofi Buah spoke to the crowd about the legacy of the former president, noting that “Nzemaland produced a son who led Ghana to independence, but the area plunged into darkness for more than 30 years following the overthrow of Dr Nkrumah.” He added that detractors once tried to erase the former president’s name from Ghana’s history, including removing his image from the country’s currency, but the attempt failed.
During the unveiling, the minister was joined by Professor Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, a Kenyan lawyer and Pan‑Africanist. Prof Lumumba praised Dr Nkrumah’s standing among his peers and said his legacy endured because his ideals, memories and philosophy continued to live on. He commended Armah‑Kofi Buah for honouring the former president, stating that the late leader “deserved lasting recognition for his contribution to Pan‑Africanism.”
National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah also spoke at the event, noting that both Paa Grant of the United Gold Coast Convention and Dr Nkrumah, founder of the Convention People’s Party, were sons of Nzemaland. He said attempts had been made in the past to obliterate Dr Nkrumah’s name from the annals of Ghana, but they had failed. “Dr Nkrumah had been recognised as an African Man of the Millennium and, therefore, it is appropriate for Ghana to continue honouring his legacy,” he said.
Madam Samia Yaba Nkrumah, daughter of the former president, expressed the family’s appreciation to Armah‑Kofi Buah for the honour. She said the family looked forward to seeing more people in contemporary governance who embodied Dr Nkrumah’s ideals of freedom, development, prosperity and self‑reliance.
Armah‑Kofi Buah described the Osagyefo Roundabout as a monument to self‑reliance, saying, “Ghana could no longer lean on the people who colonised us.” He added that the government would, next year, renovate Dr Nkrumah’s residence in his father’s hometown of Half‑Assini to preserve his memory and legacy.
The unveiling of the roundabout is expected to become a focal point for visitors and locals alike, commemorating the enduring influence of Dr Nkrumah on Ghana’s national identity and the broader Pan‑African movement.
