Prof. Chairman and members of the planning committee Ministers of state, Members of parliament, Chief executives of our corporate world
Your Excellencies, members of the diplomatic corps, Friends of the, media, Distinguished invited guests, Ladies and gentlemen.

Anytime one gets the opportunity to talk about his Excellency the late Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, architect of Ghana’s independence and the late moving spirit behind Pan Africanist thought and activism, one gets inspired and fired up by the vision of an unaccomplished agenda initiated by a patriotic for all times.

Today, we have assembles here this evening to render honours  to the man who has been the moving spirit behind our nation  and whose vision Africa and the black race has never been in doubt.

The role of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in the nationalist struggle for self determination both within and outside Ghana has been legendary and enormous which put his life and those of his contemporaries at risk.

There were instances where he suffered prison sentences and also physical threats to his life. But he was a man deeply convinced that black people were capable of managing their own affairs. He pursued this conviction at the peril of his life, engaging the colonial admistration in mental debate to stamp home the call for independence.

The strenuousness of the time required real men of stature. Nkrumah was a unique man of character, purpose, confidence and above all, a man of unshakeable faith. It was these traits that moulded the passion for the many things we say so profoundly of him today.

His vision and drive motivated him to establish hydro power to spur on rapid industrial developments in Ghana. Road and transport infrastructure, the expansion of excess to education at all levels and all across the country were all development program designed to the Ghana he envisioned. But for his acceleration education program (Ghana education trust schools) and the northern fees free education program, many of the educated people from the north and the other part of the country would have been illiterate today.

The understanding denominator of Nkrumah’s struggle was the issue of Africa Unity. His dream was to see a united Africa, an Africa with its own currency and the continental institution performing the same functions as the IMF and World Bank. An Africa that is capable of her own defence, her own industrial development and being  in ownership of its education and economy.

The thought of the unity and integration among African nations inspired his declaration at Ghana’s independence where he said, “the impendence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent”.

But today, we are face with a continent with all manner of natural endowments yet poor and incapable of feeding itself. A continent struggling to find a panacea to many ugly conflicts that threaten its territorial integrity and impede its accelerated development.

Mr. Chairman, in view of the greatness of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and the  pride we take in his achievements, H.E. President John E. Attah Mills at his state of nation address before parliament announced the celebration of the centenary celebration marking his birth.

It was on basis of this that on June 2, 2009 I had the honour to inaugurate an 18-member planning committee charged with the planning and implementing of an anniversary program benefiting the occasion. Few days after the committee submitted its work to me. H.E John E. Attah Mills made it known to his colleagues at the AU submit in Libya that Ghana was to celebrate the centenary of Nkrumah’s death. I am happy to say that in one accord all Africa heads of states endorsed the celebration and, are committed to being part of it. I am sure this AU endorsement entails more work for the planning committee, but government is confident that they will be able to deliver.

Fellow country women and men, we have every reason to celebrate Africa’s most revered son and man of the millennium. Ghana has every reason to celebrate the centenary of a man whose vision continues to illuminate our darkness and whose ideas remain relevant today as many years ago. (Govt. role and private sponsorship)
I have invited you as proud captains of industry and business to dialogue with you and to solicit your assistance so that together we give the Osagyefo a befitting centenary celebration under the apt and appropriate theme “The Centenary of Kwame Nkrumah: A Life of Struggle, A Vision of Africa Unbound.”

The planning Committee will receive both cash and in kind and as the Good Book says ‘Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever  sows bountifully will also reap bountifully’. (2 Corinthians 9:6)
Welcome to the Nkrumah Centenary.



Thank you.