Constitution vindicates Danquah, Busia

Prof. Kludze, launching the book

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

A retired Supreme Court Judge, Professor Justice AKP Kludze, says certain provisions of the 1992 Constitution vindicate the ideals pursued by Dr. J.B. Danquah, Prof. K.A. Busia and other leaders of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) tradition.

“These leaders laid down their lives, stood for and fought in defense of the constitution (Article 3) fundamental human rights (Article 12) and fair trial (Article 19), the ideals they stood for are not dead and the 1992 Constitution vindicates them,” he said.

Prof. Kludze was speaking at the launch of a book titled, “The Danquah-Busia Tradition in the Politics of Ghana”, authored by Kantinka Kwame Donkor Fordwor, a founding member of the NPP, who served as the party’s Ashanti Regional Chairman from 1994 to1998.

The 420-page book, a first copy of which was auctioned for GH¢ 5,000, traces the nation’s political history from colonialism through independence to modern day Ghana, systematically documenting the contributions of J.B. Danquah, who is described by some political scientists as the ‘doyen of Ghana politics’, Prof. K.A. Busia, former Prime Minister and others in nurturing the Danquah-Busia tradition to become a mainstay in Ghanaian politics.

Prof. Kludze, who was once President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) in the 1960s, said even though Dr. Danquah never got the opportunity to rule Ghana, his contribution towards intellectual development, rule of law and fundamental freedoms including free speech and promotion of multi-party democracy must never be taken for granted.

He said whilst Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President’s vision and contributions towards the development of Ghana is not in doubt, Ghanaians must also be made aware that “Dr. Danquah left behind enduring values for generations to come.”

“I believe if Dr. Danquah had the opportunity to rule this country he could also have built more Akosombos, bridges and motorways...when I read Article 3 and 14 of the 1992 Constitution I know Danquah lives, Busia lives, Dombo lives!”

He bemoaned the rate at which the country’s history continues to be distorted and said there is too much intellectual dishonesty in the system and praised Dr. Donkor Fordwor for his effort, saying “it is going to be a sourcebook for many.”

Emeritus Prof. Yaw Twumasi of the Michigan University, a high school mate of Kantinka Fordwor, who did the first review of the book, said the author was very frank in his assessment of the issues he raised in the book saying “the author gave full recognition to the contributions of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s vision as a giant of Pan-African emancipation despite the differences in political ideology.”

Prof. Twumasi said Dr. Fordwor was able to point out the flaws in the administrations of both Prime Minister Busia and President J.A. Kufuor and added “the author was able to show that even though there should freedom of self-expression, it should be consistent with party rules.”

Explaining his motivation for writing the book, Kantinka Fordwor said “in the latter parts of 2006, I observed that the NPP was deviating from the core principles of the Danquah-Busia tradition.”

He said what also motivated him was that loyalty had been placed above merit in the choice of public officials, abuse of office or conflict of interest and the failure of the Kufuor government to properly get rid of or decrease corruption, adding that the book was to serve as a reminder for those in the NPP to keep the Danquah-Busia tradition going.

“I was urged to write this book because I could not hide my disappointment of some of the governments of our tradition. We should all be mindful that personal interests are not placed above individual interests in the tradition.”