The Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Dr (Sir) Sam Esson Jonah, has called for the ideas and intellectual contributions of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, to receive greater prominence in the country’s educational system.
He said students should be exposed not only to the historical events and personalities associated with Nkrumah but also to the ideas that shaped his vision for Ghana, Africa and the developing world.
Dr Jonah expressed concern that many students leave school familiar with important dates and historical personalities but with limited understanding of Nkrumah’s thinking on African unity, neo-colonialism, development and self-determination.
He made the call at the opening of the 15th Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Lectures at UCC.
The two-day lecture series, themed “Kwame Nkrumah, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Perspectives on Constitutionalism, Development and Pan-Africanism,” is being delivered by veteran journalist, publisher and Pan-Africanist, Kwesi Pratt Jnr.
Dr Jonah said Nkrumah’s legacy should go beyond statues, monuments and commemorations to sustained engagement with his writings and philosophy.
“Too many Ghanaian students meet him only as a statue,” he observed.
He noted that Nkrumah’s writings continued to attract scholarly interest globally and said Ghanaian students should similarly be encouraged to examine his ideas critically.
Dr Jonah said Nkrumah’s thinking remained relevant to contemporary debates on constitutionalism, development and Pan-Africanism. He urged Ghanaians to view constitutionalism beyond the existence of a written constitution to include the rule of law, institutional integrity, accountability and human rights.
Addressing students, he said: “Don’t come to these two days looking for a hero to worship or a villain to blame. Come looking for an argument in what happened.”
The memorial lectures will be followed by a special congregation at which UCC will confer an Honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) degree on Kwesi Pratt Jnr. for his contributions to journalism, public discourse and Pan-Africanism.
Dr Jonah also commended Mr Pratt’s book, Reparations: History, Struggle, Politics and Law, describing it as an important contribution to global discussions on reparatory justice, historical memory and sovereignty.
