Former Chairman for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Afigya Kwabere South Constituency of the Ashanti Region, Odeneho Kwaku Appiah branded as Chairman COKA has penned down an emotional tribute to mark the passing of one of the founding fathers of Ghana’s independence, Dr. Joseph Boakye (JB) Danquah.

The NPP stalwart in his tribute to the late statesman said J.B. Danquah was a towering symbol of Ghana’s democratic resurgence, describing him as an icon and a hero in the country’s history.

Chairman COKA in his message to the family of the late leader, highlighted the significant role J.B. Danquah played in pre- and post-colonial Gold Coast, now Ghana.

COKA appealed to all Ghanaians particularly the youth to borrow a leaf from J.B. Danquah’s sterling leadership.

“This is a man who had his country at heart, he was humble, intelligent, and serviceable and a peacemaker, no wonder young men and women look for his book to learn his leadership style”, he said.

Odeneho Kwaku Appiah bemoaned how the late founder of Ghana’s independence was treated by the then leaders of Ghana which eventually led to his death.

He appealed to Ghanaians to embrace the tenets of democracy and accord maximum respect to people who serve the country all their lives to serve as motivation for posterity.

About J.B. Danquah:

A significant event took place in the history of Ghana on the 4th of February 1965, as one of the country’s founding fathers, Dr. J.B. Danquah died in Nsawam Prison as a result of Kwame Nkrumah’s detention laws.

He had stood up for his belief in freedom and opposition to tyranny.

J.B. Danquah was arrested on January 8, 1964, for his alleged involvement in an attempted assassination of Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, at the Flagstaff House in Accra.

He was subsequently detained at the Nsawam Maximum Security Prison where he died of a heart attack on February 4, 1965.

Dr. Danquah was said to have been buried on Saturday, February 6, 1965, two days after he died, without any befitting burial.

On this day, patriotic conservatives in Ghana will not celebrate with fireworks, parades, or family gatherings. Instead, they will reflect solemnly on the significance of his death.

The death of J.B. Danquah is significant because of his call for individual wealth creation, which was best expressed in the 1947 Saltpond Declaration of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC).

This call championed individual liberty, equal rights, decentralisation, free markets, free trade, and the inalienable right of all Ghanaians to life, liberty, property, and the rule of law.