On Wednesday, September 20, 2023, the Member of Parliament for Ellembelle, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, called on Ghanaians to celebrate Dr. Kwame Nkrumah more often and not just on his birthday.
Armah-Kofi Buah also bemoaned the deteriorating state of Dr. Nkrumah’s Museum at Nkroful, his first burial place and hometown. To help fix the place, he donated 10,000 to the Planning Committee for Nkrumah’s Birthday celebrations.
“We went around and obviously, we have seen that there is a lot of work to be done. So one of the things we have to do immediately is to make sure we refurbish the place. It requires a lot of painting and cleaning, a lot of work to be done, we have to work on that. We must also learn that we will not wait for an anniversary before we come and do these things,” he said.
“We must constantly maintain it. People who know that it’s become an annual affair know that we would have to come and do that every year. I’m very happy to be here. We are very proud that our grandfather, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah hails from this place, Nkroful in Ellembelle District and we are proud to celebrate him. We celebrate him because of the legacy he left for Africa and Ghana,” he added.
While inviting the public to join him in celebrating the birthday of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah for the transformational change he brought to Ghana and Africa, Armah-Kofi Buah said he is committed to making Nkroful the celebration centre of Dr. Nkrumah’s birthday.
“Obviously in the last few years, we have seen attempts to dilute the legacy of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah but nobody can. We believe that we the people of Nzema and so many Ghanaians and Africans who have followed Dr. Kwame Nkrumah agree that Osagyefo never dies and so we are proud to celebrate him".
“So we will join you to make this celebration grand. We intend to turn Nkroful and indeed the Elembelle District a Mecca for celebrating the life of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. So I’m very excited about this year’s celebration and let me use this opportunity to invite loving people of Ghana, that you are invited to Nkroful, you are invited to come and join in celebrating the birthday of the great Osagyefo,” he said.
A member of the Dr. Nkrumah Memorial Day celebration and Ebusuapanyin of Nkroful, Nana Sanzah Erzah commended the MP for his leadership role in upholding the place of Dr. Nkrumah in Ghana’s history.
“We are saying that we will make good use of the money which amounts to GH¢10,000 to renovate the museum. Every year he paints the museum, therefore we will make sure we do that. We will make sure to replace damaged furniture and beautify the environment before 21st September to avoid any form of disgrace to the name of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Because he laid a good foundation, we will also make sure to follow his good deeds. So all I’m saying is thank you Honourable Boah,” he noted.
The Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Museum at Nkroful holds a special place in the history of Ghana’s first President as the place tells the story of his birth and the first place he was buried when he was brought back to Ghana after his passing.
Despite this significance, the Nkroful Museum has been left to deteriorate.