President Nana Akufo-Addo has challenged Ghanaians to be “up and doing” with their individual contributions to the ultimate development of Ghana because of the destiny of the country beckons.

In his introductory remarks at a lecture to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the legacy of the former Prime Minister of the 2nd Republic of Ghana, Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia, who served from 1969 to 1972, President Akufo-Addo said Dr. Busia “dreamt of a Ghanaian nation at peace, prosperous and generous, a beacon of hope to Africa and the world, a proud African lion, striving into the future with confidence, secure in the knowledge that, here on this continent, we are a nation of destiny, an example, not just for our age, but for all ages. Let us be up and doing, our destiny beckons,” the President said.

The President added that “the passion and the dreams of Dr. Busia led him to desire a welfare State in Ghana. As a result of this believe, he came up with various mantras as the ambitions of the Progress Party which he led, such as; “To Every Ghanaian, a Job”, To Every Worker, Security”, To Every Family, a Decent Meal and a Decent Home”, “To Every person, Equal Opportunity and Social Justice”, “To Every Individual, the Essential Freedoms of Speech and Expression, Freedom of movement and Association, Freedom of Conscience and Worship and “To all Ghanaians, Progress”. “This is the measure of the man being celebrated.”

The President observed that the unfortunate overthrow of the Progress Party, deprived the nation of the several great plans Dr. Busia had for the Country, particularly, Rural Ghana.

“Decades have gone to show that we turned out to be the poorer for it. We can imagine, for example, where our nation would have been now if he had been given the opportunity to develop his visionary programme of rural development,” he said.

Akufo-Addo added that, “Some of the ills of contemporary Ghana, such as rural-urban migration, which has been the source of much current social tension, could well have been avoided.”

Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia was Ghana’s Prime Minister in the 2nd Republic (1969 – 1972). He was born at Wenchi in the Brong-Ahafo Region on July 11, 1913, and died in London – UK on August 28, 1978. In 1954 he became Ghana’s first University Professor in the country’s premier university in Legon, Accra.