Chairperson of the Convention People’s Party, Samia Nkrumah, has said all heads of state and presidents who came after her father, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, robbed Ghanaians of the great legacy he left behind.

Remembering the pan-Africanist on the MORNING STARR with Kafui Dey, Nkrumah’s daughter said Ghana’s current economic woes could have been averted if the country had not neglected his father’s ideas and policies.

“Kwame Nkrumah’s ideas and policies are for tomorrow and must not be relegated to the past and put on the shelves. We must not look back in nostalgia, but we must look forward with sense and conviction of the blueprint the African of the Millennium left us. Ghana is a fortunate country to have had a leader of that calibre.”

Nkrumah’s birthday, September 21 was instituted by late President John Evans Attah Mills as ‘Founders Day’ in 2010 and declared as a holiday in Ghana.

Often marked by programmes that highlight his achievements and vision, the 105th birthday, which fell on a Sunday this year is being celebrated on Monday.

Ms Nkrumah said Ghana would not have retrogressed to a point of seeking an IMF bailout if the “Nkrumaist” principles had been pursued by his successors.

“What he started achieving has been truncated and must be revisited if we are to succeed. His focus on manufacturing has not yet been achieved and as long as that has not happened, we would not be able to meet the basic needs of the people. Clean drinking water for all, fair opportunity for all, basic needs for all, it has not happened," she said.

“If we had pursued the seven-year development plan, Ghana would have been producing everything. We still have not built a strong manufacturing base, we still have not enhanced our productive capability. Ghana today would have been producing everything.”

According to her, Ghanaians are better off having the CPP, which holds the Nkrumaist principles dear to its heart, leading them.

“The people of Ghana are ready, but they need a leadership that is courageous, that is not corrupt, and that is visionary.”