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A former Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Ocquaye, has urged the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to follow the traditions and principles of the Party to win the support of the people in its quest to retain power in 2024.
He said members of the Party must shun monecracy and abide by the tenets of truth, fearlessness, critique, and hard work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026We would want to resolve that we will follow not after monecracy but we will follow the principles and tenets of the tradition.\u00a0 The tradition of truth, fearlessness, critique, of working hard by principle and by valour.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we do that, Ghanaians would repeatedly come and knock at our door in order to invite our government to take over the reins of governance in this country,\u201d Prof. Oquaye said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He made the call when he launched a book in honour of the late Baffour Osei Akoto, a celebrated statesman and astute politician, in Accra on Wednesday, August 31, 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Titled, \u201cBaffour Osei Akoto: A royal Patriot and the making of Ghana,\u201d the book is a collection of speeches and articles made by famous speakers about the exploits of the late Baffour Akoto, with particular reference to the \u201cAnnual Re: Akoto and Seven others\u201d Lectures organised by the Ghana Law School.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prof. Oquaye, who co-edited the book, described Osei Akoto as a man of valour and encouraged members of the NPP and its leadership to emulate his ideals and principles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we (NPP) do otherwise, we will not be honouring those men of valour like Akoto, Danquah, Busia Dombo and others,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Outlining the contributions of Baffour Akoto to the country\u2019s constitutional and democratic reforms, he said the celebrant fought for the protection of human rights and inclusiveness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said all the constitutions that had emerged after the 1960 Constitution (1969, 1979, and 1992 constitutions) guaranteed the rights of the people courtesy the efforts of Baffour Osei Akoto and others who stood against dictatorship.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cSo today, when you invoke the rights that when you\u2019re kept in prison you cannot be kept in an inhumane situation, you\u2019re invoking the rights those people fought for,\u201d Prof. Oquaye said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nana Professor Susubribi Krobea Boaten Asante, the Paramount Chief of Asante Asokore, described the late Baffour Osei Akoto as an \u201cinfluential traditional and political leader in the history of Ghana.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said the submissions made by Baffour Osei Akoto\u2019s lawyer, J.B. Danquah, in the famous 1961 Re: Akoto case, were \u201cfaithfully incorporated\u201d in all constitutions that were promulgated after 1966.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough Danquah\u2019s submission did not prevail in the Akoto case, they subsequently became the cornerstone of the judicial edifice, which was erected after his death for protection of human rights,\u201d Nana Asante said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Stephen Ayesu Ntim, the National Chairman of NPP, said the memory of Baffour Osei Akoto \u201cmust be a lighthouse that beckons us to navigate towards patriotism.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cWe can best break the eight if we bear each other\u2019s burden, forgive each other when we are offenders and work diligently to support the government\u2019s efforts to ameliorate the plight of the Ghanaian people,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bafuor Osei Akoto was born in1904 and died in 2002.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was a Ghanaian agriculturalist, traditional ruler and politician.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was the direct descendant of Asantehene Osei Bonsu and was chosen by Nana Sir Agyeman Prempeh II, as a senior linguist for the Asante-kingship in 1935, a position he held for 68 years until his death.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He combined his role as a traditionalist with national politics in the early 1950s.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the founder and leader of the National Liberation Movement (NLM), he contributed to the formation of the NLM, the main opposition Party of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah\u2019s Convention People\u2019s, Party (CPP).\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was among prominent politicians who opposed the rule of the Nkrumah government and pushed for multiparty democracy<\/p>\n
Source: GNA<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Featured Video\n<\/p>\n\n
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