Sunyani debates the fate of Busia’s bust in a former
Nkrumah’s Park
Sunyani (B/A) Oct. 02, Ghanadot/GNA
– A cross-section of people in Sunyani have expressed varied
opinions on an alleged plan by city authorities to remove
the bust of Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia, the late Prime Minister,
from the Jubilee park formerly called the Nkrumah park.
In survey conducted by the Ghana News Agency in the Brong
Ahafo Regional Capital, they also spoke dispassionately
about a recent pronouncement by Mr. Kwadwo Nyamekye Marfo,
regional minister, that the park would be re-named after Dr.
Kwame Nkrumah.
Miss Faustina Dabonaa, a student of St. Don Bosco Senior
high
School, said though she could not
fathom why the authorities want Dr Busia’s bust removed “I
still think it will be a right thing to do to honour Dr.
Nkrumah by erecting his bust at the park rather than that of
Dr Busia”.
She explained that Dr. Nkrumah was and would forever remain
a national and global icon and urged politicians to refrain
from giving the issue a political slant, considering that
Busia’s bust could be erected at another place.
Mr. Daniel Yeboah, a retired public servant, supported the
idea to remove the bust.
He explained that the decision to revert the name to Nkrumah
Park was not misplaced adding, Dr. Nkrumah after
constructing the Centre for National Culture (CNC), set
aside that portion of land to be used for hosting other
cultural events including durbars of chiefs and people.
In his opinion, Mr. Andrews Kyeremeh, security assistant at
COCOBOD, said the bust was intended to serve as a memorial
to the Dr Busia and what he stood for thus its removal would
be “unjustifiable”.
“Apart from Wenchi and Sunyani, there is no other place in
Ghana where one can find something in honour of Busia”, he
said and expressed his support for the idea to eulogize him.
Mr. Anthony Kofi Kusi, NPP Brong-Ahafo Regional Secretary,
described the planned removal of the bust as “out of place”.
He stated that Dr Busia was one time a leader of the nation
and a personality of the region, so erecting a bust to
immortalize him was not a bad idea at all.
Mr. Kusi further said Nkrumah was instrumental in Ghana’s
independence struggle and nation-building “and we don’t
object to re-naming the park after Kwame Nkrumah”.
Mr., Kusi, however, suggested that a statue
of Dr. Nkrumah be erected alongside that of Busia, if they
so wish, in memory of the two personalities.
Mr. B. K. Ameyaw, Brong-Ahafo Regional Chairman of the
Convention Peoples Party, said there was the need to find
out what motivated the previous government to change the
former name of the park, Kwame Nkrumah Park, to Jubilee
Park.
He said that action was unfair to Nkrumah and a distortion
of the history of the region.
“Danquah and Nkrumah have all been honoured in Accra. Why is
Busia honoured in a small corner in Sunyani and I have a
difficulty with that. The statue of Nkrumah must be there
and maintained as well. Busia sacrificed his life at the
expense of his family and it would have been fair to honour
him there”, he stated.
He called for a national campaign to properly honour him as
he was not properly praised and recognized.
A civil servant, who preferred to speak on condition of
anonymity, described the intention to demolish the structure
as “wickedness, because they are failing to recognize and
appreciate what Busia did for Ghana”.
He called on the authorities to rescind their decision and
avoid politicizing the issue, which was largely of great
concern in the region.
“Busia was born and bred in Ghana and was a true son of the
Bono state. The jubilee park was used by Nkrumah to make
public speeches whenever he came to the former Western
Ashanti, which is now Brong-Ahafo Region. The park has never
been officially named after Kwame Nkrumah so they can’t
change the name jubilee park”, he stated.
The civil servant urged the chiefs in the region to boldly
come out and voice out their opinions on the issue,
otherwise they would be considered to have taken sides.
Nana Kwaku Fosu, Area One Mbrantehene, called for a
dispassionate debate on whether or not to demolish the
structure since state money had been pumped into its
construction, adding: “it would be economically unwise and
unwarranted to destroy it”.
Mr. Adomako Francis, a driver, criticized the NPP for
erecting the bust at the park saying leaders of successive
governments did not set something in place to immortalize
their heroes and asked why President Kufour alone allowed
this to be done during the Ghana @ 50 celebrations.
He however called for the construction of Nkrumah’s bust
alongside Busia’s and the name reverted to Kwame Nkrumah
Park.
Reverend Stephen Baffour-Awuah of the Wesley Methodist
Cathedral, appealed to authorities to rather channel the
resources that would be expended on the removal of the bust
into profitable ventures to create employment for the
unemployed or use it to organise clean-up exercises to keep
the environment clean.
GNA
