Speaking at the 2026 NkrumahFest at Nkroful in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region, Mr. Asiedu Nketiah said he remained an “unrepentant Nkrumaist” because of the direct impact of Nkrumah-era policies on his own life.
The 2026 celebration, which marks Dr. Nkrumah’s 117th birthday, is being held under the theme: “Nkrumah @ 117: Celebrating His Enduring Legacy – Africa Must Unite or Perish.” The annual festival was established by Ellembelle MP and Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, to commemorate Dr. Nkrumah’s life and legacy.
Mr. Asiedu Nketiah expressed gratitude to Mr. Armah-Kofi Buah for instituting the festival, describing it as an important effort to preserve and promote the legacy of Ghana’s first President.
“I want to thank Honourable Ama Kofi Buah for instituting this NkrumahFest. I see it as an attempt to purge our dear country of the shame we had brought onto ourselves by denigrating the image, name and legacy of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.”
He said the continued international recognition of Dr. Nkrumah made it important for Ghanaians to properly preserve his historical legacy.
The NDC National Chairman recounted how a government education policy enabled him to receive formal education after he had initially been kept out of school by his family.
According to him, he was picked up by the Young Pioneers while on the streets of Sehwi at a time when other children had gone to school.
He said his relatives were subsequently warned that, under the free compulsory universal basic education policy, his parents had to either send him to school or face prosecution.
Mr. Asiedu Nketiah said the intervention changed the course of his life.
“And so I am here today as the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress because of a very important policy that was introduced by Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.”
He explained that the experience motivated him to study Nkrumah’s works and contribute to preserving his legacy.
Mr. Asiedu Nketiah also made a strong case for what he described as proper recognition of Dr. Nkrumah’s role in the formation of modern Ghana.
He said efforts to place Nkrumah on the same historical footing as all other personalities involved in the independence struggle failed to adequately reflect his assessment of Nkrumah’s contribution.
According to him, the territories that eventually constituted modern Ghana existed as separate political and administrative entities before independence.
He mentioned the Gold Coast Colony, the Ashanti Kingdom, the Northern Territories and Trans-Volta Togoland, arguing that Nkrumah played a central role in bringing these territories together to form the Ghana that exists today.
“It was the work of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah that brought all these four blocks together to form the Ghana we see now.”
He therefore maintained that Nkrumah’s contribution to Ghana’s independence and nation-building deserved distinct recognition.
The NkrumahFest 2026 is being held in Nkroful, Dr. Nkrumah’s birthplace, with a week-long programme of cultural, educational and community activities culminating in a grand durbar. Kenyan Pan-Africanist scholar Prof. Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba is among the headline guests for this year’s celebration.
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