BUSIA WAS COMMITTED TO STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY (SPREAD)

A Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Wayo Seini, has described the late Prime Minister of the Second Republic of Ghana, Prof. Kofi Abrefa Busia, as a man of extreme humility, an academic giant, and an extraordinary politician who committed himself to the struggle for the liberty of Ghana.
He also observed that Prof. Busia was a visionary whose pronouncements had been vindicated in contemporary continental and global politics, a God-fearing leader who believed that nothing could be achieved without the blessing of the creator, as well as a man who believed in the progress and rapid development of Ghana.
“His commitment to nation-building will forever become part and parcel of the history of Ghana’s struggle for liberty, free speech and democratic governance,” Prof. Seini stressed.
Speaking at a symposium to commemorate the 95th birthday of the late Prime Minister, the Senior Lecturer, who said Prof. Busia was his model, emphasised, “Indeed, just as Dr J.B. Danquah is the Doyen of Ghana’s Politics, Prof. Busia is without doubt the father of democracy in Ghana and stood for fairness, equity, liberty, freedom and the rule of law.
The well-attended symposium, which was jointly organised in Sunyani by the Brong Ahafo Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) in collaboration with the Busia Foundation International, attracted Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, traditional authorities, the clergy and religious organisations, the academia, politicians, family members and people from all walks of life.
The theme for the symposium was, “The Prof. A man remembered; The Life, Vision and Legacy of Dr K.A. Busia”.
Prof. Seini noted that the humility of Dr Busia was infectious and that those who were associated with him, particularly his political colleagues, took up his humility and were ready to sacrifice for the interest of the nation.
However, he pointed out that Dr Busia’s life as the Prime Minister of the Second Republic should particularly serve as a lesson to all politicians.
According to Prof. Seini, the late Prime Minister dedicated his political life to the progress and development of Ghana and recognising that the country could not develop without developing the rural communities, he took the bold and pioneering step in introducing a ministry that was dedicated to that purpose.
He noted that in 27 months Prof. Busia left his development mark in every rural area of Ghana without borrowing a cent from outside Ghana and by this, he demonstrated abundantly that development could be truly intrinsic.
Prof. Seini emphasised that Dr Busia’s eagerness to bring development to the doorstep of the rural people led him to introduce the national development levy that was intended to solicit the assistance of the urban elite in the development of rural Ghana.
According to Prof. Seini, the late Prime Minister also realised that corruption was the number one enemy of development and that any nation that seriously wanted to embark on development should necessarily fight corruption.
The former Head of the Sociology Department of the University of Ghana, Prof. K.E. De Graft Johnson, also observed that Dr Busia reflected his talents in different ways and at different times and even as a little boy, the late Prime Minister showed interest in education.
As a politician, Prof. De Graft Johnson noted that the late Prime Minister spoke against one party state and had to flee into exile in 1959 because he vehemently opposed dictatorship.
For his part, Mr J.H. Mensah, who served in the Busia Administration in 1969 as the Minister of Economic Planning, observed that the late Prime Minister had an extraordinary discipline and was a hardworking man.
Madam Amma Bame Busia, a Member of the Council of State and a sister of Dr Busia, recalled that his brother was a man who saw in governance a sense of national sacrifice, and that saw him and members of his government sacrificing a third of their approved salary for the purpose of earmarking a seed money for a rural development fund.
She noted that Dr Busia was so keen in the education of his siblings and that even in his days in exile; his brother never lost sight of the fact that education remained a major vehicle towards the self actualisation of humanity.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, in his welcoming address noted that the late Prime Minister effectively combined his academic career with his Christian and family lives, as well as his political ambition and cultural practice.