Introduction.
Nkroful Community Development Association (N.C.D.A) is the shell used in protecting the concept of Nkrumahfest, hence the two are almost inseparable. The initiative of Nkrumahfest as a festival to commemorate the birthday of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah goes beyond what many people seem to know of it. After the military exhumation and reburial of the mortal remains of the Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in 1992, the general masses of Nkroful were left in disappointment. This disappointment stemmed from the fact that the exhumation of the body was premised on the claim that the body was decomposing and needed to be treated in Accra before it could be returned to Nkroful, where its burial was fixed in a system that enabled tourists to have the casket brought up from the tomb so it could be viewed. Therefore, the leadership of Nkroful, led by the then Kwame Nkrumah’s Nvavile Family Head Abusuakpanyinli Kyinli Nyonra, and the Nkroful Royal Family Head, Abusuakpanyinli Tanoe Benle, poured libation, invoking the spirits to ensure that they deal with the soldiers sent by Chairman Jerry Rawlings to exhume the body of Nkrumah, if they renege on their promise to have the body brought back, as promised. The Nkroful community thus became disillusioned when the body was eventually buried in Accra for good, without any further talks with the Nkroful community, and possibly by the direct family; though it is reasonable to assume that a few frontliners in the family must have been engaged in the final decision by the Jerry John Rawlings’ military Government. From that time, the leadership of the Nkroful Community, in partnership with the Nvavile Family of Kwame Ngonlomah, observed the pouring of libation at the tomb side to commemorate the birth of the Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah, every 21st September, even after Abusuakpanyinli Benle Tanoe passed on, and the Royal Family Headship baton was handed to Abusuakpanyinli Twenleboa Tandoh, who was later succeeded by Abusuakpanyinli Nyame Blay.
From Observation to Celebration.
The conception of the idea to celebrate the birthday of Nkrumah as festival, is a result of series of related developments. Its dawn was occasioned by the institution of the National Reconciliation Commission in 2002, but remotely seated and waited for the right opportunity for its birthing. Several situations watered the growth of this idea, one of which is the refusal of the National Reconciliation Commission to yield to the appeal of the Nkroful Delegation, led by Hon. Emmanuel Armookwaw (the then Assembly Member of Nkroful Ebanso) to have the mortal remains of Nkrumah reburied at Nkroful. Recognising the tourist’s attraction effects and associated socio-economic development that the reburial of the mortal remains of the Osagyefo could bring to Nkroful, Lord Cudjoe (then a student of tourism at UCC, muted the idea to his Assembly Member who was once his teacher, to pursue the Nkrumah reburial agenda at the NRC. Unfortunately, the Delegation made of Hon. Emmanuel Armookwaw, Hon. J.C. Mante, and Lord Cudjoe met other separate delegations from Dadieso, and Nswaem, who also came and met the NRC, with the same request that Kwame Nkrumah hails from those respective communities, hence the mortal remains should be released to them for reburial, just as being claimed by Nkroful. All three groups were told by the Commission, that given the situation of struggle among the communities, the Commission will make a decision and revert to the claimants on the way forward. And no information ever was received, at least by the Nkroful delegation.
In the 2000s when the Hon Freddie Blay became the Member of Parliament for the Ellembelle Constituency, the commemoration of the birthday of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah as the premiere in the country’s fight for independence; and subsequently the first president of Ghana, was observed by having a team walk with the symbolic torch from Accra to Nkroful his birthplace. Later, related events including the organisation of schools in the constituency to engage in a football gala during which jerseys produced by Jamkay Enterprise were donated by the Hon MP.
This practice was continued by the Hon. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, after he defeated the Hon. Freddie Blay in 2008. The new MP had an event company known as the Nzema Event Management collaborate with is office, to organize activities in Nzema, to commemorate the Founder’s birthday, including its most popular event dubbed the Osagyefo Cup; a football gala among second cycle institutions in Nzemaland. This event group had the blessing of the MP, who usually gave them an introductory letter to seek sponsorship for its activities. What was missing, was that local involvement for the Nkroful Community, was non-existent. Efforts to have the Nkroful Community moved from mere onlookers to actively involved planners of such annual celebrations, yielded no fruit.
Still in September of 2008, Lord Cudjoe (then branch Chairman of the Convention Peoples Party CPP), formed a pro-CPP team with one Beyegyene, a caretaker at the Nkumah Mausoleum, Mr. Francis Asabah, a maternal family member of Nkrumah, and one John Anobil Anderson, a young hotel worker who hails from the paternal family of Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah. Still in the bid to own the celebration of Nkrumah’s birthday, Lord Cudjoe suggested the name Nkroful Yedwazo Festival, and it was accepted by the group. Bamboos were used to construct a bridge over the legendary Subile River, thus linking the town to a land beyond the river where history had it that Kwame Nkrumah’s mother; Nana Nyaneba had her vegetable farm. The community youth were encouraged to own this as an event on the evening of the 21st September, when a music and dance party (populary referred to as Beach Party) was held. Due to lack of financial support and low patronage, this failed to be sustained in the subsequent years. The group died off, and the concept of Nkroful Yedwazo Festival waned into oblivion, when Beyegyene left his job at the Mausoleum and Anobil (popularly called Anobi), also travelled out of Nkroful.
In 2010, during electioneering campaign, Lord Cudjoe who had become a defacto youth leader due to his frontal role of being the mouthpiece of the youth leading negotiations with Adamus Resources Limited during the company’s community entry challenges, made emphatic pledge to the Nkroful Community that much as Kundum is a traditional festival and has to be celebrated as such, Nkroful community should expect the institutionalization of a new festival once he gets the people’s mandate to serve the community as the Assembly Member of the Ebanso Electoral Area of the Community.
After winning the election the Hon. Lord Cudjoe briefed the Abusuakpanyinli Nyame Blay (who was then the regent of Nkroful), of his plans to get the celebration of the birthday of Dr Kwame Nkrumah instituted as an annual festival for the people of Nkroful, and in the future, the entire Nzemaland. The Regent advised for the Head of Kwame Nkrumah’s Nvavile Family to be equally briefed to win his family’s support. The Hon. Bulumiatwum Koasi, the Assembly Member of the Enlunlibo Electoral Area threw his support behind the initiative when he was briefed. As he was working at the University of Ghana; and due to the distance factor, he gave his blessing for all subsequent engagements to be held even in his absence, and that he was in full support of the idea.
One of the key consultations following the Nkroful community leadership’s endorsement, resulted in a meeting between Hon. Lord Cudjoe and the Head of the Nvavile Family of Osagyefo Nkrumah as one party, and the then Nzema Events Management on the other hand, held at the office of the Ellembelle District Chief Executive (DCE) Daniel K. Eshun in March 2013, following a request from the Assembly Member that the DCE should use his good office to address the impasse of perceived sidelining of Nkroful and Nkrumah’s family in the planning of the event.
The DCE directed the event management company, whose CEO was one Evans Osei (now the Apagyahene of Lower Axim Traditional Area), to collaborate with the leadership (Assembly Members, the Regent of Nkroful Abusuakpanyinli Nyame Blay, and the Family Head of Nkroful) towards the planning and celebration of the 2013 edition of Nkrumah’s Birthday. The Nzema Event management however, refused to go by the directive of the Hon. DCE, and went ahead to plan everything about 2013 birthday of Nkrumah, and in September, held the events in Nkroful.
In September 2014, a musical event organised by a team being led by one Kojo Dwamena to be held at the Kundum Square of Nkroful, was disrupted by the Nkroful Community, citing the non-involvement of the community in the planning of Nkrumah’s birthday commemoration. In a bid to resolve this difference between Nkroful Community and para-event people from the office of the Hon. Member of Parliament, Hon. Lord Cudjoe mobilized a group of men and women of like mindedness, and who were enthusiastic about the idea of Nkroful localizing the planning and celebration of the Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah through the commemoration of his birthday. The group included:
- Hon. Lord S. K. Cudjoe (Assembly Member)
- Mr. Francis Nretiah Asabbah (Nkrumah’s Family Rep)
- Madam Augustina Essel-Cudjoe
- Mr. Thomas Ackah ( a.k.a Akaekyii )(Unit Committee Chairman)
- Mr. Barnabas Kwesi Amegalolo
- Mrs. Jacinta Sennie
- Mrs. Vivian Ackah
- Mr. Joseph Nyamekechie
Hon. Lord Cudjoe continued to hold series of meetings with this group towards firming up the activities and modalities towards the organisation and celebration of Nkrumah’s Birthday, once the event managements people who had been in charge of it show the readiness to collaborate with the Nkroful people who have become interested in playing their fair part in the planning.
Hon. Lord Cudjoe explained thoroughly to all, that the observation of the birthday of Osagyefo, should not be just a day’s event, but a festival as he promised. He therefore proposed the name Nkrumahfest and was endorsed by the group to become the name of the festival.
Nkroful Community Development Association N.C.D.A
In order to find an institution that stakeholders including the District Assembly, the Office of the Hon. MP, as well as the corporate world being prospective sponsors will relate with on the subject of Nkrumahfest going forward, the group was challenged with finding a name for itself. Several names came up as suggestions: among them being Nkroful Development Committee. Hon. Lord Cudjoe however said that that name when abbreviated, becomes NDC, which is also a name of a major political party and will therefore force people to assume that the group was partisan. He therefore came with Nkroful Community Development Association (N.C.D.A) which was once again accepted by all.
Role Assignment & Structuring the N.C.D.A
Some members of the group were given specified executive roles to play, to enable the administrative structuring of it to take shape. The table below exhibits the leadership of the N.C.D.A.
| No. | Name | Role |
| 1. | Hon. Lord S. K. Cudjoe | Founder/Chairman |
| 2. | Francis N. Asabah | Organiser |
| 3. | Barnabas Kwesi Amegalolo | Secretary |
| 4. | Mad. Augustina Essel-Cudjoe | Member |
| 5. | Mad. Jacinta Sennie | Member |
| 6. | Mad. Vivian Ackah | Member |
| 7. | Thomas Ackah (Akaekyii) | Member |
| 8. | Joseph Nyamekechie (Teacher Solar) | Fin. Secretary |
Cardinal Guiding Principles
The N.C.D.A recognized aside that Thomas Ackah (who was a member of the NPP), virtually all other members were either core members of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) or at least the party’s sympathisers; but will heavily require the support of members of other political parties who may find reasons to support what the group stood for, much as it may have other development agenda aside the celebration of the Osagyefo. Therefore, key resolutions passed as rules for its membership, were that:
- The group must not be partisan. It was opened to all who had the interest and supports its course, to join.
- Membership was opened to any person, particularly of the Nkroful Community, to join.
- Every Assembly Member of Nkroful should be allowed to join as automatic member, given the fact that the NCDA requires the leadership authority and support of the Assembly Members.
The N.C.D.A had its major breakthrough on its crave to become organizers of Nkrumahfest, when it held a meeting with one Dr Pastor Peace Donkor (the then Administrator of the Office of the Hon. MP). Dr Peace Donkor upon consultations with the Hon. MP, agreed with the NCDA, that it was a fair call from it to seek the localization of the planning of the birthday observation of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah- Nkrumahfest (as it has become called), albeit with the readiness for collaboration with the Office of the MP and any other partners of like interest. Hence, in 2015, the Nkroful Community Development Association (N.C.D.A) organised the maiden edition of Nkrumahfest, wholly by it, with financial support from the Hon. MP, Ghana Gas, and Adamus Resources Ltd. It was during the Grand Durbar of Chiefs and lovers of Nkrumah on 21st September 2015, when the then Western Regional Chairman of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Mr. Kwabena Tumi (now Nana Mireku Tumi I), called for Nkroful, Nzema, and the whole of Ghana to embrace Nkrumahfest, so that Nkroful could become the political Mecca of Africa, so that every birthday celebration of the Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah will become to the world, a journey to Nkroful.