My infamous ‘Mo Kwame Nkrumah’ statement was misunderstood – NAPO

Energy Minister Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh says his much-criticised “Mo Kwame Nkrumah” comment during the 2024 election campaign was misinterpreted and stripped of the context in which it was delivered.

Dr. Prempeh, who spoke on Joy News on Monday night, explained that the line referencing “your Kwame Nkrumah” emerged at a moment when political debates did not allow room for evidence-based clarification.

He said the remark had been framed as an attack on Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, even though his intention was never to disrespect Ghana’s first President.

During the campaign, he had argued that the government’s achievements came close to those of President Nana Akufo-Addo, adding a controversial comparison that sparked criticism from opponents and media commentators who regarded the phrase as dismissive of Nkrumah’s legacy.

Dr. Prempeh said the backlash intensified because the comment was quickly detached from the broader point he was making about political performance and public expectations.

“That time you can’t go into the evidence. So I made a statement, ‘mo Kwame Nkrumah’,” he said, noting that the reaction that followed required him to take steps to clarify his meaning.

According to him, misunderstanding in politics carries consequences, especially when communication is reshaped, misquoted or circulated without full context.

He revealed that he later travelled to Nkroful, Nkrumah’s hometown, to meet with traditional leaders to explain the circumstances surrounding the statement.

“I subsequently had to go to Nkroful and speak to the chiefs there and explain the context in which the statement was made because in politics, if somebody misunderstands, misquotes or you allow your communication to be misread or misunderstood, you have to own it and I owned it,” he said. “Not that the context was wrong.”

Dr. Prempeh said the controversy grew largely because the phrase became isolated from the message he intended to convey.

“It was totally misunderstood but it generated a lot of uproar. Nkrumah’s people got furious,” he recalled.

He also noted that reverence for historical figures should not prevent open discussion about their own views and reflections. He referenced Nkrumah’s writings from his final years in Guinea and said the late leader himself once criticised the state of the CPP.

“They should go and read Nkrumah’s last days from Guinea, how he described his own CPP. He said the CPP was dead. That is Nkrumah’s own writing. So we don’t say these things out of lack of respect,” he argued.

Dr. Prempeh maintained that his respect for Ghana’s first President remains intact, insisting that the misunderstanding stemmed from politics, not intent.