Sekou booted out at last

Dr. Sekou Nkrumah, ex-Coordinator of NYC

By Nathaniel Y.Yankson
Dr. Sekou Nkrumah, ex-Coordinator of NYC
THE NATIONAL Youth Council Coordinator, Dr. Sekou Nkrumah yesterday had the shock of his life when a strongly worded-letter, signed by the Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, Nii Nortey Dua terminated his appointment abruptly.

Even though he was yet to site the said letter as at press time, he admitted his Secretary had already informed him about its content. His disengagement takes effect on July 22, this year.

Many believe that his recent interview with African Watch, an international magazine, where he unequivocally stated that President John Evans Atta Mills fell short of the charisma, dynamism and strong will to lead Ghana, might have caused his job.

But Mrs. Esther Cobbah, Chair of the Council, told Joy FM, an Accra-based radio station that the action was a unanimous decision, which bordered on his alleged incompetence in the line of duty.

According to her, Dr. Nkrumah's performance was one, which would not auger well for the progress of the Council and for that matter his removal was in the right direction.

Besides being incompetent, the son of Ghana's first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, was as well noted for continuously blaming everybody for the shortcomings of the Council, coupled with gross disrespect to the Board of Trustees.

However, the Chair indicated that for the time Dr. Nkrumah was on the board, he had not been able to roll out his vision towards achieving the very essence of the Council.

These, among others, she said did not favour the endorsement of Dr. Nkrumah to further occupy the Coordinator of the National Youth Council.

In response to these allegations on the same radio station, the sacked Coordinator also said the decision was theirs to take, and that he has taken it in good faith, hoping it has nothing to do with his recent comment against President John Evans Atta Mills and his government.

He however disagreed with being described as incompetent, stressing that he would come out strongly to address it.

Dr. Nkrumah said though the letter to relieve him of his post came so fast, he bears no grudge against anybody and promised to even work hand-in-hand with the party, the National Democratic Congress.

During his interview with the magazine, he said 'a lot of people see Mills as an academic and a gentleman. But in the political arena, you need to be strong-minded and it looks like this leadership quality is missing in Mills.

So I guess we need a more strong-willed, dynamic personality, a charismatic person to inspire national confidence and also to let the population see the national agenda and feel part of it.'