NKRUMAH'S STATUE, BUSTS OF CHIEFS READY FOR SUNYANI JUBILEE PARK (SPREAD, JUNE 29, 2010)

ALL is now set for the erection of the statue of the late Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana, and the busts of the seven gallant chiefs who fought for the creation of the Brong Ahafo Region at the Kwame Nkrumah Park, now Jubilee Park, in Sunyani, the regional capital.
The seven gallant chiefs fought for the creation of the region two years (April 4, 1959) after Ghana attained independence.
The statue of Dr Nkrumah and the busts of the chiefs, also of blessed memory, would be erected in addition to that of the late Dr Kofi Abrafi Busia, Prime Minister of the Second Republic and illustrious son of the region, which is already standing at the park.
The seven gallant chiefs whose busts will be erected in memory of their sacrifices are Nana Ameyaw Akumfi III, Techimanhene; Osagyefo Dr Agyeman Badu, Dormaahene; Nana Fosu Gyeabour II, Bechemhene; Nana Bosea Gyinatwi, Drobohene; Nana Kwasi Apraku I, Odumasi No. One Hene; Nana Kwame Agyeman, Abeasehene, and Nana Yaw Frimpong II, Kukuomhene.
This came to light when a group of journalists on a fact-finding mission visited the centre where the statue of Dr Nkrumah and the busts of the seven chiefs had been made in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region and were ready for erection at the Jubilee Park in Sunyani before the close of this year.
The visit was prompted by the summoning of the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, before Parliament last Friday to answer questions on how the total revenue received from both public and private sources amounting to GH¢462,894.42 for the BA@50 anniversary celebration last year was disbursed.
The erection of the statue of Dr Nkrumah and the busts of the seven gallant chiefs was supposed to have been erected in November, last year at the Jubilee Park in Sunyani to coincide with the grand durbar of the chiefs and people of Brong Ahafo to climax the 50th anniversary celebration of the creation of the region but it was stalled by a court injunction.
The celebration, which was unanimous and overwhelming, was aimed at paying tribute to the founding fathers and those who toiled to give the region its status and also to serve as a rallying point for the development of the region.
The two sculptors, Mr George Sekyere and Mr Emmanuel Obeng Bonsoo, who worked on the statue and the busts, told the journalists that the statue and busts were completed and ready for erection at the Jubilee Park in Sunyani in November, last year, but the process was stalled by a court injunction.
According to them, through the intervention of some prominent clergy in the region the issue of the erection of the statue and busts in addition to that of Dr Busia, which was already at the park, had been resolved amicably out of court.