A leading member of the Committee for Joint Action and Editor-in-Chief of the Insight newspaper Kwesi Pratt Jnr. says attempts to compare former President Jerry Rawlings to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah is misplaced. Speaking on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo, Mr Pratt said no black African president in history comes anywhere near Dr Nkrumah’s international reputation. The CPP guru made the comment in reference to calls of a youth group that the celebration of June 4, 1979 be reinstated. Mr Rawlings during his reign marked the date with national parades and action-packed speeches. The former president was usually clad in his military uniform during the commemoration of that day. The group had established the premise that once Ghana’s independence anniversary of March 6 is observed each year since 1957, it would be wrong on the part of the Mills government to fail to give similar regard to the date on which Mr Rawlings assumed power for his revolution. But Mr Pratt said such calls are rather unfortunate and present a recipe for backwardness in a country craving for better standards of living for its citizenry. Touting Dr Nkrumah's further achievements, Mr Pratt said Ghana’s first president remains “the most outstanding president of Africa." He said the history of the black continent adequately testifies to the fact that “in the 19th and 20th centuries there has not been any black leader in the world like Osagyefo.” “Why would you want to compare June 4 to March 6, 1957? Mr Pratt asked. The CJA member averred that efforts must rather be made by government to properly preserve the legacies of Dr Nkrumah. He cited the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, situated along the High Street in Accra, as one of the places badly abandoned and now in a deplorable state. While the roof of the Museum is said to have developed gaping holes, part of the area around the building remains the parking lot of workers around the central business district. Lawns and hedges grown for the purpose of aesthetics are poorly kept whilst the frontal of the park has also been a secure marketplace for hawkers. The Convention Peoples Party (CPP) which Dr Nkrumah led to secure Ghana’s independence has however rolled out a line-up of activities, including a face-lift of the mausoleum and tree planting exercises to mark the 100th birthday anniversary of one of Africa’s greatest leader. Story by Fiifi Koomson/Myjoyonline.com