Tuesday, 29 March 2011:- Nana Akufo-Addo, 2012 flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), on Tuesday celebrated his 67th birthday with the Darul Hijra Islamic School located in Nima, a suburb of Accra. An obviously excited crowd of school children and residents of the community came out in their numbers to welcome Nana Addo when news of his arrival broke. He was treated to a loud ‘happy birthday to you’ chorus and later escorted to the school by the teeming crowd. Nana Addo in a speech called on the students to continue to take their lessons in school seriously, adding “we cannot transform our country without harnessing the full potential of our human resource, and ensuring that our children and youth have a full scale access to quality education is to me a non-negotiable duty that we all owe our society.” He noted “today is my birthday and I decided to come here and spend time with the school children. As you all know, I was born here in Nima, Swalaba, and I’ve known the Darul Hijra Islamic School since I was a little boy.” He continued “I have been impressed with the calibre of people that this school has trained over the years and I came here also to thank the proprietor and teachers of the school for the roles you continue to play in shaping the lives of many of our children. Our country owes you a lot of gratitude.” Nana Addo reiterated his conviction that “education is the sure way Ghana can be transformed and if we are able to educate our young ones, coupled with putting to optimum and judicious use, the natural resources that our country has, we can move majority of our country people out of poverty.” He made a GHS1,000 donation to the school, urging them to keep up the good work. On his part, the proprietor of the school, Alhaji Nuhu Mohammed thanked Nana Addo for the kind gesture. He said “we are aware that you live in the neighbourhood and we are proud to have you as a neighbour. We feel even more delighted today, as you have thought about us and come over to celebrate your birthday with us. It is such a remarkable initiative that an illustrious son of the land will celebrate his birthday with school kids, and I call on others to take a cue from what Nana has done today.” Accompanying Nana Addo to the school were Mr. Boakye Agyarko, his Campaign Manager, Otiko Djaba, NPP National Women’s Organiser and Anthony Karbo, National Youth Organiser. Source: Herbert Krapa, Press Aide