Legendary Ghanaian goalkeeper, Alhaji Adam Nii Dodoo Ankrah, has revealed a promise made by the late President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, to the 1963 and 1965 Black Stars squads that emerged victorious in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Ankrah explained that Nkrumah had pledged to provide houses to the Black Stars squads that won the AFCON in 1963 and 1965, but unfortunately, this promise was never fulfilled.
The coup d’état led by Colonel E.K. Kotoka, Major A.A. Afrifa, and J.A. Ankrah resulted in the overthrow of Nkrumah’s government, causing the promised houses to never materialize.
“In 1963, we won the Cup. In 1964, we had a respectable finish in the Olympics in Tokyo, though we lost 5-1 to Egypt. Then he [Kwame Nkrumah] said, ‘It’s time for you to go and defend the Cup [AFCON won in 1963] in Tunis. Please, go there and defend the Cup; come back and your houses will be ready for you.’ We were all very happy. By the grace of God, the most gracious, the most merciful, we defended the Cup in Tunis.
“When we came back, we were yet to go and tell him that we have completed the assignment he gave us and we set our minds for, and we have done what you expected us to do, so we are coming for our reward. It wasn’t long before the coup d’état in Ghana, so we lost the opportunity to own houses despite all the sacrifices we did for Mother Ghana,” he recounted as quoted by myjoyonline.com.
Ankrah mentioned that the group sent numerous letters to different governments in an attempt to fulfill Nkrumah’s promise, but received no response until John Mahama assumed office and provided them with a sum of money.
He emphasized that the money could not make up for the houses promised to them by Nkrumah.
“We wrote countless letters, but to no avail. Before former President John Mahama left office in 2016, he distributed some money among the four winning AFCON teams. If this money was intended to fulfill the promises made by Nkrumah, then it is truly unfortunate,” Ankrah revealed.
The former Black Stars goalkeeper expressed disappointment, stating that the financial package, amounting to about GH¢1.8m, was insufficient to cover the career-ending injuries they sustained.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
