Nana Akufo-Addo presidency got off to a rocky start Saturday after he was accused of plagiarising a portion of former American president George Bush’s 2001 inaugural speech.
Nana Akufo-Addo
Akufo-Addo was sworn as the 54th president of Ghana, a country described as the “gold standard for democracy in Africa” taking over from John Dramani Mahama. But the new president’s inauguration was blighted by the accusation of directly lifting from Bush’s own inauguration speech.
In his speech, Bush said: “I ask you to be citizens: citizens, not spectators; citizens, not subjects; responsible citizens building communities of service and a nation of character.”
Akufo-Addo said: “I ask you to be citizens: citizens, not spectators; citizens, not subjects; responsible citizens building your communities and our nation. Let us work until the work is done.”
This is not the first time West African presidents would be accused of plagiarising American presidents’ speeches.
