GHANA'S
63RD INDEPENDENCE: THE THOUGHT OF A HOPEFUL GHANAIAN YOUTH.
As a
child growing up, I eagerly looked forward to the 6th of March every
year. I clearly recall all the excitements and fun-filled moments that
characterised our Independence Day celebration. The training of selected
students by some cadet officers or security services in my school, the
independence parade and of course the holidays often associated with it. Growing
up, I never paid particular attention to the many and long speeches delivered
by government functionaries at the celebration. The best moment of the
celebration was the announcement of best deserving schools who marched very
well to be awarded. I would look up and pray silently hoping my school is
mentioned among the best three which was always the case. No wonder,, the motto of my school was "only the best". The “bragging right”
as the best school in Sunyani municipality was more than enough for me as a
child to have a memorable Independence Day celebration.
But today, the celebration of our
independence comes to me with several thoughts.
Ghana is
63 years old today and should probably be enjoying her retirement benefits if
Ghana was a "Ghanaian". Ghana would
have attained and passed the mandatory age of retirement by now. Considering the age of Ghana, it should obviously
be playing the role of a counsellor and role model to other “younger countries”
within the sub-region and world at large.
Undeniably,
Ghana has chalked so many successes in life but still has a lot more to do.
Ghana prides itself as the beacon of hope and democracy on the African
continent. The most hospitable people in the sub-region, good investments in
social services, a stable democracy, respect for rule of law among others. As a
Ghanaian, I pride myself with the success story of my dearly beloved country.
In spite
of these positive heights, it is important to remind ourselves that, our dear
country which should be “relaxing and counselling” other younger countries in
terms of addressing their developmental issues is still challenged with lots of
issues. As a retiree, mother Ghana still faces challenges with sanitation https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Ghana-loses-GH-1-440bn-annually-to-poor-sanitation-World-Bank-709123 and housing https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/Ghana-s-housing-deficit-hits-two-million-Housing-Minister-739235. Heart breaking stories on the state of our health care
such as https://citinewsroom.com/2018/06/man-70-dies-after-7-hospitals-rejected-him-over-lack-of-beds/ makes me cry for my country. The worst of it all is our negative attitude to public
goods and services. The least said about maintenance culture, the better.
Quite
often, discussions and commentary on our independence day has been
characterised with trivial issues ranging from: A speech either read well or
not by the President, plagiarised or not, grammatical errors on brochures,
Whether President Rawlings exchanged a warm hand shake and smile with President
Kufuor and President Mahama or not, the appearance and make-up of our first and
second ladies among others. I have always wondered how these discussions have contributed
or can contribute to addressing our needs as a people.
As we
celebrate our 63rd independence as a people, I would want us to soberly reflect
over some sections of the speech delivered by Ghana's first President, Dr.
Kwame Nkrumah on the occasion of our independence on 6th March, 1957, draw
inspirations from them and then make a conscious effort to address our
challenges.
"At long last, the battle has ended! And
thus, Ghana your beloved country is free forever".
What battle
have you been fighting for mother Ghana? Battle of socio-economic liberation or battle of personal interest and selfishness? Has the battle of
poverty ended? Has the battle of the application of “common sense” been won? Has
the battle of ethnocentrism and tribalism been achieved? Are we mentally free
from “alien” indoctrination? Is the Ghanaian youth free from graduate unemployment? is the Ghanaian tax payer free from worries of abuse of taxes? To what extent have we as a country achieved this freedom?
Is Ghana
your beloved country? How do you treat Ghana your "beloved"? How are you contributing to the growth and
development of the country you claim to love? Patriotism! Patriotism! Should be our charge to the country we love.
Are we
expressing love to our country by acts of negligence at work? Is littering the
compound and having no respect for rule of law our way of expressing love to
Ghana? If this is surely our way of expressing love, then it is not surprising some say “love indeed corrupts the brain”.
"We know, we are going to have
difficult beginnings but again, I am relying on your support, I am relying on
your handwork". These beautiful words of Kwame Nkrumah should
reignite us to come out of our comfort zone for the sake of mother Ghana. It should
guide our leaders to set a good pace for citizens to support. This should be a
wake- up call for all and sundry who desire to have a better Ghana.
Indeed
nothing good comes easy and that is why we need to tighten our belts. Ghana is
relying on our hard work and not our hard-talks. This is the time to work
harder irrespective of our profession and political affiliations and not to
talk louder. This is the time to show real love to our dearly beloved country. This
is the time to water and nurture the seeds planted by our fore fathers. This is
surely the time to secure a brighter future for generations yet unborn.
In
conclusion, I will still refer you to a part of Dr. Nkrumah's speech on the eve
of the independence of Ghana. “But
today, may I call upon all that, on this great day, let us remember that, nothing
can be achieved unless it has the support of God". In our quest to
progress, let us not forget the God factor in our actions and inactions. May
the Good Lord grant us the zeal, power and strength to be patriotic,
hardworking and demonstrate that, "when
Africa is given the chance, he can show the world that, he is somebody"
Kwame Ohene-Ntow,
YALI Dream,
A better Ghana,
A brighter Africa.
The writer
holds a Master’s degree in Development Policy and Planning from KNUST, a YALI Fellow and a team member of the “No Business as Usual Project” based in Kumasi
which is providing training on employability and entrepreneurial skills and
promoting local economic development in Asokore Mampong Municipality.
EMAIL: vincentntow12@gmail.com
