By Stephen Agbai
Newly born babies bring unmatched joy to their families, especially their biological parents. Their births mark new beginning and new hope. Such was the case whenGhana , after
decades of battling merciless and ironhanded colonial domination, successfully
gained political independence.
Being the first nation south of the Sahara, and arguably with most of the leading lights in the global fight against colonialism being its citizens,Ghana ’s
Independence
was most heartily welcomed by many freedom fighters — home and abroad. Ghana held the key to opening the floodgate of
freedom for the rest of Africa and other
oppressed peoples as succinctly captured by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah: "Our
independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of
the African Continent."
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in fulfilling this dream and vision to lead the path towards perpetual liberation of the entire African continent, inspired and reinvigorated the rest of Pan African freedom fighters — notably Patrice Lumumba, Marcus Garvey, Nelson Mandela, W. E. B. Dubois, Ahmed SékouTouré and George Padmore. So strong and indomitable was the wave of change led by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah that within three years after Ghana's independence, many countries within the sub region — Guinea (October 2nd, 1958); Senegal (April 4th, 1960); Burkina Faso (August 5, 1960); Cameroon (January 1st, 1960);Congo (August 15th, 1960); Congo DR (June 30th, 1960); Cote d'Ivoire (August 7th, 1960) and Nigeria (October 1st, 1960), etc. — in quick succession had also gained their political freedom from colonial domination. This trendsetting effort is to be celebrated today byGhana and the
rest of the world.
Newly born babies bring unmatched joy to their families, especially their biological parents. Their births mark new beginning and new hope. Such was the case when
Being the first nation south of the Sahara, and arguably with most of the leading lights in the global fight against colonialism being its citizens,
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in fulfilling this dream and vision to lead the path towards perpetual liberation of the entire African continent, inspired and reinvigorated the rest of Pan African freedom fighters — notably Patrice Lumumba, Marcus Garvey, Nelson Mandela, W. E. B. Dubois, Ahmed SékouTouré and George Padmore. So strong and indomitable was the wave of change led by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah that within three years after Ghana's independence, many countries within the sub region — Guinea (October 2nd, 1958); Senegal (April 4th, 1960); Burkina Faso (August 5, 1960); Cameroon (January 1st, 1960);Congo (August 15th, 1960); Congo DR (June 30th, 1960); Cote d'Ivoire (August 7th, 1960) and Nigeria (October 1st, 1960), etc. — in quick succession had also gained their political freedom from colonial domination. This trendsetting effort is to be celebrated today by
*President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana |
While working hard to liberate the rest of Africa politically, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah gave equal
attention to the economic growth of this country, bearing in mind the
fruitlessness of an Independent nation that still relied on foreign aid for
development. Although he introduced Ghana to the Breton Wood Institutions, that
was supposed to be a temporary measure to set Ghana on a sound footing whiles
finding its permanent economic solution in homegrown sources of funding for
most of its long term projects. Between 1957 and 1966, Ghana under the
visionary leadership of its founder labored to establish an egalitarian society
that would provide improved standards of living to all and sundry. Among many
laudable interventions, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah established vital public corporations
and institutions to cater for the agricultural and industrial needs of the
country – ultimately providing employment for citizens. He introduced social
services such as schools, hospitals, roads and highways, free medicalcare and
compulsory free education. The Accra-Tema motorway, Akosombo Dam, silos for
food preservation andfactories such as the Ghana Cement Factory at Takoradi , Ghana
Shoe Factory , Ghana Glass Factory at Abuoso and
Tarkwa, Gold Processing Factory at Prestea and Paper Processing Factory are
also some of the achievements of Kwame Nkrumah during the period. Indeed,
Nkrumah’s impact in the post-independence development agenda of the nation
remains unparalleled by subsequent Heads of State. After the overthrow of Dr.
Kwame Nkrumah on February 24, 1966 by elements in the Ghanaian security
serviceswith support from Western allies, his lofty vision and for that matter
the hopes of many citizens were lost. Much of what he bequeathed have been run
down, sold off or exist only in name. Bothmilitary and democratic governments
from Lieutenant General Emmanuel KwasiKotoka, who spearheaded Dr. Nkrumah’s
overthrow in 1966, to current President John Mahama, can only boast of the
little things that do not matter in the comity of Nations. Alas, our nation is
reeling on the floor of penury and absolute hopelessness. Assurances of
recovery have all turned out to be gimmicks.
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
Critics of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah have argued that he was not a saint and so should share in the current state of the nation. This, they argue, is because at the time of independence,Ghana had 200 million British
Pounds of reserves, but he left a total external debt of 350 million British
Pounds in 1966 when he was overthrown. Critics also hold against him the
capricious introduction of the contentiousand draconian Preventive Detention
Act (PDA), which was used to imprison and kill internal political opponents and
pave the way for a one-party state.
While I cannot gloss over these atrocities, it has to be said that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s positives far outweigh his negatives. The fact that Ghanaians and the world at large still hold him in high esteem fifty years after his overthrow speaks volumes. The fact that his achievements in all the areas of economic and social importance dwarf the those of all who have come after him put together speaks of his greatness.
At59,
a year to retirement, if Ghana
were a civil servant, it would have little-to-nothing to compare with its
contemporaries at Independence like Malaysia , Cuba ,
South Korea and Singapore .
Perhaps, the only thing that we can boast of is the semblance of democratic
peace that blows across the nation. Today, Ghana is recording negative growth
in areas it should be making substantial progress had it continued from where
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was forced to stop. Agriculture, industry, manufacturing and
mininghave all been recording negative growth with a towering debt portfolio
and its concomitant interest rates. This is the state of Ghana – that
burgeoning and promising country Dr. Kwame Nkrumah founded.
In 2014 alone, the country recorded US$1.5 billionfoodstuffimport in– an area we are supposed to be doing well in if we are to prop up the decrepit Cedi and empower our people. The service sector, which gives the nation aglimmer of hope, is growing below projection, recording 4% growth below the preceding year, 2015. Until January 2016 when Ghanaians received some form of respite from a four-year power instability, poorly managed power cuts were the order of the day. As a result, many indigenous companies have folded up and many morepretending to be in business. Others, in what many industry watchers term prudent decision, have relocated to neighboring countries likeIvory Coast
and Burkina Faso .
The overall effect of this is a colossal $680 million revenue loss to the economy
in 2014 alone, according to the Institute for Social Statistical and Economic
Research.
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
Critics of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah have argued that he was not a saint and so should share in the current state of the nation. This, they argue, is because at the time of independence,
While I cannot gloss over these atrocities, it has to be said that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s positives far outweigh his negatives. The fact that Ghanaians and the world at large still hold him in high esteem fifty years after his overthrow speaks volumes. The fact that his achievements in all the areas of economic and social importance dwarf the those of all who have come after him put together speaks of his greatness.
At
In 2014 alone, the country recorded US$1.5 billionfoodstuffimport in– an area we are supposed to be doing well in if we are to prop up the decrepit Cedi and empower our people. The service sector, which gives the nation aglimmer of hope, is growing below projection, recording 4% growth below the preceding year, 2015. Until January 2016 when Ghanaians received some form of respite from a four-year power instability, poorly managed power cuts were the order of the day. As a result, many indigenous companies have folded up and many morepretending to be in business. Others, in what many industry watchers term prudent decision, have relocated to neighboring countries like
Education is said to be doing well in many regards, notably infrastructural development. But that's minuscule when compared with what the country’s contemporaries are recording. In a recent report carried by most media houses in
The foregoing are but a few distressing stories about the sorry state of
All hope is not lost, though. Before
Let us work together to return
Long live
By Stephen Agbai
The writer is a Supply Chain Management Practitioner, teacher and the producer ofAccra
based Prime 89.1 FM's weekend current affairs programme, WonsomWonsom. All
contributions and questions relating to this article can be sent to
agbai49@gmail.com.
The writer is a Supply Chain Management Practitioner, teacher and the producer of
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