At midnight on Tuesday evening, March 6th, 2007, I stood in the streets of Accra near Dr. Kwami Nkruma's mausoleum alongside thousands of Ghanaians to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ghana's independence. As bright fireworks filled night sky and people cheered with excitement I reflected on the significance of this day, the significance for Ghana, the whole of Africa, and the world.
For hundreds of years the fate of the Gold Coast was in foreign hands: In the 15th century the Portuguese were in control, and ivory and gold were quickly replaced by the trading of slaves. By the 16th century the Dutch, British, and Danes had all arrived to take part in the trading, and in the early 19th century when slavery was outlawed, the British had dominance of the coast. For the next hundred years there was much conflict between Ghanaian tribes fighting for control of each other and each other's land, as well as conflict between the tribes and the British.
However, despite conflict, under British control the Gold Coast experienced success; by WWI, cocoa, gold, and timber made the Gold Coast Africa's most prosperous colony and by independence in 1957 the future was only hopeful-- Ghana was a country that boasted both the best schools and the best civil service in West Africa.
A nation once rich in timber, diamonds and gold and the world's top exporter of cocoa, a nation formerly at the top with the promise of great development and success. Fifty years later battered by political repression, Ghana's economy crawls along, while a third of the people live on less than a dollar a day. Further, Ghana's seaside capital, Accra, suffers from increasing power outages, and tens of thousands of people in Accra have no running water and are forced to heft buckets and cans from water pumps to their homes.
On March 6, 1957, Ghana became the first country in Africa south of the Sahara to gain independence from colonial rule. And Dr. Kwami Nkruma, the first president, known as the liberator, declared: "At long last, the battle has ended. And Ghana, your beloved country, is free forever." But today, this Golden Jubilee prompts reflection on why Africa has failed to translate its dreams, and its abundance of mineral and agricultural resources, into wealth.
Current president, John A. Kufour has recognized the disappointing absence of development and the need to separate the future from the past: "Let us resolve to draw a firm line between our chequered and unhappy past and a future full of hope, achievement and fellow feeling."
The streets are lined with Ghana's flag, three stripes of color, starting at the top with red, yellow in the center, and green at the bottom, with a black star at the center of the yellow. With the anniversary's theme in mind, Championing African Excellence, I am reminded of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's vision of Ghana as the guiding light of African independence and solidarity, the black star. His dream was indeed fulfilled as Ghana led the way for other African colonies to earn emancipation from colonial rule but somehow, the lead has been lost. It is the story of promise unfulfilled, the story of a nation born to prosper but stalled by corruption and selfishness.
Ghana boasts fifty years of freedom from Europe, but now, the nation is enslaved by other, sometimes less recognizable forms of bondage, and the oppression of poverty has replaced the white man's oppression. I ask you to pray that God grants the people of Ghana vision, strength, and courage in the work that has to be done to move this country forward.
