Ghanaians in Trondheim –Norway on Saturday observed the 55th independence anniversary of their homeland with a solemn appeal for the citizenry to be at peace with each other and strive for unity.
A lecturer at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Prof John Osei -Tutu who made the call said the best culture Dr Kwame Nkrumah and others fought for was independence in 1957, which pulls all Ghanaians together as a nation despite their ethnic strata to be in charge of their political destiny.
“Sixth March 1957 is our culture because it unites us as a people,” he said.
He noted that the culture of insult in the Ghanaian political discourse is becoming a norm, which must stop because it could only explode into violence if it is not curtailed or eradicated especially as Ghana approaches the climax of the 2012 general election in December.
“The culture of insult is an indication that we are becoming bankrupt of ideas,” he said and advised politicians to make ideas and issues the king pin in discussions for the progress of Ghana.
Prof Osei-Tutu said election is not the end of the world and that it was just a means to an end.
He expressed wonder why political opponents behind the scenes had good relationship with each other but behave as arch enemies when they appear on political platforms and called on them to disabuse the minds of Ghanaians that they are at war with each other.
He called on Ghanaians to be motivated by the nationalist spirit, which energised the founding fathers of Ghana.
He said unless that was done Africa for that matter Ghana could not match the West in anyway in terms of development.
He said although Ghanaians are very religious they do not transform their religiosity into economic development, adding that God had given enough resources for Ghana to succeed economically but this could only materialise when Ghanaians adopt better attitude to work and avoid waste.
Dr Lily Appoh a psychologist and research fellow at NTNU said Ghana’s independence celebration was significant because it was the evidence as espoused by the First President Dr Nkrumah that blacks were capable of taking charge of their own affairs.
“It offers us the opportunity to reflect on how far we have come as a nation,” she said, adding that Ghana had achieved a lot after independence but much remained to be done.
She noted that Ghana’s record on maternal mortality after 55 years of independence was not good enough and thanked the First Lady Mrs Naadu Mills for taking up the issue.
She called on the government to come out with workable policies to provide efficient medical care for pregnant women during and after pregnancy especially those in the rural areas.
She called on the politicians to be tolerant with other and be committed to peace ahead of the 2012 elections.
Mr Anass Nii-Armah Ammah President of the Ghanaian Student Association of NTNU said people who do not know their history and conscious of it have no future, adding that the independence celebration every year gave the opportunity for Ghanaians to reflect upon their annals.
He commended the government of Ghana for coming to Norway to learn its petroleum management practices which he described as the best in world.
He noted that through Norway’s prudent management of petroleum resources the country have enough to give scholarship to Africans to study.
The event which was organised by the Ghanaian students in NTNU brought people from other African countries- Norwegians, Germans and other Europeans to learn about Ghana.
At the apex of the event was the display of Ghanaian dances and dishes.
The expression was found in the display of Adowa, Agbadza and highlife music and dishes such as banku and okro soup, omo tuo, yakayaka, ampesi.
As a curtain raiser to the event, there was a debate between Ghanaian and Nigerian students with the proposition: “Is Chinese current intervention the panacea for Africa’s development?”
There was also thanks giving service that led to prayers for Ghana.
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