Ghana independence in perspective

This write up tells the story of why and how the Gold Coast colony, now Ghana, saw the need for independence as something very imperative.

A BRIEF HISTORY of HOW THE EUROPEANS ARRIVED in Turns as TRADING PARTNERS, THEN, LATER TRANSFORMED INTO SLAVE TRADING, and to COLONIALISM

The Arabs had been travelling on donkeys and horseback from North Africa to trade along the coasts, bartering away handwoven Arabian fabrics and other manufactured goods, etc for gold, salt and occasionally, on a small scale, in exchange for domestic slaves. This was quite a long time before around 1471, the Danish traders, the Swedes, the Prussian, Portuguese, Dutch, and the British arrived in turns successively by sea.

At that time, there only existed Kingdoms, comprising communities of varying sizes, but nothing like a country called Gold Coast or Ghana. Upon the Europeans arrival and involvement in normal trading, as time passed, European interest in engaging domestic servants attracted their interest in the on-going trade in humans between the Arabs and the West Africans. After a few decades of their presence in what became the then Gold Coast, the British antagonised the Danes, the Dutch etc into despair, pushing them into loss of interest in the West African trade, upon which they sold their assets, including principally, the Christianborg Castle, built in the 1660s.

Arriving along the coast as petty traders and companies trading in European manufactured goods, trade in humans as slaves was subsequently seen to be more attractive and lucrative, and soon took over the usual barter in normal manufactured wares. Ammunition such as guns and gunpowder were exchanged for humans.

After the legal abolition of slave trade, European presence along our coastal communities and Kingdoms quickly reverted back into trading in manufactured goods. So, in order to secure their interest in peace and tranquillity within our communities where they had come to colonise as their business home, these domineering British decided to take over control of the ruling of our Kingdom communities, however, by agreeing jointly to govern with the traditional chiefs.

All administrative activities by the British traders were referred back to the UK, and accordingly ratified by the parliament of Westminster, in London. This is a brief outline of the beginning of British colonialism in ancient Gold Coast. It is also what subsequently necessitated self - awareness, and a need for self - rule and independence.

THE POST - SLAVE TRADE ERA

Slave trade had legally ended after 200 years of its existence, and replaced with colonialism, a euphemistic post-slave trade substitution for subjecting and perpetuating the slave/trading communities in slavery. After grabbing all the other European assets along the coastline into their fold, from 1876, the British named all of their aggregated areas as the Gold Coast, by reason of an abundance of gold that was obtained from the region.

Under freeloading British Colonial rule, all the wealth accrued to the Gold Coast colony was by law, channelled to the UK government, leaving nothing for the communities. It was not until in the early 1920s, when Frank Gordon Guggisberg came to govern the region, that the Gold Coast started seeing at least, some socio-economic development and accumulation of funds to create a kitty for the governed in the Gold Coast.

THE BOND OF 1844

From the beginning to around the mid - nineteenth century, British hegemony was increasingly felt in their assumed colony. The Fanti communities had been particularly vulnerable, whiles the recently vanquished Asante Kingdom had been under constant attacks. In the wisdom of their traditional leaders, they had developed awareness of an unacceptable continuum of serfdom under British foreign rule.

They had also acknowledged their probable position as underdogs under a joint rulership of these foreign invaders who had with them, a huge arsenal of better sophisticated weapons. The traditional rulers sought wisdom in discretion as the better part of valour, and avoided any form of further bloody military confrontation, by agreeing to a conditional submission to colonialism, under a jointly signed bond in1844, popularly known in Ghana history as the Bond of 1844.

This was to be for a period of one hundred years of unfettered British rule agreement, reached between the British and the indigenous people of the Gold Coast, spanning from 1844 to 1944, though, not without occasional military confrontations, particularly between the invading British and the Ashantis. It was an agreement, out of which was conceived, and from which was given birth to the struggle for self - government, and subsequently, independence. Some of its precursor reminders include the John Mensah-Sarba-led Aborigines Rights Protection Society.

PREPARATION FOR LIBERATION

From where Mensah-Sarba, George Ekin Ferguson and others left off in the struggle, Dr J.B Danquah, a young Oxford University qualified Barrister came to continue from 1934, with a series of correspondence and self - government discussions with the British, including Court rulings in favour of his proposed self - government agreement suites. A purported self - government arrangement was to be accomplished in 1944, but this was circumstantially extended, because there had not yet been established any replacement political organisation.

In view of this, the UGCC was formed on 4th August 1947. Following further struggles and negotiations, self - government was granted in 1952; followed by independence in 1957, instead of an earlier self - government to be granted, and independence in 1954, a time calculated to coincide with a historic 110th anniversary of the Bond of 1844, as originally planned by Dr J B Danquah.

INDEPENDENCE, and RECHRISTENING of the GOLD COAST COLONY to GHANA

In anticipation of a timely preparation for self - government and independence respectively, whiles aiming at a removal of all traces of slavery and colonialism, Dr J B Danquah had spent time and effort, finding a suitable name for a conceived new born nation in expectation.

In 1946, upon research into historical and ancestral organicism of the people of Western Sudan, he found an answer in West Sudanese history, where he arrived at the name Gana, currently spelt Ghana, the ancestral home of the Akans and the people of the north of present Ghana. His equally dedicated and patriotic colleagues of later to be formed UGCC, had approved, assented, and adopted it for rechristening an expected infant independent nation soon to be declared.

The final formal declaration of this event, following decades of struggle initiated earlier by J E Caseley Hayford, and inspirational mentors like Ekra Agyeman etc, and followed on by Dr J B Danquah, Prince Brew, George Grant, E O Obetsebi Lamptey, William Ofori-Atta, Dr Ako-Adjei, and Edward Akufo-Addo was made by Nkrumah, on 6th March, 1957.

Nkrumah had seceded from the UGCC just after three months of his membership as general secretary, to form his communist - inspired CPP. Irrespective of the time and effort put in by Dr J B Danquah et-al, they were smeared and vilified by the CPP and its leadership, and never saw the light of day for outdooring the much anticipated grand liberational celebration that was eventually achieved through years of struggle.

ORGANICISM of CHARACTER and CONDUCT

Connoting self - reliance embodying self-dependency, the Ghana Independence has been meant to liberate Ghanaians from dependency whiles in serfdom under colonialist dominion. It was meant for a liberation of the people from iron - fisted foreign hands, into empathetic palms of better caring and sympathetic own genre indigenous Ghanaians as governors.

Ghana Independence has meant rulership by the indigenous, with some sense of sensitivity, due regard and respect to indigenous culture and tradition. It was with an expectation of responsible Ghanaians, naturally endowed with some sense of commitment and dedication to serve and provide for the country and for Ghanaians, with an aim for the people to feel, enjoy and acknowledge their human dignity, national pride and envigorated ethos, just to mention a few.

NATIONAL PRIDE and ETHOS

A supposed pride in dignity of our much talked about independence, which should have been founded, established, enjoyed and celebrated on an organistic culture and tradition, has been rubbished and thrown to the dogs. Everything in Ghana today is imported, including the food we eat.

Even Ghana Parliament has preferred China - made foreign chairs to the handicraft of local Ghanaian artisans, for furnishing the legislative house. This notwithstanding, parliament has an effrontery to only exhort Ghanaians to clad themselves in made - in - Ghana clothes, and nothing else, as something just for the nonce.

Even our preferred lingual expression is in a foreign tongue (English). This suggests that we have not yet shed the shackles of slavery and colonialism off our minds, our thoughts and conduct of character.

Furthermore, a militarised revolutionary anthem, sung in English, the content of which most Ghanaians can hardly recite, is preferred to an inspirational and thought provoking anthem composed and sung in Akan, that is easily translatable and singable in all other Ghana languages with the same tune to arouse an expected and achievable motivational import.

What a Ghanaian political sycophant would mean by oppression, and oppressor's rule in that abstract prayer anthem, and in terms of its reality in Ghana is hypocritically ridiculous. These are by themselves, the oppressors.

Do ask any Ghanaian, " what makes you Ghanaian?, " and the only answer is a birth certificate. The average Ghanaian has no sense of patriotism, no sense of commitment to Ghana, and therefore lacks dedication and submission to building a nation to be proud of.

INDEPENDENCE of DEPENDENCY

There has been a continuance of dependency, mostly of financial help nature from donors, in sumptuous gratuitous grants, as well as repayable loans from other lending sources.

IMF, and World Bank loans are just to mention the least. Loans from other sources add up to over US$ 29 billion, with an additional IMF bailout of US$940 as at today, and in the history of an independent Ghana, yet there is little or nothing to point to, as being a product of this magnitude of loans. Roads and all other social and public infrastructure that are currently extant in an independent Republic of Ghana, as well as the state of affairs, such as cost, and standard of living in Ghana are simply unbearable, and nothing to discuss about. The local currency, the cedi, is out of breath in the international competitive race, it is so tired and weakening beyond survival.

BENEFITS of POST - INDEPENDENT GHANA

Self - government and independence have collectively benefited only a privileged few, but not the country or its citizens as a whole.

Our leaderships have particularly learned the art of pillaging and malversation, having been well accomplished in robbery of any of Ghana's assets that can be laid hands on. Today, Ghana is broke, and the ordinary Ghanaian suffers. The Ghanaian leader of today, is the least compassionate to the plight of his own people, as Ghanaians increasingly and endlessly endure pain and hardships inflicted by their own kith and kin.

Government officials do not only cheat, they spume, they taunt and pour scorn at hapless citizens of Ghana with impunity. Ghanaians have lost trust in the cleresy, because, given the least opportunity to be in a position of trust, they are easily and predictably carried away into self - indulgence. They would readily shed off, and disregard any need for conducting themselves on the noble paths and principles of propriety. Ghanaian leaders have the rare and irresponsible temerity to propagandise to the public that people should be told blatant lies, by substituting a sheep for a bull, just to obscure by creating political convenience for a ruling party.

GREED and SELF - SEEKING GHANA LEADERSHIP

To wit, a post - independence Ghana circumstances for most Ghanaians, has combined all malicious calculations associated with the hunger of dwelling too long in poverty and want, a situational circumstance that has been born out of bad and greedy leadership. This has made the mentality of most Ghanaians into that of such ravenous brutes, with an insatiable capacity for grabbing for themselves what is presumed to have eluded them for ages whiles living in misery and want, either due to deprivation, or their own indolence. It is therefore difficult to determine which crop and breed of Ghanaians will likely be, and who will not be a cheat and a thief, if given any leadership opportunity of any magnitude.

The weight of a self - made burden of bondage has increased ten fold, hence over weighing Ghanaians; an onerous weight that is increasingly becoming more and more arduous to bear than ever before.

INEQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION of JURIDICAL, SOCIAL and ECONOMIC JUSTICE as MILITATING FACTOR

In Ghana today, selective justice, and payment for justice delivery is commonplace in a country obnubilated in the worst from of corruption in all public places, and with no exception. Ghanaians are required, even including beggars, disadvantaged disabled, children etc, to access fairness and Justice only through bribery. Women suffer the most in this culture of some form of exchange for fairness, yet this is an unalienable right that must be accorded as of right.

Justice and fairness have been accorded as of right and by law, even under foreign colonial rule. Injustice and unfairness reside overtly in the province of the Police administration particularly and commonly in the Judiciary. Fairness in administration of justice has seen its sharpest reversal for the worst, ever since our own fellow Ghanaians took over the leadership role of the Gold Coast, now Ghana.

Ghanaians are treated worst than slaves by our own people who have assumed the role of gerents. Leaders have neither conscience, empathy nor sense of shame. They are neo-colonialist molesters of same Ghana extraction, who do their callous molestation here on our own soil, and in post - independence Ghana.

Wherein then should lie people's interest, freedom of will, enthusiasm, conatus, emotion, or any form of elated spirit to celebrate their own doom and gloom with pomp and pageantry? Those who are most likely to celebrate this annual occasion in these circumstances, unfortunately do so by some compulsive duty, but not out of their own volition.

Even the Americans, Canadians, Australians, Indians, Singapore, Malaysia etc, who have a lot to show, and pride themselves with, as post - independence development and achievement, do not behave the way poverty - stricken Ghana, and indigent Ghanaians do, in appetance to celebrate independence day anniversary.

CELEBRATION

This discussion, though phillipic in style and content on especially the political leadership, it is neither designed to downplay on the importance nor to condemn the idea and struggle for Ghana's independence that has been benevolently fought for, by our well - meaning and good - natured forefathers. It is rather an expression of dismay, dispair and discontentment with the state of affairs in Ghana that have bedecked a supposed independent country for well over half a century. Unmerited bitter competition of rancorous and divalent accusations that set in at the the final stages, has clouded the path of Ghana's destiny.

The hilarity that greeted the occasion in March 1957, has rapidly faded away within a short while, occasioning a sharp ideological split, a deep political gulf that has perdured to this day, as Ghanaians struggle and grope in darkness. This script is an awareness creation to arouse Ghanaians into self - assertiveness; it is to nudge, and to infuse into Ghanaians of small mindedness into a sharp thinking community of high - flying achievers.

For most of the life of post - independent Ghana, leadership has apparently been in reckless, time wasting, and adventurous suppositious hands. If the colonialists could make the best out of the land and its resources to enrich their mother country, why can't we indigenous Ghanaians do same or far better for our own people? It is not to say that there has been total mis-leadership, indeed there have been positives. This is not a time to praise and blame various leaderships.

In regard therefore to the worth of celebrating the occasion, in my humble opinion, there have been too many ups and downs in carving Ghana's post - independence future. Ghana Independence has for many periods of its life, only worth remembering, and therefore not worth celebrating.

It is worth its due remembrance in consideration of the time and effort put in by our forefathers that they must not be in vain; and also in order that it will stay in mind through generations. It is to be remembered in its due solemn commemorative mood, by reason of the painful effect it has had on its supposed beneficiaries, whiles waiting for an appropriate prospective exhilarating restart when things get better and progressing. When constructive achievements and development begin to import due contentment under better and meaningfully guided leadership.

Current annual celebrations in these conditions and circumstances can best be termed as a vanity fair. It is vainglorious in style and content; it is void of anything reassuring for the benefit of the present and the future. Celebrant leaderships and institutions know very well that it is deceptive and criminally orientated to mislead Ghanaians as to what reality there should be.

The only hope is the aspiration that, to everything there is always a turn. But this comes with a worry that Ghanaians are our own self-destroyers. Some Ghanaians are enamoured to sycophancy. Herd - following fawning Ghanaians would heap undeserved honour and praises on leaderships of destruction and criminality. For this reason, Ghanaians are responsible for this our mischievous plight.

This is indeed a trend that we can reverse by coming to a realisation of our own detrimental conduct and misdeeds committed, either by consciously or unconsciously; physically, morally, emotionally or sentimentally contributing to it.

WAKE UP, GHANAIANS!!!

Self - awareness bells are sounding more than too loud to disturb Ghanaians in such a deep slumber. Therefore, even if the reading and listening public choose not to be disturbed today, they may have reason to be tomorrow. If the better self awareness and enlightenment stream, flowing out today do not prevail on us in our present life time, it will do so later, however, until how late we should wait for it to happen, is what should be everybody's concern.

It is in this regard that all good - hearted patriots are called upon to deliver such deafening conclamation, denouncing all post - independence ills plaguing our dear country, Ghana, by asking for all hands to be on deck, to force and turn the steering wheels of this self inflicted misfortune on Ghana our motherland, onto a path of exemplary and meaningful development in prosperity.

Ghanaians can no longer live in contentment of this raging, haughty and annoying menacing conduct of public officials, in perpetuity of quiescence whiles governors bask themselves in opulence. Ghanaians are treated to a spate of propaganda of meanness and mediocrity. We must ask from our leadership, and be granted without any hesitation, a governed life worth living; a life and living that is plenished with due dignity, gravity, and respect.

PETER ANTWI BOASIAKO. LONDON