Ghana: When Independence day becomes a ho-hum affair, it's a good sign
On this day, Ghana's founding father said the country must show 'the black man is capable of managing his own affairs.' It's a lesson Ghanaians 鈥� the first black African nation to throw off colonialism 鈥� have taken home.
On this day, Ghana's founding father said the country must show 'the black man is capable of managing his own affairs.' It's a lesson Ghanaians 鈥� the first black African nation to throw off colonialism 鈥� have taken home.
Fifty-five years ago today, Ghana became the first black African nation to gain independence from a colonial power. As the Ghana Broadcasting Corp.聽reported today, apparently without great enthusiasm, 鈥淭he day will as usual be marked all over the country with parades of security agencies, school children, workers, and other groups.鈥�
When independence day becomes a ho-hum affair, it's a good sign. It means freedom is the accepted norm.聽
The path of independence has not been easy. Kwame Nkrumah 鈥� the pan-Africanist leader who galvanized various different tribes into a single nation, and then was overthrown in a 1966 coup for overstaying his welcome 鈥� told his countrymen that their success depended on common effort for the greater good.
For all the hype, Ghana is not the first African nation to attain independence. That title goes to Liberia, which was founded by freed American slaves in 1847.
But the pride and hope of Nkrumah鈥檚 speech, and the enthusiasm of the crowd, helped set off a wave of independence movements across the continent that didn鈥檛 stop until the end of apartheid in 1994. Given how many African nations followed Ghana toward independence 鈥� some peacefully, others fitfully 鈥� it鈥檚 natural to think of this day as a collective rebirth-day for Africa.
Among the leaders of the 54 nations that make up independent Africa, there were philosophers like Mr. Nkrumah, Senegal鈥檚 Leopold Senghor, and Tanzania鈥檚 Julius Nyerere; in addition, there were functionaries, pawns, and thugs. The state of relative freedom found in each country varies considerably, largely because of the efforts of these men, but as the American novelist Richard Wright wrote during a 1953 visit to Ghana in his book 鈥淏lack Power,鈥� the natural drive for freedom among Africans was the same everywhere.
Ghana has had its achievements and disappointments, and like far too many other West African nations, its coups d鈥櫭﹖at. Yet human rights organizations such as the New York-based Freedom House regularly praise Ghana for its overall adherence to the rule of law and the right to free expression of political views. And when President Obama made his one and only trip to Africa as president, in July 2009, it was in Ghana that he stopped off and delivered a speech about Africa鈥檚 promise.聽
With the discovery of oil, some observers are asking if Ghana can retain its reputation for freedom and relatively effective governance. Surely the answer to that question will come from the Ghanaian people themselves.