After a historical feat in 1957, and declaring Ghana’s Independence, it was not enough to have independence and be dependent in terms of laws among others from the British.
By this, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah , the then Prime Minister and other Ghanaian leaders, pushed for Ghana to become a sovereign state from Britain headed by Queen Elizabeth II and represented in Ghana by Lord Listowel(24 June 1957 - 1 July 1960).
This was granted on 1st July, 1960 after that year’s constitution was ratified. This led to an election which was won by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and became the first President of Ghana.
Just after assuming office, the President started with so many developmental programmes which included the Akosombo dam which continues to supply Ghana with hydro-electricity. The country set off on the path of development and soon became the name on lips of many around the globe with several countries coming to learn from Ghana on how to develop including Malaysia.
Since the ousting of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in 1966, the development of the country has suffered many setbacks due to different military interference in democratic processes allowing countries such as Malaysia to overtake Ghana in terms of development.
Though Ghana returned to democracy in 1993 under Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, the years spent in overthrowing one regime to the other can never be recovered but should continue to remind every Ghanaian of how the past can influence the future.
Ghana is often is referred to the “beacon of hope” of Africa but politics of today tend to divide peace-loving Ghanaians than unite us making development move at a very slower pace than it should.
Though there seems to be lot of doubt in the minds of people as to whether Ghana can ever recover from the political “shocks” it experienced between 1966 and 1992, I am very hopeful that, dedicated and patriotic Ghanaians can keep the dream of the country’s fore-fathers on course regardless of it broken past.
No comments:
Post a Comment