On the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of Ghana’s weaning itself off the breast of the wicked colonialist British, the President of the land, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo gave a very resounding speech. A speech that was described as nationalistic in character and historically-inspiring.
He took us through our struggle as our people highlighting particular individuals who championed the cause of our liberation from the manacles of colonialism and shackles of imperialism. It was an impressive speech and apt and right for the occasion.
The President, some say must be hailed profoundly for doing that especially when he happens to be the son of one of the actors during the closing stages of our struggle against the wicked colonialists.
But the point must be made. One person stood when others sat. He was outstanding when they were standing and became our standard when they were outstanding. It is by nature itself. “History chooses unusual people and reveals itself through the drama of their lives.
It is also known that in all political struggles, there are individuals whose presence in the field of battle makes a difference.” This is captured in the emergence of Kwame Nkrumah on our political scene in the struggle for independence.
Nkrumah’s appearance on the stage of our independence struggle was the change factor. He was the catalyst. And with my little Science, I know catalysts change the reaction pathway and speed up the reaction. And so, he did it with energized momentum till we attained our independence.
It is by nature itself. There happens to be the one ‘most hailed and most celebrated’ amongst a group of people. And this ‘most hailed and most celebrated’ on most instances happen to be the most diligent in the cause. Let us take an example with Apartheid South Africa.
Six years before Mandela was born, the African National Congress was founded. On the fateful morning in Blomemfontein on January 8, 1912, as the founding fathers ( Isaka Seme, Sol Paatje, Reverened John Dube, Thomas Mapikela, Walter Rubusana etc) sang Enoch Sontonga’s Nkosi Sikelel’iAfrica, little did they know that their task of winning political power for the Blacks will forever end up to be synonymous with a child yet to be born six years later in 1918.
Nelson Mandela grew up in the village in a royal house. He had to run away to the city when he was told a wife had been arranged for him. He found himself in the city and got involved with Oliver Tambo, Albert Lithuli and the rest who initiated him into the struggle. In the end, he surpassed people who were already in the struggle or who were with him. The Ahmed Kathradas, the Robert Sobukwe Mangalisos, the Steve Bikos etc to become the one to bring Black South Africa into power.
And his name is now symptomatic to the cause of ending Apartheid in South Africa. The rest are somehow forgotten but it is just that history chose Mandela. So the point is simple. History chose Nkrumah and he stands tall. He is not only the greatest Ghanaian, but the Greatest African and one of the World’s greatest. He stands tallest. And it is this attribute of his that made him the magnetic factor wherever he found himself. Many of the people he associated with always have thoughts of his exceptional personality lingering in their minds and hearts.
When Ghana was declared independent sixty years ago, a lot of the American civil rights activists were in the country. Some were surprised at the impact a leader had on the vast majority of his people, the command he had over them and the overwhelming inspiration gained from his movements. The erstwhile President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama wrote in a piece:
“During Nkrumah’s time at the University of Pennsylvania, he helped to establish its African-studies section. He also established the African Students Association of America and Canada, and served as its first president.
Given all this, it is no wonder that some of the most notable black people in American history were present to witness the moment of Ghana’s independence: U. N. Undersecretary for Special Political Affairs Ralph Bunche, also a Nobel Peace Prize recipient; Sen. Charles Diggs; Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr.; Mordecai Johnson, the first black president of Howard University; international labor activist Maida Springer; Horace Mann Bond, the first black president of Lincoln University and the father of Julian Bond; Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King; and Lucille Armstrong, representing her husband, Louis, who could not attend.
Also present was then-Vice President Richard Nixon. A rather telling story has been written numerous times of how Nixon approached a group of black people whom he assumed to be Ghanaians and asked, “How does it feel to be free?”
Their response only emphasized a remark made to the vice president by Dr. King at a reception that was held two days prior to independence. It was the first time the two had ever met. “I want you to come visit us down in Alabama,” King said, “where we are seeking the same kind of freedom the Gold Coast is celebrating.”
Dr. King felt so much inspired that during a radio interview in Accra, he stated that “It renews my conviction in the ultimate triumph of justice. And it seems to me that this is fit testimony to the fact that eventually the forces of justice triumph in the universe, and somehow the universe itself is on the side of freedom and justice. So that this gives new hope to me in the struggle for freedom.”
When he returned home, he delivered a sermon titled The Birth of a New Nation. In that speech, he likened Nkrumah to Moses in the bible who led the Israelites out of bondage. He said: “the thing that impressed me more than anything else that night was the fact that when Nkrumah walked in, and his other ministers who had been in prison with him, they didn’t come in with the crowns and all of the garments of kings, but they walked in with prison caps and the coats that they had lived with for all of the months that they had been in prison.
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