On 6th March 1957, President Kwame Nkrumah captured the spirits of our forefathers through his soul-stirring speech. As we celebrate 60 years of nationhood, the president’s address on 6th March must be equally compelling.
Presidential speeches are one of the tools for not only informing minds but inspiring hearts, for not only sharing views but shaping views and capturing the spirits of a people to move them to achieve a certain end. The president must make maximum use of his gift of the gab to mobilize Ghanaians to achieve the vision of our forebears.
To achieve this end, it is my humble suggestion that his 6th March address be written around four pillars. It must be historical, realistic, philosophical and futuristic. At the intersection of these is inspiration. It must be written around a central unifying theme of hope and possibilities.
Whiles the event is celebrative in nature, the speech must be more inspirational and forward looking. Though we can point to certain things to be proud of, we’ve more achievements to realize in the future than we’ve achieved in the past. In addition, the inspiration must not be just the ‘feel-good’ type but one grounded in facts from our history, individual and collective achievements and the bold steps we’re taking to get there.
The first pillar of the president’s address is the historical pillar. This addresses the questions “where are we coming from and who are we?” It refers to our history and identity. History can be used as a tool to inspire and instruct. He can achieve this if he reminds us of what our forebears fought for, what they had to sacrifice to win that fight, what they dreamt of for the new Ghana, the principles and values they stood for.
He must also mine into our origins, evolution and identity and draw inspiration from it for the 21st century Ghanaian. You can awaken the giant within anyone if you can convince him that his lineage is one of greatness.
For instance, our name Ghana alone is laden with inspiration because it means “warrior kings” and a lot can be done with it for inspirational purposes. Highlighting historical and present-day figures, historical events and achievements can reinforce the idea that we don’t only have gold in our land, we have gold in our people. Our history must be used as a tool to make us feel proud again in being Ghanaians. It must make us believe in Ghana again.
Though it should be historical, it shouldn’t be a lecture in history or political science. Any scintilla of information that suggests that one political tradition performed better than the other will sway attention away from the central theme and ultimate goal of the speech. No word, phrase, statement or paragraph must draw attention away from the theme and create needless, divisive national debate. The address mustn’t trigger debate between Nkrumahists, the Busia-Danquah and Dombo tradition, the Rawlingses or any clones of Nkrumah.
The second pillar is making it realistic or facing reality. This answers the question “where are we” as a nation. This is where he does a SWOT analysis as a nation and takes stock of our assets and liabilities. It must reveal the strengths that lie within us, the opportunities that lie around us and the assets we own to inspire hope and unveil the possibilities in our future.
The weaknesses within us, the threats around us and the liabilities we have to pay are also another dimension of the reality of our nationhood that we must face head on. They reveal what we must change to make Ghana great. However, he must not belabor our problems. Rather, he should encourage us that we can overcome them and pledge his commitment to lead us to overcome.
The third pillar is the philosophical pillar and this is where he draws lessons from our journey from independence to now. Within our experiences as a people lie nuggets of wisdom that teach us what works and what doesn’t work in building a nation. For instance, dictatorship in its varied forms, military intervention, military rule, over-reliance on foreign aid, negative attitudes, bribery and corruption et cetera doesn’t work for us.
Visionary leadership, democracy, private sector development, education, positive attitudes are what works for us. He must however tread cautiously so that he doesn’t enter the minefield where he touches on issues from our history that divide us rather than unite. Remember, it is not an election victory speech, a state of the nation address or a budget statement. The spirit of the speech must be closer to his inaugural address.
Finally, a memorable 6th March presidential address must be futuristic. This will address the question of “where are we going?” If you unpack Kwame Nkrumah’s 6th March speech you’ll discover a lot of inspiration sparked by a focus on the future.
Mr. President, you succinctly captured your manifesto promises so well during your campaign in your “one-this-one-that” format. Probably, you should consider reframing them. Frame where you’re leading this country in other specific, measurable and inspiring goals. In doing this, don’t just tell us where you’re taking us, show us where you’re leading us to.
Who are we? Where are we coming from? Where are we? Where are we going? How can we get there? And please spice it with a relevant story or two. But at the end of the day, the decisions, conduct and actions of the president and his appointees before and after 6th March will either give life to or kill all that he says on 6th March. God Bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong.
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
