FOR a country to clock 60 years is no mean achievement. Ordinarily at 60 years one is expected to rest and enjoy the fruits of his/her toils. It is a time that one looks back at what he or she has been able to accomplish on this planet earth.
YES, Ghana has come a long way since the attainment of independence from our British colonial masters on March 6, 1957. It was a day that our forbearers indeed savoured which day has continued to be celebrated by generations upon generations in this country.
AS usual our 60th Independence Day (Monday, March 6th), was commemorated with a parade at the Black Star Square. It was indeed an event to behold. It was colourful and also presented once again an opportunity for us as Ghanaians to sell our rich culture to the world.
HOWEVER, it is worth mentioning that last Monday’s Independence Day parade will not mark an end to our 60th birthday anniversary and that it will be celebrated throughout the year. It means therefore that a series of important events have been lined up in commemoration of the anniversary.
BUT beyond the pomp and pageantry that normally characterises 6th March celebrations it is important to take a retrospective look into how we started as an independent country and how far we have come as a people. Obviously, there is no denying the fact that Ghana has not made some progress.
FROM 1957 to date it will be unfair for anybody to say that Ghana has not chalked some success. If for nothing at all some infrastructure works have been embarked upon over the period, schools have been built, communities which did not have electricity have been provided with power and so has potable water been extended to many more, among other development projects.
BUT, like President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo bemoaned, many Ghanaians today continue to wallow in abject poverty. After clocking 60, we talk about poverty-stricken regions like the Central, Northern, Upper East and Upper West. These are places where poverty is widespread. It is sad that we continue to see preventable diseases such as malaria and cholera killing our citizens just because we litter our environments indiscriminately without any shame.
IT is from the aforementioned that Today agrees in toto with President Akufo-Addo that we do not have any excuse to continue wallowing in poverty. Today, a country like Malaysia that Ghana had independence with the same year—1957—is way ahead of us in terms of development. So the question is what happened to Ghana along the line?
THIS is not a time to apportion blame(s) but a time to reflect and see what could have been accomplished if we had all contributed our quota towards making Ghana a prosperous nation. It is for this reason that we see the president’s rallying call on Ghanaians to mobilise for a prosperous future as one in the right direction
“LET us mobilise for the happy and prosperous Ghana of tomorrow, in which all of us, including our youth, our women and the vulnerable in our society, will have equal opportunities to realise their potential, and build lives of dignity. Then, our independence will be meaningful. Then, we will have a Ghana beyond aid,” President Akufo-Addo said when he delivered his independence speech last Monday.
THE fact is nobody will come and make Ghana a prosperous nation. It is our responsibility to contribute to ensure that Ghana becomes the great nation we all crave for. This will happen when we offer a helping hand to our governments to enable them succeed. And this begins with the Akufo-Addo-led administration.
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