GHANA @60 : Message from GRASAG-USA
In his independence speech on the 6th of March 1957, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah announced to a mammoth crowd “At long last, the battle has ended. And thus, Ghana, your beloved country is free forever”.
Two days earlier on the 4th March 1957, the coat of arms had been put together with its motto as “Freedom and Justice”. Freedom was a common theme.
We have been freed from the conquest of Britain but the legacies of colonialism frustrated our quest to be truly free. The new country was beset with economic hardships and coup d’états. We became a faceless mass but we had agency. It is that agency on the part of our leaders and people, which has made Ghana a beacon of Africa’s democracy and development. Looking back sixty years, we have reasons to celebrate and perhaps pat ourselves on the back. We have reason to celebrate.
Anniversaries are not celebrated because things are perfect, they are celebrated to mark progress and to reflect on the challenges ahead. As we soldier on to build the kind of country we want, it is time to put education at the forefront. A holistic education that puts us into contact with our problems and with each other. An education that leads us to pursue a nuanced understanding of each other and build productive forms of community.
If you are a doctor, this is the time to have absolute dedication to your patients. If you are a lawyer, you don’t only represent rich clients but you represent the poor in court as well. If you are a journalist, you pursue the truth, putting the government on its toes. If you are a teacher, you teach dutifully with the mindset that you are shaping the next generation. If you hold public office, you eschew corruption but embrace fairness and responsibility. As we celebrate sixty years of independence, we have to remind ourselves of the animating values of freedom and justice. If indeed, we are more than just a set of borders, but people who subscribe to these values, then let’s go do better. Let us be better! Ayekoo! Ghana.
GRASAG-USA wishes Ghana a Happy 60th Anniversary. Tswa Omanye aba!
Message by Christian Asante (Massachusetts State Representative: GRASAG-USA)