President John Dramani Mahama has used the occasion of Ghana’s 69th Independence Anniversary to pay tribute to the nation’s founding President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, for championing the country’s liberation struggle.
“We cannot speak of Ghana’s present without paying homage to our past. Sixty-nine years ago, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah proclaimed to the world that ‘at long last the battle is ended and that Ghana, our beloved country, is free forever,’” President Mahama stated in his address at Ghana’s 69th Independence Day Anniversary Celebration Parade.
“He also added that ‘the independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent.’”
The event, held on the theme “Building Prosperity, Restore Hope,” took place at the Forecourt of the Presidency in Accra.
The special guest of honour was Dr Terrance Michael Drew, Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, who attended with his wife, Diani Jinesha Prince-Drew.
Also present were First Lady Lordina Mahama, Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, and former Presidents John Agyekum Kufuor and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
President Mahama said Dr Nkrumah did not only secure independence for Ghanaians but also awakened in them a sense of national consciousness and continental purpose.
He noted that starting with the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) and eventually the Convention People’s Party (CPP), together with countless unsung heroes and patriots, they sparked a movement that altered the course of African history.
“Today we honour the memory of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah and all others who have led this country after him,” President Mahama said.
“All of them have been part of our history and have brought us to this moment in our lives.”
President Mahama also paid tribute to other former leaders of the country, including General Joseph Arthur Ankrah, Lieutenant General Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa, Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia and General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.
Others mentioned were Lieutenant General Frederick William Kwasi Akuffo, former President Jerry John Rawlings, former President John Agyekum Kufuor, former President Professor John Evans Atta Mills and former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
“Every administration, regardless of its political inclination, has played its part in building the nation we all proudly call Ghana,” President Mahama said.
“Our democracy has endured because we have learned to compete without destroying, to disagree without hatred and to transfer power peacefully, which is evidence of the maturity and wisdom of the Ghanaian people.”
Touching on the presence of the guest of honour, President Mahama said Dr Terrance Drew’s presence carried great significance for Ghanaians.
He noted that the visit and their bilateral engagements represented more than diplomacy, describing it as a historic reconnection between Ghana and its brothers and sisters in the Caribbean—branches of the same ancestral tree.
The President said the dungeons of the Cape Coast and Elmina castles reminded Ghanaians of the dark chapters of history when millions of Africans were forcibly transported across the Middle Passage to the so-called New World.
He noted that from that tragedy emerged remarkable resilience, creativity and cultural brilliance that continue to influence the world.
“Today, Ghana is working with partners across Africa and the diaspora to seek historical justice,” President Mahama said.
“Later this month, Ghana will submit a motion to the United Nations declaring slavery and the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity.”
He reiterated that the motion would represent justice and restitution long overdue.
“And Ghana, the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain independence, will once again lead the global call for dignity and restoration,” the President said.
Source: GNA
