In congratulating Ghana on its 50 years of independence, the FD believes we must also extract lessons from their walk of freedom over these years.
Ghana's independence in 1957 ushered in a new wave of change sweeping over sub-Saharan Africa. Being the first country to gain freedom from colonial rule, there was much interest in following the way its new government, under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah, would perform. For instance, at the time of its independence, Ghana was producing 10% of the world's gold.
The road ahead, based on successful transformation to an independent state, appeared to bring a dawn of new hope to the Ghanaians who were led by their own kind. The leadership and intellectual qualities of Kwame Nkrumah were well suited for the challenges facing an independent Ghana.
It is sad to say that, after 50 years of independence, Ghanaians have very little to celebrate. We believe that the will to succeed at governing the country was uppermost in the minds of the leadership when they took possession of the land in 1957. However, what Nkrumah and his government were not able to do was to know how to rule over a pluralistic and independent-minded citizenry.
The eventual legacy of the rule of Nkrumah was one of dictatorship, imprisonment of opponents and creating a one-party state. The country's leaders over the subsequent years adopted this leadership style. If Ghana wishes to rid itself of this governing style, they will have to undertake a commission of inquiry into the root causes of their present troubles and deal with legacies left by bad leadership. Even though a country may have huge economic and social obstacles to overcome, we cannot agree with the words expressed in the news article by Gamal Nkrumah, the son of Kwame Nkrumah, who said: "Although we have a viable multi-party democracy in Ghana today, the problem in Africa is that democracy does not feed the people."
Democracy is the better of the creative energies of humanity to work for the good of all. We must ensure that we have the right mechanisms in place to ensure a just and equitable society. I thank you.