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So with the
new Republic of Ghana. The inauguration of the first President,
Dr Kwame Nkrumah,
on 1st July 1960 was an event which linked this rapidly developing country in West
Africa with a great empire that flourished in the Western Sudan for a thousand years
before it was overthrown by Islam in 1076.
For, according to tradition, the ancestors of the present people of Ghana were members
of this ancient Ghana Empire who fled south before the invaders and found refuge
in the West African forest area, later to be known as Ashanti, and along the coastal
plains. Against a background of such nature, the 'discovery' of the Gold Coast
By Portuguese gold traders in 1471, and the coast's subsequent
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contact with the English of the Gold Coast By Portuguese
gold traders in 1471, and the coast's subsequent contact with the English, Dutch,
Swedes, Danes and Brandenburgers, must seem comparatively recent.
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Moreover, it was not until the nineteenth century that Europeans
reached the interior and only in the twentieth century was British rule - which
began with the Bond of 1844 between Queen Victoria and certain chiefs along the
coast -established throughout the country.
Modern Ghana is thus rooted far more deeply in ancient African history than is often
realized. But the new republic is significant for still other reasons than this.
With birth, the struggle for freedom, which reached its peak in the years after
the Second World War, brought to a close.
Much has been written about this struggle, for it captured the imagination riot
only of dependent
Africa
but of thinking people everywhere. The formation of the Convention People's Party
by Dr Nkrumah in 1949 with the battle cry of 'Self-Government Now'; the party's
positive action policy which led to the imprisonment of Nkrumah and other party
members in 1950; the 1951 general election from which the CPP emerged victorious;
the immediate release from prison of Dr. Nkrumah to take office, first, as Leader
of Government Business and, virtually self-governing; and the continued pursuit
by the CPP government of full independence which was eventually achieved on 6th
March 1957 a nation-wide rejoicing all these events have been too fully described
elsewhere to need detailed repetition here. What does require emphasis is the fact
that, even with the attainment of full independence, the constitution of
Ghana
had nevertheless been enacted, not by
Ghana
's own legislature, but by the Parliament of the
United Kingdom
.
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Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Meets chiefs At Durbar
Thus it provided
for a system of parliamentary government similar to that of the
United Kingdom
and other Commonwealth countries, in which Parliament consisted of the Queen and
the National Assembly, the latter being elected for five years on a basis of universal
adult suffrage
Clearly, it is a fundamental right of a free and independent people to make their
own constitution. Moreover, though the constitution which had been inherited from
the United Kingdom Parliament had served the newly independent
Ghana
well enough it embraced provisions, institutions and customs which were deeply alien
to the country’s history and traditional way of life.
As a result, as
Ghana
herself matured into freedom, the need for constitutional reform became more and
more insistent. But even this is still not the full story behind the new Republic.
At no stage along the hard road to freedom did the government of
Ghana
regard independence as an end in itself. Seven years, almost to the day, before
his inauguration as President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah tabled a Motion of Destiny in the
Assembly. The actual date was 10th July 1953 and his speech introducing the motion
the Prime Minister (as he was then) declared: "Self-Government is a means to an
end , to the station in life. Our aim is to make this country a worthy place for
all citizens, a country that will be a shining light throughout the whole continent
of
Africa
, giving inspiration far beyond its frontiers".
These words express an ambition far broader than independence, an ambition covering
both the countries internal development and the role it felt called upon to play
in resurgent
Africa
. As the former objective is concerned, there can be no doubt that much has been
achieved; though many stills remain to be done. In the ten years that have passed
since the CPP first became the governing party, a revolution has
taken
place in almost every sphere of the national life, from education, health
and social services to provision of adequate communications and public services
and the diversification of agriculture and industry which is recognized to be essential
if the country’s economic dependence on cocoa is to be reduced.As far as Ghana's
external influence is concerned; the record is no less impressive.
It includes, among other notable achievements, the historic conference of Independent
African States held in Accra in 1958, the Union of Ghana and Guinea in 1958 and
of Guinea and Mali in 1961, and of course, Ghana’s strong support of the united
nations, her resolute condemnation of apartheid in South Africa and her important
contribution towards solving the crisis in Congo. Once again the policy behind all
this is best expressed by quoting from a speech on foreign policy given by Dr Nkrumah
in
December 1959,
In Ghana we regard our independence as meaningless unless we are able to
use the
freedom that goes with it to help other African people to be free and independent,
to liberate the entire continent of Africa from foreign domination and ultimately'
to establish a Union of African States.' It is against this wider objective that
the decision to adopt a republican constitution must be set if it is to be seen
iii its true perspective. For, just as political independence was essential to the
country’s social and economic progress, so constitutional reform was essential if
Ghana was to play her part in the great and ultimate aim of Africa free and united.
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