As the clock struck midnight on 6 March 1956, the British Union Jack flag was lowered at Accra’s polo grounds and replaced with a new flag consisting of red, green and yellow horizontal stripes and a black star in the centre. This ceremony, which was witnessed by multitudes of excited Africans, marked the end of British colonialism in what was then known as the Gold Coast – and the birth of a new nation known as Ghana. It was a momentous occasion, not just for the people of the new nation but for the entire continent, as it indicated that the winds of freedom that had first gathered in the northern part of Africa were sweeping southwards.
Ghana’s story can never be fully told without mention of the man who raised the new flag on that day 69 years ago. That man was Kwame Nkrumah – the country’s first post-independence leader. He lived an incredible life dedicated to the liberation of African people at home and abroad. Nkrumah had set his sights on liberating the entire continent, not just his homeland.
To mark the occasion of Ghana’s independence, we share this famous quote by Nkrumah – stating that his country’s freedom would only be complete when other African countries also smashed the shackles of European colonialism. His message of unity is one that Africans, both at home and in the diaspora, still need to heed: we are only as strong as our weakest link.
Happy Independence Day, Ghana!
Sources
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/ztnwjsg#zv4djsg
https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/kwame-nkrumah-and-the-quest-for-independence/