By Stephen Asante
Accra, Aug. 04, GNA – President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has asked the citizenry to stand up to the vision of the nation’s forebears to “get Ghana where it should be”.
The people ought to make the struggle for a free and independent nation count by upholding the rule of law, respect for individual liberties and human rights, and the principles of democratic accountability.
“These are the very things for, which our forebears fought,” the President noted, in a message delivered to mark this year’s Founders’ Day.
He said the challenge before the contemporary Ghanaian was to build a modern economy, and, thereby, generate a prosperous, progressive and dignified life.
Founders’ Day is commemorated on August 04 to recognise the contributions made by successive generations of Ghanaians, across many decades, to the liberation of the nation from the shackles of colonialism and imperialism, and the founding of the new nation-state of Ghana.
President Akufo-Addo said it was important that the people had now come to appreciate the essence of the Day as well as the collective effort made by many Ghanaians to the process of gaining independence.
“Today, sixty-six (66) years after independence, our nation is considered a beacon of democracy and stability in Africa.
“August 04, in the life and history of our nation, is one of utmost importance. It is, indeed, a sacred day,” the President noted.
He acknowledged the sacrifices made, dating back to some one hundred and twenty-six (126) years ago when a group of the nation’s forebears formed the Aborigines Rights Protection Society in Cape Coast to resist the application and implementation of the 1897 Crown Lands Bill.
The Bill sought to sequestrate and expropriate the people’s lands to the benefit of the British Crown as was done during the same era to the lands of fellow Africans in Eastern and Southern Africa.
The Society mobilised the chiefs and people and public opinion in the then Gold Coast to agitate against the pernicious legislation, and, eventually, forced the colonial power to withdraw the Bill.
“The ownership of our lands was never an issue again during the rest of the colonial period.
“We should not, then, forget that we continued to possess our lands freely, unlike the situation in Eastern and Southern Africa, because of the bravery and foresight of the members of the Aborigines Rights Protection Society, and we must continually pay homage to these patriots,” the President said.
He also recounted the second of the two significant events in the struggle, after the agitations of the 1920s, 1930s and early 1940s – exactly fifty years later to the day of the formation of the Aborigines Rights Protection Society.
Per historical accounts, a group of nationalists, including paramount chiefs, clergymen, lawyers, entrepreneurs, teachers, traders and men and women from all walks of life in the Gold Coast, gathered at Saltpond.
That culminated in the launch of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) – the first political party in the country.
The UGCC was the first political party to make a formal demand for independence, the first time any such demand was made in colonial Africa.
Events thereafter would lead to the subsequent arrest of the UGCC leaders, who have gone down in history as the legendary “Big Six” – JB Danquah, Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey, Edward Akufo-Addo, Ebenezer Ako Adjei, William Ofori-Atta, and Kwame Nkrumah.
The colonial authorities held them responsible for the disturbances that ensued, following the demand for independence.
It led to the establishment of the Watson Commission, which helped in designing the path towards independence in 1957.
GNA