Ghana is 68 years today: Brief history down memory lane
Ghana was the first African country in sub-Saharan African to gain her independence from colonial rule. Mother Ghana gained her independence from the British colonial rule on 6th March 1957 under the leadership of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Hence, 6th March is often marked as a joyful and memorable day of celebration across the length and breadth of the country. Rightly so, today marks Ghana’s 68th birthday after the famous declaration made by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah “Ghana your beloved country is free forever” together with other ranking members of the big six.
After independence, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah led the country to its first republic in 1960 following a referendum. Dr. Nkrumah then became the first president of Ghana under the leadership of Convention Peoples Party (CPP) in the general elections. The CPP also won majority in the legislative elections after securing 72 seats out of a possible 104 to cement a formidable parliamentary majority at the time. However, his solid regime was tagged with autocratic tendencies. This led to several failed assassination attempts to dethrone the CPP government, including the famous Kulungugu assassination incident in 1962 where a bomb was hidden in a bouquet of flower to be delivered to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah by a little girl at a gathering where he was expected to deliver a speech. The bomb exploded living the 14-year-old girl dead and several other people sustained various degrees of injuries while the target Dr. Kwame Nkrumah escaped the explosion with minimal harm.
Fast forward, despite these huddles, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah government was still overthrown by a military coup led by Gen. Kwasi Kotoka under the National Liberation Council (NLC) in 1966, when he (Dr. Kwame Nkrumah) was on official state duty in China. Following this military coup, the country was plunged into several military coups up until 1981 when Flight Lieutenant JJ Rawlings, a junior military officer took over for his second successful military coup and then decided to introduce the country into constitutional rule in 1992 which eventually led to Ghana’s peaceful transition to democracy in the 4th republic.
The 1992 constitution continues to remain the fundamental document guiding the country’s implementation of rule of law and good governance. Accordingly, as we celebrate Ghana today, we honor Dr. Kwame Nkrumah as the founder and JJ Rawlings as the first president of the 4th republic who introduced the country’s 1992 constitution and championed its transition to the democracy we enjoy today.
Happy Independence Day Ghana!
Ghana is 68 years today: Brief history down memory lane
Ghana was the first African country in sub-Saharan African to gain her independence from colonial rule. Mother Ghana gained her independence from the British colonial rule on 6th March 1957 under the leadership of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Hence, 6th March is often marked as a joyful and memorable day of celebration across the length and breadth of the country. Rightly so, today marks Ghana’s 68th birthday after the famous declaration made by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah “Ghana your beloved country is free forever” together with other ranking members of the big six.
After independence, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah led the country to its first republic in 1960 following a referendum. Dr. Nkrumah then became the first president of Ghana under the leadership of Convention Peoples Party (CPP) in the general elections. The CPP also won majority in the legislative elections after securing 72 seats out of a possible 104 to cement a formidable parliamentary majority at the time. However, his solid regime was tagged with autocratic tendencies. This led to several failed assassination attempts to dethrone the CPP government, including the famous Kulungugu assassination incident in 1962 where a bomb was hidden in a bouquet of flower to be delivered to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah by a little girl at a gathering where he was expected to deliver a speech. The bomb exploded living the 14-year-old girl dead and several other people sustained various degrees of injuries while the target Dr. Kwame Nkrumah escaped the explosion with minimal harm.
Fast forward, despite these huddles, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah government was still overthrown by a military coup led by Gen. Kwasi Kotoka under the National Liberation Council (NLC) in 1966, when he (Dr. Kwame Nkrumah) was on official state duty in China. Following this military coup, the country was plunged into several military coups up until 1981 when Flight Lieutenant JJ Rawlings, a junior military officer took over for his second successful military coup and then decided to introduce the country into constitutional rule in 1992 which eventually led to Ghana’s peaceful transition to democracy in the 4th republic.
The 1992 constitution continues to remain the fundamental document guiding the country’s implementation of rule of law and good governance. Accordingly, as we celebrate Ghana today, we honor Dr. Kwame Nkrumah as the founder and JJ Rawlings as the first president of the 4th republic who introduced the country’s 1992 constitution and championed its transition to the democracy we enjoy today.
Happy Independence Day Ghana!