“Why are we marching, why are we marching, why are we marching, 6th of March 1957 was Ghana’s Independence Day.” This is one of the numerous songs I sang along with other students during my junior high school days, and like myself, students, especially in public schools across the country, still sing this song every morning before lessons start at school.
The answer to the question why are we marching, is in the song. On the 6th of March 1957, Ghana became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain its independence from its former masters, the British. The word independence, I belief denoted both political and economic freedom. On the eve of Independence, Osagyefo Dr. kwame Nkrumah delivered his famous speech, which to this day is played especially on Independence Day celebrations. In the speech, he declared, “The black man is capable of managing his own affairs”, and it was time to prove it to the rest of the world. 55 years down the development road, what can we show in response to Nkrumah’s mantra?
In my opinion, this nation, Ghana, has done tremendously well in living up to the mantra, though we haven’t fully exploited our potential as a people; there is still much room for improvement. As we celebrate another year of Independence and prosperity, I will attempt to answer the question our naïve first-cycle pupils have been asking as they march into their classrooms.
First and foremost, the enviable peace and stability this nation enjoys is one of commendation for the good people of the country. Certainly, it has not been all peaceful after independence, the nation has had its fair share of political instability; a result of coup d’états. However under our 4th republican dispensation which has lasted for 20 years now, our nation has seen the desired peace, religious and ethnic tolerance, as well as political stability with power changing hands twice already.
Secondly, Ghana after three unsuccessful attempts, has finally been able to practice multiparty democracy in the last 20 years and it’s a shinning example for many African countries to emulate. With the rule of law in place, that is ensuring separation of powers, press freedom and decentralization, certainly this nation is one the right path and has really proven to the world that if given the chance we can also manage our affairs with or without the help of foreign involvements.
We are marching to tell the world our story, a story of how we once accommodated a group of people who took advantage of our great hospitality to colonize and enslave us. However with determination we took back what was rightfully ours and never again should we as a people be prepared to sell our dignity and birthright to some people to determine our destiny in our nation. As the saying goes “A nation that does not know its past has no future and therefore the stories of our struggles and success should and must forever be told to succeeding generations.
There are so many other reasons why we are marching, however it will not be possible to highlight all of them in this article. For any Ghanaian reading this article who might not find anything impressive about the country worth celebrating, I will encourage you to at least find something great to celebrate. It is true that for a nation, 55 years old, we still have not been able to achieve certain basic aspirations we set out to. However in my opinion the most important achievement which we have is that we are on the right path of development and not on the wrong one. As American country singer Don Williams sang: “There is no use running when you are on the wrong road.” Certainly we are on the right path and even though we wish the nation would have been running and not walking as it is now we can only hope for a brighter future with the involvement of every Ghanaian living anywhere on this planet.
For the school children and our gallant security personnel who will be parading across the country to observe the march pass, whether it is slow or quick match, their actions will symbolize or analogize the forward movements of this great country. A nation that in spite of its numerous challenges has made modest gains and successes. The 6th March independence celebrations should offer each and every Ghanaian an opportunity to reflect on our past and see how best he or she can contribute to the forward march of the country. Our journey to the desired destination has not yet been arrived at and it is for this reason that we keep marching. It is for this reason that our pupils keep asking this question generation after generation “Why are we marching?”.