At Independence in 1957, Ghana’s founding father Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah asserted that “the independence of Ghana would be meaningless unless it was tied to the total liberation of Africa”. The foremost Pan-Africanist went on to lead Ghana in playing a central role in the decolonisation process and liberation struggles across Africa.
Nkrumah in his usual impeccable use of words with such calm precision became the motivation for Africa’s long move from the decolonisation era, and this generation of Ghanaians has carried on this enviable bequest – this time becoming a leading light in addressing Africa’s challenge of peaceful democratic transitions, by demonstrating this is possible, over and over again.
Today, the country has earned its place in the global world order, and is celebrated as one of the models in the Global South, for economic stability, democratisation, and peaceful transitions.
Undoubtedly, the West African country keeps strengthening her institutions and enacting enabling legislations that would ensure this legacy of peaceful transitions endure.
For the records, John Dramani Mahama is set to return as Ghana’s president after his main rival accepted defeat, even when the electoral authorities were yet to announce the official results.
“Far too often, people learn from their experiences that one of the reasons why our well-deserved systemic change has continued to elude us is because of weak institutions, bad precedence, sentiments and not principles that guide our judgements and decisions”
The enviable records and lessons for the other troubled nations of the continent of Africa particularly Nigeria, is its seamlessness unlike others. The General Elections were held in Ghana on December 7 to elect the president and members of parliament. The next day December 8, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, the ruling party’s presidential candidate, conceded defeat in the elections and congratulated former President John Mahama.
“Let me say that the data from our own internal collation of the election results indicate that former President John Dramani Mahama has won the presidential election decisively,” Bawumia said
Furthermore, a few days before the election, the incumbent President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, had stated, “I came to office as a result of a peaceful and credible election, and I want to go out through the same process,” Akufo-Addo told the ECOWAS Election Observation Mission, led by former Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, during a meeting at Jubilee House in Accra on December 3.
Far too often, people learn from their experiences that one of the reasons why our well-deserved systemic change has continued to elude us is because of weak institutions, bad precedence, sentiments and not principles that guide our judgements and decisions.
Finally, I’d like to share with readers a poignant, provocatively and profoundly incontrovertible statement by Nana Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana.
He said, “It is incomprehensible that Africa — a continent of 1.4 billion people — has no permanent voice in shaping decisions that affect global peace and security. “Yes, we are a continent rich in potential and resilient in the face of adversity, but we have also been disadvantaged by a global system that has generally treated us as an afterthought,” adding that “the people of Africa are not asking for handouts. Rather, they are demanding opportunities in a new global architecture.”
I join millions of our compatriots across the globe in celebration of the events in Ghana, particularly the victory in polls of Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings who is the eldest daughter of former President Jerry John Rawlings, as a Member of Parliament for the Klottey-Korle Constituency.
•Odusanya wrote via odusanyagold@gmail.com
