It’s extremely insulting to doubt the value of Ghana’s independence – Pratt

Social commentator and Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr., says it is “extremely insulting” for anyone to question the relevance of Ghana’s Independence from colonial rule, and to “merely suggest that we have gained nothing from our independence is to display abundance ignorance of history.”

But he has an idea why some still think independence was a wasteful endeavour; for a legacy of inferiority complex bequeathed by the colonial imposition may have conditioned some Ghanaians to so think.

And he has not forgotten how Ghanaians were reduced to second rate citizens in their own country where leadership and authority at virtually all levels was the Whiteman – teachers, pastors, postmasters, doctors, engineers, DCEs and Chief Directors, even secretaries, including Nkrumah’s own secretary – everyone was White. Again Accra’s Ridge Hospital was known as the European Hospital from which Ghanaians were barred; and there was the European Club with the only Blacks there being those making “kyinkyinga”, those serving it and drivers of white bosses.

And this complex of inferiority even found its way into our local parlance, and continues to do great damage to the nation.

But we have made a lot of progress since Independence, except that the enemies of progress, in league with their local collaborators, truncated the pace by killing the vision and ideas Nkrumah was propagating and arming Africans with.

Listen to Pratt who was contributing to Alhaji and Alhaji on Radio Gold on Saturday, March 8.

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