That thing called heritage
The general outcry is a good sign. It shows that Ghanaians are beginning to appreciate the preservation of important relics and monuments.
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Yes, your guess is right. I am referring to the controversy surrounding the pulling down earlier this week of Old Parliament House in Accra.Located on the High Street and directly facing the Old Polo Grounds, this monument had housed the Gold Coast Legislative Assembly from 1951 when Dr Nkrumah became the leader of Government Business under British rule.
On the eve of independence as Nkrumah stood on the podium in batakari and was declaring ‘’the independence of Ghana is meaningless unless...’ he had that Old Parliament building in view.
And On Ghana’s Independence Day, March 6, 1957, the old Parliament House accommodated foreign statesmen, including the Duchess of Kent and the Prime Minister of Britain, Mr Harold Macmillan who had visited the new country to grace the celebration.
What this column is about today is that as a society we seem to be in a hurry to destroy and erase relics of historic importance. We do this without batting an eye lid. My second point is that we could earn more for our nation by preserving and harnessing such monuments.
The demolition of Old Parliament has also brought the subject matter of heritage to the fore. Heritage is defined as something that is handed down from the past, as a tradition. It is also explained to mean something that comes or belongs to one by reason of birth or inheritance.
The protocol with heritage stuff is that just as you inherit them you work to ensure that you are also able to hand them over to the next generation. Restoration, preservation and conservation are thus key words.
In tourism, heritage is a significant product as the world over billions are make every day from visitation to and merchandising various heritage sites. Mainly, heritage attractions are buildings and sites of historic or cultural values. But there is more.
One of my saddest moments for the future of my country Ghana was when I walked into the premises of the Ghana Institute of Journalism one day to see that the huge mahogany tree that welcomes one into the yard had been cut down.
This was about six years ago. For those who remember, that Mahogany tree was huge in every sense of the word. It was the biggest tree in that entire neighbourhood and had been standing for nearly a hundred years.
Because of its relationship with the thousands of students, tutors and workers of the institution that tree was almost christened with a name. That tree served as the launch pad for many a great journalist-to-be, as famous trainees such as Manasseh Awuni Azure teethed out their future practice by pasting their articles on the bark.
That Mahogany tree of blessed memory defined the landscape of the Ghana Institute of Journalism. Without it the campus hasn’t quite felt the same, and still looks odd in the view of many.
So here’s my point. First of all, very much like iconic buildings, trees are also part of heritage. They are resources of natural heritage. Maybe it was because I started out as an environmental journalist but the loss of that tree cut me like a knife.
But what was worse was the fact that that tree, in the midst of future media leaders went down without much of a whimper. Yes, that tree could be felled for all the pragmatic and safety reasons but it should have been after a fight, after a protest, after a campaign to preserve it.
Now, if our future journalists and PR practitioners, and communicators could not be bothered about a familiar tree sheltering their own affairs how would they fight for other nameless ones being destroyed hundreds of miles away from them?
When landmarks of heritage are destroyed it feels like an era had been erased, forever. It is actually akin to losing many human beings at a go. And the painful part is that many times, it could have been prevented.
Take the GIJ Tree. Maybe there was a way to have engineered its continued existence and still construct what it was that was going to be done.
Heritage landmarks must be shown respect because they have stories which have strong connections with people’s origins and shared experiences.
For me, if the tree has to be cut or if that Old Parliament building has to be demolished it must be done meaningfully, respectfully. How about a little ceremony? It would make a big difference rather than just asking brawny workmen with sharp knives and sledgehammers to go for the kill!
(kofiakpabli@gmail .com)