Honouring the contributions of heroes and heroines
I don’t know what it is about parades featuring school children, but invariably watching them I find myself becoming emotional. There will be a lump in my throat and tears start stinging my eyes. That is how I felt on Monday, watching the Diamond Jubilee parade in Accra on television.
Advertisement
I suppose it is the earnestness with which the children march, as if their very lives depended on it, and what I imagine to be the sacrifices behind their smart appearance, that affects me.
Also, I tend to imagine how some families sweated to afford new uniforms or sandals or socks for the event. Some school heads even add to the parental stress compelling the children to buy gloves for the occasion in a bid to score points over other schools.
The March 6 national parade at the Independence/Black Star Square was a splendid affair, with the Perpetual Flame lighted and travelling to the regions an added special touch. All the contingents gave an admirable account of themselves, no doubt a reflection of the creativity, planning and the many hours of rehearsals that went into putting it together.
But isn’t it time this country decided whether it is Black Star Square or Independence Square? A decision has to be made!
Actually, there are a number of other name issues to be resolved, one being the name of the seat of government: ‘Flagstaff House’ or ‘Jubilee House’? I vote for Jubilee House.
Two announced landmark Diamond Jubilee projects, the Presidential Museum at the Osu Castle and a National Cathedral, the Cathedral of Inter-denominational Worship, are commendable and timely. However, I think there could be other, complementary Diamond Jubilee projects that ordinary people could more easily identify with.
One example is the Jubilee Parks initiative, a central feature of the ‘Ghana @ 50’, the celebration of Ghana’s Golden Jubilee under President J. A. Kufuor. It is instructive that many of the Diamond Jubilee parades we witnessed on TV on Monday were held at some of those Jubilee Parks.
In his Diamond Jubilee address, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo paid deserved tribute to the many unsung heroes and heroines of the fight for Independence, and it is evidently a matter which he feels passionate about; and rightly so. But how do we memorialize all of them appropriately?
An idea that Ghana could borrow from Europe is the institution of a commemorative or memorial wall plaques scheme to honour them, as well as any other deserving Ghanaians.
London has a ‘Blue Plaques Scheme’. Walking round the city, one comes across such memorial plaques on buildings. Where a famous or well-known personality used to live, there will be a simple plaque against a blue background with an inscription such as: ‘So-and-so was born in a house that stood on this site’; or, ‘So-and-so, the famous …. lived in this house’.
Sadly, in Ghana most of our historic buildings have been left in a bad state or even pulled down to make way for other structures.
President Akufo-Addo certainly gave a clear message about the alarming environmental degradation problems that confront the nation: The Ghana which we will leave for the next generation should not be a land destroyed by ‘galamsay’ (illegal mining), and other destructive practices.
But who is to lead the offensives against the terrible duo of ‘galamsay’ and the Fulani herdsmen, whose impunity in many communities has been a national headache for years?
I would like to have heard the President saying that he has established, or will establish, task forces against the duo. It doesn’t bear thinking that because of ‘galamsay’ there are communities whose water sources have all been polluted, leaving them with no drinkable water.
There has been much talk about the special Diamond Jubilee cloth outdoored on February23, and which apparently comes in four colours. President Akufo-Addo has been criticized in some quarters for not sporting the commemorative cloth at the anniversary parade, as he chose instead to wear a smock or fugu.
Are people forgetting that most iconic image of the declaration of Independence in the dawn of March 6, 1957? It was fugus that Dr Kwame Nkrumah and most of his closest allies all wore that exhilarating night 60 years ago. When Independence Day dawned and Nkrumah wiped away tears of joy, it was their Northern fugus that twirled as they danced on the dais at the Old Polo Ground.
How then can President Akufo-Addo be faulted for wearing a fugu at the 60th anniversary of that historic dawn? Had it not been for security concerns, probably the organizers would have planned this 2017 Jubilee as a night event!
Nevertheless, I must say I wondered why Ghana Television newsreaders were not wearing the anniversary cloth on the Anniversary Day. Considering the reach of GTV, one sure way of popularizing the cloth would have been for the newsreaders to have been among the first to get the cloth so that they could be seen wearing it on March 6. Did somebody forget to donate some of the cloth to GTV?
Anyway, I think that expecting everybody at the parade on March 6 to be dressed in a cloth introduced to the country only on February 23 was overly optimistic.
In any case, it has been repeated over and over that the Diamond Jubilee is a year-long celebration. There will surely be many other opportunities for those so inclined to wear the anniversary cloth.
Overall, I think that the day belonged to the Presidents. It was so very moving to see President Robert Mugabe participating in the occasion. For a 93-year old to make the trip all the way from Zimbabwe to celebrate with Ghana, and to see former President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and other foreign dignitaries there, should tell those who say Ghana has nothing to celebrate to think again.
I believe that for some people the memorable scene that would also have been significant was the sight of Ghana’s three former Presidents – J.J Rawlings, Kufuor and J. D. Mahama – at the parade, all there to lend their support to Akufo-Addo in the celebration of Ghana’s Diamond Jubilee.
In how many other African countries could cameras capture such a line-up?
I’m so proud to be a Ghanaian!