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Remember Nkrumah and what he stood for
William G. Tarrant pen down these immortal words;
Now praise we great and famous men,
The fathers named in story;
And praise the Lord who now as then
Reveals in man His glory.
Every society is only as good as its people. It follows then that to build a better society, we need a foundation of brave men and women who would do the right thing. Often, that foundation is tested by struggle and conflict, but it may be that those very challenges are what bring out the greatness in people and nations.
For example, the perilous founding of this nation gave birth to such heroes as Kwame Nkrumah, Kwegyir Aggrey, and many others.
In each case, and in countless other stories that could be told, challenges and trials gave rise to greatness, and darkness and despair gave way to light and hope. As Martin Luther King reminds us, “When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that . . . God is able to make a way out of no way, and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows”.
We may never make headlines or change world history, but in our individual and quiet ways, we too can make a difference. One gentleman did this by determining not to pass unhealthy family patterns to the next generation. He made conscious choices to give his children the stability he did not have as a child. He resolved to love and support his family selflessly, and in just one generation, he gave them a new start. The odds may have not been in his favour, but he cared enough to make a lasting change, and by so doing blessed generations.
This week, we are closely examining our past and earnestly contemplating our future. The anniversary of the birth of one of our greatest patriots, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, would seem to be an appropriate time for the restatement of some basic fundamentals. Kwame Nkrumah was born more than a century ago, and there are those who would contend that conditions have changed and that the principles he laid down during his life and administration have outlived their usefulness.
This is not surprising. There are also those who would say that because Moses lived 35 centuries ago, the Ten Commandments are no longer fundamental to our conduct. There are those who would have us believe that because Jesus the Christ lived nearly 2,000 years ago, the Sermon on the Mount is now out-dated. Proceeding upon this fallacy, there are those abroad in every generation who haven’t learnt that while the superficial fashions and material circumstances of life may change, the basic principles do not.
Neither does human nature. And so the words of Kwame Nkrumah in one of his speeches bring us these reminders. To quote: “The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. But the constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all.” . . . “It is important . . . that. . . those entrusted with . . . administration in a free country confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres.” . . . “The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism.” . . . “Let there be no change by usurpation; for though this in one instance may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed.” . . . “A just estimate of that love of power and proneness to abuse it which predominate in the human heart is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this position.” . . . “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” . . . “And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.”. . . “Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.” . . . “As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. . . . avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidably wars have occasioned.” . . . “Real patriots who may resist the intrigues of the favourite are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people to surrender their interests.” . . . “I hold the maxim, no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy.” . . .
Such are a few of the principles and precautions Kwame Nkrumah laid down for the safety and preservation of a nation—principles which always contribute to the well-being of people who regard them, and are always followed by trouble for those who disregard them. May God bless the memory of Kwame Nkrumah and preserve freedom and righteousness and integrity in the nation to which he gave his life.
“When our days become dreary,” we can remember that the “way out of no way” is to hold on to hope, trust the Power higher than our own, and do our part to make the world a better place.
By Samuel Enos Eghan
Email: samueleghan@gmail.com
One of the issues we have been grappling with as a nation is corruption, and it has had such a devastating effect on our national development. I have been convinced that until morality becomes the foundation upon which our governance system is built, we can never go forward as a nation.
Our traditional practices, which have shaped our cultural beliefs, have always espoused values that have kept us along the straight and the narrow and have preserved our societies since ancient times.
These are values that frown on negative habits like stealing, cheating, greediness, selfishness, etc. Our grandparents have told us stories of societies where stealing was regarded as so shameful that offenders, when caught, have on a number of instances committed suicide.
In fact, my mother told me of a story where a man who was living in the same village as her mother (my grandmother), after having been caught stealing a neighbour’s cockerel, out of shame committed suicide on a mango tree. Those were the days that shameful acts were an abomination.
Tegare worship, a traditional spiritual worship during which the spirit possesses the Tegare Priest and begins to reveal secrets, was one of the means by which the society upheld African values in the days of my grandmother and the early childhood days of my mother.
Those were the days when the fear of being killed by Tegare prevented people from engaging in anti-social vices. These days, people sleeping with other people’s wives are not uncommon.
These wrongful behaviour was not countenanced at all by Tegare. One was likely going to lose his life on days that Tegare operates, and so unhealthy habits like coveting your neighbour’s wife was a taboo.
Stealing of other people’s farm produce, for instance, could mean certain death or incapacitation of the whole or part of the body in the full glare of everybody. People realised that there were consequences for wrongdoing, and this went a long way to motivate the society to adhere to right values.
Imagine a President being sworn into office and whoever administers the oath says, “Please say this after me: I, Mr. …., do solemnly swear by God, the spirits of my ancestors and the spirits ruling in Ghana, that should I engage in corrupt acts, may I and my family become crippled, may madness become entrenched in my family, may incurable sicknesses and diseases be my portion and that of my family, both immediate and extended.”
Can you imagine a situation where a few weeks afterwards the President goes to engage in corrupt acts and we hear of his sudden demise or incapacitation and confessing that he engaged in corrupt acts before passing or before the incapacitation—and the effect it will have on his successor? I believe we have to critically examine this option to curb corruption.
My grandmother gave me an eyewitness account of one such encounter where a woman died instantly after the Tegare Priest had revealed a wrong attitude she had displayed during the performance on one of the days scheduled for Tegare spirit manifestation.
According to her story, the Priest, after he had been possessed by the spirit, declared that for what the woman had done, he would not forgive her and that he would kill. Instantly, according to my grandmother, the lady fell down suddenly and she died—just like what happened to Ananias and his wife Sapphira in Acts Chapter 5.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
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BY ROBERT EKOW GRIMMOND-THOMPSON
