Celebrating Liberty & Reinforcing Passions: Independence Day

By Pareisse Wilson and Jonathan Kwesi Amoah

Jo & P: “At long last, Ghana, our beloved country is free forever.” This historic and powerful statement by Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah (the first president of Ghana), accompanied the birth of “a new nation” on March 6, 1957. Ghana, the newly born independent country was indeed free forever. She was free from servitude and colonial rule.

Jo: There is a saying that, “better is a free man who lives in a slum than a slave who lives in a storey building”. Who doesn’t want to be free? Who doesn’t want to manage their own affairs? Obviously, most people, if not all, prefer freedom to oppression. For this reason, over 5,000 Ghanaians gathered at Independence Square to welcome the newly born independent nation. Upon hearing this historic freedom declaration speech, these Ghanaians set to the streets in a state of uncontrolled excitement and wild behaviour accompanied by marching. What happened on the eve of the 6^th of March, 1957 became a national event that is being celebrated on the 6^th of March every year in remembrance of the day Ghana became free from colonial rule (Independence Day). On this day, schools, corporate institutions, security agencies and other individuals march to celebrate it.

Let the marching commence...

This year was no exception, as the famous yearly Independence Day celebration came off. The first country to attain independence in Sub-Saharan Africa was 59 years old this year, and I had the opportunity to witness the 59^th Independence Day celebration in the Savelugu-Nanton Municipality in the Northern Region. As a Ghanaian, even though I have witnessed and joined in the celebration of this historic day, I have never experienced how it is celebrated in the Northern part of the country.

P: This year, we were fortunate enough to be here to experience and celebrate Ghanaian Independence Day on the 6^th March 2016. In the morning, I sat and watched the main ceremony in Accra with my host family, there were thousands of people. People marched, sang the national anthem and of course were supported by various dignities and presidents from the world over, standing in unity to celebrate freedom. Unexpectedly I felt myself choking up, and began to cry...freedom is something that people have been fighting for since time immemorial, and it is something that will be fought over until it is achieved across the globe. All these years as a researcher of African history and as a firm believer in human rights, I was finally here in this rich land that I’ve never set foot on before, only ever dreamed of.  I have enjoyed and thrived off every minute of the training, awareness raising and working with the communities.

The reality of all of this hit me. I am actually doing what I love. It is absolutely justified to fight for human rights. The liberation of African states is my academic forte, and this experience reassured me that all the studying, the reading, the petition signing and advocating for the rights of the marginalised is worth all of the effort.   

That very moment, in Ghana, in Africa, coming to terms with that realisation was the best and most liberating moment I’ve had in my entire life. I took a moment and smiled: my tears were tears of happiness. At around 9.30am I made my way to the office and met with all of our Savelugu team in out Ghanaian traditional wear. Everyone looked stunning in their bright colours and we made our way to the celebration at the football field. Tissues at hand of course!

Team NFED and our friends dressed to impress on Independence Day!

Jo: My team and I joined the 59^th Independence Day celebration in the Savelugu-Nanton Municipality. Unlike us Ghanaians, my UK counterparts had never witnessed this historic event. For them, it was going to be a whole new experience. And they were itching for the program to begin. Dressed in our splashy African prints, the team walked to the Savelugu school park where the event was held. Students from all over the municipality were beautifully dressed in their uniforms, well arranged in a linear order, and were ready to display their mind-blowing marching skills. Indeed, these children managed to knock the hundreds of people gathered to witness the event off their feet, with their enthusiastic marching. The team, especially my UK counterparts, who were witnessing the event for the first time, was thrown into frenzy by the display of the children. It was all excitement and fun.

P & Jo: Once again, my ICS journey exposed me to a new experience. We experienced something new, something that Jo has not experienced in his numerous of Independence Day celebrations, and of course myself for the first time. Marching is a normal routine in Independence Day celebrations, but the cultural display by the groups of Savelugu was mind-blowing. It truly knocked everyone off their feet, and we wished it never ended.

Jo: “It was one of my most memorable Independence Day celebrations so far”

P & Jo: “Our ICS experience has been a  memory worth repeating”

Pareisse and Jo x