Happy Independence Day Ghana!
On this momentous day, March 6, 2025, I join the people of Ghana and the Global African community in celebrating the anniversary of Ghana’s independence, achieved under the leadership of the Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah! I also honor The Big Six of Ghana (Kwame Nkrumah; Joseph Boakye (‘J.B.’) Danquah; Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey; Ebenezer Ako-Adjei; William Ofori Atta; Edward Akufo-Addo)—and all others who contributed to the struggle for Ghana’s political liberation. Their efforts not only secured Ghana’s independence, but also set a precedence for other independence movements across Africa.
On March 6, 1957, Ghana became the second African country to gain independence. Although it is widely regarded as the first, historical accuracy gives that distinction to Sudan, which gained independence from British-Egyptian rule on January 1, 1956—making it the first African country to gain independence in the year 1956, before Ghana.
Sudan’s colonial administration was unique —it was governed under an Anglo-Egyptian Condominium (1899-1956), meaning it was jointly ruled by Britain and Egypt, rather than being a direct colony of a single European power. So, while Sudan was the first African country to gain independence in 1956, Ghana (1957) was the first African country to gain independence from direct European colonial rule (British Gold Coast).
As a Garvey-Nkrumah Legal Fellow, our delegation visited Ghana and Rwanda in the Summer 2024. After completing our official business for the trip—including a meeting with the President of Ghana—we visited the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park & Mausoleum in Accra. The previous Summer, I had read Dr. Nkrumah’s autobiography and had devoted time to understanding him not just as a leader, but as a person—exploring his deeper aims and motivations. This experience was deeply inspiring and further reinforced my commitment to African nation-building!
On July 19, 2024, I stood beside Dr. Nkrumah’s statue, mirroring his forward-pointing gesture that powerfully embodies his famous words: “Forward ever, backward never.” Then I knelt before his grave, filled with different intuitions. Sometimes in life, the most precious things cannot be shared.
“Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, a thousand thanks for your positive example of visionary African leadership, and your unbending commitment for the welfare and progress of the African people. Most of all, your natural reverence for God. These are noble qualities desperately lacking in African leadership today, and we feel the big gap left by your absence.”
I will carry the torch of African progress forward, working diligently to ensure it burns brighter in this generation—singularly focused on the mission of African nation-building!
Confidently I walk the path of destiny—“Forward ever, backward never”—focused upward, forever onward!
Happy 68th Independence Day Ghana!
~Dr. Ikenna Ezealah
“Builder of the African Future”
Nation Upbuilding 