Republic Day, 1960 and the times

As we marked the 57th anniversary of our Republic a couple of weeks ago, memories of those days in July 1960 came rushing back. They were interesting times indeed for many Ghanaians, including those of us growing up and in our teen years.

Ghana was still basking in a state of euphoria, having achieved independence three years earlier, the first black nation to be born on our continent.

At midnight on Independence Day, March 6, 1957, the Prime Minister of the newly independent Ghana, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, told a mammoth crowd at the Old Polo Grounds in Accra that Ghana’s independence would be meaningless unless it was linked up with the total liberation of the African continent.

Heads of state confab

Only a year later, precisely in April 1958 Ghana, under Dr Nkrumah, hosted the first-ever conference of heads of state of independent nations. There were only eight of at the time: Ghana, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia and Ethiopia.

At the end of the year that is in December 1958 Dr Nkrumah again organised the All-African Peoples Conference that brought together the leaders of African countries still under the colonial yoke.

Things started moving very fast on the continent, with Accra becoming the Mecca for all Africans and people of African descent, especially descendants of African slaves who were shipped to the New World, some centuries back.

For young ones such as us, we savoured every moment of those epochal days of our early life as an independent nation. We felt proud to be Ghanaian, with all the attention our country received from the outside world.

Therefore, when we learnt that Ghana was going to become a Republic on July 1, 1960, some of us, the young ones, still in Middle School, did not understand the whole thing. We did not understand what was going on.

Some of the teachers and the older ones simply explained that we were going to have our second independence. What kind of independence again, some of us asked?

As Republic Day approached, we got to know that Ghana was going to be a full sovereign nation and we were not going to have the Queen as our head of state. 

Instead of a Prime Minister, we were going to have a President, who would no longer owe allegiance to any foreign power. We were also made to understand all the white people still holding positions in Ghana, including the Governor General, were going to leave, meaning from July, 1960, we were going to have our destiny in our own hands.

Republic Day

Republic Day 1960 itself cannot be compared with March 6, 1957 when the Union Jack (the British Flag) was lowered for the last time at the Old Polo Grounds, (at midnight), to be replaced by the Red, Yellow and Green flag with the Black Star in the middle, signifying the birth of a new nation, the first black nation on the African continent. 

What was however important on July 1, 1960 was the inauguration of Dr Kwame Nkrumah as the first President of the new Republic at the State House in Accra.

As the Daily Graphic of Saturday July 2, 1960 reported, the whole ceremony was over in a few minutes amid the beating of Antumpam drums.

“Every inch of the terrace in front of the State House was taken by spectators from many lands.

“The blaze of kente was backed by many hundred pieces of red, yellow and green bunting, while standards were festooned in varying colours.

“To the crowd outside the State House, the first significant happening was the appearance of the mounted escort, as usual resplendent in their green, red and white uniforms, and in perfect formation.

“This told the crowd that the President-elect was coming and as he swept into view, the national anthem was played.

“Then there was silence, again, as the President elect went back into the building. From then on the crowd had to depend on the loud speakers to know what was going on at the swearing-in ceremony.

“The swearing-in ceremony inside the State House was impressive. The President-elect held the gold state sword “Asema-Nta,” seated on the golden Chair of State.

“In front of him were President Sekou Toure of Guinea, the Chief Justice, Sir Arku Korsah and the Asantehene, Sir, Osei Tutu Agyemang Prempeh II.

“Drums sounded again as the President completed the constitutional declaration, and then accompanied by President Sekou Toure, he came out onto the balcony.”

That was how the Daily Graphic reported the swearing-in of Dr Kwame Nkrumah as the first President of the Republic of Ghana.

Ghana continued to be the beehive of political activities as Dr Nkrumah was relentless in his efforts to see to the liberation and total emancipation of the peoples of the African continent from oppression and foreign exploitation.

Accra the Mecca

At this stage Accra had become the Mecca of all political activists from the continent. I was only 15 at the beginning of 1960 and in Middle Form 3. However, I thought Accra was the place to be for any student of African politics.

In 1959 when I was in Form Two, I had chosen three Cape Coast schools, Adisadel, Mfantsipim and St Augustine’s College during the common entrance examination. I believed at that time, and truly too, that Cape Coast, was the cradle of education and wanted to go to secondary school in the ancient town which, once in colonial times, was the capital of the Gold Coast.

Unfortunately, none of us from St Paul’s Catholic Middle School, Amakom, Kumasi, passed the common entrance exam that year. The reason was that we did not follow instructions. Our teachers never told us what to do or not to do.

As we entered Form Three, we were all determined to go to secondary school that year, September 1960. However we could only choose then ‘Government Encouraged Schools’. That was how I settled for West Africa Secondary School (WASS) in Accra. My interest had shifted to Accra for reasons I have explained earlier.

Apart from Accra being the centre of political activities, the opportunity to travel by rail to Accra was another factor that shifted my interest to Accra.

As I have mentioned before in this columns, I used to sell newspapers until a week before I entered secondary school in Accra. My favourite area where I sold these papers was the Kumasi Railway Stations. I used to admire students who were returning to school in Accra after holidays. I watched them as I sold my papers and they played at the railway terminal before departure.

My ambition therefore was to go to school in Accra, our capital, and to travel by train.

Change in academic calendar

I must mention that 1960 was a very important year in the educational development of Ghana. That was the year the school calendar for basic and secondary schools was changed from January to December to September to July / August, beginning from September 1960.

The old order did not favour secondary school leavers who did their final exam in December as they had to wait till the following October before entering the university.

It was a matter of joy for me when I got my letter from West Africa Secondary School (WASS) that I had passed the entrance examination and should come to Accra in July for an interview. I thought my father would not allow me to go to Accra since I had never travelled on my own before.

But two days to the interview, I returned home to find a small travelling bag in my father’s room. He took me to the Accra Station and handed me to a driver to take care of me.  

It was my first-ever visit to Accra. After the interview, I was all over the city visiting places of interest including the offices of the Junior Graphic, since I was a regular reader of the paper and a member of the Junior Graphic Fan Club at the time. 

I passed the interview and on September 15, 1960, I reported at WASS at Accra New Town. It was a dream come true for me and the beginning of a long journey on the academic ladder.

The rest, as they say, is now history. Today I am more of an Accra man than a Kumasi man, but the Garden City remains my spiritual home.