6th March 2007 - Ghana’s 50th Anniversary of Independence
Thursday, March 8th, 2007
On 6th March 1957, Ghana was the first country in Africa to become independent from colonial rule. So the 50th Anniversary is a huge milestone in Ghanaian as well as African history.
It was a shame that the celebrations were all centered around Accra - leading some people to rename it Accra at 50, rather than Ghana at 50. Being in Tamale I really noticed this. There wasn’t much happening and none of the cabinet members or dignitaries came up north. Apparently the budget for celebrations was 20million dollars which I think was probably all spent in the south. It’s a sad reflection on Ghana really especially on such an important day.
Anyway, we managed to enjoy ourselves in Tamale but it didn’t really feel all that special. It was pretty much a normal day with all the shops and market stalls open. There was a military and school parade in the central police park. It was so busy we couldn’t see anything! In the evening there was a street jam in town consisting of local musicians miming to music played too quietly! Sorry, I sound so negative! It was a fun day but just not nearly as exciting as I had expected.
The highlight was probably painting the faces of kids with the Ghana flag. They were all so excited that made me happy!
On the 5th March there was a gathering of all the Chiefs in the area . I liked this really fat Cheif from the Ashanti region. He had a huge entourage of about 40 people.
