“God bless my homeland Ghana, And make our nation great and strong. Bold to defend forever, the cause of freedom and of right. Fill our hearts with true humility. Make us cherish fearless honesty. And help us to resist oppressor’s rule with all our will and might for evermore.”

“I promise on my honour to be faithful and loyal to Ghana my motherland. I pledge myself to the service of Ghana, with all my strength and with all my heart. I promise to hold in high esteem our heritage won for us through the blood and toil of our Fathers and I pledge myself in all things to uphold and defend the good name of Ghana. So help me Gold.”

Indeed, our greatest achievement after 64 years of Independence is that we continue to hold fast in spite of our diversity, while other nations have been torn apart.

Today, we reference the National Anthem and the National Pledge in our editorial to underscore the fact that the renditions are of great value to all of us as a nation, as Ghana turned 64 years, at the week end.

On March 6, 1957, The Gold Coast became independent from British colonial rule, and assumed a new name Ghana.

The official commencement of colonialism in the country was the signing of the Bond of 1884 between the British colonial administration and the Fante chiefs.

And what a day to mark our 64th anniversary, last Saturday!! Though the usual colourful parade and mastery display by school children and the military, were absent due to the restrictions imposed to stop the spread of the COVID-19 global pandemic, a very significant event took place on the blind side of many people.

The Black Satellite took the boredom away, made Ghana proud and gave us something to cheer about, in the midst of the pandemic.

Indeed, they pledged themselves to the service of Ghana, with all their strength and with all their hearts, and with mixed fortunes emphatically defeated Uganda 2-0 in the finals of the Confederation of Africa U20 Cup of Nations, played in the Olympic Stadium in Nouakchott, capital of Mauritania.

This is the fourth time the national under-20 football team has won the prestigious continental trophy, after victories in 1993, 1999, and 2009.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was first to congratulate the Black Satellite for the victory on his official twitter account saying “Congratulations to the Black Satellite for winning Ghana’s 4th AFCON U-20 trophy. They deserve victory, and they‘ve made Mother Ghana proud. What a way to celebrate our 64th Independence Anniversary!!Kudos to the team and I look forward to receiving the playing, technical, and management teams to Jubilee House.”

There is no doubt that we have achieved successes in our lives, after 64 years of state of nationhood, with our life expectancy in the region of about 64 years. Our life expectancy at independence was about 44 years.

While we are applauding ourselves for the strives made over the years, it’s also the opinion of other schools of thought that Ghana, could have done better in terms of socio-economic development, given that our country is blessed with numerous natural resources with more still remain untapped.

Certainly, human needs are insatiable, and rightly so, as Oliver Twist, we will ask for more.

It is important to bring to the attention of all citizens that national development is a shared responsibility. As we continue to demand for more from duty bearers, it behooves us the right holders “to hold in high esteem our heritage won for us, through the blood and toil of our Fathers.”

Without that it would be difficult for the country to reach its intended destination.