Ah, time flies like an eagle over the savannah plains. Yes, it is hard to imagine that it will soon be fifty years since Ghana gained her independence from British colonial rule. The independence of Ghana on March 6, 1957 marked the beginning of the end of colonialism on the African continent.

Ghana symbolized the hope of millions of Africans yearning for freedom and dignity. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, first President of Ghana, transformed the new independent nation into a Mecca for African anti-colonialist fighters from all over the continent. Liberation movements from South Africa, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Zambia, Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Guinea, Mali, Namibia and other colonies came to Ghana for inspiration and training.

The idea of a United States of Africa became Nkrumah's passion and the bedrock of Ghana's foreign policy. As a visionary leader, Nkrumah saw the meaning of Ghana's independence only as an instrument for the realization of a continental union government.

If the dream of African unity had seen the light of day, the intractable political and socio-economic problems of post-colonial Africa would have been easily resolved or avoided today.

We celebrate Ghana's fiftieth independence anniversary as a moment for deep reflection.

What if...Nkrumah's government was not overthrown in 1966 by Ghana's military?

What if...Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba and Sekou Toure had succeeded in forging the nucleus of a truly continental union government?

What if...African leaders had grasped the historic opportunity to transcend the pitfalls of nationalism/ethnocentrism and embrace a vision of democratic unification of all newly independent nations in the sixties?

Perhaps, just perhaps, the last fifty years would have been Ghana's and Africa's proud moment in the halls of global affairs.

Please join the Ghana National Council of Metropolitan Chicago, a member of the United African Organization, to celebrate Ghana's fiftieth independence anniversary. For more information, visit www.ghananationalcouncil.org or call Dr. Mark Kutame, Secretary of the Ghana National Council, at 773-805-1145 or e-mail kutame@comcast.net

Long Live Ghana!!

Long Live the Vision of President Kwame Nkrumah!!

Long Live Africa!! .