J.E. Casely-Hayford and 4 others who deserve credit in celebration of Ghana's independence

The history of any major happening is always told from the perspective of those who live long enough to help write the story, and the story of Ghana's independence is no different from any other story in this regard.

Often than not, we are told that much, if not all of the work, was down to the revered 'Big Six', spearheaded by none other than first president, Kwame Nkrumah.

In 2019, Ghana turned 62 and the debate still rages on whether it is more suitable to speak of the founders or a founder. Some would love that we stick to what we have accepted all this while but for others, it is an ideological battle.

In all of this, some key individuals who played varying degrees of roles on the path to independence are forgotten. They have become conveniently stuck on history pages everyone skips.

YEN.com.gh names a number of role players in Ghana's independence who do not get the praise they deserve.

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1. J.E. Casely-Hayford

If there was ever a man in Ghana's history who kickstarted the whole intellectual phase of fighting colonialism, that would be Casely-Hayford.

It was not that the Europeans were not resented before Casely-Hayford. The point is that no one before him put so much into philosophising about the identity of free a Gold Coaster and African.

He laid the intellectual foundation for the likes of Nkrumah and J.B. Danquah to argue for independence.

2. George Paa Grant

Grant is revered as the founder and the first president of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) in 1947. It was the first political party that looked to rally the people towards independence.

Most people forget that Grant gave the opportunity for Nkrumah to be involved in the independence struggle by giving him the post of UGCC's general secretary.

3. Hannah Kudjoe

Hannah Kudjoe is probably the most crucial woman in the history of the few years before and after Ghana's independence.

Convinced by Nkrumah to go into politics, Kudjoe ended up being an organiser extraordinaire. She is credited with rallying sentiments along with Nii Kwabena Bonnie for the 1948 riots.

4. Nii Kwabena Bonnie

A chieftain in a suburb of Accra in the 1940s, Bonnie has been described as a man who was fiercely disrespectful of the colonial power. And he would done that in their face because the seat of colonial power, the Christianborg Castle, was in Osu where Bonnie reigned.

He called for boycotts of European goods and actually disputed with Gold Coasters who went contrary to his suggestions. He organised for riots like the 1948 incident.

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5. J.A. Braimah

Alhassan Braimah was the founder of the Northern People's Party in 1954. An historian by profession, Braimah sought to make sure that any future independence held something for the people of Northern Ghana.

Very few times do we hear of northerners in the struggle for Ghana's independence. But Braimah was a voice calling from the savannah way before independence.

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Source: YEN.com.gh