At Ghana’ s 66 Independence anniversary, l wish to bring to focus Dr Kwame Nkrumah and his five Ministers who declared Ghana’s Independence on 6 March 1957 at the Old Polo Ground.
The last sitting of the Gold Coast Legislative Assembly (LA) was held at 11pm on March 5, 1957.
At about 11:45 pm the Legislative Assembly was prorogued..
Thereafter, six CPP Comrades, ie Dr Kwame Nkrumah and five of his Ministers trooped from the Legislative Assembly, the old Parliament house and walked across the street to the Old Polo Ground (OPG) where his statue stands to a crowd that was waiting for them.
At the OPG, Dr Kwame Nkrumah and his five Ministers mounted the already erected podium. Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the Prime Minister stood in the middle. On his right stood Komla Agbeli Gbedema – his Finance Minister and Member of Parliament for (MP) for Keta. On his left stood Kojo Botsio – Minister of Trade and Labour and MP for Western Gomoa. Close to Komla Agbeli Gbedema and in long sleeves smock stood lawyer Archie Casely Hayford, Minister of Communications and MP for South Birim. Behind Dr Kwame Nkrumah stood Nathaniel Arzacko Welbeck, Minister of Works and MP for Cape Coast. And near Kojo Botsio and in cloth was Krobo Edusei, whose sister, Ama Serwa was murdered in cold blood during the uprising of the National Liberation Movement in Ashanti Region – Minister without Portfolio and MP for Sekyere East.
At 12 midnight, the General Post Office siren struck and Krobo Edusei the announcer, shouted, “choobuei” to which the crowd responded “Yeei”. Then Dr Kwame Nkrumah thundered, “Agoo wontsie me kakra…. At long last, Ghana your beloved country is free for ever…….”
Of the Six CPP Comrades, except lawyer Archie Casely Hayford, all were members of the Central Committee of the CPP when it was formed in 1949. Again, apart from lawyer Archie Casely Hayford, all the rest were Prison Graduates (PG) who went to prison with Dr Kwame Nkrumah when he organized his “Positive Action” strike on January 8, 1950 to force the British government to grant early Independence.
As for Komla Agbeli Gbedema, he was jailed earlier on in October 1949 for 6 months for a publication in the “Evening News” newspaper which he edited. Archie Casely Hayford was the lawyer who defended them. And apart from Krobo Edusei who was in cloth, all wore their battle dress, the smock and the PG cap.
Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Komla Agbeli Gbedema, Kojo Botsio, lawyer Archie Casely Hayford, Nathaniel Arzacko Welbeck and Krobo Edusei, we salute you for 6 March 1957.
By Augustina Quayson