Kwesi Pratt’s claims against George S. Antoh of Western Togoland was Unfortunate

It is an open secret that Ghanaians and especially the government of Ghana who supposed to know better are showing open hatred to the people of the homeland Western Togoland for toning the path of history.

The call for Western Togoland restoration is legitimate and eminent. No matter how hard the government of Ghana tried to suppress the lawful and peaceful agitation of Western Togoland restoration, the more the struggle goes on.

Now that the world have engaged in self-isolation in response to curb the deadly Coronavirus, falsehood injected in the public cannot go uncorrected.

In my own isolation, I have been greeted with a whatSapp video that had Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr, the Editor-in-Chief of the Insight newspaper of Ghana and three other panels who were discussing issues that had to do with Ghana’s 63^rd independence on Radio Gold under the program “Alhaji Alhaji”.

According to Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr, he was sad and felt insulted because the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo wanted Ghanaians to consider the late Mr. Obestebi Lamptey as one of the founding fathers of Ghana. Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr implored his listeners to the fact that, the late Mr. Obestebi Lamptey was tried in a Court presided over by Nana Akufo-Addo’s father and two other Supreme Court Judges of Ghana and they have indicted the late Obestebi Lamptey as a terrorist. The ruling is available to the Public, he said.

Mr. Kwesi Pratt, went on and said that Nana Akufo-Addo wanted Ghanaians to consider also, Mr. George S. Antoh who was a secessionist for Western Togoland, as one of the Founding Fathers of Ghana, what an insult, he added.

Mr. Kwesi Pratt’s claim against Mr. George S. Antoh is very unfortunate and the need to set the record straight.

It is true that Mr. George S. Antoh stood for the homeland, Westen Togoland in the struggle for self-rule and we must all understand that fundamentally, the right to self-determination is the right of people to determine their own destiny. In particular, the principle allows the people to choose their own political status and to determine their own form of economic, cultural and social development.

Having said this, if Mr. George S. Antoh who fought for the independence of Western Togoland to the extent of having the opportunity to represent his people and the homeland, at the world government, United Nations (UN), then, Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr. Should rather be educated to call Mr. S.G Antoh a patriotic nationalist and not a secessionist.

Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr. In his earlier submission, Stated that Mr. Obestebi Lamptey was tried by a competent Court of jurisdiction and was declared a terrorist. Which Court have indicted Mr. S.G Antoh as a secessionist?

Mr. Kwesi Pratt cannot be sitting in the Comfort of radio Gold on “Alhaji Alhaji” program and be given names to national heroes of the Homeland, Western Togoland.

If I could dig into Ghana’s history a little bit, I will say that it is undeniable fact that the Gold Coast that became Ghana in 1957 never existed until the arrival of the British. The tribes and the Kingdoms that form Ghana that Mr. Kwesi Pratt was calling his Country was put together through the hard effort of the British.

The British had a hard deal of conquering the Ashanti kingdom during the 1900 war which brought the Ashanti land into the Gold Coast. The Gas and the Fantis had to sign the bond of 1884 in order to bring their land into the Gold Coast. British had to risk everything in order to bring these tribes and kingdoms that were living separately and in fact, enemy to one another together.

And from nowhere, Kwame Nkrumah appeared out of the blue and demanded independence now, for the tribes and kingdoms that were put together by the great effort of the British.

Yet, Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr did not see Kwame Nkrumah as a secessionist.

Sometimes, I try to understand Mr. Pratt’s frustration. It is hard for people like Mr. Pratt to imagine how fast Ghana had become banana republic and a failed state. Yet, that do not give room for Mr. Pratt to give wrong description of Mr. S.G Antoh.

It is a perpetual sickness among section of Ghanaians of giving names to things that they don’t understand and people they don’t know. And it is very sad to see that such sickness is corroding into the intellectuals of the country.

No matter how hard the Ghanaians populace try to belittle Western Togoland restoration, the position of the Western Togolanders in this matter is ultimate.

No matter the situation, the humiliation and the intimidations, Western Togolanders must remain firm in demanding their own social construct, not forgetting that sovereignty is not giving on a silver platter.  Social equality is the solution.

We shall overcome.

By Seth Mifetu.