HAPPY 61st BIRTHDAY TO GHANA.

in #ghana7 years ago (edited)

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Brief history

Ghana, a country in West Africa was born in the year 1957. This birth was conceived by the late doctor Kwame Nkrumah. He was the mastermind behind the independence from the colonial Masters. Doctor Kwame Nkrumah then became the first president of Ghana after he had fought for this freedom together with his team well-known as the big six. The Big Six consisted of Doctor Kwame Nkrumah, Ebenezer Ako Adjei, Edward Akuffo Addo ( father of current president), Joseph Boakye Danquah, Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lambtey and William Ofori Atta.
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These six comrades were the founding members of the first political party in Ghana called United Gold Coast Convention

On the 6th of March 1957, the nation gained freedom from its colonial Masters and it's name was changed from Gold Coast to Ghana. The name Gold Coast was coined because the colonial Masters discovered the myriads of minerals of which gold was the most abundant.

Ghana is also well-known for democracy. Because of the Democratic nature of governance, the first time a president was chosen was through general election, where Doctor Kwame Nkrumah , the leader of the Convention People's Party(CPP) contested with his co-founder of the United Gold Coast Convention party, J. B. Danquah, the leader of the United Party. The results of the free and fair election captured on the picture below
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Doctor Kwame Nkrumah then became the first president to lead the nation in a 9 years tenure of office (1957-1966). He was then overthrown through a Military Coup d'etat whiles he was on a journey to Hanoi, north of Vietnam. The overthrow was executed by
E.K. Kotoka (the builder of the kotoka international airport in Accra) and Major A.A. Afrifa
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kotoka international airport
After he heard of the overthrow, he didn't bother come step on the shores of Ghana anymore but lived the rest of his life in Conakry, Guinea. He then died of prostate cancer in Bucharest, Romania. Doctor Kwame Nkrumah made a lot of economic, educational and infrastructural improvement in the nation. One of the renowned universities in Ghana, The Kwame Nkrumah University in Kumasi was named after him.
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After the death of Kwame Nkrumah, the military rule continued for 3 years between 1966 and 1969 by lieutenant general Joseph Arthur Ankrah. This was then followed by another year of military rule by Akwasi Afrifa. His reigned was shortened by the most short-lived rule by Nii Amaa Ollennu (7th August 1970- 31st August 1970). He was then followed by Edward Akuffo Addo who ruled for two years (31st August 1970- 13th January 1972) . Abrefa Busia was the Prime Minister between 1969 and 1972. General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong took over by coup in the year 1972 until an overthrow by lieutenant general Fred Akuffo in 1978. His one year reign was proceeded by the last military rule masterminded by flight lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings
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He also reigned as a military leader between June and September 1979. In this same year, there was a constitution on governance which said that

President is head of both state and government. The President is elected by Ghanaians and serves a four-year term that expires at the next general election; a President may serve a maximum of two terms. In the event of a vacancy the Vice-President serves as Acting President.

Hilla Liman became the next democratic president of Ghana on September 24,1979. Guess what, Jerry Rawlings was back into a room with his military rule. He overthrew Hilla Liman and took office by force in 1981 and reigned till 1993 where he contested for the presidency and won. He ruled for another with years until John Kuffours reign. John Kuffour ruled for eight years (2001-2009). Professor John Evans Atta Mills became the next president. He couldn't enjoy all his tenure of office but met a sudden demise in 2012 and was then replaced by his vice president John Dramani Mahama to continued with his good work. John Dramani became the flag bearer for the New Democratic Congress Party and won the election in 2013. He then lost to the current president H. E Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo in 2017.

The national flag

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The flag of Ghana was designed by Theodosia Okoh. It was the second national flag in Africa following the flag of the Ethiopian empire. The colors used by Theodosia Okoh were not accidental. The meanings of the colors are as follows:
Red: it represents the blood of the founding fathers who fought for the freedom of the nation.
Yellow: the yellow represents the abundance of minerals in Ghana. Especially gold.
Green: the green color represents the leasing of vegetation such as timber.
Black (star): it's a symbol of African emancipation.

The national Anthem

The national anthem is mostly sung in its short form. But below is the full version of it and most Ghanaians should take notice of it.

God bless our 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 oppressors' rule
With all our will and might evermore.

Hail to thy name, O Ghana
To thee we make our solemn vow;
Steadfast to build together
A nation strong in Unity;
With our gifts of mind and strength of arm,
Whether night or day, in the midst of storm,
In every need whate'er the call may be,
To serve thee, Ghana, now and evermore.

Raise high the flag of Ghana,
And one with Africa advance;
Black star of hope and honor,
To all who thirst for liberty;
Where the banner of Ghana free flies,
May the way to freedom truly lie
Arise, arise, O sons of Ghanaland,
And under God march on forevermore.
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Independence arch

Regions in ghana

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There are ten regions in Ghana. Each region has its own capital. The national capital of Ghana is Accra but was formerly Cape Coast.

  1. Greater Accra region-Accra
  2. Volta region - Ho
  3. Ashanti region - Kumasi
  4. Western region - Secondi Takoradi
  5. Eastern region - Koforidua
  6. Brong Ahafo region (the oldest tribe) -Sunyani
  7. Northern region (the largest region) -Tamale
  8. Upper East region -Bolgatanga
  9. Upper west region - Wa
  10. Central region -Cape Coast

Sports

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Ghana engages in different sporting activities among which are football, volley ball, basket ball and athletics.
The Ghana national football team has won the African cup of nations for 4 times making them second in rank after Egypt who has 7 trophy in glory. Ghana qualified for Men National World Cup for the first time in 2006 and consecutively qualified for the 2010 and 2014 campaigns. The level reached by Ghana in the 2010 World Cup made him become one of the few African nations to reach the quarter final. Ghana also has a local league with clubs that have dominated the African continent before. Among these clubs are
Kumasi Asanti Kotoko
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Accra Hearts of Oak
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Happy birthday to you Ghana. Long live 'Ama' Ghana. 28833-18a020-main1-793x562.jpg

Source
https://mobile.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/pre-colonial.php

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I loved this post of yours @gadol. It is a very good post and giving me some good insight into the history of your country. Thank you for sharing. I will resteem it a bit later, just don't want it go above my post I just made!

Lol. Thanks friend @hope777 . I appreciate your support. Surely it won't go above yours. There's more blessing in giving than receiving. Your post will be rich with upvotes

God bless our homeland Ghana.

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