Patriots who sacrificed their lives for Ghana deserve commendation - Kwadaso MP

Ghanaian patriots who sacrificed their energy, resources and lives for Ghana to gain its political freedom deserves commendation and must be celebrated.

Dr. Kingsley Nyarko, Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwadaso who stated this, said the independence of Ghana did not come on a silver platter and that selfless leadership was the foundation and future of Ghana.

“The independence of Ghana was not realised on a silver platter; as a matter of fact, it took years of struggle, pain, disappointment, betrayal, and even deaths before we were able to gain freedom from our colonial overlords - the British.

“The patriots who sacrificed their energy, resources, and lives deserve commendation, and must be celebrated, they were our leaders, foundation and future,” Dr Nyarko told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Kumasi.

He said the patriots, who by dint of hard work, sacrifice, dedicated service and commitment to the country, led the struggle that culminated in the country’s independence on March 06, 1957, played a key role in the country’s progress and development agenda.

Ghana, our motherland, he said, was and continues to be a great land with extraordinary human talents, great opportunities, possibilities and resources.

What was needed was hard work, patriotism, selflessness, commitment and collective effort to work and ensure the prosperous future of the country for all.

“With distinct diversities expressed in our ethnicities and cultures, we have the opportunity to overcome the impediments such as poverty, hatred, greed, corruption and other social vices, that have over the years, derailed our efforts of enduring progress,” he stated.

Dr. Nyarko said these obstructions threatened the survival of the country, and must be dealt with in unison to guarantee the socio-economic turnaround.

During the era of colonial rule, he said, the forefathers had differences, yet, they came together to pursue a collective and worthy goal by delivering the country from colonial domination.

As our first President once said ‘our independence is meaningless until it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa’.

This vision and sustainable economic development and progress, according to him, “cannot be accomplished when the people are divided”.

“We cannot achieve this vision, when we allow excessive partisanship to take over our conscience and our obligation to produce a better and fulfilling future for the present generation and posterity.

In every society, community or country, there were people who stood in the gap between the present and the future and fought for the liberation of their people.

“We don’t only eat and die, but to impact our world and leave a legacy for our generation and subsequent ones, because the meaningfulness of our existence lies in the impact we make on society,” he stated.

Dr. Nyarko said Ghanaians needed to consciously reward patriotism and acts that encourage others to sacrifice their lives for the benefit of society.

“This is why we need to embrace Founders' Day and make it part of our collective existence,” he stated.