LETTER TO MRS THEODOSIA OKOH

Dear Madam,
I am not heavy with age but I am very heavy with mysteries and curiosity. The symbols and the colours purposefully chosen by you to serve as the identity of a whole country are quite symbolic and intriguing.

On the 6th day of March which is traced to 1957, Ghana, the then Gold Coast, was liberated from direct colonisation by Dr Kwame Nkrumah. Being independent nation called for independent national anthem, independent national pledge, not forgetting highly coded flag for an independent nation like Ghana. I perfectly agree with the founding fathers about the changes in the national symbols and emblems. What remains to me as a puzzle and needs answering is the national flag designed by Mrs Theodosia Okoh in 1957 and readopted in 1966 after it was flown.

The beautiful national flag is decorated in red, yellow, green and a black star (normal pentagram). The Ghanaian flag was the first flag to have adopted those red, yellow and green colours after Ethiopia according to the written histories. The meaning of the national flag is recited by kindergarten kids as poem. The meaning of the Ghanaian flag was explained by Mrs Theodosia Okoh as follow:

Red: The red horizontal stripe of the flag represents the blood of those who died in the country's struggle for independence.

Gold/Yellow: Symbolises the mineral wealth of the Country.

Green: Represents the vegetation and the fertility of the Country.

Black Star: The black five-pointed star stands for the lodestar of African freedom. Others explain it as the hope of Africa. The black pentagram is my object of interest in this piece.

The black star, according to some historians, was adopted from the flag of the Black Star Line, a shipping line incorporated by Marcus Garvey that operated from 1919 to 1922.

Star, a standard pentagram, as called by many philosophers and spiritual people, represents man as a spiritual being. His head is the upper point of the star; his arms are the two adjacent points, and his legs, the two lowermost points. Alternatively, the five points have also represented the five elements, the building blocks of the universe in ancient Greek philosophy: earth, air, fire, water, and spirit.

In the context of the national flag, you said that the star stands for the lodestar of African freedom. A lodestar, according to Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, a star that is used by sailors to guide a ship or a principle that guides somebody's behaviour or actions. In the context of the Ghanaian flag, this happens to be the first flag designed by a colonised nation in Africa. Does the black pentagram represent an entity or someone who will guide Africa to be fully or totally emancipated from her 'slavery'? Although, all African countries are not ruled directly, they are still ruled indirectly because they are not financially, technologically and psychologically free. So, one way or the other, Africa is still being colonised indirectly and she is not totally free!!!

On August 26, 1948, nine years before the independence of Ghana, a son was born in a village near Bekwai; he was given the name Kwadwo Safo. He was born with red, yellow, blue and green (rainbow) around him. He has grown and known by Ghanaians as Apostle Dr Kwadwo Safo. He has his logo as a standard pentagram (star). He is the first black man who has plainly stated that his mission is to totally liberate Africa from her 'slavery' to total freedom. He is seriously embarking on the psychological, technological and financial liberation of Africa. Everything; his pentagram (star) logo, his vision and mission and the most serious of all is his accolade, the AFRICAN STAR. This astrologically and mystically means he is the STAR in our national flag-the one to guide Africa to true and refined freedom!

My question to you, Mrs Theodosia Okoh, is this, did you use that star to represent an individual? If it is an individual, do you agree with me that it is Apostle Dr Kwadwo Safo? Apostle Dr Kwadwo Safo couldn't have started the true Africa Renaissance, ancient prophecies traced to this modern age by astrologers and philosophers of which Marcus Garvy, Kwame Nkrumah and myself happen to be part of such people, from any place but the first country that was politically independent; and designed the first true flag of political freedom in Africa.

Hoping to hearing from you soon.
Thank you very much.
Best Regards
Signed
Kwasi Boadu Ntiamoah
Geological Engineering Student
University of Mines and Technology
[email protected]