'Ghana's Colonial Governors Didn't Mean Well For The Country'

The Paramount Chief of the Essikado Traditional Area, Nana Kobina Nketsia V has lambasted Ghana's colonial masters saying they did nothing good for the country aside satisfying their own economic and political interests.

According to him, while some history books may want to highlight the things colonial governors did for Ghana, then Gold Coast, it was important to know that most of those services were not done in the interest of Ghanaians but had strings attached.

Citing the case of Gordon Guggisberg who was the Governor of the Gold Coast from 1919 to 1927, he said Guggisberg was only dancing to the tunes of his masters in Britain to use Africa and Ghana in this case as a market to further strengthen the British empire.

“Guggisberg came and he did nothing for you. He had one ambition, he came here to work for Britain. He built Takoradi harbour so that he can carry your goods away. The year Takoradi harbour was opened, the amount of goods that left Ghana could have built 10 Takoradi harbours”, he indicated.

Nana Nketsia was speaking at a public lecture in Accra dubbed the Ghana Heritage Forum in commemoration of the Founder's Day. It was organised by the Heritage Newspaper, a subsidiary of the EIB network.

He bemoaned the rate at which the Ghanaian heritage is being 'substituted' for foreign culture which in his view is the root cause of most of the problems facing the country.

He posited that heritage is not just about material things but “the way we think and do things, sets us apart from other people and these are all part of our heritage”.

Emulate past leaders
Nana Nketsia called on the leadership of the country to follow in the footsteps of the country's founding fathers who toiled to build a strong and independent Ghana.

“You don't break away from colonialism and follow colonial footsteps, it is wrong”, he added.

The Group Managing Editor of the EIB network, Eyram Bashan on her part, noted that the idea behind the forum was to get the participants to appreciate the Ghanaian culture and heritage which is gradually being replaced by foreign influences.

She expressed the hope that Ghanaians and Africans at large will come to terms with who they are and project themselves wherever they go.