A medical doctor and former presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Kennedy Kobina Arthur, has said it will be disingenuous to suggest that Ghana has achieved nothing after 67 years of independence, although he would agree that the country has punched far below its weight.

The Medical Doctor cum politician rather expressed concern about what he calls the lack of recognition for the true heroes of the nation.

Speaking on Newsfile on Saturday, March 9, Dr Arthur argued that instead of constructing a national cathedral, the government should consider building a national museum to showcase Ghana's rich cultural heritage.

In his view, it was wrong for Ghana to hold on to the belief passed on by the colonial masters that places emphasis on the "Big Six" as the only people to have led and fought for the country's independence. He mentioned a long list of important national personalities who played varied roles in the independence struggle but have not been acknowledged.

“We should instead be teaching in schools about the great men and women who have built our nation since the first band of modern Ghanaians marched out of Ghana 800 years ago. Ndewura Jakpa, Osei-Tutu, Nana Yaa Asantewaa, George Ekem Ferguson, the leaders of the Aborigine’s Rights Protection Society who completely changed our history.”

“We do not prioritise our true heroes and that in effect is a major symptom of a people who are not truly independent except in flag and anthem. That is my point,” he said.

Dr Arthur added that Ghana's progress cannot be defined solely economically. He emphasised the pivotal role that Ghana's independence played in the struggle for black emancipation.

He pointed out that Martin Luther King Jr. who had just come out from Birmingham jail, was among those present in Accra on March 6, 1957, the day of Ghana's independence.

According to Dr Arthur, Martin Luther King Jr. was ecstatic to witness African people finally governing themselves after centuries of oppression and colonialism.

“I listened to a quote and read. He said a lot of people on the streets of Accra were crying for joy. And he said, I was crying, I was inspired. It was nice to see a place where black men were managing their own affairs. Nkrumah’s foundational leadership of African unity, his transformative speech, the fact that a lot of Africans in Europe were claiming they were Ghanaians, we should not underestimate the psychological and cultural impact that we had on the emancipation of the black race and all oppressed people. That is a major progress.”

Dr Arthur asserted that Dr Kwame Nkrumah's administration implemented educational reforms, resulting in Ghana becoming one of the most literate countries in Africa.

According to him, Dr Nkrumah played a crucial role in building indigenous businesses in Ghana, contributing to the progress made by the country.

“People around the world for the first time saw blacks flying planes. We won African Cup of Nations, we went to the quarter-finals in the Olympics. We did a lot of transformative things. Yes, we lost our way back, let us not pretend nothing was achieved,” he said.