"At long last, the battle has ended! And thus Ghana, your beloved country is free forever."
And yet again I want to take the opportunity to thank the chiefs and people of this country, the youth, the farmers, the women who have so nobly fought and won this battle.
Also, I want to thank the valiant ex-servicemen who have so co-operated with me in this mighty task of freeing our country from foreign rule and imperialism.
And as I pointed out… I made it quite clear that from now on – today – we must change our attitudes, our minds, we must realize that from now on, we are no more a colonial but a free and independent people.
But also, as I pointed out, that also entails hard work.
Reshaping Ghana’s destiny
I am depending upon the millions of the country, and the chiefs and people, to help me to reshape the destiny of this country.
We are prepared to pick it up and make it a nation that will be respected by every nation in the world.
We know we are going to have difficult beginnings, but again, I’m relying upon your support, I’m relying upon your hard work.
Seeing you in this… it doesn’t matter how far my eye goes, I can see that you are here in your millions and my last warning to you is that you are to stand firm behind us so that we can prove to the world that when the African is given a chance he can show the world that he is somebody!
We have awakened. We will not sleep anymore. Today, from now on, there is a new African in the world!.
That new African is ready to fight his own battles and show that after all, the black man is capable of managing his own affairs.
We are going to demonstrate to the world, to the other nations, that we are prepared to lay our own foundation.
Our own African identity
As I said in the assembly just minutes ago, I made a point that we are going to create our own African personality and identity. It’s the only way that we can show the world that we are ready for own own battles.
But today, may I call upon you all - that on this great day, let us all remember that nothing in the world can be done unless it’s had the purport and support of God.
We have won the battle and we again re-dedicate ourselves … Our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa.
Let us now fellow Ghanaians, let us now ask for God’s blessing and for only two seconds in your thousands and millions, I want to ask you to pause only for one minute and give thanks to Almighty God for having led us through our difficulties, imprisonments, hardships, and suffering to have brought us to the end of our trouble today.
National anthem One minute silence.
Ghana is free forever, and here I will ask the band to play the Ghana national anthem.”
Source: http://kwabena.me/post/193427005/kwame-nkrumahs-speech-on-independence-6th-march-1957
What I understand from Nkrumah's speech
(words in blue are mine).
"At long last, the battle has ended! And thus Ghana, your beloved country is free forever."
After so many years of desiring freedom from cruel British rule, we've finally made it today. Today, Ghana your beloved country is free forever.
And yet again I want to take the opportunity to thank the chiefs and people of this country, the youth, the farmers, the women who have so nobly fought and won this battle.
I want to thank you all as I could not do it without you the good people of Ghana. This battle was won by you all the grassroots; the youths, farmers, and the women who courageously fought and won this battle.
Also, I want to thank the valiant ex-servicemen who have so co-operated with me in this mighty task of freeing our country from foreign rule and imperialism.
I must also thank the brave ex-servicemen who fought together with us in this huge task of freeing our country from brutal colonial dictatorship.
And as I pointed out… I made it quite clear that from now on – today – we must change our attitudes, our minds, we must realize that from now on, we are no more a colonial but a free and independent people.
From now on we must realize we're done with the British. We must change the way we behave, the way we think. We must understand from now on the British no longer have any control over us. They're no longer our master and we're no longer their servant. We're now free to determine who we want as our leader, how to run our government, what policies we make. The colonialists will no longer use our resources to develop Britain. Our future is now in our hands.
But also, as I pointed out, that also entails hard work.
But, as I said before we must work hard to make these things happen.
Reshaping Ghana’s destiny.
Changing the destiny of Ghana for good.
I am depending upon the millions of the country, and the chiefs and people, to help me to reshape the destiny of this country.
I will depend on the masses of this country, and the chiefs and the people to help me change the destiny of this country for good.
We are prepared to pick it up and make it a nation that will be respected by every nation in the world.
We're ready to pick up the ruins to make Ghana a country that will be respected in the world.
We know we are going to have difficult beginnings, but again, I’m relying upon your support, I’m relying upon your hard work.
Note that it will not be easy at first. But, as I said I will rely upon your co-operation and the sacrifice you'll make.
Seeing you in this… it doesn’t matter how far my eye goes, I can see that you are here in your millions and my last warning to you is that you are to stand firm behind us so that we can prove to the world that when the African is given a chance he can show the world that he is somebody!
No matter which side I look, I can see you're here in your millions and my final warning to you is to stand behind us. Our independence is a threat to Britain and they may come up with a conspiracy to bring down my government. Please stand with me is such a time so we together can show the world what a great people we Africans really are.
We have awakened. We will not sleep anymore. Today, from now on, there is a new African in the world!.
Africa has awakened and never shall we sleep again. From today there's a new Africa!.
That new African is ready to fight his own battles and show that after all, the black man is capable of managing his own affairs.
The new Africa is ready to solve her own problems and prove that after all the black man is capable of ruling himself for the better.
We are going to demonstrate to the world, to the other nations, that we are prepared to lay our own foundation.
We will show the world that we're ready to chart our own course.
Our own African identity.
The real meaning of an African.
As I said in the assembly just minutes ago, I made a point that we are going to create our own African personality and identity. It’s the only way that we can show the world that we are ready for own own battles.
As I said some minutes ago in the assembly, I made it clear we will create our own Africa. The real meaning of Africa which will be different than the African they wanted us to be. That's the only way we can show the world we're ready to rule ourselves.
But today, may I call upon you all - that on this great day, let us all remember that nothing in the world can be done unless it’s had the purport and support of God.
May I inform you all to remember that all these things cannot be done without God on our side.
We have won the battle and we again re-dedicate ourselves … Our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa.
We have defeated the British in Ghana but that's not the end. Our independence is meaningless unless it kick-starts a revolution for independence across the African continent.
Let us now fellow Ghanaians, let us now ask for God’s blessing and for only two seconds in your thousands and millions, I want to ask you to pause only for one minute and give thanks to almighty God for having led us through our difficulties, imprisonments, hardships and suffering to have brought us to the end of our trouble today.
Let us now my people in your millions ask for God's blessings. Please let's pause for a minute and thank the almighty God who have ended our troubles today by leading us through difficult times, imprisonment, torture, and suffering in the hands of satanic British rule.
National anthem One minute silence.
National anthem, one minute silence.
Ghana is free forever, and here I will ask the band to play the Ghana national anthem.”
Ghana is free forever, and I will ask the band to play the Ghana national anthem.
Kwame Nkrumah is the Way. Enjoy!.
Africason is a die-hard believer in Africa.
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