WHY INDEPENDENCE STILL FEELS UNFINISHED

By Kofi Sasraku

A few days after taking my Norwegian friend to the old Polo Grounds — the birthplace of our independence — I found myself replaying the scene in my mind. Not the fireworks of 1957, not the famous declaration, but something quieter: the feeling that the moment had given us freedom, yet left us with questions we are still trying to answer.

Independence is supposed to feel complete — a clear break between one era and the next.
But for many Ghanaians, it still feels like a story with chapters missing.

The ceremony ended.
The flag was raised.
But the work? The work is still unfolding.

Because political freedom came faster than economic freedom

I once heard an economist say:

“Ghana became politically independent overnight.
Economically? We’re still negotiating that part.”

He wasn’t wrong.

The colonial system left us with:

• an economy built around exporting raw materials
• industries designed for extraction, not development
• institutions dependent on external approval
• a structure meant to serve someone else’s priorities

The flag changed — the blueprint didn’t.

Political independence is won in a moment.
Economic independence is a lifetime negotiation.

Because the psychology of dependency didn’t disappear with the British

Standing at the Polo Grounds, you can feel the pride of that night.
But pride alone does not erase inherited habits.

Colonial rule taught us:

• to look outward for validation
• to expect change from above
• to trust authority without questioning
• to centralise power
• to believe progress is something delivered, not built

Independence removed the rulers, not always the mind-set.

And until the mind-set shifts, the freedom will remain incomplete.

Because our institutions were not built for the kind of nation we wanted to become

The British designed institutions to control territory, not nurture citizenship.

So after independence, we inherited:

• administrative systems that prioritise caution over innovation
• weak enforcement structures
• bureaucracies are better at paperwork than progress
• leadership models shaped by hierarchy, not service

A country cannot run on institutions that were never built for its ambitions.

The software of independence was installed,
but the hardware remained colonial.

Because each generation resets the national project

Every time Ghana changes governments, the country starts again.

New plans.
New slogans.
New promises.
New direction.
New beginnings — always beginnings.

Development requires continuity.
But Ghana behaves like a nation that keeps forgetting the previous conversation.

Independence feels unfinished because our planning is episodic, not evolutionary.

We restart too often to get far.

Because freedom without accountability becomes noise

Independence gave us:

• a vote
• a voice
• a flag
• a government
• a constitution

But freedom without accountability is not progress.
It is simply movement without direction.

We have allowed:

• corruption to become normalised
• public service to become politicised
• institutions to become timid
• governance to swing between personalities
• national conversations to become emotional instead of strategic

Independence requires responsibility.
Responsibility requires discipline.
Discipline requires honesty.

We are still developing all three.

Because we inherited hope — but not a roadmap

The leaders of 1957 had a dream, not a manual.

Nkrumah saw a continental vision.
Danquah saw a democratic one.
Others saw a nationalist, socialist, or capitalist future.

Competing visions collided.
Coups interrupted.
Transitions derailed.
Plans fractured.

We were free — but uncertain.
Independent — but directionless.
Hopeful — but divided.

A nation cannot finish a journey it never fully agreed on.

Because independence is not an event — it is a habit

And habits take time.

Independence becomes complete only when:

• citizens trust institutions more than personalities
• leaders fear the people, not the other way around
• development outlives elections
• national memory is honest, not selective
• young people feel ownership, not distance
• infrastructure matches ambition
• accountability becomes cultural, not optional

We are moving.
We are growing.
We are learning.

But we are not finished.