Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African country to gain its independence in 1957. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who was responsible for the successful negotiations with the British and declared independence, became the first Prime Minister and then President of Ghana.
REASONS WHICH MADE GHANA TO OBTAIN HER INDEPENDENCE EARLIER AND PEACEFULLY
i. Ghana had a good leader e.g. Kwame Nkrumah
ii. There was no tribalism in Ghana. All people were united by CPP to struggle for independence.
iii. The absence of settlers in Ghana. There were no many whites who opposed CPP in the struggle for independence.
iv. The use of English as common medium of communication united all people. They could understand the language during the nationalist activities.
v. Ghana was a small country which had good physical infrastructure such as road, railways etc which were used by the nationalist to spread message against colonialism.
vi. Education. Ghana was highly favoured by British in terms of social services. It had good roads and many schools. This led to the emergency of many nationalist elites.
vii. Strong farmers and peasants. The position of CPP was further strengthened by creation of cocoa purchasing company in 1952 which spread the message of CPP among the farmers and peasants.
PROBLEMS FACED GHANA DURING MASS NATIONALISM
i. Banning of political parties. E.g. the British banned political parties and its activities for example the Accra evening newspaper was banned.
ii. imprisonment of political leaders. Example, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and several others.
iii. Lack of funds. Africa n did not have enough fund to their political parties.
iv. Lack of education among the farinas. Just few Africa ns understood well, the nationalist objectives e.g. Ashanti dominated national liberation movement and the northern people party.
