Once a British colony known as the Gold Coast, Ghana became an independent nation on March 6, 1957. It was an event of huge significance, not just for the people of Ghana itself, but for the whole of Africa. Ghana was the first colony in sub-Saharan Africa to gain its independence, setting off a chain reaction across the continent.

Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, declared that “the independence of Ghana is meaningless, unless it is linked with the total liberation of Africa”, and the new nation dedicated itself to supporting other African colonies seeking liberation. Nigeria was the first to follow, in October 1960, and within the ensuing decade most African countries had achieved self-rule, although the struggle for freedom was not finally to end until the collapse of apartheid in the early 1990s.

Ghana’s current president, John Kufuor, makes the point that there was no blueprint for the enthusiastic, but mostly inexperienced, leaders of the new state as they got to grips with the business of governance, economic management and building a nation out of diverse peoples co-existing within artificial boundaries imposed by the colonial authorities.

It was an enormous challenge, and over the half century since then Ghana has suffered its share of political turmoil and economic problems. But as today’s Ghanaians celebrate the 50th anniversary of their freedom, their nation enjoys a well-established stability and a high standing both regionally and internationally. There are good reasons for indulging a sense of national pride.

Of course, there are also still major challenges to be faced, and they are magnified by a much larger population. There were just five million Ghanaians at independence. Today, the population is almost 23 million, and becoming increasingly urbanised. Accra, the bustling capital city, is home to four million.

With the support of international donors, Ghana has seen one of the fastest rates of poverty reduction in Africa in recent years and has made steady progress towards realising its Millennium Development Goals. A sustained period of economic growth has set it on the path towards achieving its ambition of becoming a middle income country by 2015.

As Ghana celebrates, however, President Kufuor says it must not become complacent, but continue to strive towards achieving excellence. “As we reach one milestone, we must aim higher. As we achieve one goal – political independence, economic prosperity, a literate population, a longer and healthier lifespan, peace and self respect on our continent – we must raise our sights even higher.”