Nana Sei writes…
History CANNOT be distorted forever. The tag “Big Six” was a British newspaper headline when some prisoners who took part in the 1948 Accra Riots were released, which included six members of the UGCC. It had nothing to do with the real struggle for independence (though the riots of retired soldiers after three of them had been shot dead at the Castle Crossroads triggered that consciousness). One year after the riots, Nkrumah had parted ways with the UGCC to form the CPP in 1949 to lead the Independence struggle. A second arrest in 1950 for launching the Positive Action campaign for independence saw him sentenced to serve a 3-year prison term. At that time, the UGCC members had accused him for leading the 1948 Accra Riots, and had, in fact, won favour with the British authorities for that stand.
The intensification of the fight for independence with the Positive Action called by the Nkrumah-led CPP (without the UGCC playing any role), caused him to be arrested and imprisoned for a second time. It is significant to note that none of the UGCC members was at that time arrested and imprisoned with him.
While in prison, the CPP filed him to contest the Accra Central seat (now Odododiodioo Constituency), which he won and therefore had to be released to lead the CPP to form a government in the first Legislative Assembly in 1951, when the Party won 34 out of 38 competitive seats (with the UGCC winning just 2 with 2 independent winners). With Sir Emmanuel Charles Quist becoming the first Speaker of the 84-member Assembly (46 non-elected), Kwame Nkrumah became Leader of Government Business.
It’s historically recorded that, with the heavy defeat of the UGCC in the 1951 elections, the party lost ground and was therefore disbanded in 1952 to merge with other minor opposition groups to form the Ghana Congress Party.
By the 1954 elections towards lndependence, the Ghana Congress Party (which included the UGCC), could win only one of the 104 seats. The CPP won 72 seats; the Northern People’s Party won 15 seats; Independent Candidates won 11 seats; Togoland Congress won 3 seats; and the Ghana Congress Party winning only 1 seat!
It’s worthy to note that the only single seat won by GCP was on the ticket of Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia who stood for the Wenchi West Constituency (then part of the Ashanti Region).
From the first legislative election of 1951 to the 1954 Independence election, none of the so-called “Big Six”, apart Kwame Nkrumah, was active in the lndependence Struggle. Dr. K.A. Busia, who won the only seat for GCP, was never a member of the UGCC.
At the Polo Grounds where Ghana was declared an independent state on 6th March, 1957, is it not ridiculous to imagine that none of the “Big Six” who claimed to have led the struggle would be absent at that historic moment? BUT, lo and behold, CHAMPION NO YƐ BAAKO PƐ!!! It was only The Osagyefo (the pathfinder) who emerged; and was genuinely flanked by his faithful compatriots to declare, “The battle is ended; and thus Ghana, your beloved country, is free forever.”
With this piece, l shudder to add my voice to the fact that, the “Big Six” tag is a figment of the pen of that British Journalist – NOTHING HISTORIC!!!
Aluta Continua