Managing editor of the Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has stated that the Big Six, with the exception of the first president of Ghana, Osagefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, are undeserving to have their images featured on the country’s currency.
The Big Six comprised six influential figures within the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), a prominent political entity in the British colony of the Gold Coast, later renamed Ghana following independence.
They are Kwame Nkrumah, Ako Adjei, Edward Akufo-Addo, Joseph Boakye Danquah, Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey and William Ofori Atta. The Big Six are considered the founding fathers of present-day Ghana.
However, speaking to the media, Mr Pratt stated that Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah is the only person fit to be celebrated for fighting and standing for the country during the colonial era.
According to him, in 1948, six leaders were arrested but five of them denied any association with the ex-service men and the riot at the time.
He mentioned that the other five individuals betrayed Kwame Nkrumah when they should have stood with him.
He questioned why such individuals would have their faces on the currency when Nkrumah was the only one who didn’t deny the ex-service men.
“I don’t know if you have noticed, try getting the 2 Ghana Cedis note that has Nkrumah’s head on it and see if you will get it. It is very very difficult to get. To the extent that people are suggesting that because the note has Nkrumah’s head on it, it is gradually withdrawn from circulation. Now, today we have put the heads of some six people including Nkrumah on our currency and we call them the big 6. Do you know how they became the big 6? Because the colonial masters thought that it was the UGCC leadership which instigated the 1948 riots.
“ 6 leaders who were arrested. 5 of the 6 denied any association with the ex-service men and the riots. All the 5 said deal with Nkrumah, he is the one who is behind all these riots. Of the 6 of them it was only Nkrumah who said I support the rioting , I support the ex-service men. So what makes them the big 6? It’s the big one and he is Nkrumah. The 5 are small because they denied what could have made them the big 6,” he added.
On February 28, 1948, former soldiers embarked on a peaceful march with the aim of presenting a petition to the Governor of the Gold Coast, urging the fulfillment of promised pensions and other compensations for their wartime contributions.
These ex-servicemen hailed from the distinguished Gold Coast Regiment, renowned for their valorous service in Burma alongside British forces. Despite assurances of post-war employment and pensions, upon their return home, opportunities were scarce, and their pensions remained unpaid.
As the procession advanced towards the Governor’s residence at the Christiansborg Castle, they encountered resistance from colonial police, who obstructed their passage. Superintendent Colin Imray, a British police official, purportedly ordered his subordinates to open fire on the demonstrators, though they hesitated to comply. Amidst the chaos, Superintendent Imray, possibly in a state of panic, seized a rifle and fired at the leaders, resulting in the tragic deaths of three veterans: Sergeant Adjetey, Corporal Attipoe, and Private Odartey Lamptey. In addition to the fatalities, numerous individuals in the crowd sustained injuries.
The news of these killings incited outrage among the populace of Accra, sparking widespread unrest.
Concurrently, the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), spearheaded by the influential Big Six, promptly dispatched a cable to the Secretary of State in London, expressing their condemnation of the violence.