Ghanaian activist and lead convener of the Democracy Hub pressure group, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, has criticised the decision to observe July 1 as a National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving.
The national observance, slated for July 1 — Ghana’s Republic Day — is intended to be a day for citizens to thank God for His mercies and pray for the country’s progress.
But reacting in a social media post on Saturday, June 7, Barker-Vormawor described the move as misguided and a betrayal of the nation’s history.
He argued that no other observance should be attached to the day Ghana gained full sovereignty from foreign rule and became a republic.
“The idea of making 1st July a prayer day is not just misguided — it is a betrayal of our history. We must never forget: the stories we tell ourselves as a nation matter. They shape who we are and what we fight for,” he wrote.
“July 1st is not an ordinary day. It is the day we tore ourselves free from the grip of Empire. A day we proclaimed that we, the people of Ghana, are sovereign — that no foreign power, no colonial god, no imperial hand would chart our destiny again.”
He further expressed concern that the country is choosing to spend such a significant day praying to what he described as “the very god our colonisers gave us,” while ignoring the structural issues destroying the nation.
“And now — prayer? We are told to bow our heads and murmur to the very god our colonisers gave us, while the nation they plundered now lies broken by the greed of our own hands.
“Let me guess: we will be praying to White Jesus to save the country we ourselves are destroying. No. July 1st must remain a day of bold remembrance, of courage, of defiance — not of docility. Not of shame disguised as piety,” he added.
The activist stressed that both the state and its leaders owe it to those who fought and died for Ghana’s independence to preserve the historical meaning of Republic Day.
