The colors: tribute to grandma Theodosia Okoh

A great woman has transited, bequeathing a great legacy to her Green African Nation. Akora Theodosia Okoh is a great African brand in every respect. Greatly cultured. Great artist. Great sportswoman and very importantly, a great nationalist. Such great spirits of inspiration transcend their physical lives, etched in timeless gold. It is a great pride to have been part of the CPP and Achimotan delegation to her state farewell.

A brand of many brands, it's difficult to single out her greatest achievement. She displayed excellence in all her fields of endeavor. Her cardinal signature, however, is the Golden Green Flag of Ghana. She triggered the branding of the golden green African nation at independence. Like the great old lady she became, she manifested Africa in our exact colors and design. Red Gold and Green. Grandly projected in the center is the most powerful Black Star.

Black is the undiscerned finality of power. Out of black emerge all other colors. Black generates itself into splits of primary and secondary colors. Black gives birth to light. Color is simply the reflection of light on the eye. In the absence of light there is no color. The power of black is therefore beyond light and all colors. Africa is black. Her son is Gold. Gold is ordinarily yellow. It is the son that rules. 'all power above, on and beneath the earth is given unto the Son'. Ghana is the first born son of Africa. It is of great interest that the leading commodities of the world are black oil and yellow gold.

Green is the most tangible of colors. Natural vegetation speaks for itself. Green is life. It is fresh. 'Bunu' in Akan means green. 'Obaa Bunu' means green lady or virgin lady. Black is the pre-birth, green the after-birth. It is this greenness of nature and Africa that is represented in flags of all Black countries. We are the green continent, born of the Virgin Lady.

The physical symbolism of the soul is blood. The presence of soul is therefore red blood. Nationalism is therefore not child's matter. It borders on the development of the soul of the nation. A nation is built on the sweat and blood of its people. Hard work of brawn and brain, spirit and soul builds a great nation. Our great sister, wife, mother and grandmother could not have better branded us with such a powerful artistic and symbolic statement.

Blue is an interesting color. According to the oxford dictionary, it means depress. Blue is an illusion. The illusive predominance of blue is the sky and the seas. As much as both sea and sky look blue, the actual color of the waters is colorless. In a world where symbolism is everything, blue development may not be real, and therefore unsustainable.

The geopolitical world is branded in three colors, Green Africa, Blue West and Red Asia. Political parties, which are vehicles for projecting various cultures, are therefore branded as such, respectively. Any African country with blue in the national flag or political party colors, therefore speaks volumes. It summarily means the presence of Caucasian people or the indirect penetration of the Western hegemony.

Examples of the above analysis are South Africa and the New Patriotic Party of Ghana. The flag of South Africa is the traditional colors of Africa, black, green, yellow and red plus blue. The blue represents the Caucasians presence. NPP on the other hand is a blue capitalist party, a fully Western feature. NPP is therefore the periphery of the Blue Western hegemony. NPP's presence is therefore not sustainable in this Green land. Perhaps the current chaos within its ranks is a great pointer to its inevitable recession.

This is the reason why the blue coup against the CPP government in 1996 has caused great disequilibrium in Ghana and Africa. As we bid Mama Theodosia Okoh a great farewell, her last public lesson of standing up against parochial and bad leadership must inspire us. This was when Mayor Vanderpuye of Accra wrongly and unilaterally attempted to rename The Theodosia Okoh Hockey Pitch, an edifice Mama Kumea courageously and patriotically orchestrated. Upon her fierce resistance, her name was reinstated on the edifice.

The greatest tribute we must pay to this great woman is to open a new national page where the colors of our golden green flag have a depth of meaning and symbolism. Thank you, Theodosia Okoh, artist, sportswoman, a nationalist and a Great Green Cultured Lady. CPP is ready to recreate the environment for many more of you caliber for the new day of great promise. Nkunim wo ho mayen. God bless Africa.

AUTHOR: Yaw Nkunim
Sculptor, Writer, Concept Developer
And CPP Member
yawnkunim@ymail.com