09/05/2026
NATION ADDRESS
Delivered to every home, market, school, and village
Fellow citizens, elders, youth, and children of this land,
Today I speak to you not about division, but about what binds us: the soil we farm, the Western Togoland that flows through our valleys, the languages we sing in, and the future our children deserve.
Our story is written in resilience. It did not begin with borders drawn on maps, and it will not end with them either.
Our History: A Record of Endurance
In 1884, our land became part of German Togoland. For 30 years, our people traded, farmed, and built communities under a colonial system not of our choosing.
When the First World War came, Togoland was divided between Britain and France in 1916.
After the war, the League of Nations placed the western part under British mandate in 1922, and later under UN Trusteeship in 1946. Throughout those decades, our chiefs, farmers, teachers, and traders kept our culture alive, our markets open, and our children in school despite the shifting flags above them.
In 9th May 1956, the United Nations organized a plebiscite across Western Togoland. The people voted on whether to join the Gold Coast in an independent Ghana, or to remain under trusteeship. On 6 March 1957, when Ghana became the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain independence, Western Togoland was integrated into Ghana
These events were not just political changes. They were lived by our grandparents and parents in Ho, Hohoe, Jasikan, Keta, and all the way north to Nkwanta, Kpassa, Dambai, Kpandai, and Bimbila. The towns and villages around Yendi also share in this broader history of trade routes, migration, and cultural exchange that have connected our people for generations. They farmed through them, taught through them, and raised families through them.
That is why our history matters: it shows that no matter the system, the people of this land have always kept moving forward.
Hope Lives in What We Can Build Together Now
Hope in our land: Western Togoland feeds Ghana with food, energy, and culture. From the Akosombo Dam that lights homes across the nation, to the ports of Keta, the farms of Hohoe, and the markets of Nkwanta, Kpassa, Dambai, Kpandai, and Bimbila, your work sustains families far beyond our borders. That is power. That is value.
Hope in our youth: Every young person here carries skills, ideas, and energy that no border can limit. Whether you code, farm, teach, trade, or create, your talent is the foundation of tomorrowβs economy.
Hope in our unity: We are Ewe, Guan, Ga-Dangme,and more, living side by side from the coast to the northern districts and their neighboring areas. Our diversity is not a problem to solve. It is the strength that makes our communities rich, our markets vibrant, and our traditions alive.
Hope in peace: Development only grows where there is peace. Peace is not silence. It is the courage to talk, to listen, and to choose dialogue over division. Let us keep that courage.
We declare 9th May as Heroes Day in the entire Western Togoland.
On this day, let us remember all who came before us β the farmers who tilled the land under German rule, the teachers who kept schools open during the mandate era, the elders who spoke for their people at the 1956 plebiscite, and the ordinary men and women in Hohoe, Jasikan, Nkwanta, Kpassa, Dambai, Kpandai, Bimbila, and every village who held families together through every season of change. May Heroes Day be a time to honor their memory, teach our children their stories, and renew our commitment to serve the next generation.
So I ask you today: let us focus on what we can do together, right now.
Better roads. Cleaner water. Schools where every child can read and dream. Clinics where mothers feel safe. Markets where traders thrive.
Whatever your view of the future, hold it with dignity. Speak it without fear. And remember: a nation is not built by borders alone. It is built by people who refuse to give up on each other.
The work is hard. But we have faced hard things before and stood.
The road is long. But every step taken in honesty and unity brings us closer.
May this land remain blessed. May its people remain strong.
And may hope, not fear, guide our next step.
For the people. For the land. For the future.
Thank you.
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Source:
FAMILY OF WESTERN TOGOLAND TEAM
German Embassy Accra
Japan - The Government of Japan
