Culture troupes perform at Ghana's 60th independence anniversary parade at the Independence Square, Accra, capital of Ghana, on March 6, 2017. (Xinhua/Shi Song)

ACCRA, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Ghana marked its 60th Independence Day at the Independence Square in the capital Accra on Monday, with a host of foreign dignitaries showing up to celebrate its position as the first Sub-Saharan country to attain independence.

At the Independence Square, troops drawn from the various security services as well as a unit of schoolchildren took part in a national anniversary parade to mark the day, which was also graced by thousands of Ghanaians and several African Heads of State including Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

The display of ground and air military hardware, policing and fire service apparatus added color to the national parade. Similar rallies were held throughout the country to mark the anniversary.

Addressing the parade, Ghana's President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said after sixty years, Ghanaians have run out of excuses, and it is time to set Ghana to rights and get the country to where it should be.

He said the challenge before the citizenry is to build the economy and generate a prosperous, progressive and dignified life for the mass of the people.

"We have a bright future, and we must mobilize all our resources and all our strengths, here and in the Ghanaian Diaspora, to get to that promised land of prosperity faster," he said.

Ghana, formed from the British colonies of Gold Coast and Togoland, gained independence from British rule on March 6, 1957.