I thought we are very mature in this country, since been called a Ghanaian, ranks one, higher up among Africans. Unfortunately, some harebrained Ghanaians are embarking on some stupidity funfair to mislead Ghanaians and re-write history to suit their weak ideology and faith.
It is again, all about J.B. Danquah and his ranking among the founders of this nation. First, we are told that he never gave this country the name Ghana.We are been told that in the 1890’s, Rev. J. B. Anaman first talked about the name Ghana, for the Gold Coast. Then came James Kwagir Aggrey and followed by Lady Luggard before J.B. Danquah coined up the name. All the same, J.B. is said to have nothing to do with re-naming the Gold Coast, Ghana.
Based on this argument then, Dr Kwame Nkrumah should not be credited for the call for African Unity, where all its nations will be united as the United States of Africa.
This idea was originally promoted by three West African gentlemen who formed the West African Students Union (WASU) in the UK in August 1925. These three, Dr. Bankole-Bright of the Union for Students of African Descent; J.B. Danquah of the Gold Coast Students Union and Lapido Solanke of Nigerian Progress Union brought togethertheir groups to form WASU.
WASU was to take steps to create a United States of West Africa which would eventually lead to the creation of a United Africa. WASU’s first president was W. Davidson Carrol of Gambia; its first Vice-President was J.B. Danquah of the Gold Coast; its first Secretary was Lapido Solanke of Nigeria and its first Treasurer/Financial Secretary was J. Akanni Doherry of Nigeria.
Nkrumah joined WASU after he went to the UK in 1945 and later became its vice-president. And the idea of African unity came from J.B. Danquah and WASU and Nkrumah who was indoctrinated with this idea from J.B. Danquah and Co., later championed it.
In 1965, the idea of a United States of Africa was accepted by all twenty-seven independent African nations at that time. Ideology however thwarted this. Seven of them, including Ghana, belonged to the Socialist group and insisted on a command economyfor the United Africa. The other twenty, belonged to the capitalist group and would prefer a free market economy. Nkrumah made sure the majority never had their way, so to this date, WASU’s proposal for a United States of Africa has not materialised.
The question is, when he was vice president of WASU, what was Nkrumah’s idea of a United Africa since the idea of African Unity was not originally his?
And the fact that Nkrumah led us to independence is not to be disputed, however he was not the founder of this nation but just one of the lot. Apart from the Asantes who were determined never to be colonized in the first place, the founders of this nation include great names like John Mensah Sarbah, Jacob Wilson Sey, J.E. Casely Hayford, Kwegyir Aggrey, Kobina Sekyi and J.B. Brown who were founding members of the Aborigine Rights Protection Society (ARPS) founded in 1897.
The ARPS was formed as a result of reactions and protests by chiefs and the intelligentsia following the British final erosion of powers and sovereignty of the indigenes. The Society began the first steps towards gaining our freedom from colonialism.
And by the way when he became president, Nkrumah eroded all the powers that was left of our chiefs when he passed the Chief Recognition Bill (1959) where only he must enstool/enskin a chief and only he can remove a chief from office.
The list of founders of this nation grew as many stood up to be counted as anti-colonialists. With the formation of the UGCC, the last batch of founders came with Nkrumah as the last of them.
The socialists, especially, the Nkrumaists will not accept this and so the comedy began. Somewhere in October last year, they paraded a frail old man, by name Kobina Taylor, on national television to back up claims that J.B. Danquah did not name this country, Ghana. Taylor rather came to expose his lack of knowledge of the history of this country and celebrated his ignorance with such pomp and pageantry.
First, Kobina Taylor claimed he was Nkrumah’s personal secretary who was also his confidante, yet no one in Nkrumah’s CPP remembers him.
Kobina Taylor told us that Nkrumah put together the initials of some ethnic groups in this country to arrive at the word, Ghana. They were Guans-Hausa-Akan-Nzema/Northern region-Accra/Alata.
And Ghanaians allowed such stupidity to pass freely by? When were the Hausas and Alata ethnic groups in Ghana? And by the way are Accra and Northern region, ethnic groups? So, are the socialists now telling us that the name Ghana was never derived from the Ancient Ghana Empire?
But what is so shocking is that some members of the intelligentsia have jumped into the mud to muddy Ghanaian history by discarding J.B. Danquah.
Recently, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo suggested that the University of Ghana will be renamed after J.B. Danquah. All hell broke loose as if to say that this is the first time such a suggestion has been made. And the socialists once again unleashed themselves on Ghanaians and went on an attacking spree, led by some of their well-educated ones who chose to sound infantile and exhibit lack of knowledge.
One such fellow was this lawyer called Yaw Frimpong Anokye who displayed his deep hatred for all that is J.B. Danquah but ends up exhibiting his ignorance of the truth.
His accounts were so misleading but unfortunately were swallowed hook, line and sinker by ignorant people. All that he said to counter the idea of re-naming University of Ghana was on the re-location of the University College of the Gold Coast from Achimota to Legon.
For God’s sake the University College of the Gold Coast was established on August 11, 1948 and was located in Achimota. The university has acknowledged J.B. Danquah as the one who first lodged a strong protest against the British Government, who had intended to established a single university for British West Africa, in Ibadan, Nigeria. J.B. Danquah’s protest was supported by prominent groups and individuals of the then Gold Coast and this made the British decided to establish a university in the Gold Coast.
Lawyer Yaw Frimpong Anokye lied big time when he said it was people like Sir Arku Korsah, J.E. Casely Hayford, Rev. Prof Baeta and Edward Asafu-Adjaye who petitioned the British administration through Parliament for the university to be re-located to Legon, adding that it was when they got to Parliament that J.B. Danquah joined the petition on the floor of the House.
He also concluded that it was the chiefs and people of La who gave up their land at Legon for the new campus of the university to be sited.
Readers, the University College of Gold Coast was first located in Achimota in 1948. It was relocated to Legon in 1951. Now, J.E. Casely Hayford died in 1930, so how could he have joined a petition to Parliament in 1950? And again, the first Parliament of the Gold Coast came after the general elections of February 8, 1951.
And from what he said, it could not be possible for the British Government to have accepted the petition and money raised by the people to have administration blocks and lecture halls put up by 1951. Mind you, Legon Hall, the first hall of residence was opened to students in September 1952.
And one could hear this lawyer, lying again when he said the university was re-located to Legon, on a plot of land belonging to the chiefs and people of La. The university as it stands is on Osu land. The area across the main road housing the Police Station, Legon Hospital, Senior village and beyond is part of La.
It was stated in other records that J.B. Danquah’s only contribution for the establishment of the university was when he donated towards the construction of the buildings at its new location in Legon. But Yaw Anokye Frimpong is also stating that J.B. Danquah never neared anything Legon and University of Ghana.
The question remains that, who sent a strong petition to the British Government about the need to establish a university in the Gold Coast? All proper records including records in the University of Ghana, mention J.B. Danquah.
And unfortunately, this is what our socialists are madly against. But as it is always said, the truth remains the same throughout the ages but the lie, will always keep changing.
One such lie was that it was Otumfuo Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II who organised farmers in Ashanti to contributed to raise funds to re-locate the university. The initial capital of £ 897,000.00 was raised by cocoa farmers in the Gold Coast, through the Cocoa Marketing Board.
On the side, Lawyer Yaw Anokye Frimpong further exposed his lack of knowledge of history. He had earlier disputed its definition as the records of past events but rather something like history is a process from the past into the future.
He stated that the Gas defeated the Asantes in a battle. The only battle the Asantes fought against Gas, was the Battle of Dodowa (Kantamanso). It was not a direct battle between the Asantes and the Gas.
That battle of August 7, 1826 was a battle between the Asantes on one side and the British, Gas, Dangbes, Fantis, Denkyiras, Akwamus and Akyems on the other. If Yaw Anokye Frimpong wants to preach history he must learn from resource persons and not just make things up.
We, Africans complain a lot that the Whites came and distorted our history. For example, it is in history books that David Livingstone was the one who discovered the River Niger. Such writings are to make the Whites have undue superiority over us. Then here we have our own blood-kinsmen distorting history just to deny those who need to be recognised as playing key roles in our lives.
This stupidity must stop.
Hon Daniel Dugan.
