International Journal of African Historical Studies Vol. 47, No. 2 (2014) 287

Verandah Boys versus Reactionary Lawyers: Nationalist Activism in Ghana, 1946–1956*

By George M. Bob-Milliar Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology-Kumasi ([email protected])

Introduction Despite the historical importance of political participation in Ghana, there has been no serious attempt to analyze political party activism as an overall process in the pre- independence period. Yet, the nature of party activism and the activists that were at the forefront of party mobilization is important for understanding the history of political activism in Ghana. To be sure, Dennis Austin’s Politics in Ghana, 1946–1960 stands out as one of the most detailed and thorough account of political participation in Ghana, spanning the late colonial and the immediate post-colonial periods.1 Many other excellent publications examine the origins, nature, and the growth of nationalist or protest movements after the Second World War.2 Furthermore, a few case studies of localized political themes have broadened our knowledge of how local grievances necessitated the emergence of such protest movements. And then there are the few personal memories of political activists.3 Political participation is a very broad concept, but it can be defined as

* The author wishes to thank Sara Berry, the two anonymous reviewers, and the editor of the IJAHS for their constructive comments on earlier drafts, from which the final version has greatly benefited. A version of this article was presented at the 16th Annual Conference of the International Society for African Philosophy and Studies (ISAPS), University of Ghana, Legon, 18 March 2010. The author thanks the participants. Nevertheless, the author is solely responsible for any remaining errors. 1 Dennis Austin, Politics in Ghana, 1946–1960 (London: Oxford University Press, 1964). 2 See, for example, David Apter, Ghana in Transition (Princeton: Princeton University Press, [1955] 1972); Albert Adu Boahen, Ghana: Evolution and Change in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (Accra: Sankofa Educational Publishers, 2000); Kofi Awoonor, Ghana: A Political History from Pre-European to Modern Times (Accra: Sedco/Woeli Publishing services, 1990); Paul Ladouceur, Chiefs and Politicians: The Politics of Regionalism in Northern Ghana (London: Longman Group, 1979); D.E.K. Amenumey, Ghana: A Concise History from Pre-Colonial Times to the 20th Century (Accra: Woeli Publishing Services, 2008). 3 See, for example, Richard Rathbone, “Businessmen in Politics: Party Struggle in Ghana, 1949–57,” Journal of Development Studies 9, 3 (1973), 391–401; Maxwell Owusu, Uses and Abuses of Political Power: A Case Study of Continuity and Change in the Politics of Ghana, 2nd ed. (Accra: Ghana Universities Press, 2006); Jean M. Allman, “Hewers of Wood, Carriers of Water: Islam, Class, and Politics on the Eve of Ghana’s Independence,” African Studies Review 34, 2 (1991), 1–26; Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana: The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah (Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson, 1957); Joseph Appiah, Joe Appiah, the Autobiography of an African Patriot (Accra: Asempa Publisher, 1996); Mumuni Bawumia, A Life in the Political History of Ghana (Accra: Ghana Universities Press, 2004). Copyright © 2014 by the Board of Trustees of Boston University. 288 George M. Bob-Milliar

“those actions of private citizens by which they seek to influence or to support government and politics.”4 In Ghana, pre-independence nationalist activism was aimed at freeing the nation from foreign domination. The objective of this article is to present an understanding of the culture of party activism in the 1950s. The type of political activism discussed in this article was of two kinds: micro- and macro-level activism,5 and urban and rural activism. Although the emphasis in this article is on micro-level political behavior, some attention is given to macro characteristics as well. Most analyses of Ghanaian political behavior discussed the formal aspects of the political system. As yet, there has been no serious attempt to analyze the variables that defined party activism in the pre-independence period. This article hopes to open discussion on political activists; men and women who dominated party politics particularly at the grassroots levels at the dawn of independence. The United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), the first party to be formed by the southern Gold Coast elites had the avowed aim of ending colonial rule through legal and constitutional means. Its leadership consisted of persons from the legal profession. The UGCC mobilized the disgruntled colonial subjects in the urban centers, and for a period of less than five years was the foremost political organization in the southern Gold Coast towns of Saltpond, Cape Coast, Sekondi-Takoradi, Accra, Koforidua and Kumasi. The party enjoyed urban support and could count on the goodwill of upper-class Gold Coasters, especially the so-called natural rulers and the merchant class. Its popularity was, however, short-lived as another political party—the more progressive Convention People’s Party (CPP)—emerged and completely overshadowed the UGCC. The CPP was dominated by commoners who called themselves verandah boys. Two different political traditions with somewhat loose ideologies were now competing to end British colonial rule in Ghana. The CPP’s verandah boys were competing against the UGCC’s “reactionary lawyers” on different platforms. The CPP’s verandah boys were devoted and inspirational. Above all, they were disciplined and their organizational skills exceptional. According to Kofi Baako, “[t]he term verandah boys does not mean a person who sleeps on the verandah. All it means is that the leaders and members of the CPP, notwithstanding how wealthy they may be, do and will continue to associate themselves with the man [or woman] on the lowest rung of the social ladder.”6 While the “reactionary lawyers” were mostly Middle Temple trained barristers-at-law and successful merchants, the verandah boys were mostly Standard VII graduates and many were unemployed or informally employed.7 This article applies the concept party activists to cover all party members who sought elected office, fund-raised or campaigned for their various parties, their mode of involvement (intra- or inter-party) and with the colonial system constituted political activism.

4 Lester Milbrath and M.L. Goel, Political Participation: How and Why Do People Get Involved in Politics? (Chicago, IL: Rand McNally College Publishing Company, 1977), 2. 5 Micro-level activism refers to individual campaigns on platforms and at polling stations and macro- level activism refers to larger social units, such as national politics and the political system. 6 Quoted in Kwesi Yankah, Education, Literacy and Governance: A Linguistic Inquiry into Ghana’s Burgeoning Democracy (Accra: Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2006), 60. 7 Richard Rathbone, Nkrumah and the Chiefs: The Politics of Chieftaincy in Ghana, 1951–1960 (Athens: Ohio University Press, 1999).

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The narrative presented in this article is based on archival data of poll results of elections conducted in 1951, 1954 and 1956. These are supplemented with newspaper and magazine reports. Newspapers are important but underutilized sources in Ghanaian historical writings. Yet, the print media was one of the vehicles used by the nationalists’ leaders for their “newspaper agitations.” News editorials and reports sometimes amplified colonial injustices. Political activities were given wide coverage in the press as many politicians either owned the publishing houses or were editors of private newspapers (e.g., Kwame Nkrumah, J.B. Danquah). As a result, I found newspapers an indispensable source for the reconstruction of the history of party activism in the early 1950s. The article begins with a survey of political activities leading up to the inauguration of the UGCC, and later of the CPP. The next section discusses political parties, activists and their modes of engagement as evidenced in the three general elections. Special emphasis is put on activists and their organizational strategies. It can only be hoped that some of the many interpretative statements advanced here, or complex developments briefly sketched, will stimulate others to delve into the rich archives of written and oral sources of party activism in Ghana.

The Birth of Two Political Traditions The Annual Report on the Gold Coast for the year 1947, acknowledged two important developments in the year under review. In the “Brief Review of 1947” segment, the report noted that a new constitution had been granted to the Gold Coast in 1946. This was a noteworthy development because for the first time the laws promulgated in the Legislature were applicable not only to the Colony but also to Ashanti. Secondly, the Legislature had an elected African majority and this gave Ghana the first African-elected majority of any colonized territory in Africa.8 The last paragraph reported that “a new movement, the United Gold Coast Convention, which may most conveniently be classified as a political party, sprang up during 1947.” Continuing it added that “the movement has not so far contributed to the solution of the practical and urgent problems facing the country but has confined itself to an appeal to nationalist feelings.”9 On April 7, 1947, George Alfred Grant (popularly known as Paa Grant), the African merchant prince, invited about forty representative leaders to a conference held at Canaan Lodge, Saltpond. The delegates were to consider proposals for the formation of a political party.10 Advances in communication technologies were basic: news for public consumption travelled very slowly and not many knew of this very important gathering of the Gold Coast elites. Nonetheless, the few, not least the Gold Coast press, that heard of the gathering at Saltpond, relished the moment. The published editorials of some of the leading newspapers of the day said it all:

8 Colonial Office, Annual Report on the Gold Coast for the Year 1947 (London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1948), 3. 9 Ibid. 10 Dennis Austin, “The Working Committee of the United Gold Coast Convention,” Journal of African History 2, 2 (1961), 279.

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U.G.C.C.—a name to conjure with! It has a magical ring! It has no doubt startled some persons in certain quarters and set them thinking, what! What is it all about? The Gold Coast too? Are they not a pack of self-complacent, easy-going, pleasure- loving creatures? Yes, assess the Gold Coast African and give him any unfavourable or low value you like, yet at heart he is entirely different: he possesses latent qualities that elude the foreign appraiser or assessor. Even the most aimless and self-loving indigene of this country possesses a spark that can be easily fanned into flames.11 The news of the UGCC’s formation excited many people because it was said to be “neither an association nor a party exclusively for the chiefs nor for the intelligentsia; it was for, and belonged to, the people of the Gold Coast irrespective of tribe, clan, class, creed or sex.”12 The Gold Coast press was fully in support of the nationalist cause. The editor of the Spectator Daily, commenting on the forthcoming, August 4, 1947, convention, wrote, “The Gold Coast has lagged behind while it is being falsely patted as one of the best advanced in the colonial Empire. We have made enough fools of ourselves; time we thought seriously and put aside petty differences.”13 The African Morning Post, another vibrant newspaper, opined: “we admire the gesture of the organisers since the country gains all by unity and nothing at all by division in ranks, individual or collective.” The paper continued, “the proposed Gold Coast Convention therefore is a public desideratum and we can only hope it is going to prove a blessing to the rising generation in the same way as the Gold Coast Aborigines Rights Protection Society proved a boon to the old generation and to the products of that generation to this day and forever.”14 Nationalist sentiments were mainly confined to the south of the country. The Colony was the center of political agitations. The Northern Territories (hereafter NTs) were completely insulated from these developments and were not represented in these early political meetings at Saltpond.15 In fact, organized political activity was virtually unknown in the northern part of the country until 1949.16 According to Paul Ladouceur the only documented organized political activity, prior to the advent of nationalist politics, occurred in about 1936 when a number of literates, mostly teachers, concerned about the

11 Public Records and Archives Administration Department (hereafter PRAAD), Accra, N.P. 22/4, Gold Coast Observer (Accra), Jul. 25, 1947, 151. 12 Ibid.

13 Ibid. 14 Ibid. 15 The NTs were the creation of the British in 1901. It consisted of three provinces, Northern, North- East, and North-West. It was a deliberate British policy to keep the North fully separated from the other regions (Colony, Ashanti, and British Togoland) of the country. The North remained a labor reservoir servicing the southern goldmines, timber, and cocoa plantations. Such was the isolation of the NTs that the February–March 1948 Riots that touched off a period of intense political activity in the Colony and Asante did not record any protests in the NTs. 16 Ladouceur, Chiefs and Politicians, 79.

Nationalist Activism in Ghana, 1946–1956 291 backwardness of the NTs formed an association to demand improvements in the colonial educational policies for northern Ghana.17 The immediate post-World War II situation was challenging to colonial powers throughout the world. In Ghana, the period 1946–1947 was the highest point of discontent with the colonial system. Dissatisfaction with the colonial system came from both rural and urban areas of the country.18 Yet, of all the social forces in the country, only the chiefs were apparently contented with colonial rule. For the western educated professionals “[t]he ‘colour’ picture of Ghana was irritating,” observed William Ofori Atta. He continued: Every senior or high office in the Civil Service was occupied by an expatriate—a white man. In the commercial field, all the bosses were white. Even in the churches the situation was no different: all the top clergy were white. To add insult to injury, those few Africans who were fortunate enough to attain high office were described as occupying European posts. And certain areas of our country were described as European quarters or areas.19 In short, their education, be they university graduates or Standard VII, did not guarantee citizens of Ghana partial or full participation in the running of the country. Dissatisfaction with the colonial system served as the immediate incentive for participation in the nationalist movement.20 Disapproval of the colonial system was very high in both urban and rural areas, and news of the nationalist attempt at party formation was welcomed by the western educated elites, pretty traders, rural farmers, and unemployed youth. However, all the excitement generated in the press was just the prelude to the official inauguration of the first post-World War II political party to be formed in Ghana. At Saltpond on Monday, August 4, 1947, and before “a great assembly composed of paramount chiefs, clergymen, intelligentsia, traders, and thousands of men, women and children, all in gala attire,” Paa Grant opened the inaugural meeting of the UGCC with an inspirational speech in which he threw open the doors of the convention to all members of the society.21 The convention had the avowed aim of ensuring that by “all legitimate and constitutional means, the control and direction of Government shall within the shortest possible time pass into the hands of the people and their chiefs.”22 Several representative

17 Ibid. 18 See, for example, Francis K. Danquah, “Rural Discontent and Decolonization in Ghana, 1945– 1951,” Agricultural History 68, 1 (1994), 1–19; Li Anshan, British Rule and Rural Protest in Southern Ghana (Bern: Peter Lang Publishing, 2002). 19 William Ofori Atta, Ghana: A Nation in Crisis (Accra: Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1988), 5. 20 See, for example, Austin, Politics in Ghana. 21 “Father Grant Inaugurates United Gold Coast Convention: Call for Positive Line in Politics,” The Gold Coast Observer (Cape Coast), Aug. 8, 1947,173. 22 By a Special Correspondent, “Chiefs and People are Solidly Behind the Convention,” Gold Coast Observer (Cape Coast), Aug. 15, 1947, 185.

292 George M. Bob-Milliar groups spoke in favor of the motion, including Gold Coast women.23 Mrs. J.B. Eyeson of Saltpond and Kumasi spoke for the women of the country when she said: “we had in the past given enthusiastic support to the cause of the church. Today it is the cause of the nation. Women of the country are behind you.”24 Clearly the UGCC enjoyed the support of all strata of Gold Coast society; disapproval, if any existed, emanated from the European quarters. Much has been written on the Working Committee of the convention, which was made up of western educated professionals and a few local merchants. One individual whose personal disposition stood out above all others, and who became an important factor in determining the trajectory the nationalists’ agitation would follow, was Kwame Nkrumah, who became the general secretary of the convention in January 1948.25 The Working Committee of the convention consisted of two ideologically divergent groups. Perhaps the best description of the leadership of the convention is the one offered by Kwame Arhin. He wrote: The leaders of the UGCC were busy and relatively wealthy men whose manner of life differed substantially from that of the vast majority of the peoples of the Gold Coast. They aimed at “reform,” making gradual changes in the constitution, and not “revolution,” abrupt and drastic change. They were better at “taking” than “doing”; for example, mobilizing the people at the down-to-earth or “grassroots” level for political purposes. More “British” than African in life-style, they found it difficult to mix with the ordinary people. They were inclined to rely more on British professions of good-will and “sense of fair play” than on the support of organized potential voters for the achievement of self-government. They were clearly unsuitable as would-be leaders of a disciplined political force. Recognizing their own ineffectiveness as leaders of the people, they asked Nkrumah to come home as Secretary. Nkrumah came, saw and conquered.26 Nkrumah represented the progressive wing of the convention and it was therefore no surprise that the radicals soon collided with the conservative leadership. The first cracks appeared on the leadership front soon after the February 1948 Riots.27 While the conservative group28 regretted the extremity of the disturbance, the disturbance was godsend for members of the radical wing who were determined to seize the opportunity

23 For more on CPP female political activists, see Takyiwah Manuh, “Women and Their Organisations during the Convention Peoples’ Party Period,” in Kwame Arhin, ed., The Life and Work of Kwame Nkrumah (Accra: Sedco Publishing, 1991), 108–34. 24 PRAAD, Accra, N.P. 22/4, Gold Coast Observer (Accra), Aug. 8, 1947, 185. 25 See, for example, Austin, Politics in Ghana; June Milne, Kwame Nkrumah: A Biography (London: Panaf Books, 1999). 26 Kwame Arhin, A View of Kwame Nkrumah, 1909–1972: An Interpretation (Accra: Sedco Publishing, 1990), 13. 27 For the causes, nature, and effects of the riots, see Boahen, Ghana: Evolution and Change, 162–65. 28 While in prison in Kumasi, the “Big Six” blamed Nkrumah for causing the riots and for their own detention. See Milne, Kwame Nkrumah.

Nationalist Activism in Ghana, 1946–1956 293 and exploit the situation.29 Here again, the NTs featured marginally in the political activism and agitation on the leadership front. When the UGCC opened its first branch in Tamale around 1948, membership initially consisted entirely of southerners, mostly civil servants working in the North. The first northerner to join the nationalists’ politics was Ebenezer Adam, a teacher of ten years standing in Kumasi. Adam detested the colonial system and was thus attracted to the UGCC because of its pro-independence agenda.30 He became a member of the UGCC in Kumasi where he was based. When he was transferred to his hometown of Tamale, he carried with him the UGCC’s idea and became the party’s first general secretary for the whole of the NTs.31 Together with another northerner, R.S. Iddrissu, a driver and transport owner who had also lived and worked in Kumasi, the two were able to attract other northerners onto the UGCC’s platform.32 In 1949, the two men for the first time represented the North at the Saltpond meeting of the UGCC that was to decide the future course of Gold Coast politics. They were among the youth groups outside the meeting hall who urged Kwame Nkrumah to lead a new party made up of the youth.33 Disagreement on the leadership front focused primarily on which modalities to use to organize the liberation struggle. As has been noted by June Milne, the progressive youth wing led by Nkrumah was blamed for the incarceration of the UGCC leadership after the 1948 Riots.34 With such irreparable differences on the agenda for independence, it was only a matter of time before a split occurred. The radical wing announced it would leave the convention on June 11, 1949. And at a mammoth rally attended by an estimated crowd of about 60,000 at the West End Arena in Accra on June 12, 1949, Nkrumah announced the birth of the CPP in these solemn words35: Therefore, under God, in the name of the Chiefs and People of this country, in the name of the rank and file of the CPP, in the name of the Labour Movement in this country, in the name of our valiant ex-servicemen, in the name of the Youth Movement throughout the length and breadth of this country, in the name of the common man, the man in the street, in the name of our children and those yet unborn, in the name of the New Ghana that is to be, in the name of Sergeant Adjety [sic] and his other comrades who died at the Cross Roads of Christiansborg and who are here with us now, and in the name of God Almighty and humanity, I announce the birth of the CPP, which shall from now on carry on the struggle for the liberation of this dear Ghana of ours on a recognized party system until full

29 Nkrumah welcomed the Watson Commission’s findings that the Working Committee was connected with the disturbances. For more on this, see Austin, “Elections in an African Rural Area,” 284. 30 Ladouceur, Chiefs and Politicians, 81. 31 Ibid. 32 Ibid. 33 Ibid. 34 June Milne, Kwame Nkrumah: A Biography (London: Panaf Books, 1999). In Kumasi prison, the “Big Six” blamed Nkrumah for causing the riots and for their own detention. For more on this, see Austin, “Elections in an African Rural Area” (1961), 284. 35 Boahen, Ghana: Evolution and Change, 167.

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self-government now is attained and democratically maintained for the Chiefs and People of this country. So help us God.36 The CPP aimed at “fighting relentlessly by all constitutional means for the achievement of full self-government now.” Herein lay the difference between the two parties. While the UGCC remained basically a party of the urban intelligentsia and the professional class, the CPP was the party of the youth, the commoners, or as they preferred to call themselves, the verandah boys. The birth of the new party was deeply worrisome. Past divisions in the ranks of the leaders of the country had been blamed for the lack of political progress. Piecemeal amends were attempted to bridge the differences between the Danquah and Nkrumah groups, but they proved unsuccessful. The UGCC had its popularity and numerical strength weakened by the split with Nkrumah. Within a three- year period, the Gold Coast had evolved two political traditions based on left-right ideology. The rightist/conservative group was led by the UGCC and the leftist/progressive was represented by the CPP. In the 1920s two other groups mirrored the UGCC and CPP. Adu Boahen has argued that the fragmentation of political traditions in Ghana predates the UGCC and CPP.37 Indeed, he claims that “a direct linear progression” could be traced from the Mambii Party and from the Ratepayers’ Association to CPP and UGCC, respectively.38 However, in terms of political goals, the UGCC was the first major political association to propagate “Self-Government” (SG) as necessary within its time.

The Elections and Campaign Strategies: “SG Now” vs. “SG Earliest Possible Time” The British colonial authorities drafted in meticulous detail, another constitution that replaced the Burns Constitution, which ended on December 31, 1950. The new constitution, known as the Coussey Constitution, was inaugurated on January 1, 1951 and became operational with legislative elections on February 9, 1951. The 1951 elections were very important for a number of reasons. First, secret ballots were introduced for the first time in the country. Second, a majority of legislators in the south of the country were elected on the tickets of identifiable political parties. Finally, all the NTs legislators were nominated based on the Electoral College system.39 The electoral districts were demarcated into municipal and rural constituencies. This was also limited to the southern part of the country. The rearrangement of the country’s electoral politics called for massive public education. Secret balloting was new to many people in the country and the colonial authorities took all the necessary measures to educate the populace. Through its Public Relations Department, a pre-election campaign awareness dubbed “Your Vote is Secret”

36 Kwame Nkrumah, “Movement for Colonial Freedom” Phylon 16, 4 (1955), 397–409. 37 Adu Boahen, The Ghanaian Sphinx: Reflections on the Contemporary History of Ghana, 1972–1987 (Accra: Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1989), 63. For a discussion on the Mambii Party and the Ratepayers’ Association, see David Kimble, A Political History of Ghana (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963), 451–55; Stanley Shaloff, “The Gold Coast Water Rate Controversy, 1909–1938,” Research Review 8, 3 (1972), 21–34. 38 Boahen, The Ghanaian Sphinx, 63. 39 Austin, Politics in Ghana.

Nationalist Activism in Ghana, 1946–1956 295 began in October 1950.40 Specially trained electoral officers were dispatched in sixteen cinema vans to tour thirty-one electoral districts of the Colony, South Togoland, and Ashanti to educate the citizens on how to cast valid votes.41 Another round of awareness creation began in early January 1951. On January 3, 1951, some thirty-eight days before the election, officials of the Public Relations Department set off in sixteen vans equipped with loudspeakers to create awareness of the forthcoming polls and the rules governing their conduct including how to register and cast a valid ballot.42 Concurrent with the public education awareness campaign was the emergence of several new political parties. Many parties had sprung up in the south of the country and declared their intentions of participating in the country’s first-ever general election. The interest was, however, short-lived. A dispatch from the secretary of state for the colonies indicated that he “could not concede the idea for a Prime Minister, or the formation of a government in a strict party sense, as the party system had not been fully developed in the Gold Coast.”43 Three parties—Liberal Party, Conservative Party, and the Labour Party— folded up. Three other parties remained in contention. The UGCC was led by Dr. J.B. Danquah; Kwame Nkrumah was the chairman and leader of the CPP. The third contender in the election was the newly formed National Democratic Party (NDP), which resulted from the merger of the Mambii Party and the Ratepayers Association. The NDP was led by Dr. Frederick Victor Nanka-Bruce. The leaders of the UGCC and NDP were household names in the south of the country. Danquah, a royal from Akyem Abuakwa, was also a well-known lawyer and had been at the forefront of many nationalist agitations including playing key roles in the Aborigines Rights Protection Society (ARPS) and National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA). Nanka-Bruce was a physician, politician, and journalist. He is reputed to be the third black person to practice medicine in the Gold Coast. And like Danquah, he was also deeply involved in the big nationalists’ issues of the day.44 Kwame Nkrumah was the rising star of the anti-colonial agitations in the country. On January 21, 1950, Nkrumah was arrested and tried for inciting the “Positive Action” which the colonial authorities described as “an illegal strike.” He was also charged with “sedition” for an article he authored in the Cape Coast Daily Mail. He was serving a term of imprisonment at James Fort Prison at the time of the campaign.45 Yet, Nkrumah’s popularity was unmatched and he was kept in the public eye through the campaigns waged by the CPP’s verandah boys. The three parties running for legislative seats advanced varied policies through their manifestos. The CPP campaigned on its slogan of “SG Now,” while the UGCC maintained its gradualist policy of self-determination within the “earliest possible time.”

40 “Gold Coast on the Eve,” West Africa, Jan. 20, 1951, 33. 41 Ibid. 42 Ibid. 43 Henry B. Cole, “Gold Coast,” West African Review, Feb. 1951, 193. 44 Jeffrey P. Green, Black Edwardians: Black People in Britain, 1901–1914 (London: Taylor and Francis, 1998), 147. 45 Cole, “Gold Coast,” 193.

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However, all parties agreed on one issue of national importance: only the right calibre of men should be sent to the Assembly, irrespective of party affiliation.46 “In this hour think in that faith and elect to the new Assembly the best men for the job, the best men in the true sense, irrespective of party, tribe, religion and class,”47 noted the election manifesto of the UGCC. The UGCC could boast of well-known names such as J.B. Danquah, K.A. Busia, Nii Amaah Ollennu, Obetsebi Lamptey, Ako Adjei, Edward Akufo Addo, Robert Blay, and William Ofori-Atta among its pool of candidates for the legislature (see Table 1). The CPP had a very large popular following but found itself short of names who could command respect in the larger Gold Coast society. However, the party had candidates such as Krobo Edusei, Kwesi Lamptey, Alfred Biney, Komla Gbedemah, among others (see Table 1). These candidates exuded self-confidence and charisma, which resonated with the common man’s aspirations. The British colonial authorities modeled the National Assembly in their colonial territories along the lines of the House of Commons in England. The House of Commons was assumed to be the pre-eminent place for the well-educated and men of property. Similarly, the Assembly was thought to be fit for men who appreciated British etiquette and spoke the language of the colonialists. The UGCC and NDP had an impressive number of qualified men including physicians, academics, barristers, chiefs, teachers, wealthy merchants, and other professionals of the upper class (see Table 1). What both parties lacked were candidates with the common touch. The UGCC fielded candidates for twelve constituencies. In addition to party activists, it supported candidates who although not members, were regarded by it as “fit and proper persons to be elected to the Assembly.”48 It supported the candidature of J.W.R. Amoo (Vice-president of the Tarkwa CPP) and G.K. Addai for Kumasi-North, among others.49 The CPP fielded candidates for all the municipal and rural constituencies (see Table 1). But as a strategy the party withheld the names of its candidates until a week before the election. Perhaps this was done to avoid public scrutiny and criticism, which was bound to follow the announcement of the names of the party activists, since the party lacked many elites in its ranks.50 Despite the secrecy, there was keen intra-party competition for seats to the Assembly. Those who suffered incarceration for their political activism, known as “Prison Graduates” (or PGs), used the PG accolade as their bargaining chip for nomination. This position met with some opposition in Kumasi but was amicably resolved by the central executives of the party.51 The CPP candidate list was therefore a mixture of Standard VIIs (e.g., Krobo Edusei and Alfred Biney) and a handful of Oxbridge graduates (e.g., Kojo Botsio and Archie Caseley Hayford).52 Women were conspicuously

46 Ibid. 47 See United Gold Coast Convention, Plan for the Nation, Election Manifesto: Make Ghana and Make Ghana Live (party election manifesto) (Saltpond: United Gold Coast Convention, nd), 1. 48 “UGCC to Fight Election in Twelve Constituencies,” West Africa, Jan. 20, 1951, 39. 49 Ibid. 50 Cole, “Gold Coast,” 195. 51 Ibid. 52 See “Who Is in the New Assembly?” West Africa, Feb. 17, 1951, 135.

Nationalist Activism in Ghana, 1946–1956 297 missing in the candidate list of all the competing parties, as none were nominated to stand for election in the historic polls. Journalists dominated the ranks of the political parties, and the CPP had many more journalists than the other parties. As a result, the print media was used to educate the public on all that was wrong with the colonial system. The CPP used its papers, the Evening News (Accra), Morning Telegraph (Sekondi) and Daily Mail (Cape Coast), to campaign. In Kumasi, the CPP used the Ashanti Pioneer for mobilizing party activists. The Kumasi branch of the CPP placed over 250 announcements in the Ashanti Pioneer between January 1950 and February 1951.53 “CPP on Wheels” was the clarion-call and mass rallies were held at places such as the Asafo Zion Park, New Zongo, Abbey Park, and Fanti New Town, among others. The typical CPP campaign rallies opened with the hymn “Lead, Kindly Light.”54 The CPP activists sung the religious hymn with “sincerity and enthusiasm.”55 After the opening hymn, prayers were said, asking for divine help and protection in the struggle for freedom. The speakers for the campaigns were then introduced and such speakers were mostly PGs. In Kumasi, the Rev. Fr. Saifah wore his white PG cap to address one such public lecture at Abbey Park (Ashanti Newtown).56 The CPP membership was a mixture of radicals and cool heads. Party rallies were platforms to demonstrate total commitment to the party’s cause. Indeed, some activist went to the extreme to show their commitment. At one rally in Kumasi, a female party activist ended her inspirational campaign message by slashing her face with a razor blade. She smeared the blood over her body and challenged male activists to do the same to demonstrate that no sacrifice was too great in their struggle for freedom.57 The use of the print media to reach party activists was seldom attempted by the other parties. Even though there were sympathetic papers, as evidenced in the editorials of the Daily Echo and the Ashanti Pioneer, they were less effective in the propaganda campaign as compared to the CPP- owned papers. The CPP election program was very bold and made familiar political demands. “Seek ye first the political kingdom,” claimed the party’s election manifesto, “and all things will be added unto it.”58 The party stated unequivocally that it was entering the Assembly to “fight for self-government which the Coussey Committee denied us,” and claimed that “once the right men get in, victory will be ours at no distant date and NOT in 15 or 20 years as imperialists have been promising us.”59 Politically, the party’s manifesto wanted specific constitutional changes. First, it wanted direct elections everywhere, with no property or residential qualification for candidates. It also wanted a “free and

53 See Ashanti Pioneer, Kumasi, Jul. 3, 6, 11, 1950, 2, 3, 5. 54 “Gold Coast,” West Africa, Jan. 20, 1951, 25. 55 Ibid. 56 Announcement in Ashanti Pioneer, Jul. 7, 1950, 2. 57 Born Ajoa Naba Nyewe, but her loyalty, dedication, and oratory made Nkrumah rename her Ama Nkrumah. See Emmanuel Akyeampong and Ama de-Graft Aikins, “Ghana at Fifty,” Transition (2008), 31. 58 “What Does the CPP Want?” West Africa, Jan. 27, 1951, 63. 59 Ibid.

298 George M. Bob-Milliar democratic National Assembly” elected by universal adult suffrage, and not fewer than 100 constituencies, and a Senate for the chiefs.60 The Volta Hydro-Electric project was in the forefront of the party’s economic program, and the “electrification of the whole country” was its “prime objective.”61 Jobs for all, free health care, and free compulsory education up to the age of 16; development of technical and university education, and better conditions for teachers featured on the social program of the party. The manifesto ended with a caveat by warning Gold Coasters that all the proposals put forward meant “hard work,” but sounded a note of confidence that once the people were released from “imperialist bondage,” the party was certain that Gold Coasters would rise to the occasion.62 The colonial authorities were faced with their first challenge of interpretation even before the 1951 Constitution was fully operational. Kwame Nkrumah was nominated to stand on the CPP’s ticket in Accra. Yet he was a prisoner of His Majesty’s government and serving his term in the James Fort Prison. The eligibility of Nkrumah in particular and of other CPP activists as Legislators was questioned. Rightly so, because the 1951 Constitution stated that “no person shall be qualified to be elected as an Elected Member of the Assembly who is serving, or has within the immediately preceding five years completed the serving of, a sentence of imprisonment exceeding twelve months.”63 Notwithstanding this constitutional provision, the executive committee of the CPP went ahead and nominated Nkrumah to stand on the party’s ticket at the Accra Municipality. Tactically, the party made room for a replacement should Nkrumah’s candidature be rejected. The issue of Nkrumah’s eligibility elicited comments from London when two MPs, Sir Richard Acland (Labour MP for Gravesend), and J. Grimond (Liberal MP for Orkney and Shetland) in a letter published in West Africa magazine urged the Gold Coast government “to consider whether in the interest of the country’s stability, it could not release Mr. Nkrumah in time to play his part in the council of his party, of which he is still the acknowledged head and, we must say, the most capable leader.”64 Their plea was sharply rebutted by another MP, David Gammans, when he said, “I cannot imagine a worse start for the new Gold Coast Constitution than that a man who has been convicted by the Courts and is in jail should be let out merely because he happens to be a political leader.”65 Nkrumah’s and the CPP’s popularity soared in urban and rural areas. The colonial authorities did not disqualify Nkrumah from standing. The CPP “was clearly more politically skilful than any mere hooligan element could have been.” The electorate overwhelmingly voted for Nkrumah and endorsed the governor’s “Act of Grace.”

60 Ibid. 61 Ibid. 62 “What does the CPP want?” West Africa, 63. 63 See “Disqualification for Membership of the House of Assembly,” (paragraph 378 of the Coussey Report) Report of the Select Committee of the Legislative Council (Accra: Government Printing Department, 1950), 28. 64 See “A Gesture of Confidence,” West Africa, Dec. 23, 1950, 1188. 65 See “From A Correspondent,” West Africa, Jan. 6, 1951, 1226.

Nationalist Activism in Ghana, 1946–1956 299

The news reports on the political campaigns revealed that the CPP was the master of propaganda. However, its main contenders, the UGCC and the NDP, rarely engaged in propaganda. A chronicler noted that “for the newcomer to the Gold Coast there was only one political party fighting the first General Election. In bush villages, on broad highways, in the markets and streets of Accra, the theme was constant, unvaried and dreadfully insistent—Vote For the CPP.”66 Another observer added that “if the UGCC and the NDP had posters, flags and all the other trappings of a modern election campaign, they were extraordinarily modest about them.”67 The CPP’s verandah boys waged a fierce campaign. Many of the party youth used their rural connections to spread the CPP’s message throughout the country. As Richard Rathbone notes, the youth were essential to the overall CPP’s election campaign efforts.68 The CPP, more than any of its competitors, gave the youth the opportunity to participate in the liberation struggle. The party recruited from the large young population in the urban centers.69 The distinguishing features between the parties were very thin as far as the campaign messages were concerned. All three parties wanted independence and rapid economic and social development for the country. The UGCC however, maintained its gradualist approach, and whereas the CPP condemned the 1951 Constitution as “fraudulent and bogus,” the UGCC was constrained because some of its leaders served on the committee that drafted the constitution.70 The CPP campaigned right up to polling day. At polling stations throughout the Colony and Ashanti, the party established CPP “Voters’ Advice Centres,” fifty yards from the polling stations, as demanded by the electoral laws.71 Under large CPP flags illiterates were taught how to vote, and had their names and house numbers written down on pieces of paper to be presented to the officials at the polling stations.72 At the close of polls the chanting of the count of the ballots was the same everywhere. “CPP, CPP, CPP and up went the CPP candidate on the shoulders” of other activists who had gathered around polling stations.73 This was the case in many polling stations throughout the Colony and Ashanti (see Table 1). In the end, candidates at primary elections were sometimes returned unopposed and sometimes all candidates were CPP activists (see Table 1). The importance of the 1951 election was not lost on the average Gold Coaster. The election was a crusade of nationalism and at the head of that crusade was the man in James

66 From A Correspondent, “Before the Election” West Africa, Feb. 17, 1951, 137. 67 From A Special Correspondent, “Strange Bedfellows of the Gold Coast Elections” West Africa, Feb. 17, 1951, 124. 68 Rathbone, Nkrumah and the Chiefs. 69 Ibid. 70 From A Special Correspondent, “Strange Bedfellows of the Gold Coast Elections” West Africa, Feb. 17, 1951, 123. 71 Ibid. 72 Ibid. 73 Ibid., 122.

300 George M. Bob-Milliar

Fort Prison. The CPP won the majority of seats, totalling thirty-eight (see Table 1).74 Nkrumah polled 22,780 out of the total 23,122 votes cast—the largest individual poll in the election.75 Independents performed better than the UGCC and NDP. A total of thirty-four seats were won by independents. The UGCC won three seats. In the two-member constituency of Akim Abuakwa, J.B. Danquah, and William Ofori-Atta barely won their seats: 95–85 votes and 87–83 votes, respectively. Gerald Otto Awuma was the other UGCC candidate outside the Colony to have won a seat at the Akpini-Asogli constituency (see Table 1).76 One of the most surprising polls was at Ankobra where Robert Blay, the UGCC candidate and secretary of the party, recorded a single vote.77 Could this be an indication that UGCC’s failure in the polls went beyond organization? Clearly the personalities of the party cannot be ruled out. Some of the famous UGCC candidates defeated in the municipal and rural elections secured seats in elections for the Territorial Councils (e.g., K.A. Busia for Ashanti Council). The CPP victory shocked the leadership of the UGCC. Indeed, many of the leaders never regained their political momentum. Yet, on close inspection the CPP was no match for the UGCC and the NDP. Signs of the CPP’s preeminence were seen in the Town Council elections of 1950. The party won all the elections starting in Accra (April), Cape Coast (June), and Kumasi (November). In those elections the CPP was seen as the best organized.78 Why did the UGCC and NDP perform poorly in the polls? The polls correlated with how the parties organized and executed their election campaigns. Not for an instant did the CPP campaign flag in any way.79 Among the three parties in contention, the CPP was singled out as the most assiduous in ensuring that people in the rural and urban areas registered and knew how to vote. Illiterate voters were educated on how to put their ballot paper into the box marked with the symbol of the CPP’s sponsored candidates.80 The CPP also engaged in propaganda. The party used its numerous newspapers—its mouthpieces—to wage a relentless press campaign of character assassination against the leadership of the UGCC.81 It succeeded in discrediting whatever moral capital remained within the leadership. The UGCC and NDP suffered the disadvantage of not having any “Prison Graduates.” Again, the conservative nature of the UGCC and NDP leadership prevented them from tapping into one of the most skillful constituencies. Organizationally, the Gold Coast women were miles ahead of their counterparts elsewhere. Significantly, the CPP provided a platform for the voices of women activists to be heard. The feminine face of party activism contributed in no small measure to the success of the CPP at the polls.

74 See “Who Is in the New Assembly?” West Africa, Feb. 17, 1951, 135. 75 Marguerite Cartwright, “The Ghana Elections of 1956,” United Asia 9, 1 (1957), 73. 76 See “Who Is in the New Assembly?” West Africa, 135. 77 See “Election Casualties,” West African Review, March, 1951, 289. 78 Boahen, Ghana: Evolution and Change; Austin, Politics in Ghana. 79 Ibid. 80 See “Strange Bedfellows of the Gold Coast Elections” West Africa, Feb. 17, 1951, 123. 81 Ibid.

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Table 1: Some Party Activists Elected in the 1951 Election Electoral Areas Party Activists Profession of Activists Party Affiliation Accra Thomas Hutton-Mills Legal practitioner CPP ______Kwame Nkrumah Politician & journalist CPP Cape Coast Kwesi Plange Principal, Ghana National College CPP Sekondi-Takoradi J.K. Lamptey Journalist CPP Kumasi Archie Casely Hayford Barrister-at-law CPP Sefwi Anthony Woode Ex-general secretary, T.U.C. CPP Tarkwa Emmanuel Dadson Proprietor, Royal Press CPP Ahanta Asford Inkumsah Chemists & druggist CPP Ankobra John Erzuah Principal, Ghana National College CPP Cape Coast (rural) Joseph Hagan Pretty trader CPP Assin-Upper Denkyira Alfred Biney Ex-locomotive driver CPP Saltpond William Arthur Merchant CPP Winneba Kojo Botsio Politician CPP Western Akin Augustus Attafua Asst. Registrar, Native Court CPP Akim Abuakwa William Ofori-Atta Principal, Abuakwa State College UGCC ______J. B. Danquah Politician & barrister-at-law UGCC Kwahu Richard Ampadu Party Secretary, CPP CPP Akwapin-New Juaben Djan Ohene Cocoa farmer CPP Ga-Adagme Issac Osabutey-Aguedze Schoolmaster CPP Volta River Abraham Johnson Farmer CPP Anlo John Quashie Pharmacist CPP ______Komla Gbedemah Politician & journalist CPP Akpini-Asogli Gerald Otoo Awuma Private Gentleman UGCC Buem-Krachi Joseph Kodzo Teacher CPP Mampong-South Atta Mensah General Secretary, AYA CPP Mampong-North Yeboah Aukordieh Letter Writer Ind. Kumasi-East Fori Dwuah Regional Secretary, CPP CPP Kumasi-South Joseph Donhoh House & Property Agent CPP Kumasi-West Benjamin Kusi Merchant CPP Kumasi North-West Krobo Edusei Propaganda Secretary, CPP CPP Amasie Abraham Boakye Druggist & merchant CPP Kumasi-North John Jantuah Journalist CPP Wenchi Bediako Poku School teacher Ind. Sunyani, North-West John Awuah Produce buyer Ind. Sunyani Boahene Yeboa-Afari Principal, Commercial College CPP Adansi Nuh Abubekr T Timber Contractor CPP

Source: Compiled by the author from West Africa [London], February 17, 1951, 135.

302 George M. Bob-Milliar

“Operation 104, the Common Man Will Win Again” After participating in internal self-government for three years, the Van Lare Commission recommended a new constitution for the country.82 The constitution would be operational with new legislative elections scheduled for the 10th and the 15th days of June 1954. The elections were the first country-wide poll of direct voting. As a result, elaborate plans were made and some 60,000 returning officers were engaged.83 Provision was made to disseminate the results in a timely manner. The government procured a floor-lit master scoreboard to display the results at the Old Polo grounds in Accra.84 The number of political parties running candidates increased. The CPP was challenged by as many as seven parties (see Table 2).

Table 2: Political Parties, Leaders, Symbols, and Number of Seats won in Legislative Election 1954 Party Leader Symbols Seats

Northern People’s Party (NPP) S.D. Dombo A clenched fist in black 12 on a white background

Convention People’s Party (CPP) Kwame Nkrumah A cockerel in red on 74 white background

Ghana Congress Party (GCP) K.A. Busia An elephant in blue on a 1 white background

Ghana Nationalists Party (GNP) E.O. Obetsebi-Lamptey An elephant with a raised 0 trunk in black on a brick- red background

Anlo Youth Association (AYA) M.K. Apaloo Crossed keys in white on 1 a green background

Muslim Association Party (MAP) Bankole Renner A crescent and a star in 1 white on a green background

Togoland Congress Party (TCP) S.G. Anto A five pointed star in 2 yellow on a white background

Ghana Action Party (GAP) Ansah Koi A house and linguist’s 0 stick in red on a green background Source: Compiled by the author, from the Daily Echo, May 11th 1954: 1.

82 Gold Coast, Report of the Commission of Enquiry into Representational and Electoral Reform [Chairman: Justice W.B. Van Lare] (Accra: Government Printing Department,1953). 83 See “How the Country Prepares for the Election,” Daily Echo (Accra), May 11, 1954, 1. 84 Ibid.

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According to the opposition mouthpiece, The Daily Echo, the country needed a “clean sweep,” one that would remove the corrupt CPP from power and put in place “honest and well-tried men experienced in the intricacies of government.”85 It added elsewhere that “the opposition has men of sterling qualities; men who earn their own income and fully employed; men who are not self-seeking and are not out for money; men who are self-respecting.”86 For the CPP—the primary target to be unseated by the seven other parties—the election was a battle that had to be fought on all fronts and had to be won to enable it to continue on its path to “full self-government now.” Nothing was therefore left to chance. The party launched the “Operation 104” campaign signalling its readiness to annex all the 104 legislative seats that the new constitution created. An editorial in the Evening News explained aptly what Operation 104 meant. “Operation 104, the biggest paramilitary political operation ever launched in the African liberation struggle, the result of which will be a most surprising 100% victory for the Ghana common people.” Continuing, it said that “this operation has unleashed all the pent- up revolutionary energies of a toiling people yearning for national independence, and nothing can stop that spirit from accomplishing the battle so nobly prosecuted with the achievement so far of internal self-government.”87 Leading the great revolutionary vanguard was “Field Marshal and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Liberation Army, Generalissimo Kwame Nkrumah, in whom the Ghana peoples have reposed so much confidence.”88 The CPP was challenged externally by its opponents and confronted internally by a rebellion. Some members questioned the internal democratic ethos of the party. While the other parties were appealing for suitable candidates, the CPP was overwhelmed by the number of activists who wanted to stand on the party’s ticket. Of the 1,005 party activists who applied to become CPP Assembly members, 901 were rejected by the Central Committee.89 The rejected candidates included prominent activists such as R.A. Ampadu (ministerial secretary to the Ministry of Defence and External Affairs), Pobee Biney and P.D. Adjani (two former Assembly men), and J.E.Y. Bosompem (former assistant clerk of the Legislative Assembly).90 Having enjoyed Legislators perks before, it was difficult to let go of personal ambitions. A parliamentary salary of £960 and a possible ministerial appointment were simply irresistible. The disqualified party activists claimed that the nomination process was undemocratic. At the same time, the constituents also resisted the imposition of certain candidates. Competition within the CPP was keen, and it was reported that the “highest bidder” in each case was nominated.91 It was also claimed that

85 See “Editorial,” Daily Echo, Jan. 4, 1954, 2. 86 See, “Opposition Men,” Daily Echo, Jan. 6, 1954, 2. 87 See “Editorial,” Ghana Evening News (Accra), May 8, 1954, 2. 88 Ibid. 89 See By Our Political Correspondent, “Seventy Eight Branches Revolt” Daily Echo, May 4, 1954, 1. 90 Ibid. 91 See “Competition for the Assembly increases,” Ghana Evening News, May 8, 1954, 2.

304 George M. Bob-Milliar some of the nominated candidates had to pay about £7000.92 On May 3, 1954, Nkrumah announced the CPP’s official candidate list at the West End Arena in Accra.93 Nkrumah acknowledged with great concern the number of applications the party received. In one constituency alone, twenty party activists’ applied for nomination. Nkrumah cautioned party activists that “service to the country does not mean going to the Assembly.”94 The CPP campaign was officially launched and it was left to the various party branches to strategize and localize the campaign message. The party’s symbol (see Table 2) signified a new dawn. The verandah boys within the Accra municipality formed the Bukom Asafo Company, with E.C. Quaye as the “captain” of the Asafo. They were charged with hoisting the “Freedom flags,” a form of campaign strategy at the various wards of the municipality. Flag-hoisting became a political ritual. The unfurling of the flags at the various wards was preceded by a bugle alarm and the making of libation usually by the high priest of the ward. Over a million freedom flags were hoisted in communities throughout the country. Places such as Tudu Freetown, Kokompe, Adedainkpo, and Asere Dzorshie (all in Accra) received flags. However, the grandest of the flag-hoisting ceremonies was that performed by Nkrumah at Bukom Square on April 28, 1954. The CPP’s mouthpiece, the Evening News, described it at length: Bukom Square had its thickest crowd on record and there was not even elbow room when the Osagyefo Tufuhene Nuu fenuu, Kwame Nkrumah hoisted the CPP tricolor there yesterday, amid thunderous ovation, befitting a hero and statesman. The area was brightened with the red turbans of the CPP women and the turnout of the Wulomei and Woyei of the Ga State, the Head Fishermen and their followers was spectacular. The whole area was thrown into consternation and completely electrified when the arrival of the Wonder Boy and Star of Africa was announced. Enthusiastic party members rushed to hail their acclaimed leader. Escorted by the CPP dispatch riders in their uniform red, white and green, the Premier’s car was stopped at Akoto Lamptey and the Bukom Asafo Company of the CPP carried him shoulder-high amid grand ovation. He was led by Asafo Drummers and a CPP flag and shouts of Freedom, Freedom, 104 Freedom, 103 No Mistake completely charged the atmosphere. Nai Wulomo, the highest priest of the Ga State poured libation and blessed the CPP flag which was to be hoisted and proudly the flag of Africa’s New Glory was unfurled to the skies.95 Even allowing for journalistic hyperbole, we can recognize the seriousness attached to these flag-hoisting ceremonies by party activists. Ako Adjei explained that the hoisting of the flags signified that the CPP was on a warpath. Wherever a freedom flag was raised it

92 See “Strong Warning to Independents,” Daily Echo, May 7, 1954, 1. 93 See By Our Political Correspondents, “CPP Independents Ask to be expelled by the Central Committee,” Daily Echo, May 4, 1954, 1. 94 Ibid. 95 See “C.P.P launches campaign,” Ghana Evening News, Apr. 29, 1954, 1–2. See also “CPP on the move,” African Morning Post (Accra), Apr. 5, 1954, 1, which has details of the official launch of the CPP’s electioneering campaign held at the Accra Sports Stadium.

Nationalist Activism in Ghana, 1946–1956 305 meant that the territory had been captured by the CPP. The CPP employed this method to the chagrin of its opponents. On May 12, 1954, a flag was hoisted at Zongo Lane near the home of the leader of the Ghana Nationalist Party, E.O. Obetsebi Lamptey. Notwithstanding the colorful campaigns, some members of the CPP were still not satisfied with the official explanation offered for their exclusion from standing on the party’s ticket. The release of the 104 official candidate list angered sections of the party base. Ashanti was the epicentre of disaffection with twice the number of official candidates as “rebel candidates” (see Table 3). Resignations quickly followed. For instance, in Ashanti, the party secretary at Kuntenasi, Adu Amankwa resigned and joined the Muslim Association Party (MAP).96 The Manya Krobo branch revolted against Mate Johnson’s nomination.97 A Ga rural constituency at Oshiuman opposed the candidature of Mabel Dove, the only woman nominated by the Central Committee.98 However, Nkrumah rigorously defended the CPP’s nomination of Dove at a rally at Bortianor on May 28, 1954, when he introduced her to the constituents. Her nomination, Nkrumah stated, was proof that in her forward march to independence the country would not leave her women behind. Continuing, Nkrumah said “Miss Dove’s nomination was a challenge, a test to Gold Coast womanhood. If she failed, it meant that all women had failed.”99 Despite Nkrumah’s persuasive language, it proved difficult to convince other constituencies to accept “official candidates.” The protests continued unabated.100 Several agitations from the rank and file forced the Central Committee to consider all evidence in support of the various protests. The revised list affected only four constituencies: Mid-Volta (John Agyakwa replaced E.A. Sackey); Savelugu (Eden Adam replaced Sumanu Bukari); Wenchi East (G.O. Boateng replaced E.Y. Baffoe); and in Wenchi West (C.E. Donkor replaced Bediako Poku).101 The remaining sixty-four disgruntled activists filed their nominations as independents (see Table 3). The Central Committee responded by instructing all constituency executives to advise all party members who were standing as independents to withdraw their nomination papers, not later than May 31, 1954. It stated categorically that the question of seeing “operation 104” through successfully was of such importance that “no party member should be tolerated to trifle with it.”102 The ultimatum expired, and at a Subin Valley rally on June 6, 1954, the names of sixty-four members were expunged from the party’s membership register. Nkrumah maintained that insubordination could not be tolerated “because the discipline and the solidarity of the party must be maintained, not only today, but for all time.”103

96 See, Ghana Evening News, Apr. 29, 1954, 1–2. 97 See “Protest at Manya Krobo,” Daily Echo, May 10, 1954. 98 See “Revolt against Miss Dove,” Daily Echo, May 11, 1951, 2. 99 See “We Go with Our Women,” Daily Graphic (Accra), May 29, 1954, 1, 12. 100 See “Nkrumah Did Not See the Delegation,” Daily Graphic, May 20, 1954, 4. 101 See “CPP Changes Four Names,” Daily Graphic, May 12, 1954, 1. 102 “Rebels Will Be Expelled—Nkrumah,” Daily Graphic, May 25, 1954, 1. 103 S.K. Aidoo, “64 CPP Rebels Are Expelled, 11 Prodigal Sons Pardoned,” Daily Graphic, June 7, 1954, 1.

306 George M. Bob-Milliar

While the CPP was resolving its internal dissent, its opponents were squabbling over who would lead a united opposition. The remnants of the UGCC merged with the National Democratic Party, formed under the leadership of Nii Amaah Ollennu. The merger gave birth to the Ghana Congress Party (GCP). The GCP faced leadership challenges. The reactionary lawyers fought for control of the party apparatus. The struggle to lead the GCP was initially between Nii Amaah Ollennu and J.B. Danquah.104 A second struggle ensued between K.A. Busia and Obetsebi Lamptey.105 Eventually the party split into two factions when Obetsebi Lamptey formed the Ghana Nationalist Party (GNP). The symbols of the GCP and GNP were similar. Both parties used the elephant but with different background colors (see Table 2). While the color of the GCP elephant was blue on a white background; that of the GNP elephant was black on a brick-red background.106 The elephant symbolized greatness or power in the indigenous Akan government system. The Northern People’s Party (NPP) was the only party formed from the NTs, and was led by Chief S.D. Dombo.107 Its symbol was a clenched fist on a white background. The Anlo Youth Association (AYA) and the Togoland Congress Party (TCP) were both from the Trans-Volta Togoland part of the country and were led by M.K. Apaloo and S.G. Anto, respectively. The Muslim Association Party (MAP)108 and the Ghana Action Party (GAP) were based in Accra. All the parties opposing the CPP had most of their support from specific areas and ethnic groups, as evidenced in the poll results (see Table 3). For instance, the GNP achieved little prominence as it never really attracted a following outside Accra. Bizarrely, nine days before the election the leader of the GCP, K.A. Busia, head of the Sociology Department at the University College of the Gold Coast, embarked on a four-month lecture tour of Europe and the United States.109

104 See Anthony Mensah, “Inside the Ghana Congress Party,” Daily Graphic, May 18, 1954, 1. 105 Ibid. 106 Daily Echo, May 11, 1954, 1. 107 See, for example, Carola Lentz, Ethnicity and the Making of History in Northern Ghana (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006); S.W.D.K. Gandah, The Silent Rebel (Legon: Sub-Saharan Publishers, 2004). 108 See, for example, Misbahudeen Ahmed-Rufai, “The Muslim Association Party: A Test of Religious Politics in Ghana,” Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana, NS, 6 (2002), 99–114; Ousman Kobo, “‘We Are Citizens Too’: The Politics of Citizenship in Independent Ghana,” Journal of Modern African Studies 48, 1 (2010), 67–94. 109 See “Dr. Busia Leaves on Lecture Tour,” Daily Graphic, June 7, 1954, 1, 12.

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Table 3. The Partial Results of the 1954 Elections, Top-Polling Candidates and Parties

Electoral Districts Constituencies Candidates Party Votes obtained Accra West T. Hutton Mills CPP 11,084 B. Awooner-Renner MAP 3,039 Accra Central K. Nkrumah CPP 13,938 E. O. Obetsebi Lamptey GNP 3,579 Accra East A. Adjei CPP 11,660 K. Tete GCP 768

Cape Coast N. A. Welbeck CPP 7,665 MUNICIPAL K. Amponsah-Dadzie GCP 4,157 Sekondi-Takoradi J. Arthur CPP 11,143 A. P. Biney* Ind. 733 Kumasi North A. Casely-Hayford CPP 6,133 C. Kessie MAP 2,878

Kumasi South E. O. Asafu-Adjaye CPP 11,232 N. Tsiboe (Mrs.) GCP 2,104

Kwahu North K. F. Manso CPP 1,841 E. I. Preko Ind. 2,491

Kwahu South W. A. Wiafe CPP 1,726 M. S. A. Tweneboa* Ind. 1,122

South Birim D. K. A. Kwateng CPP 3,861 K. Addae II Ind. 1,736 J. E. Y. Bosempem* Ind. 1,296 E. W. K. Dokyi Ind. 873 North Birim A. E. Attafuah CPP 4,924 B. Botchey* Ind. 2,659

Akim Abuakwa West S. A. Owusu-Afari CPP 4,963 COLONY EAST W. E. A. Ofori-Atta GCP 3,652 Abuakwa South K. S. Aboagye CPP 2,994 K. Antwi Dakwa GCP 787 Ind.

Abuakwa East K. Amoah-Awuah CPP 1,207 G. Ashie Nikoi GCP 327

Abuakwa Central A. E. A. Ofori-Atta CPP 4,958 J. B. Danquah GCP 3,623 Abuakwa North C. E. Nimo CPP 4,745 Y. A. Kwakye GCP 2,850

Akwapim South K. Asiam CPP 2,430 E. Akufo-Addo Ind. 805

Akwapim North J. R. Asiedu CPP 1,602 A. Budu* Ind. 637

New Juaben S. G. Nimako CPP 2,178 M. K. Ossei GCP 1,003 308 George M. Bob-Milliar

Yilo Krobo E. H. T. Korboe CPP 2,408 E. M. Nah* Ind. 906 Manya Krobo A.M. Johnson CPP 5,117 G. L. A. Djabanor Ind. 1,224

Mid-Volta J. Arjarquah CPP 2,380 S.A. Adow* Ind. 548 Osudoku E. Nyumuteye Akunor CPP 813

A. Kwablah Ind. 850 Ada C. O. C Amattey CPP 2,779

F. B. E. Tanihu Ind. 1,248

COLONY EAST Ga Mabel Dove (Ms.) CPP 3,331 N. A. Ollennu GCP 417

Dangbe-Shai C. T. Nylander CPP 2,421 K. A. Bossman GCP 797

Sefwi Wiawso M. Y. Kumi CPP 2,928 T. Y. Enin Ind. 1,390 Bibiani J. K. Essien CPP 1,766 COLONY: J. A. Essel* Ind. 1,476 Amenfi-Aowin P. K. K Quaidoo CPP 3,402 D. K. Duku* Ind. 2,600 WESTERN REGION

Wassaw Central S. Emanful Arkah CPP unopposed

Wassaw South E. K. Dadson CPP 3,058 K. Ocran* Ind. 3,746 Western Nzima J. B. Erzuah CPP 2,843 A. Adjaye Ind. 251 Eastern Nzima-Axim W. Baidoe-Ansah CPP 7,021 R. S. Blay Ind. 266

Ahanta-Shama A. E. Inkumsah CPP 5,792 S. Schecki GCP 405 Denkyira F. E. Tachie-Menson CPP unopposed Elmina K. O. Thompson CPP 5,547 G. B. Annan* Ind. 813

Asin D. Buadi CPP 4,854 J. K. Poku* Ind. 1,106

Abura-Asebu J. E. Hagan CPP 3,602 M. A. Quarshie* Ind. 1,905

Saltpond K. Baako CPP 5,258 K. Bentsil-Enchill* Ind. 308 Ekumfi-Enyan W. E. Arthur CPP 1,991 S. K. Otoo* Ind. 2,754 WESTERN REGION Ajumako-Asikuma A. S. Abban CPP 4,911 F. Light-Amoah* Ind. 638

Agona B. M. Arko CPP 2,332 A. D. Appiah Ind. 3,037 Agona-Swedru E. K. Bensah CPP 3,156 T. A. Coleman* MAP 1,825 Western Gomoa K. Botsio CPP 3,153 I. M. Annan MAP 227

Nationalist Activism in Ghana, 1946–1956 309

Eastern Gomoa C. C. K. Baah CPP 4,831 O. K. E. Richardson GCP 70 Awutu A. J. D. Hammond CPP 3,603 S. M. H. B. Yarney Ind. 1,502

Offinsu-Kwabre C. C. Addei CPP 2,824 E. K. Nkansah* Ind. 3,628

Agona Kwabre J. E. Jantuah CPP 4,118 J. Forduo* Ind. 3,494

Atwima-Nwabriagya J. Baidoo CPP 3,203 B. F. Kusi GCP 1,369 Atwina Amansie I. J. Adomako-Mensah CPP 3,872 K. Genfi II* Ind. 985

Juaben-Edweso H. R. Drewry Ind. 2,405 C. E. Osei CPP 4,028 Obusai R. O. Amuaku-Atta CPP 3,947 K. A. Danquah Ind. 290 Attebubu J. S. Yeboah CPP 1,880 J. E. Assare* Ind. 1,340 ASHANTI REGION Sekyere East K. Edusei CPP 4,235 G.S. Asumadu GCP 856 N. Boaten* Ind. 1,265 A. Kusi* Ind. 395 J. Amoo-Mensah* Ind. 1,915 Sekyere West O. Bonsu CPP 4,114 R. B. Kwakwa* Ind. 2,640

Sunyani East B. Y. Afari CPP 4,268 J. K. Antwi-Kusi* Ind. 2,301

Sunyani West S. W. Yeboah CPP 5,354 J. Minasso* Ind. 3,638

Berekum J. G. Awuah CPP 3,515 J. E. Boabang GCP 1,974

Wenchi East G. O. Boateng CPP 2,603 C. S. Takyi* Ind. 3,104 Wenchi West C. E. Donkor CPP 3,754 K. A. Busia GCP 3,765 Adansi Banka J. Y. Gbann CPP 2,745 N.B. Abubekr GCP 1,065 Amansie East A. R. Boakye CPP 6,211 G. B. Darkwa GCP 1,741

Amansie West K.A. Amankwa CPP 6,125 F. O. Kufuor GCP 570

Ahafo A. K. Senchirey CPP 5,400 A. W. Osei* Ind. 1,744

Ashanti-Akim C. de Graft-Dickson CPP 6,284 E. Ohemeng Ind. 1,578 Akan-Krachi J. Kodzo CPP 7,939 E. K. Agbobli TC 996 Buem F. Y. Asare CPP 7,102 A. K. Odame TC 3,947 Kpandu North S. W. Kumah CPP 2,903

310 George M. Bob-Milliar

S. G. Antor TC 8,221 Kpandu South G. R. Ahia CPP 6,350 D. K. Do TC 3,947 Ho East G. O. Awuma CPP 2,743 F. R. Ametowobla Ind. 4,188 TOGOLAND Ho West O. Dake CPP 2,194 TRANS-VOLTA K. Ayeke TC 6,314 Keta K. A. Gbedemah CPP 4,289 C. C. Anumu Ind. 1,122 Anlo East C. H. Chapman CPP 3,523 C. K. Hama* Ind. 2,921

Anlo North J. K. A. Quarshie CPP 2,053 N. K. Maglo* Ind. 3,133 Anlo South F.K. Fiawoo CPP 2,028 M. K. Apaloo AYA 6,497 South Tongu W. M. N. Djietror CPP Unopposed Central Tongu F. K. D. Goka CPP 2,995 M. K. Adogla Ind. 1,382 Upper Tongu S. A. Dzirasa CPP 2,698 P. D. Adjani* Ind. 1,333 Gonja West E. A. Mahama CPP 4,599 A. Mahama NPP 2,147 NTs Gonja East, Yeji and Prang G. T. Dramanu CPP 2,026 J. A. Braimah Ind. 4,286

Nanum-Dagbon N. Atta CPP 7,344

I. Bukari NPP 2,574 Dagomba East J. H. Alhassani CPP 2,766 Z. A. Eddy-Cockra NPP 2,471 Dagomba North S. I. Iddrissu CPP 6,880 A. M. Osumanu NPP 3,465 Dagomba South S. D. Abudulai CPP 3,828 Y. Tali NPP 3,838 Gulkpego-Nanton R.S. Iddurusu CPP 1,468 A. Osumanu NPP 2,238 Savelugu J. B. Harruna Ind. 938 S. Bukari Ind. 1,755

South Mamprusi East J. S. Sanbian CPP 2,315

B. Mumumi NPP 6,107

South Mamprusi West J. K. Yakubu CPP 1,384 M. Tampurie Ind. 1,311

Bolga J. Anyeame CPP 1,554 R. B. Braimah NPP 3,997 Talensi M. Kpama Ind. 1,137 A. T. Anaffu Ind. 2,047

NTs Bongo W. A. Amoro CPP 2,201 K. Akumolga NPP 1,856

Frafra East R. Apasinoba CPP 1,069 T. K. Yentu NPP 4,224 Bawku B. Yakubu CPP 1,198 A. Amandi Ind. 3,118

Kusasi Central A. Imoru CPP 1,139 J. Awuni Ind. 6,349 Kusasi East A. Seidu CPP 2,558

Nationalist Activism in Ghana, 1946–1956 311

I. Asigri NPP 3,024

Kusasi West A. Asumda CPP 4,366 S. Mahama NPP 2,792

Kassena-Nankani South I. R. Abavana CPP 5,796 J. E. Seyire NPP 3,344

Kassena-Nankanni North K. Tedam CPP 6,880 A. Logozure Ind. 950 Bulisa A. Afoko CPP 8,851 H. R. Ayoma NPP 3,653 Tumu I. Egala CPP 3,599 H. Limam Ind. 2,185

Lawra-Nandom N. Gandaa CPP 2,434 A. Karbo NPP 2,764

NTs Jirapa-Lambussie W. B. Yeipe CPP 3,119 S. D. Dombo NPP 4,227 Wala North J. Kaleo NPP 4,716 A. Kpemaal Ind. 1,750 Wala South M. Adama CPP 3,315 B. K. Adama NPP 4,931 Source: Compiled by the author, PRAAD, ADM 6 REG8/2/65, Gold Coast Gazette, June 26th, 1954: 825–832 and Daily Graphic [Accra], May 21st, 1954: 1 & 12. Asterisks indicate CPP candidates who run as independents.

In the end, polling took place at 102 out of the total of 104 constituencies, and 323 candidates contested.110 A total of 470,107 votes were recorded. Two CPP members, F.E. Tachie-Menson (Denkyira) and W.M.N. Dzietror (South Tongu) were returned unopposed to the Assembly.111 Ninety-nine percent (or 320) of the candidates were male and less than 1 percent (three) were female (see Table 3). Additionally, 155 candidates stood as independents.112 The outcome of the polls proved otherwise. At the Wenchi West constituency, for example, the GCP leader K.A. Busia narrowly beat the CPP candidate by eleven votes (see Table 3). He was the only candidate elected on the GCP ticket. The CPP won a resounding victory over the combined forces of the opposition parties. It registered (407,090) or 87 percent of the total nationwide poll (see Table 3). At the Accra Central constituency, Kwame Nkrumah polled 13,938, the highest individual poll in the entire election, pushing Obetsebi Lamptey, leader of the GNP to second place (3,579). J.B. Danquah, the “doyen of Gold Coast politics” and candidate of the GCP was unsuccessful. He polled 3,622 votes against 4,958 registered by the CPP candidate, Aaron Ofori Atta at Akim Abuakwa constituency. Krobo Edusei polled 4,235 at the Sekyere East constituency, beating four candidates including three independents (see Table 3). Significantly, the CPP’s only female candidate, Mabel Dove, polled 3,331 to beat two formidable men and become the first elected female Legislator (see Table 3). Of the “64 rebels” who stood as independents,

110 See “335 to Contest 102 Seats,” Daily Graphic, May 21, 1954, 1. 111 Ibid. 112 Ibid.

312 George M. Bob-Milliar only six won their seats. Together they polled 76,321 or 16 percent of the total votes recorded (see Table 3). Clearly, the large number of independents affected the official CPP candidates in some constituencies. The poll results also illustrate clearly the regional strengths of the other parties. The NPP registered 55 percent of total votes in the NTs and, 52 percent of votes were shared between the AYA and TC in the Trans-Volta Togoland (see Table 3).

The Final Onslaught: The Unitary and Federal Positions Many people in the country envisaged the 1954 elections as the final hurdle before full independence was granted. Many thought it would be a matter of months before a new nation would be born. That was not to be. The rise of the National Liberation Movement (NLM) and the question of Togoland unification proved contentious and independence was delayed until 1957. These two issues have been thoroughly discussed in the literature.113 The history of the struggles between the CPP and the NLM has been expertly chronicled in Jane Allman’s The Quills of the Porcupine.114 Nonetheless, I will briefly touch on the issues as they relate to this article. Two months after the June 15, election, members of the Asante youth gathered at the “sacred Subin River valley” and swore a secret oath to defend the interest of the Asante state. The Asante aristocrats launched the NLM on September 19, 1954, at the Prince of Wales Park, Kumasi. The emergence of the Movement alarmed the CPP. The NLM demanded new elections for the country to decide the unitary and federal positions. The federalists from the GCP decamped to the NLM along with many CPP supporters in Asante. This situation mirrored the UGCC/CPP fragmentation in 1949. Because the NLM lacked a popular following, the mass defections were less damaging to the CPP fortunes. The election was conducted on two days: the twelfth and seventeenth of July, 1956. The campaign period was characterized by violence and intimidation. The more radical activists of the NLM turned increasingly to violence, and advocated Asante secession from the Gold Coast. The NLM position was supported by the minor parties. However, like the 1954 elections, the parties ran candidates in their strongholds. The parties united to unseat the CPP.115 Two hundred twenty-five candidates contested; five were unopposed and 696,918 votes were recorded as the nationwide total (see Table 4). In spite of the tension that preceded the polls, a clear winner emerged. The CPP campaign machinery was superior to all its opponents. Again, its mass-based character was evident in the polls. The CPP was the only party that won seats in all the electoral districts (see Table 4). The CPP won a total of 71 seats: 44 seats in the Colony, 8 in Trans-Volta, 11 in NTs and 8 in Asante (see Table 4). The opposition parties performed poorly outside their strongholds. On close inspection, the election results revealed reduced vote margins in all electoral districts. Furthermore, there were reduced margins for some activists and others increased their margins. For instance, Nkrumah polled 11,119 for the Accra Central constituency, a drop of 2,819 votes;

113 See, for example, Boahen, Ghana: Evolution and Change. 114 Jean Marie Allman, The Quills of the Porcupine, Asante Nationalism in an Emergent Ghana (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1993). 115 Boahen, Ghana: Evolution and Change.

Nationalist Activism in Ghana, 1946–1956 313 at Sekondi-Takoradi, Welbeck polled 5,744, a drop of 1,921 votes; in Wenchi West, Busia increased his margin by 1,119 votes (see Table 4). One other remarkable feature was the reduced number of independents who stood for election—total of forty-seven candidates. Ashanti was of particular significance, where one independent, J.G. Asare, stood at the Attebubu constituency (see Table 4). Table 4: Election Results, 1956

Electoral Districts Constituencies Candidates Party Votes Obtained Accra West *R. M. Abbey CPP 7,123 B. Awooner-Renner MAP 1,814 Accra Central *K. Nkrumah CPP 11,119 S. E. Odamtten NLM 1,865 Accra East *A. Adjei CPP 8,834 MUNICIPAL N. Tete NLM 1,085 Cape Coast *N. A. Welbeck CPP 5,744 K. Amponsah-Dadzie NLM 3,437 Kumasi North C. Kessie NLM 7,565 C. F. Amoo-Gottfried CPP 4,216 Kumasi South E. K. Kurankyi-Taylor NLM 11,882 *J. E. Jantuah CPP 7,740 Sekondi-Takoradi *J. Arthur CPP 8,310 D. K. Sam Ind. 220 Sefwi Wiawso *W. K.Aduhene CPP 3,222 Western Region S. K. Opong Ind. 1,429

Bibiani *J. K. Essien CPP 3,624 I. L. K. Mensah NLM 795 Amenfi-Aowin *P. K. K. Quaidoo CPP Unopposed Wassaw Central *S. E. Ackah CPP 3,096 J. Cobbina WYA 659 COLONY Wassaw South E. K. Dadson CPP 3,279 *K. Ocran WYA 3,239 Western Nzima *J. B. Erzuah CPP 2,731 N. A .Adjaye Ind. 37

Eastern Nzima-Axim *W. B. Ansah CPP 5,813 J. A. Korsah Ind. 22 Ahanta-Shama *A. E. Inkumsah CPP 5,207 J. K. Angoe Ind. 56 Denkyira *F. E. Tachie-Menson CPP 6,621 J. Nyarko-Mensah Ind. 476 Elmina *K. O. Thompson CPP 4,253 K. Lamptey Ind. 308 Asin *D. Buadi CPP 6,300 J. K. O. Eshun NLM 420 Abura-Asebu *J. E. Hagan CPP 4,848 J. W. Tsibu NLM 216 Saltpond *K. Baako CPP 4,492 K. A. Taylor Ind. 112 Ekumfi-Enyan *S. K. Otoo CPP 4,867 K. Tomfo Ind. 53 Ajumako-Asikuma *A. S. A. Abban CPP 5,269 J. E. Yeboah Ind. 385 Agona *W. A. C. Essibrah CPP 3,786 A. D. Appiah NLM 872 Agona-Swedru *E. K. Bensah CPP 3,472 J. A. Anyan NLM 969 P. Eduah Ind. 314 Western Gomoa *K. Botsio CPP 3,317

314 George M. Bob-Milliar

N. Kuma Ind. 79 Eastern Gomoa *C. C. K. Baah CPP 5,046 O. K. Richardson NLM 40 Awutu Rural *A. Dowuona-Hammond CPP 3,767 E. O. Tetteh Ind. 435 Western Region Ada A. K. Puplampu CPP 2,165 K. Tetteynyo Ind. 709 Ga Rural *C. T. Nylander CPP 2,833 J. B. Lartey NLM 201 Dangbe-Shai E. A. Ackam CPP 2,228 W. N. Adotey Ind. 243 South Birim *A. C. Hayford CPP 5,638 COLONY N. K. Addai II Ind. 1,347

North Birim A. K. Onwona-Agyeman CPP unopposed Akim Abuakwa West *M. R. Darko-Sarkwa CPP 4,544 K. B. Ntim NLM 3,897 Akim Abuakwa South *K. S. Aboagye CPP 3,009 J. E. Turkson NLM 739 Akim Abuakwa East *K. Amoah-Awuah CPP 1,648 E. Akufo-Addo NLM 374 Akim Abuakwa Central *A. E. A. Ofori-Atta CPP 6,052 K. Dua-Sakyi NLM 4,661 Kwahu South W. A.Wiafe CPP unopposed Akim Abuakwa North *C. E. Nimo CPP 4,679 J. B. Danquah NLM 4,122 Kwahu North *E. I. Perku Ind. 2,890 B. K. Osafo CPP 1,341 Akwapim South *K. Asiam CPP 2,737 L. M. Date-Baah NLM 448 Akwapim North *J. R. Asiedu CPP 2,953 K.O. Larbi NLM 811

New Juaben M. O. Kwatia CPP 1,925 M. K. Osei NLM 1,186

Yilo Krobo *E. H. T. Korboe CPP 2,619 K. D. MacNeil-Stewart Ind. 54 Manya Krobo *A. M. Johnson CPP 4,321 K. Batsa Ind. 1,135 Mid-Volta *J. Adjarquah CPP 2,778 V. Narh Ind. 95 Osudoku E. N. Ocansey CPP 1,865 *A. Kwabla Ind. 221

Sekyere West R. R. Amponsah NLM 7,162 ASHANTI *O. Bonsu CPP 4,695 Sekyere East *K. Edusei CPP 6,350 J. A. Mensah NLM 5,132 Attebubu W. Ntoso NLM 2,970 J. E. Buanya CPP 2,565

Wenchi East *C. S. Takyi CPP 8,491 O. K. Opoku NLM 5,149 Wenchi West *K. A. Busia NLM 4,884 C. E. Donkor CPP 3,125 Sunyani East *B. Yeboah-Afari CPP 7,063 J. K. Antwi-Kusi NLM 5,805 ASHANTI Sunyani West *S. W. Yeboah CPP 11,607 J. K. Botchay NLM 2,180 Berekum *J. G. Awuah CPP 5,522 D. J. Buahin NLM 4,645 Ahafo A. W. Osei NLM 7,248

Nationalist Activism in Ghana, 1946–1956 315

*A. K. Sencherey CPP 2,854 Atwima-Nwabiagya B. F. Kusi NLM 8,334 *E. M. Opoku CPP 1,390 Offinsu-Kwabre J. A. Owusu-Ansah NLM 7,384 *E. K. Nkansah CPP 3,743 Agona-Kwabre V. Owusu NLM 8,984 M. Kyerematen CPP 1,354 Atwima-Amansie J. E. Appiah NLM 8,811 *I. J. Adomako-Mensah CPP 1,557 Juaben-Edweso I. B. Asfo-Adjei NLM 6,119 C. E. Osei CPP 3,029 Ashanti-Akim *C. de Graft Dickson CPP 5,918 J. B. Siriboe NLM 5,191 Obuasi *R. O. Amoako-Atta CPP 3,551 J. K. Offe-Dwuma NLM 1,170 Adansi Banka *J. Y. Ghann CPP 2,937 N. B. Abubekr NLM 2,608 Amansie East J. D. Wireko NLM 7,151 *A. R. Boakye CPP 4,889 Amansie West R. B. Otchere NLM 6,724 *K.A.T. Amankwah CPP 4,372 Akan-Kranchi *J. Kodzo CPP 11,263 G. Kpeglo TC 2,245 Buem *F. Y. Asare CPP 9,449 A. K. Odame TC 6,273

Kpandu North *S. G. Antor TC 10,344 P. K. Kpeto CPP 4,030 Kpandu South *G. R. Ahia CPP 6,566 TRANS-VOLTA A. K. Mensah Ind. 2,219 Ho East *F. R. Ametowoblah Ind. 4,977 G. F. A. Dake-Ayimey CPP 3,910 Ho West *K. Ayeke TC 7,789 C. Y. Adzanku CPP 2,515 Keta *K. G. Gbedemah CPP 3,832 C. C. Anumu AYA 601

Anlo East *C. H. Chapman CPP 3,293 C. K. Hama Ind. 2,913 Anlo North *N. K. Maglo Ind. 3,215 J. K. Tetteh-Logah CPP 247 Anlo South *M. K. Apaloo AYA 4,612 J. K. Sadika CPP 952

South Tongu B. A. Konu Ind. 2,069 *W. M. N. Djiettror CPP 853 Central Tongu *F. K. Dra Goka CPP 3,273 P. D. Adjani Ind. 100 Upper Tongu *S. A. Dzirasa CPP 2,357 S. K. Gadzanaki Ind. 658 Gonja West E. A. Mahama CPP Unopposed Gonja East, Yeji and Prang *J. A. Braimah NPP 5,864 S. F. Sulemana CPP 4,443 Nanum-Dagbon *N. Atta CPP 4,623 S. Bogana NPP 1,314 Dagomba East *J. H. Allassani CPP 2,576 A. Brimah Ind. 2,256

NTs Dagomba North *S. I. Iddurisu CPP Unopposed Dagomba South E. Adam CPP 2,191 Y. Tali NPP 4,205 Gulkpego-Nantom R. S. Iddrusu CPP 2,830 *A. Osumanu MAP 1,732

316 George M. Bob-Milliar

Savelugu *S. Bukari CPP 2,248 S. Yakubu NPP 2,323 South Mamprusi East *M. Bawumia NPP 4,177 I. de Limani CPP 1,592

South Mamprusi West M. Tampuri NPP 1,407 H. T. Pambeba Ind. 1,248 Bolga F. R. Adango NPP 2,018 *R. B. Braimah CPP 1,629 Talensi NPP 1,005 *A. T. Anaffu CPP 1,092 D. D. Balagumyetime Bongo K. Ahumolega NPP 1,225 *W. A. Amoro CPP 1,760 Frafra East *T. K. Yentu NPP 1,926 S. Akampae CPP 1,629 Bawku *A. Amandi NPP 1,650 B. Ayagiba CPP 1,884 Kussasi Central *J. Awuni NPP 2,783 I. Tindogo CPP 1,800 Kussasi East *I. Asigri NPP 2,618 A. Seidu CPP 2,231 Kussasi West *A. Asumda CPP 4,602 S. A. Akpuribilla NPP 2,939 Kassena-Nankanni North *C. K. Tedam NPP 5,775 E. K. C. Agagitan CPP 4,528

*L. R. Abavana CPP 7,275 Kassena-Nankanni South J. E. Seyire NPP 3,190 Builsa *A. Afoko CPP 4,226 T. Azinab Ind. 1,786 Tumu *I. Egala CPP 3,488 E. K. Mumuni Diminis NPP 3,866 Lawra-Nandom N. Gandaa CPP 2,631 *A. Karbo NPP 8,017 Jirapa-Lambussie *S. D. Dombo NPP 4,235 R. G. Gariba CPP 1,560 Wala North *J. Kaleo NPP 5,599 J. I. Asaman CPP 1,912 Wala South H. Yakubu CPP 2,804 *B. K. Adama NPP 4,604 Source: Compiled by the author, PRAAD, ADM 6, REG8/2/73, Gold Coast Gazette, July 28, 1956: 1009–1013 and Daily Graphic [Accra], June 22, 1956: 1 & 12. Asterisks used to indicate candidates who run in 1954 elections.

Conclusion The UGCC was the first party that mobilized Ghanaians in 1947 to demand self- government. The CPP followed in 1949, born of the hopes of a new social class of less- well educated commoners determined to seize power for themselves on behalf of the rest of the country. Two categories of party activists emerged to mobilize votes for their respective parties. The UGCC’s reactionary lawyers competed against the CPP’s verandah boys. This article has discussed the paths followed by political parties of different persuasions in their quest for self-determination for Ghana. I have argued that the ideological preferences of party activists shaped the culture and the nature of their political activism. An important correlation existed between the structural organization of the competing parties and the votes that each party recorded at the polls. Whereas the CPP—

Nationalist Activism in Ghana, 1946–1956 317 the party of the masses—registered impressive results at the polls, the elitist, regional, and religiously based parties (e.g., UGCC, GCP, AYA, MAP, NPP or NLM) that did not establish party structures across regional territories failed to make any impact. On close inspection, the polls were won at the grassroots level by those activists who were effective organizers. The CPP managed to organize the rural and urban dwellers throughout the country within its specific programs. The party took advantage of rural-urban linkages and created consciousness through the party’s rallies and activism. In contrast, the UGCC, GCP, MAP, NPP and the NLM mustered a substantial cohort of grassroots activists, but all suffered from their inability to win votes outside of their strongholds in the elections of 1951, 1954, and 1956. Horizontal mobilization was as much, if not more, a matter of mobilizing nation-wide, than a question of which political party reached out to the grassroots. For example, it is true, as Jane Allman has shown, that in shifting its emphasis from the cocoa price to party rivalries, the NLM leadership attenuated its initial broad popularity. Again, the personality characteristics of activists translated into votes as evidenced in several cases. For instance, even though the NLM enjoyed the support of Asanteman, Krobo Edusei was still able to retain the CPP seat in Ashanti. Casley-Hayford changed constituencies and won. After suffering defeat to his nephew, J.B. Danquah switched from the Abuakwa Central to Akim Abuakwa North constituency for the 1956 election, but lost. The rise of disgruntled elementary school leavers contributed greatly to the culture of party activism in the country. This observation holds true for other African countries. In the case of Ghana, all strata of the society were discontented with colonial rule. The discontent served as the immediate incentive for joining the two main parties. The colonial authorities partially responded to the grievances of the country by introducing piecemeal reforms as contained in the 1951 Constitution. UGCC, the premier party, led the way but greatly misread the aspirations and desires of the people. The party pursued an elitist type of activism; there was a disconnection between the leadership and the rank and file of the party. The party leadership desired independence for the country but were inclined to rely on the British sense of fair play. This meant independence was envisaged to be a gradual, “step-by-step” process. The UGCC missed the opportunity to quicken the pace of self-rule occasioned by the 1948 Riots. The leaders were arrested for their alleged involvement in the disturbances and they were subsequently deified as the “Big Six.” Nevertheless, the UGCC hierarchy, excluding Nkrumah, unwittingly committed political suicide when it chose to join the Coussey Committee. What occurred, quite simply, was a betrayal of the hopes of the people. By this singular act, the UGCC lost the favor of the masses of the country. The leaders of the non-CPP parties were clearly unsuitable as would-be leaders. The evidence assembled here makes it clear that Nkrumah was not at all averse to imposing top-down discipline within the CPP or reaching for a monopoly of political power (as in the 104 campaign)—nor, more significantly, did his authoritarian approach appear to dampen popular enthusiasm for his leadership. Reports describing the CPP campaign as a revolutionary “battle” and praising Nkrumah’s leadership in military terms—not to mention Nkrumah’s own fondness for chiefly titles (Osagyefo) and regalia, or the popularity of Krobo Edusei’s unabashed self-aggrandizement—suggest that in the

318 George M. Bob-Milliar

1950s many Ghanaians understood “self-government” to mean government by strong African, rather than European leaders. The CPP inspired total devotion. It conceptualized the common man as the most important political activist and led a crusade associated with idealism and symbolism. The CPP understood political organization far better than its competitors; it also knew the importance of propaganda for a literate society, and how effective the print media could be in that regard. Inter-party differences in the amount of grassroots organizing activity showed that the CPP was much more active and much more successful in mobilizing grassroots support than either the UGCC in 1951 or any of the rival parties it faced in 1954 and 1956. This difference goes a long way to explain the CPP’s lopsided victories in the three elections.