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I UNIVERSITY of CAPE COAST DR. HILLA LIMANN 1934

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I UNIVERSITY of CAPE COAST DR. HILLA LIMANN 1934 UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST DR. HILLA LIMANN 1934 – 1998: HIS LIFE AND TIMES BY AGAPE KANYIRI DAMWAH Thesis Submitted to the Department of History, Faculty of Arts, University of Cape Coast in partial fulfillment of the requirements for award of Master of Philosophy Degree in History. JUNE, 2011 i DECLARATION Candidate’s Declaration I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own original work and that no part of it has been presented for another degree in this university or elsewhere. Name: Agape Kanyiri Damwah Signature: ……………………………………Date:……………………………… Supervisors’ Declaration We hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of this thesis were supervised in accordance with the guidelines on supervision of thesis laid down by the University of Cape Coast. Principal Supervisor’s Name: Prof. B. G. Der Signature: ………………………………….. Date:.................................................. Co-Supervisor’s Name: Dr. S. Y. Boadi-Siaw Signature……………………… ……………Date………………………………… ii ABSTRACT The work takes a critical look at the life and times of Dr. Hilla Limann, President of the Third Republic of Ghana. The thesis offers readers an insight into the life, struggle, works, successes and the failures of Hilla Limann. The work endeavours to examine the life of Hilla Limann and his meteoric rise to power in 1979. Through his own persuasion, determination and hard work, Limann pursued the educational ladder outside Ghana and became a well-educated man. The study discovered that Limann was not a novice in politics and social leadership. In theory he had undergone rigorous academic discipline. Between 1965 and 1978, he worked with Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he played various high profile roles at the Foreign Missions. The studies also try to establish whether Limann had any CPP credentials before he was elected as the PNP Presidential candidate in 1979. It discovered that he was not a member of the Nkrumahist tradition and that it was the maneuverings of Alhaji Imoru Egala that brought Limann to the PNP. This research has relied mostly on primary information obtained mainly through extensive interviews with Limann’s family, former classmates and political associates and opponents of his time. Published works, articles in magazines and journals, party and government documents, newspaper report and secondary accounts relating to his life and political activities were used to corroborate the information obtained. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The scholarship enterprise is never the work of one person. Sir Isaac Newton is reported to have said that the reason why he managed to see further was because he had stood on the shoulders of giants. In this respect, it not easy to recall, let alone, repay one’s intellectual debts. The authors on whose shoulders I have stood can easily be discerned from the notes and references. In carrying out this research, I received encouragement, ideas, constructive criticisms and personal hospitality from many academics and other individuals. In this regard I wish to thank Professor D.E.K Amenumey, Drs. K.B Maison, K. Adu Boahen and Mr. Devalera N.Y. Botchwey, all of the University of Cape Coast. I am also very grateful to Mr. Eric Nketia of the University of Education, Winneba, for his moral encouragement and advice. During the research much reliance was placed upon the reminiscences of those who knew Hilla Limann personally. Unfortunately these are far too numerous to mention exhaustively, and I must confine myself to acknowledging the help of a few who went to special trouble on my behalf. In this regard, I am heavily indebted to Professor R. B. Bening, Dr. Issah Egala, Mr. Basile Wassai, Alhaji Alhassan Bin Salih, Dr. Dobara Baenge, Mr. Yaw Afari Adu of Agona Nyarkrom and Kouro E. K. Dimbie of Wallembelle. I am equally indebted to Kuoro Buktie Limann, Paramount chief of the Gwollu traditional area. I would also like to thank particularly Professor Ivan Addai-Mensah, a former vice- iv Chancellor of the University of Ghana for giving me some useful material on Hilla Limann and the Peoples National Convention. Professor George Benneh also deserves special mention, for in spite of his poor health condition he granted me audience. A similar note of thanks goes to Mr. C. K. Nyarbo, Headmaster of Damongo Secondary School, Madam Fulera Limann, wife of the late Dr. Hilla Limann and Mr. Amadu Montia of the Bank of Ghana for their special support. Since no worthy research can be accomplished without a library, I wish to thank the staff of George Padmore Research Library, Accra, especially, a young man called Simon. I am particularly grateful to my principal supervisor, Professor B.G Der for his meticulous and critical editing of the thesis work and for his patience. I am also very thankful to my second supervisor, Dr. S.Y. Boadi-Siaw, who offered valuable suggestion to improve this work. And for those who helped me in typing this work, I say thank you. My debts to the various political actors are numerous. Apart from those who for political reasons would want to remain anonymous, I owe a debt of gratitude to the following people; Mr. K. S. P. Jantuah, Mr. Johnny Hansen, Dr. Edward N. Mahama and Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu. Finally I wish to acknowledge the patience of my wife and children. Without their sacrifice, this work would not have seen the light of the day. The acknowledgement of help from others, however, does not confer a scholarly consensus on the views expressed in this study. Any shortcomings remain exclusively mine. v DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my children and to the memory of Dr. Hilla Limann, President of the Third Republic of Ghana. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DECLARATION ii ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv DEDICATION vii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of Problem 5 Literature Review 6 Objectives of the Study 15 Methodology 15 Organization of Work 17 Shortcomings 18 CHAPTER TWO: EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION (1934-1965) 21 CHAPTER THREE: RETURN TO GHANA: THE FOREIGN SERVICE AND THE PEOPLE’S NATIONAL PARTY (1965 – 1979) 54 CHAPTER FOUR: HILLA LIMANN AS PRESIDENT OF THE THIRD REPUBLIC OF GHANA (1979-1981) 98 Economic Policies 107 Ghana’s Foreign Relations under Dr. Limann 121 vii Page Infrastructure 126 Socio- Political Issues 131 The Apaloo Affair 137 CHAPTER FIVE: THE FALL OF LIMANN 150 CHAPTER SIX: LIMANN’S RETURN TO ACTIVE POLITICS 193 CONCLUSION 214 BIBLIOGRAPHY 218 APPENDICES 227 1 Hilla, a Student Abroad 227 2 Hilla and Fulera a year after Marriage 228 3 Limann During 1979 Campaign 229 4 Imoru Egala, Mrs Fulera Liman and President Hilla Limann 230 5 President Limann with Pope John Paul II and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Accra May 1980 231 6 Dr Hilla Limann President of the 3rd Republic of Ghana 232 7 Dr Hilla Limann During A Campaign Tour in 1992 233 8 Hilla Limann is enskinned Paramount Chief of Gwollu 234 viii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION “A good biography reveals not only the life of its subject but also the time in which the person lived. If the biography is of a politician, the book should encompass insight into the politics of the era.” 1 Professor Ali Mazrui, 2007. Politics in Ghana since 1957 has undergone manifold changes under different political leaders. In our search for democracy, Ghanaians have experienced a series of regimes each of which possessed a distinctive flavour and left its own unique legacy. Through their vision and work these political leaders inspired their people at different times. One such personality was Dr. Hilla Limann. In 1979, Dr. Hilla Limann who was described as “a new and hitherto unknown in the national politics of Ghana” made history when he emerged from political obscurity to become the Peoples’ National Party (PNP) presidential candidate after he had initially failed to win the 1954 parliamentary election in the Sisaala Constituency. Many were those who asked in amazement “Dr. Li Who” when his name was mentioned as the presidential candidate of the PNP. This was largely because whilst he was carrying out national and international assignments behind his desk in the hierarchy of Ghana’s Foreign Service, Dr.Hilla Limann was 1 publicly heard of by only a few people among the communities of Ghana south of his own region of birth up north. Born to a humble family, Limann’s life embodied the struggle of a youngman in search of his future through hard work and will power. He went to Britain in 1955 where he remained for ten years and acquired degrees in Economics, History, French, and Political Science and Constitutional Law. His government was violently overthrown on 31st December, 1981, after barely 27 months in power and thereafter he suffered ignominious existence. After the return of the country to multi-party constitutionalism in 1992, he founded the Peoples’ National Convention and contested the 1992 election but lost. Hilla Limann however continued to be the leader of the PNP and championed the cause of unity of the Nkrumahist Family until his death on 23rd January, 1998. His tenure of office was particularly important because it marked one of the most critical periods in Ghana’s political history. He contributed in no small way to certain reforms in independent Ghana. His vision and work can be compared to Nkrumah. His life and work need to be fully documented so that he will be immortalized in the annals of Ghanaian history. This study is an attempt to examine the life, vision and work of Dr. Hilla Limann within the framework of historical biographical analysis. The study has examined Hilla Limann’s personality, background, behaviour, attitude, career and his achievements and failures in the context of the political history of Ghana. The study spans the period from 1934, when he was born, to 1998, when he died.
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