© 2013 ALICE CHRISTINE JONES-NELSON ABUSUA, AGE, AND NATION BUILDING IN POSTCOLONIAL GHANA, 1949-2000 BY ALICE CHRISTINE JONES-NELSON DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2013 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor Jean Allman, Chair Professor Emeritus Donald Crummey Professor Maria Todorova Associate Professor Teresa Barnes ii Abstract Focused on public encounters between the institutions of nation and family, this study asks how state agendas in Ghana—amid transitions from colonial oversight to independence influenced, absorbed, reflected, or deflected widespread social values and practices. Governmental vision that targeted fiscal and political solutions, scientific and technological advances, age-based programs, and regulation of population growth to improve quality of life in Ghana spurred public discourse on what it meant or should mean to be Ghanaian. When the Akan term abusua—extended family—entered that discourse, its usage expanded from reference to specific genealogical and sociopolitical constructions to broader definitions with applicability to non-Akan groups. During the late twentieth century, efforts of the central government to steer the country in accordance with political or economic objectives did not succeed in fundamentally changing societal priorities and demonstrated preferences in matters dealing with family, intergenerational relations, and community support. Following the advent of Ghanaian independence, individuals and organizations pointed to the extended family as an ideal—a model for fostering unity through interdependence—and to standards and customs associated with that ideal as vital components of the national character. Instead of government planning, pronouncements, and policies as ultimate conveyors of a national identity, the extended family and community support system emerged as a wellspring of national values by the start of the twenty-first century. Historical fieldwork in Ghana encompassed national and regional archives, speeches and published statements, development plans and budgets, government correspondence and communiqués, legislation, demographic data, news articles and commentaries, Cabinet minutes, records of non-government organizations, conference and unpublished papers, and oral histories iii of residents who experienced the administrations of colonial governors and heads of state in independent Ghana, from Kwame Nkrumah, the first President, to Jerry J. Rawlings. iv Acknowledgments The harvest benefits from good seeds, fertile ground, dedicated cultivators, and environmental conditions that foster completion. The rich histories of Ghana and its people produced the seeds for this scholastic endeavor. Research institutions and their staffs fostered germination and steady growth of the project: among them, the national headquarters and regional offices of the Public Records and Archives Administration Department, with special thanks to Bright Botwe, Killian Onai, Mr. Mahama, Henry, and David; Ellen Bortei-Doku Aryeetey and the Centre for Social Policy Studies; Kofi Baku and the University of Ghana Department of History; Gifty Boakye and the Balme Library; Prosper Anegeshie and the Institute of Statistical, Social, and Economic Research; the Ghana Ministry of Information; the Institute of Adult Education and the Institute of African Studies at Legon; Evelyn Ekua Mensah and William Kofi Owusu at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Library; and librarians at Cape Coast University. The contributions of everyone who granted interviews, including those who preferred anonymity, strengthened this study. For facilitating the networking process, I thank Stephen Adongo and Thomas Achulo of the Department of Social Welfare, Nana Apt, Francis Amedor, Victor in Kumasi, Accra Ridge Church, Lydia Quist-Therson, Ebenezer Adjetey-Sorsey, Reiches Osei Bonsu, the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, and the National Film and Television Institute. The University of Illinois enabled this project to take root. In the Department of History, our chair, the director of Graduate Studies, Thomas Bedwell and the administrative team, and the faculty sustained an environment conducive to a healthy yield. Colleagues shared time, wisdom, affirmations, and admonitions; their perseverance and standards of excellence continue to inspire me. Joy Coates, Nicole Anderson-Cobb, Abdulai Iddrisu, Kwame Essien, Jamie McGowan, v Danielle Kinsey, and Karen Rodriguez’G are only a few of these fellow tillers. The Center for African Studies and the Office of International Studies connected this study with research support from the U. S. Department of Education (Title VI) through the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship and the Nelle M. Signor endowment in International Relations. Antoinette Burton, Elizabeth Pleck, and Benjamin Amponsah imparted timely project advice. At the University Library, Kit Condill and Joseph Lenkart of the Slavic and East European Collections wielded expertise while the Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery team negotiated painstaking searches on my behalf. Through their counsel, questions, challenges, and pedagogy by example, dissertation committee members Donald Crummey, Maria Todorova, and Teresa Barnes helped to cultivate this project. As my advisor and committee chair, Jean Allman invested patience, resourcefulness, advocacy, and passion for historical inquiry into this work. Her capacities for leadership and mentorship know no bounds. For acclimation to wholesome life in the big city during fieldwork seasons, I treasure the tutelage of my brother Kwesi and sister Lilian. Auntie Georginna, Emily Asiedu, Sawdatu Iddrisu, Alhassan, and their families extended unparalleled hospitality. To every benefactor who offered a cold drink on a steamy day or pointed the way to a building in an unfamiliar neighborhood, medaase pii. Meanwhile, a formidable army of encouragers uplifted me and kept me grounded. Bless you, Cheryl Davis Jordan, Nicole Fadeke Castor, Sheila Capers, Joy Duckett Cain, Dominique Gray, Beverly Gorden, Debra Jackson, Christine Villafuerte, Olinda Woods, Rev. D. Regina Boyd, Charmaine Powell, Bobbie Barksdale, Sharon Gilham, Thelma and Cynthia Jenkins, Mia Jones, Brenda Kizer, Beatrice Prickett, Catherine Ocen, Cynthia Biggers, Frank Koomson and vi our classmates, and spiritual nurturers at Canaan and ICGC (“If it had not been for the Lord on my side…”). Dearest Gordon, what an amazing partner you are. Your unwavering presence, insightfulness, humor, and creativity bolstered me throughout the doctoral process, while your industriousness (and steady jobs) kept us moving forward. Atop peaks and in valleys, you cheered me with the sunlight of your smile. Thank you for our glorious adventures in Ghana and Urbana. The best is yet to come. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................... viii Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Chapter Two: Planning for National Progress, 1949-1966 .......................................................... 37 Chapter Three: NLC Legacy—Nationalizing Values Associated with Family ......................... 115 Chapter Four: Turning Point for National Values: 1969-1978 ................................................... 159 Chapter Five: Restoring Balance ............................................................................................... 236 Chapter Six: Finding a Meeting Ground—Dissertation Overview and Conclusions ................ 316 Afterword: Kwame Nkrumah and the Extended Family ........................................................... 373 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 376 viii Abbreviations AFRC Armed Forces Revolutionary Council CPP Convention People’s Party GNFPP Ghana National Family Planning Programme IMF International Monetary Fund ISSER Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research KNUST Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology NLC National Liberation Council NRC National Redemption Council PNDC Provisional National Defence Council PNP People’s National Party PP Progress Party PPAG Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana SMC Supreme Military Council UGGC United Gold Coast Party UN United Nations UNDPA United Nations Department of Political Affairs UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization USAID United States Agency for International Development VRA Volta River Authority VALCO Volta Aluminum Company VRP Volta River Project WHO World Health Organization 1 Chapter One: Introduction In March 1971 at the University of Ghana, Meyer Fortes delivered a lecture on family—its reputation and its relevance—in a modern-day, independent West African country with a centralized government. Nearly 40 years after launching fieldwork on kinship and its significance for broader societal structure in the former Gold Coast colony of Britain, the anthropologist now questioned the continued viability of extended family systems and indicated that some scholarly listeners did so as well: Fortes mentioned a recent academic conference centered on family as an impediment to Ghanaian “progress and development.”