Okudzeto's motion for a fitting monument for JB

23 February 1970, Private Member's Motions

Mr S.A Okudzeto (N.A.L - North Tongu): I beg to move, that this House requests the Government to erect on behalf of the chiefs and people of Ghana a fitting monument to the late Joseph Boakye Danquah, jurist, author, politician and statesman in appreciation of his relentless fight for individual freedom and liberty.

It is significant that this motion should come from this side of the House. As we are all aware, Dr Danquah had always been in opposition until his death. It is therefore fitting that a request of this nature should come from the Opposition. I am aware that some time ago there was a publication in the newspapers that the Government had formed a Cabinet sub-committee to consider a matter of this nature, but I must also bring it to the notice of Members that I gave this motion to the Clerk a month before that Government publication came out.

Dr Danquah died for Ghana. When a man has been elevated to the position of a national figure, it is important that when a matter of this nature is being considered it should be considered on the national level. This transcends party politics, it transcends tribal grounds, it even transcends regional groupings. It is true that Dr Danquah came from Kibi but the seeds which he left by his death are for the whole of Ghana. In fact, I would say that it is through his blood that the coup was staged to release Ghanaians from tyranny. The architects of the coup themselves said that it was by his death that they were inspired to the realisation that Nkrumah must by all means be removed.

We are again, at this stage of our development, faced with some of the problems which Dr Danquah had to face. People are prone to assume that a free government cannot become tyrannical. But as Edmund Burke said, "free governments have committed more flagrant acts of tyranny than the most perfectly despotic governments we have ever known.” This is a reminder to both sides of the House to realise that the majority that Kwame Nkrumah had and which he misused to oppress Dr Danquah, Obetsebi Lamptey and others who died with him is still here with us.

Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God. Dr Danquah, during his life, stood for what was just, for what was necessary so that Ghanaians might be free. He died in the hands of the tyrant. He died because he had to oppose the tyrant’s power. There are some of us these days who stand on the threshold on which Dr Danquah stood. We only hope and pray that what befell him does not befall us. Of course, the cup that he drank is too much for some of us, since we cannot measure up to his stature. He was a great man.

The motion relates to Dr Danquah but I must confess that he was not the only one who died that Ghanaians might be saved. We had an equally-important figure like Obetsebi Lamptey who died in a callous manner unbefitting a son of Ghana. It would have been better if this motion had been addressed to both of these figures.

I had wanted on the day when tributes were paid to the fighters for freedom to move this motion, but unfortunately we on this side of the House were not notified before hand that the tributes were going to be paid. I thought that would have been the proper occasion to move this motion. But it is better late than never, and I think that today is as good as any other.

There are people here who knew Dr Danquah better than I did. I got to know him just a year or two before his death. I mean that was when I got quite close to him. We used to hear him on the platform, we used to read about him in the newspapers, but that is not the same as getting inspiration when you get close to the man. Great men are not born, they are made.

Dr Danquah has left seeds for this country. He made contributions to politics, he made contributions to philosophy and some contribution to law. But I think the greatest legacy he left to this country is the inspiration for the fight for freedom, and it is in this regard that I wish him to be remembered.

I know that the Academy of Sciences has instituted annual lecturers to his memory. It may also get a chair created for the humanities in his name. At the moment, however, my humble and simple request is that a fitting monument should be erected to his memory, so that all who will behold that monument may be inspired to fight for freedom, to fight for individual liberty, to fight against tyranny in any shape or form. This is a request not only to those in the Opposition to the Government but also to those in the Government itself because tyranny shows its head in Government and it is for those who may have influence one way or the other on the Government, to try to make sure that Ghana is not visited again by the tyrant’s rod.

I said earlier on that Dr Danquah died in opposition. It has been said by Emerson that “… the effects of opposition are wonderful. There are men who rise refreshed on hearing a threat – men to whom a crisis which intimidates and paralyses the majority, comes graceful and beloved as a bride.” This is why those of us on this side of the House will implore those in power not take or treat every action of the Opposition, as is common in Ghana, as meant to destroy. Opposition is meant to correct. The Opposition parties are the champions of the cause of the underdog. They stand to speak for the oppressed. They stand on the threshold of liberty. Dr Danquah’s death could not have been significant in this country if he had been in power. Maybe Ghana has gained more by his death in opposition; maybe he himself loved to die the way he died, the tragic way, to make more significant his fight for freedom.

This is a motion to which the whole House ought with one voice to say 'yes.’ I have seen across the House people who were very closely associated with the late Dr Danquah. They, of course, know more about him than I do, and so I hope that we will have the opportunity to hear some of them speak on this motion. As what is involved is little, I pause to give opportunity to other Members who wish to contribute to the debate to do so. I beg to move.

Mr C.T. Nylander (N.A.L. – Ablekuma): I beg to second the motion so ably moved by my friend the hon Member for North-Tongu. All Members of this House are agreed that it is fitting and proper for a lasting memorial to be established to the memory of the late Dr Danquah and the late Emmanuel Obetsebi Lamptey.

At the week-end, we heard a wonderful tribute paid to the memory of Dr Danquah by Professor Ofosu-Appiah. We all, with heavy hearts, heard what the Professor said the late Dr Danquah achieved for the progress of this country. Dr Danquah struggled to reach a height but he did not struggled to reach a height but he did not reach it because of his death. He arrived in this country in 1927, crowned with laurels, very noble laurels. I can still remember the lecture he gave at the Young People’s Social and Literary Club at James Town in Accra. And right through from that year up to his sorrowful death I 1965, Dr Danquah was the champion of all the freedoms I can think of. He inspired self-respect in the citizens of this country, and he stood for honesty and the rule of law. Very much like the inspiration we had from Dr Aggrey when he was on the staff of Achimota in 1927, Dr Danquah brought a new thinking into politics. He inspired every citizen of the then Gold Coast, now Ghana, to be proud of his country and to take a firm stand to protect and uphold his or her common heritage and liberties. Perhaps, in speaking about Dr Danquah I have to narrate a few of the things which he did for this country.

Last year in this honourable House, I said that in the early 1930s he inspired his countrymen to unite in a common demand for self- government, so that on the hundredth anniversary of the Bond of 1844, this country should be free from British rule. The Bond of 1844 brought the Gold Coast, now Ghana, under British rule. Dr Danquah thought that after a hundred years of colonial rule, this country should be ready to take over the reins of government from Great Britain. So he went round the country preaching this idea. He wrote pamphlets and he wrote in the papers of those days on this matter; but it all fell on deaf ears.

Then came the Second World War from 1939 45 when our soldiers fought in distant lands like North Africa, India, Burma, China and Cambodia and returned home with laurels. From what the soldiers saw abroad, they were surprised on their return home at this country’s colonial status, and asked why the then Gold Coast, now Ghana, had not attained self-government.

The poor soldiers, or ex-servicemen as they were called, also felt that they were being poorly treated after the war by the colonial power, and so agitation for self-rule started everywhere. This brought about the formation of the “Big Six.” The Minister of Education, Culture and Sports, Mr William Ofori Atta, who sits before me now, was a member of the “Big Six.” They fought like hell in order to bring some sense into the thinking of the then colonial government of this country. So went on the agitation.

On February 28, 1948 the ex-servicemen, unarmed, marched to the Castle to present a petition to the Governor for a redress of what they thought were their unfortunate circumstances. On their way, they were met by a Police Superintendent known as Captain Imery.

Although the ex-servicemen were unarmed, Captain Imery shot at them, killing three of them. On hearing the news, Dr Danquah and Mr Obetsebi Lamptey went to the Castle to question the Governor why the men were killed in cold blood. They went to the Castle in spite of the fact that they could also be killed. Indeed, Dr Danquah was a selfless man who cared less for his own life, and so was the late Obetsebi Lamptey.

The agitation for self-government went on and the colonial government, being in a fix and not knowing what to do about the situation, had to set up a commission which was known as the Watson Commission. Before the setting up of that Commission, there had been the Allan Burns Constitution which was unsuccessfully tried for two years.

The Watson Commission was asked to find out what went wrong with the Burns Constitution. It then reported that the Burns Constitution of 1946 was outmoded at birth. I am glad to say that as a result of this report, the Coussey Committee was set up and the late Dr Danquah and Obetsebi Lamptey sat on it. So hon.

Members can see that these great men played a noble part in this country’s agitation for self-government. I have been mentioning the late Obetsebi Lamptey because he was a younger man in the fight and, like Dr Danquah, he went through the mill. He was a Customs official, he did the London Matriculation, went to the United Kingdom to study law and returned to the then Gold Coast in the early 1940s. When he returned he also was filled with enthusiasm and he also looked forward to seeing this country achieve self-government.

It was because of that ambition that he joined hands with the late Dr Danquah. I must say that those who were not members of the “Big Six” did take inspiration from them. Nkrumah came at a time when colonialism had been battered and was about to end, as indeed it did end.

The late Dr Danquah and Obetsebi Lamptey, for their love of freedom, pursued their criticism, this time not of any colonial government but of the government that was in office after independence, until they were taken into prison. They were taken into prison as a result of their fight to bring glory and happiness to the people of this country, and it was in prison that they died.

I hope that this House will back this motion. We should not fail these great men; let us not forget their contributions to the achievements of this country. Let us not forget that they fought a good fight. There must, therefore, be a fitting monument to their honour so that posterity may see concrete signs of the value we place on the work they did. It is a pity that such men should die in prison. They died in the hands of a tyrant. In spite of the wonderful letters the late Dr. Danquah wrote to the ex-President, Kwame Nkrumah, everything fell on deaf ears; and in spite of the many petitions written by others on behalf of these great men they were made to die in prison. I hope that their memory will forever remain fresh in the minds of all patriots of this country.

Question proposed

Mr. Saki Scheck (P.P – Takoradi): I had the fortune of serving under the late Dr. J.B Danquah as far back as 1947 when I was a young Secretary at the headquarters of the United Gold Coast Convention. I served under him again later when I was the General Secretary of the Ghana Congress Party and “J.B.” was one of its leaders. I think the late Dr. Danquah deserves all the honour that this country can bestow on a great man. As a scholar, lawyer writer and politician, the late “J.B.” devoted a greater part of his life to the struggle for the emancipation of this country from colonial rule and he fought against ignorance and injustice. He advocated and pursued the principle of the rule of law. The late Dr. Danquah sacrificed so much of his time and energies so that others might enjoy freedom and justice. He pursued this course unflinchingly and continued to fight for others even when he himself was in prison. And yet he was, perhaps, the one man who suffered most in this country from injustice and from man’s inhumanity to man.

This great man was slandered and vilified without just cause. A lot of foul and malicious propaganda was deliberately spread about him by those who considered him a threat to their political and other ambitions.

He was envied, maligned and even hated by those who were mostly inferior to him, both intellectually and morally. He was imprisoned twice by those to who his unfettered existence was a constant source of discomfort. And yet never on a single occasion was he given an opportunity either before a court of law or before any from of inquiry to be heard in respect of the many things that were held against him.

I think the late “J.B.” deserves to be honoured. I am sure that if he could see and hear what we do and say here, he would be happy to realise that we do him such honour. But his happiness would not be complete unless he also realised that those of us who are alive today are following his footsteps and carrying on the struggle for freedom and justice and doing nothing to undermine other people’s right other people’s right to the enjoyment of fundamental human rights. He would be happier to see us stop doing against one another the sort of things which were done to him

Have we stopped spreading false rumours about our fellow men? Have we stopped vilifying, backbiting or undermining our neighbours or intriguing for positions, favours and appointments? Have we stopped envying other persons simply because they are superior to us morally or intellectually or in other respects?

Perhaps we have to remind ourselves that the responsibility for what happened to the late “J.B” cannot be placed only at the door of those who actively and directly committed those enormities against him, or those who actively encouraged them. Many of us must share in that responsibility if only by our silence, or by our indifference or by our cowardice.

And yet now that he is dead and gone we mourn and moan, we resolve to build monuments to his honour, and seek to write his name in letters of silver and gold. I am sure we all miss “J.B”; we miss his counsel; we miss his fellowship; we miss his leadership.

Permit me to say, Sir, that it does not do good to anybody to join in destroying those who play leading roles in rebuilding this nation, persons who devote their lives to the service of their fellow men, those who do great things and live great lives, only to turn round when they are dead and gone to shower post-mortem praises and honours on them.

It is proper and fitting that we should do honour to the late “J.B” but it is also necessary to continue his selfless and unflinching devotion to the service of this nation and our fellow men and desist from doing to one another the sort of bad things which were done to him and from which he suffered and died.

I beg to support the motion:

Mr B.K. Owusu (P.P. – Atwima-Mponua): I am very much moved by the warm tributes paid in memory of the late Dr J.B Danquah by the hon. Members who have contributed to this debate. I am prompted to make my humble contribution to this debate because fortunately or unfortunately, I happened to be within the walls of Ussher Fort Prison as Nkrumah’s detainee during the years 1959 to 1962 with the late Dr J.B Danquah. And I can only describe Dr J.B Danquah as a selfless man.

While in detention even though we were all in agony, we were all brothers and distress, Dr Danquah spent most of his time serving the old farmers who did not know what brought them to the Ussher Fort Prison.

Most of us criticised Nkrumah’s Government and we were arrested unjustly, but those poor farmers who failed to join Nkrumah’s Government, who were not convinced to stand on CPP platforms in their various villages, were all dumped into Ussher Fort Prison. And, it was there that those of us who happened to be very close to him realised that he was a selfless as anybody here can imagine.

He devoted all the time at his disposal to writing petitions, volumes of letters for those poor old men. And I would be failing in my duty as someone who had been in contact with Dr Danquah, if I sat down without contribution to this debate. As I said earlier on, I am much moved because I remember one occasion in the Ussher Fort Prison when – allow me to be a bit personal here, Mr Speaker, - I was put in what I may call a prison within the prison. I had then been discharged from hospital, a very sick man indeed.

This happened because I washed my hands in a dirty water which was used in washing the car of a prison officer. This was the only offence which sent me to the prison within the prison. Dr Danquah, for the whole of that day, would not have his poor prison meal, a food with which some of us would not feed our dogs.

He refused to have it; he pleaded for me until the prison officer became reasonable enough to release me. I have never forgotten this since I cam out of detention, and this is a fine opportunity for me to make my humble contribution to the debate, and I would humbly ask all Members, when the question is put, to support the motion wholeheartedly, that a monument be erected in memory of the late Dr J.B Danquah. I support the motion.

Ministerial Secretary to the Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources (Mr A. Antwi-Kusi): The motion before the House is that this House requests the Government to erect on behalf of the chiefs and people of Ghana a fitting monument to the late Dr Joseph Boakye Danquah, jurist, author, politician and statesman, in appreciation of his relentless fight for individual freedom and liberty.

The fact that no amendment has been proposed to this motion shows clearly that the motion is agreed to. Those of us who had the good fortune of associating with the late Dr J.B Danquah, and suffered with him in detention, would need a whole day to talk about him. The late Dr Danquah was a devoted patriot and a fervent nationalist. Mr Speaker, I would with your permission, and in order to remind hon. Members of the greatness of the late Dr Danquah, quote from the London Times of 5th February, 1965.

That paper wrote:

“Before Ghana became a one-party state in 1964, Danquah was a fearless but careful spokesman for the opposition, and in 1960 he stood as the United Party candidate for the first Presidency of the Republic against Dr Nkrumah. He used the campaign to reiterate his claim to have done as much as Dr Nkrumah himself to win Ghana’s independence in the early stages; until 1948 he bulked as large in the movement as Dr Nkrumah, and went to prison with him.

He never forgave Dr Nkrumah for his break with the United Gold Coast Convention which led to his becoming the leader of the Convention People’s Party, and finally Ghana’s Osagyefo (Deliverer) and virtual dictator. He strongly criticised the destruction of the parliamentary democracy, which Britain bequeathed to the country, along with the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, all of which the CPP progressively undermined. Danquah’s devotion to the law continued so long as he remained a free man.

His contribution to Ghana’s achievement of independence was significant and considerable. He argued the case for calling the Gold Coast, Ghana, after carrying out research in the British Museum in London. He has to his credit a long list of scholarly writing ranging from philosophy to plays. He was a member of various organisations and legal adviser to the Akim Abuakwa State. In the Legislative Council and later the Legislative Assembly he was an astute parliamentarian. A man of very great intelligence with an analytical mind, he was Leader of the Opposition until he lost his seat in the general election of 1954.”

This is part of the glowing tribute paid to the late Dr J.B Danquah by the London Times. I do not want to bore the House with a lengthy tribute and therefore I only have to support the motion. I am very happy that it was moved by the hon. Member for North-Tongu and seconded by the Hon. Member for Ablekuma who played a leading role in the Kwame Nkrumah government. I commend the motion to the whole House.

Mr F.A Amenlemah (P.A.P – Nzima West): I have several points to make. Much as I support the motion because it seeks, as it were, to eternalise the memory of a deserving son of Ghana, I want to express some fears and reservation. The motion asks that a fitting monument be erected to the memory of the late Dr J.B Danquah. It leaves unspecified what monument is to be erected.

All that it says is, a fitting monument. We are all learning our lessons fast from many things that went on during the notorious administration of the Nkrumah epoch. I recall to memory the house at Aburi which was donated by the then Government to the then Prime Minister. At that time everybody thought that the presentation of that house was not too much a price to pay and therefore not harmful to the economy of Ghana. But it turned out in the long run to be a monument that put a severe strain on the economy of Ghana, the effects of which we are now experiencing.

At first the cost of that house was known to be 10,000 pounds. But later on, as my information goes, extensions to that house brought the total cost to 105,000 pounds. Obviously the error that was then committed, assuming that there were genuine intensions from the beginning, was that the presentation was made more or less without specification. The monument here suggested is merely described as fitting.

To be continued…

From Amansie Pramire