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United Gold Coast Convention

Summary

The United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was first nationalist movement with the aim of self-government " in the shortest possible time" founded in August 1947 by educated Africans such as J.B. Danquah, A.G. Grant, R.A. Awoonor-Williams, Edward Akufo Addo (all lawyers except for Grant, who was a wealthy businessman), and others, the leadership of the organisation called for the replacement of Chiefs on the Legislative Council with educated persons. whose aim was to bring about Ghanaian independence from their British colonial masters after the Second World War.[3][4] The United Gold Coast Convention appointed its leaders to include Kwame Nkrumah, who was the Secretary General. However, upon an allegation for plans against Nkrumah's leadership, he was arrested and jailed.[5] The UGCC leadership broke up and Kwame Nkrumah went on a separate way to set up the Convention People's Party (CPP) for the purpose of self-governance.[6] The UGCC was founded in Saltpond.

United Gold Coast Convention
LeaderGeorge Alfred Grant
SecretaryKwame Nkrumah
SpokespersonKwame Nkrumah
FounderGeorge Alfred Grant
Founded4 August 1947
Dissolved1952
HeadquartersAccra
IdeologyConservatism[1][2]
Political positionCentre-right[1]
1951 elections2

History edit

In the 1940s, African merchants, such as George Alfred Grant ("Paa Grant"), were ready to finance the organization of a political movement to assure their commercial interests in the face of unfair colonial practices. The party was founded by George Alfred Grant on 4 August 1947 by a combination of chiefs, academics and lawyers,[7] including R. A. Awoonor-Williams, Robert Samuel Blay, Edward Akufo-Addo, and Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey.[8]

On 10 December 1947, Kwame Nkrumah returned to the Gold Coast, accepting Danquah's invitation to become the UGCC General Secretary. Big Six member Ebenezer Ako-Adjei recommended inviting Nkrumah, whom he had met at Lincoln University.[6] Nkrumah was offered a salary of £250, and Paa Grant paid the boat fare from Liverpool in England to the Gold Coast.[9] Danquah and Nkrumah subsequently disagreed over the direction of the independence movement and parted ways after two years.[10] Nkrumah went on to form the Convention People's Party (CPP) in 1949 and eventually became the first president of independent Ghana.[10] There was a meeting between Nkrumah and members of the party which occurred in Saltpond, a town in Central region. It was said Nkrumah rejected a proposal for the promotion of fundamental human rights.[11]

The UGCC performed poorly in the 1951 elections, winning only three seats. The following year, it merged with the National Democratic Party and disaffected members of the CPP, to form the Ghana Congress Party.[12][13]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Aubynn, Anthony Kwesi (2002). "Behind the Transparent Ballot Box: The Significance of the 1990s Elections in Ghana". Multi-Party Elections in Africa. James Currey. p. 77.
  2. ^ Firmin-Sellers, Kathryn (1999). "The Concentration of Authority: Constitutional Creation in the Gold Coast, 1950". Polycentric Governance and Development. University of Michigan Press. p. 191.
  3. ^ "'Allah Might Provide the Fuel': Muslim Sailors in British Colonial Navies, from the Second World War to Independence". Combatants of Muslim Origin in European Armies in the Twentieth Century: Far from Jihad. Bloomsbury Academic. 2017. doi:10.5040/9781474249454.ch-009. ISBN 978-1-4742-4945-4. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  4. ^ "The Politics of the Independence Movements". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  5. ^ "Nkrumah, Dr Kwame (21 Sept. 1909–27 April 1972)". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u158013. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  6. ^ a b "SECRETARY OF THE UGCC". Kwame Nkrumah. Vision and Tragedy. Sub-Saharan Publishers: 52–72. 15 November 2007. doi:10.2307/j.ctvk3gm60.9. ISBN 978-9988-647-81-0. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  7. ^ Birmingham, David, Kwame Nkrumah: The Father of African Nationalism (revised edition), Ohio University Press, 1998, p. 13.
  8. ^ "Ghana pays tribute to founders' - Graphic Online". www.graphic.com.gh. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  9. ^ Birmingham, David, Kwame Nkrumah: The Father of African Nationalism (revised edition), Ohio University Press, 1998.
  10. ^ a b Becker, Adam H.; Reed, Annette Yoshiko (2020). The Ways that Never Parted. doi:10.1628/978-3-16-158695-8. ISBN 9783161586958. S2CID 219810031.
  11. ^ "Sekou Nkrumah Fights Oquaye Over Founders' Day". DailyGuide Network. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  12. ^ "The Gold Coast on trial: parties and personalities of the new order". The Times. 4 June 1951.
  13. ^ "Policy of new Gold Coast party". The Times. 6 May 1952.