Historian Kweku Darko Ankrah has detailed the circumstances that led to the overthrow of Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, 59 years ago.
Dr. Nkrumah was overthrown on February 24, 1966, during a coup d’état led by Lieutenant General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka.
In an interview with Bernard Avle on The Point of View on Channel One TV, Mr. Ankrah attributed the coup to several factors, including unpopular policies, high inflation, a struggling economy, and nepotism.
He emphasised that these issues collectively contributed to the discontent that culminated in Nkrumah’s overthrow.
Mr. Ankrah’s insights shed light on the complex socio-economic and political challenges that Ghana faced during Nkrumah’s administration, offering a nuanced understanding of the events leading up to the 1966 coup.
“Most people their problem was that by 1964, the economy started tanking [economy experiencing a sudden decline] because most of the factories were being manned by a lot of CPP members instead of open access for all Ghanaians who had the competence or the technical know-how to work within the companies and factories. This was not done so it largely became partisan. All opportunities went to CPP supporters in all spheres.
“This also didn’t lead to the equitable sharing of the national cake. There was a lot of ill feeling economically that was hurting because the economy started tanking for the first time, what we called human inflation. What triggered most Ghanaians was the political policies of Nkrumah which moved towards a one-party state starting with certain obnoxious policies like the Alien Deportation Act… Politically these are some of the things that made Nkrumah unpopular.”
However, he acknowledged that Dr. Nkrumah implemented several policies, including the construction of 68 factories, the promotion of import substitution, the establishment of health facilities, the expansion of educational access, the founding of colleges, and the creation of three universities before his overthrow.
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