History of Ghana (1966–1979) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Second Republic of Ghana Ghana
1966–1979
Flag Coat of arms
Capital	Accra
Government	Parliamentary republic under a military dictatorship
President
• 1966-1969	Joseph Ankrah
• 1969-1970	Akwasi Afrifa
• 1970	Nii Amaa Ollennu
Prime Minister
• 1969-1972	Kofi Abrefa Busia
Legislature	Parliament of Ghana
History
• Established	24 February 1966
• 1969 Ghanaian parliamentary election	29 August 1969
• National Redemption Council seizes power	13 January 1972
• Supreme Military Council seizes power	9 October 1975
• Disestablishment	4 June 1979
Preceded by Succeeded by First Republic of Ghana Third Republic of Ghana
Today part of	Ghana

From 1966 to 1979, the country of Ghana went through a tough time. This period is known as the Second Republic of Ghana. It started when the government of Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown on February 24, 1966. This happened because of a military coup, which is when the army takes control of the government by force.

After the coup, a group called the National Liberation Council (NLC) took charge. Joseph Ankrah became the country's leader. The NLC worked to set up a new government. They held an election in 1969, which led to Kofi Abrefa Busia and his Progress Party taking power.

However, in January 1972, Ghana's government was overthrown again. This time, the National Redemption Council (NRC) took over. In 1975, the NRC changed its name to the Supreme Military Council (SMC).

Finally, in 1979, the SMC was overthrown in another coup. This led to the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council taking control.

Ghana's Military Coup of 1966

On February 24, 1966, the government led by Kwame Nkrumah was removed from power. This was done by a military coup. Army officers like Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, Akwasi Afrifa, and Joseph Arthur Ankrah were key leaders. They said they took over because Nkrumah's government was unfair and corrupt.

They were also worried about Nkrumah's strong involvement in African politics. They felt he wanted to send Ghanaian troops to fight wars in other African countries. Most importantly, they pointed out that Ghana was not democratic. They claimed this had lowered the spirits of the armed forces. General Kotoka said the coup was about freeing the nation from Nkrumah's strict rule.

Even with these big changes, many problems remained in Ghana. There were still divisions between different ethnic groups and regions. The unity that seemed to exist under Nkrumah was partly due to his strong power. New leaders had to find a way to bring different groups together.

The country also faced big economic problems. These made it hard for new governments to improve life for people. Many Ghanaians started to believe that political parties made things worse. Some even thought military rule might be better. The struggles of the Busia government, Ghana's first elected government after Nkrumah, showed these ongoing challenges.

US and CIA Knowledge of the Coup

Documents released in 1999 showed that the United States government knew about the plans to overthrow Nkrumah. A former CIA officer, Robert Stockwell, also confirmed this in his book.

National Liberation Council and Busia's Rule (1966–1971)

After the coup, the new leaders quickly opened Ghana's borders and prisons. This allowed Nkrumah's opponents to return from exile or be released. The National Liberation Council (NLC) was made up of four army officers and four police officers. They took control of the government.

The NLC promised to bring back democratic government as soon as possible. They banned political parties for a while. But they started forming committees of civil servants and politicians. This was the first step towards civilian rule.

Eventually, an assembly was created to write a new constitution for Ghana. Political parties were allowed to form when this assembly began its work. By the time of the election in August 1969, five parties had been created. The new constitution set up a parliamentary republic. It had a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. The president's powers were made very small. This was to prevent another leader from becoming too powerful, like Nkrumah. Real power was given to the prime minister and the cabinet.

The 1969 Election

The main parties in the election were the Progress Party (PP) led by Kofi Abrefa Busia. The other was the National Alliance of Liberals (NAL) led by Komla Agbeli Gbedemah. Many people linked these parties to the political groups from Nkrumah's early years. The PP was supported by the middle class and traditional groups. These were often people who had opposed Nkrumah. Busia himself had led groups against Nkrumah before.

The NAL was seen as a continuation of Nkrumah's party's right wing. Gbedemah had been a leader in Nkrumah's party before he was removed.

The election results showed interesting patterns. The PP won all seats in the Ashanti and Brong regions. Seats in the northern regions were very close. In the Volta Region, the PP won some seats, while the NAL won others. Overall, the PP won 59% of the votes and 74% of the seats. This showed they had support from many different ethnic groups. About 60% of voters participated.

Busia's Government

Soon after the election, Gbedemah was stopped from taking his seat in the National Assembly. This was due to a court decision about former Nkrumah government members accused of financial crimes. Gbedemah then left politics for good. The NAL, without a strong leader, had thirty seats. Later, it joined with other small parties to form the Justice Party (JP).

Busia became prime minister in September. For the first year and a half, a group of three people acted as president. This group included Major Afrifa. In August 1970, they stepped down. Afrifa criticized the constitution, saying it focused too much on stopping a dictator. It did not focus enough on creating a strong government. The new president chosen was Chief Justice Edward Akufo-Addo. He was a well-known politician from earlier times.

Everyone focused on Prime Minister Busia and his government. People had high hopes for his administration. They thought the politicians were smart and would make good decisions for the country. Many believed their choices would benefit everyone, unlike Nkrumah's rule. The NLC had promised more democracy and freedom in Ghana.

Two early actions by Busia's government were to send many non-citizens out of the country. They also limited foreign involvement in small businesses. These steps aimed to reduce unemployment. They were popular because they removed foreigners who were seen as unfairly controlling trade. However, many other actions by Busia were not popular.

For example, Busia's plan to make university students pay for loans was criticized. Before, education had been free. This change was seen as creating a class system in education. Some also saw Busia's decision to lower the value of the national money as a bad idea. They thought it could harm Ghana's independence.

The opposition Justice Party had similar ideas to Busia's government. But they stressed the importance of the government in economic development. They also focused on programs for city workers. The ruling PP wanted to develop rural areas. This was to slow down people moving to cities and to balance development across regions. Both parties wanted to create an economic community with nearby West African countries.

National Redemption Council (1972–1975)

The 1972 Coup and Its Causes

Even with public support, the Busia government was overthrown by the army in just over two years. This happened because of Ghana's ongoing economic problems. These included large foreign debts from Nkrumah's time and internal issues. The government owed US$580 million in long-term debts. By 1971, this amount had grown even larger with interest and short-term loans. Inside the country, a big internal debt caused prices to rise.

Ghana's economy relied heavily on cocoa. Cocoa prices often changed a lot. But cocoa exports usually brought in about half of the country's foreign money. In the 1960s, several things caused this income to drop sharply. These included competition from other countries and problems with how the government managed cocoa prices. There were also accusations of bad management and smuggling of cocoa. As a result, Ghana's earnings from cocoa kept falling.

Busia's government put in place strict economic measures. These made many farmers, who had supported the government, unhappy. These measures were part of Busia's plan to fix the country's finances. The International Monetary Fund had suggested these strict programs. These measures also hurt the middle class and salaried workers. They faced frozen wages, higher taxes, and higher import prices.

These problems led to protests from the Trade Union Congress. In response, the government sent the army to stop strikes. Some people saw this as going against the government's promise of democracy.

The army officers and soldiers were also affected by these strict measures. Their own lives and the army's budget were cut. The Busia government then started changing army leaders. This was the final push. Lieutenant Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong led a peaceful coup. This ended the Second Republic on January 13, 1972.

Years of the National Redemption Council

Even though it was short, the Second Republic showed Ghana's development problems clearly. These included unfair distribution of money and favoring certain groups. Important questions about what to focus on first also came up. For example, was rural development more important than city needs? How much should the government pay for university education? And should the public be part of these big decisions? The fall of Ghana's Second Republic left many questions unanswered for the country's future.

The overthrow of Busia's government showed that Ghana was no longer a leader in finding good political systems in Africa. Both extreme political ideas had failed. Busia had argued that Nkrumah's one-party rule led to poverty. But Nkrumah had said that multi-party democracy was too slow. The fall of both governments left many people confused about Ghana's political path. In short, Ghanaians could not agree on the best government for their country.

This situation, where the Busia government could not please different groups, gave Acheampong a reason for his takeover. Acheampong's National Redemption Council (NRC) said they had to act. They wanted to fix the problems caused by the previous government's money changes. They aimed to improve living conditions for Ghanaians quickly.

The NRC reversed Busia's strict economic policies. Their new policies seemed easier and more popular. But unlike the NLC in 1966, the NRC did not plan to return to democratic rule. Some people accused the NRC of acting only to fix their own problems. To justify their takeover, they accused Busia and his ministers of corruption. In its first years, the NRC gained support because people liked the reversal of Busia's strict measures.

The Ghanaian money was made stronger. The NRC also announced two ways to reduce foreign debts. They refused to pay US$90 million of Nkrumah's debts to British companies. They also rescheduled the rest of the country's debts to be paid over fifty years. Later, the NRC took control of all large foreign-owned companies. These actions were popular at first. But they did not solve the country's real problems. In fact, they made it harder for money to flow into the country.

Unlike the NLC of 1966, the NRC wanted a truly military government. So, in October 1975, the ruling council became the Supreme Military Council (SMC). Only a few senior military officers were part of it. The goal was to give the military more control over the government. It also aimed to solve disagreements within the armed forces. Very little input from civilians was allowed. The SMC did not offer to return any part of the government to civilian control for five years.

SMC members believed Ghana's problems were due to a lack of organization. They thought military organization could fix this. Officers were put in charge of all government departments and state-owned businesses. Junior officers and sergeants were given leadership roles at all levels.

NRC's Early Years

In the NRC's early years, these changes made many Ghanaians hope for better government. Acheampong remained popular until 1974. The government successfully got international loans and rescheduled Ghana's debts. The government also supported prices for basic food imports. They encouraged Ghanaians to grow their own food and produce raw materials.

The "Operation Feed Yourself" program encouraged all Ghanaians to grow food. The goal was for Ghana to feed itself. This program had some early success. But support for it slowly faded.

Despite these limited successes, other economic factors caused problems. Industry and transportation suffered greatly when world oil prices rose after 1974. A lack of foreign money meant the country did not have enough fuel. Basic food production continued to drop as the population grew. This was mainly due to poor price management and more people moving to cities.

When world cocoa prices rose again in the late 1970s, Ghana could not benefit. This was because its old cocoa farms were not producing much. Also, because farmers were paid so little, some smuggled their cocoa to neighboring Togo or Côte d'Ivoire. People became more and more unhappy with the government. Accusations of corruption among the leaders also began to appear.

Supreme Military Council (1975–1979)

Changes to the SMC

The change from NRC to SMC in 1975 might have been an attempt to save face. After this, the government tried to stop opposition. They made a rule against spreading rumors. They also banned several independent newspapers and arrested journalists. Armed soldiers broke up student protests. The government often closed universities, which had become centers of opposition.

Despite these efforts, the SMC faced growing peaceful opposition by 1977. Discussions about Ghana's political future began seriously. Opposition groups, like students and lawyers, wanted a return to civilian rule. But Acheampong and the SMC wanted a "union government." This would be a mix of elected civilians and appointed military leaders. Political parties would be banned.

University students and many educated people criticized the union government idea. But others, like Justice Gustav Koranteng-Addow, defended it. They saw it as a solution to the nation's political problems. Supporters of the union government believed that multi-party politics caused social tension and conflict. They argued that their plan could remove politics from public life. This would allow the nation to focus on economic problems.

The Referendum

A national referendum was held in March 1978. People could vote to accept or reject the union government idea. Rejecting it meant military rule would continue. Given this choice, it was surprising that the vote for union government was so close. Opponents said the vote was not fair. The Acheampong government reacted by banning groups and jailing about 300 opponents.

The plan for the union government included writing a new constitution. This would be done by an SMC-appointed group. A special assembly would be chosen by November 1978. General elections would be held in June 1979. The committee had suggested an election without parties. It also suggested an elected president and a cabinet whose members were not from the National Assembly. The military council would then step down. Its members could run for office as individuals.

Leadership Change

In July 1978, the other SMC officers suddenly forced Acheampong to resign. They replaced him with Lieutenant General Frederick W.K. Akuffo. The SMC likely did this because of pressure to solve the country's economic crisis. Prices were rising very fast, possibly by 300% that year. There were shortages of basic goods. Cocoa production fell to half of what it was in 1964. The council was also motivated by Acheampong's failure to calm political pressure for changes. Akuffo, the new SMC chairman, publicly promised to hand over power to a new elected government by July 1, 1979.

Despite Akuffo's promises, opposition to the SMC continued. Akuffo put in place strict economic programs. These made food shortages worse and hurt the people. Calls for political parties grew stronger. To gain support during strikes over economic and political issues, Akuffo's government finally announced that political parties would be allowed after January 1979. Akuffo also gave forgiveness to former members of Nkrumah's and Busia's parties. He also forgave those accused of trying to overthrow Acheampong.

The rule allowing political parties went into effect on January 1, 1979. The group working on a new constitution finished their draft in May. Everything seemed ready for a new attempt at civilian government in July. But in June 1979, a group of young army officers overthrew the SMC government.

See also

• Political history of Ghana