• The Danquah-Busia Tradition in the Politics of Ghana: The Origins, Mission and Achievements of the New Patriotic Party

    The book traces the nation’s political history from its status as a model British African Colony, the Gold Coast, to its attainment of political independence as the modern state of Ghana in 1957, under the leadership of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. The author gives full recognition to the overwhelming debt that Ghana in particular and Africa in general owe to Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s vision as one of the giants of Pan-African Emancipation.

    The book systematically documents the contribution of Dr. Joseph Boakye Danquah and Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia in the freedom struggle. The courageous and impressive role of Professor Adu Boahen in the breaking of the so called “culture of silence” in 1988 at the height of the PNDC regime under Flt. Lt. J. J. Rawlings is acknowledged.

    In the concluding Chapter 13 all the leaders of the tradition are assessed – Dr. Joseph Boakye Danquah passes the litmus test as a doyen of Ghana politics, with impeccable democratic credentials for human rights and the rule of law. The deviation from the ideals of the Danquah-Busia Tradition by Dr. Busia during his two and half years as Head of Government is commented on. Dr. K.A. Busia challenged the rule of law in its response to the ruling of the Supreme Court in the infamous case of Sallah vs. The Republic.

    Other serious deviations from the principles of the Danquah-Busia Tradition were the way in which Dr. Busia implemented the Aliens Compliance Act in 1969. Then also the throwing overboard the belief in meritocracy and the shortcomings of the “zero tolerance of corruption” by President J.A. Kuffour led administration of the Patriotic Party are discussed.

    However, the important and positive achievements of the NPP Government under President Kuffour such as the successes in establishing the Ghanaian economy, upholding the rule of law, enhancing good governance, improving the education and health copulation and thus lifting the flag of Ghana high in Africa and in the international community are not ignored.

    Some of the criticisms may be harsh but the author is a committed member of the Tradition and he justifies his criticism of the Kuffour government with its own commitment to “ensure that the high ideas and objectives which have guided the Tradition through good and bad times should not at any time and under any circumstance be sacrificed for narrow partisan interest or worse still for personal gain”.

    The form and force of the impact of these criticisms must be left to individual assessment and experience. The author has succeeded in intellectually stimulating and provoking democrats and non-democrats of whatever affiliation to digest the contents of this book and make their own judgment. He has opened the door for a fresh appraisal of the noble ideals of the Danquah-Busia Tradition.

    In the Way Forward, the author makes some reflections on the future direction of the NPP.

    Politicians, opinion leaders, the media, social observers and social critics as well as students of history and political science will find this book invaluable.

  • Selected Speeches of Dr. K. A. Busia: Prime Minister of Ghana (1969-1972)

    This is a compendium of speeches by Dr. K.A. Busia, a world-renowned politician and scholar, Africa’s first Leader of Parliamentary Opposition in an independent country south of the Sahara and Prime Minister of Ghana (1969-1972).

    His commitment to multiparty democracy is demonstrated throughout the pages. For example, he objected strongly to the decision to turn Ghana  into a one-party state in the First Republic, saying, “One-party rule for Ghana, in the light of our traditions, is a step backward from the accumulated wisdom we inherited from our ancestors.”

    Today, one-party rule is a taboo to the Ghanaian constitution and Busia’s preferred economic and governance modules have become the bedrock for governance, demonstrating the continuing relevance of his ideas to contemporary politics.

  • S.D. Dombo: A Biography of An Iconic Ghanaian Statesman (Hardcover)

    One of the ways to know about the history and foundations of a society is to read about how her pioneers lived their lives and chartered courses that have defined various aspects of the nation’s life as well as the motivations that inspired their actions and the philosophies that underpinned their conduct.

    Ghana is a nation with a rich history of men and women whose contributions have resulted in her success story as a beacon in the comity of nations.

    This book gives account of the life and works of one of the notable founders of the West African country in the centre of the world. It is a story of courage, fortitude and foresight exhibited by a real gem of a leader — Chief Simon Diedong Dombo: a traditional ruler, an educationist, a politician and a revered statesman.

  • J. A. Braimah: Biography of a Trailblazer (Hardcover)

    This well researched book is not just a biography of the first-ever Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister from Northern Ghana, but a packed chronicle of the stormy political period of the pre- and immediate post-independent Ghana, narrated through the lens of a man in whose soul the development of Ghana – and Northern Ghana in particular – burns. It highlights the slow but momentous inclusion of Northern Ghana in the affairs of the Gold Coast.

    The mistrust that characterized the relationship between Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and the leaders of Northern Ghana, which culminated in the formation of the Northern Peoples Party, and Northern Ghana’s struggle for a dignified independence; makes this biography a must have for scholars, students, politicians and all who are interested in the twists and turns of this period.

  • Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism (African Writers Series, AWS49)

    This is the book which, when first published in 1965, caused such an uproar in the US State Department that a sharp note of protest was sent to Kwame Nkrumah, and the $25million of American “aid” to Ghana was promptly cancelled. It exposes the working of international monopoly capitalism in Africa and shows how the stranglehold of foreign monopolies perpetuates the paradox of Africa: poverty in the midst of plenty.

  • Ogyakrom: The Missing Pages of June 4th (Fireman Series) – Hardback

    Kwesi Yankah is currently the Minister of State for Tertiary Education in Ghana. Until April 2017, he was Vice Chancellor of Central University, Ghana, and was previously Professor of Linguistics and Pro-Vice Chancellor at the University of Ghana. Yankah, an inimitable satirist, is a proud product of Winneba Secondary School, University of Ghana and Indiana University, USA, where he did his doctorate. Well known in literary and academic circles, Professor Yankah has been a Public Intellectual since the late 1970s when, at 27, he started an anonymous column in The Catholic Standard newspaper, under the pseudonym Abonsam Fireman. The credit for the column, in a suppressive political environment, was often mistakenly given to the two great luminaries PAV Ansah and Adu Boahen.

    Later in 1986, when Yankah returned from doctoral work at Indiana University, he introduced another weekly column, Woes of the Kwatriot, this time in The Mirror which he sustained for a period of ten years. In 1996, the Ghana Journalists Association honoured him for ‘the longest running column in the history of Ghanaian journalism.’ His writings, both literary and academic, have won for Yankah various awards including the WEB Du Bois Award (GAW), the Zora Hurston Award (GAW), the Ghana Book Development Award (GBDC) and the Gold Book Award given by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences.

    The present volume represents landmarks within 22 months of Yankah’s weekly column in The Catholic Standard, from January 1979 to March 1980. It is inspired by topical issues in two military regimes (General F Akuffo’s SMC 2, Rawlings’ June 4th Revolution) and one civilian government (Hilla Limann’s PNP). This compilation altogether allows a veiled peep into the most turbulent period in Ghana’s political history, Rawlings’ June 4th Revolution, including preceding events and the aftermath of the Revolution. In the words of Dr Anthony Bonnah Koomson, Editor of The Catholic Standard at the time of Yankah’s celebrated column: “The book captures a momentous era in Ghana’s immediate political history, reminiscences of which the author has sough to recreate and preserve with phenomenal linguistic skill. It presents, through satire, an accurate heartbeat of a people under intense political paralysis.”

    This book makes compelling, even if hilarious, reading on Ghana’s enigmatic June 4th Revolution.

  • The Last Bath: A True Story

    Age Range: 8 years and above

    The Last bath is a true story of slavery and emancipation based on the sequential murals painted by the Ghanaian artist Obeh. Obeh completed a series of murals in 2016, that illustrate real-life experiences had by some Guamanians who were captured and enslaved. The Donkor Nsuo (Slave River) is in the ancestral river park located in Assin Manso, a town in the Central Region of Ghana.

    Obeh is an artist from Assin Manso, Ghana. He was chosen to paint this series of murals to tell the history of enslavement to emancipation, as it occurred in Ghana. Completed in 2016, his portrayals depict some of the unforgettable horrors of the slave trade.

  • The Struggle Continues

    The six pamphlets in this book reflect the indomitable spirit of Kwame Nkrumah, the symbol of fighting Africa.

    The first, What I Mean by Positive Action, was written in 1949 when the campaign for the independence of Ghana was at its height.

    The other five pamphlets were all written between 1966 and 1968 in Conakry, Guinea, where this great Pan-Africanist carried on the socialist revolutionary struggle to which he devoted his whole life.

    1 What I Mean by Positive Action

    2 The Spectre of Black Power

    3 The Struggle Continues

    4 Ghana: The Way Out

    5 The Big Lie

    6 Two Myths

    All except the first, which was written in 1949 at the height of the national liberation struggle, were written in Conakry between 1967 and 1968. Not only is Kwame Nkrumah’s theoretical work highly original and consistent, it is also a practical guide to revolutionary action.

  • Interim Republic: Ghana – The 1st Military Junta (1966 – 1969)

    When the long years of plotting by foreign powers with Ghanaian collaborators to upset governance in Ghana finally succeeded, many justification books and laudatory pamphlets and newspaper articles were published at home and abroad. Some bore pseudonames, others came forceful. The event which occasioned the potpourri was the 1st military coup d’etat in Ghana staged by a military and police combine.

    The Military/Police combination which overtook the government of Ghana, the 1st Republic Convention People’s Party (CPP)-led government in that putsch, installed an administration which came to be known as the National Liberation Council (NLC).

    This book sheds much-needed light on their lives and times.

  • Our Motherland – My Life

    Our Motherland – My Life chronicles the remarkable life of a true Ghanaian patriot who has been an active participant and observer in Ghanaian political transitions. His African cultural influences are undergirded by his deep spiritual belief in articulating the needs of Ghana and Africa as an influential communicator. His leadership legacy as a visionary will be remembered for generations to come as one of the best Ghanaian and Pan Africanist thinkers of his generation.

  • My Life: A Historical Narrative – Autobiography of Ivan Addae-Mensah (Hardcover)

    This autobiography should be a best seller. It is a lucid, engaging, fascinating account of a very complex man with an eclectic life that the author has managed to masterfully present as a mainstream Ghanaian. It is so enjoyable to read.
    Dr. Ing Kwame Boakye
    Former President, Ghana Institution of Engineers
    Former Vice Chairman, AT&T Paradyne, Florida, USA

    With this autobiography, “My Life – A Historical Narrative”- Professor Emeritus- Ivan Addae-Mensah, the highly reputable and respected scientist and academic, has established his credentials as a writer par excellence and a master storyteller by every definition. . It is a well –written, riveting book, easy to read and absolutely interesting . I highly recommend this inspirational book.
    Ambassador Kabral Blay-Amihere
    Author, Former Chairman of the Ghana Media Commission,
    Former Ghana High Commissioner to Sierra Leone and Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire

    During our university days we conferred the accolades “Versatile” and “Walking Encyclopaedia” on Emeritus Professor Ivan Addae-Mensah. Reading his book “My Life, a Historical Narrative” has confirmed that we were right. Ivan’s experiences in life, especially in the Ghana Public Service and in the political arena confirm the notion that serving one’s nation with honesty and integrity could be hazardous, but it pays. I highly recommend the book to all and sundry.
    Ambassador Sir James K. Bebaako-Mensah
    Former Secretary to the Cabinet, Former Secretary to President J.E.A Mills and Former Ghana Ambassador to the Holy See (Vatican)

    In this absorbing autobiography, Emeritus Professor Ivan Addae-Mensah takes the reader on a journey through an extraordinary life that provides insights into his own life as well as Ghana’s social and political history from the 1940s till today; Written in an accessible and humorous style, this captivating chronicle is a must-read for anyone seeking to learn about Ghana’s contemporary history.
    Professor Akosua Adomako Ampofo,Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana

  • Swords & Crosses: The Story of Opoku Ware School

    Our journey has been both long and short. Many are those that have departed this life, unable to share their stories. They were students like us, or teachers, or worked in other capacities within the school. All of these nurtured and formed us into the winners we are today. They and their service, their lives, and contributions should never be forgotten. For them all this book is a memorial.

    Our prayer is that the thousands of fingers that turn these pages will be a testament to the many future years ahead of Opoku Ware School, years in which, we believe, it shall move from being one of the best into becoming the very best. The quick today and those departed, through this book still have a voice, speaking of what has been, and inspiring the progress for tomorrow.

    We have been forged by the cross of Christ and a mighty sword of tradition.

    This is our story.

    Katakyie Rodney Nkrumah-Boateng (AF147) and his team have woven an intricate pattern of beauty, exemplified only by the beautiful patterns of the Asante Kente cloth. The beginnings of Opoku Ware School and its progress through the changing phases of Ghana are presented here in an easy-to-read style that will appeal to all students and lovers of history. Ably captured is the pride in identity that has bound together the men known as Akatakyie all this while; a resilient band of achievers. never resting, never floundering.

    The story really had to be told.

  • Perseverance Conquers All: The Autobiography of Kantinka Kwame Donkor Fordwor

    As a very poor boy, Kantinka sustained himself in school by selling firewood. He walked four miles every day from village, Breman, to Kumasi to attend school. He recounts how by dint of hard work, he sailed through elementary and secondary school to the Graduate School of Wharton even though fate had prevented him from doing sixth form studies. He recollects how at St. Augustine’s College, Cape Coast, he was cured of a strange disease by a traditional priest. His beloved wife had to discontinue her studies to help him complete his. Kantinka thus passed through a darkness of life which continued in his working life.

    His decision to provide a house for the Executive Chairman of the Capital Investments Board, in order to save the Board huge sums of money in rent payments, was so maliciously interpreted that he was editorially castigated and lambasted. His ingenious polices that eventually helped to raise the capital of the African Development Bank from US $200 million to US $100 billion was rewarded with his dismissal as the President of the Bank.

    He incurred the ire of his enemies for the appreciation he received from three Kings of Asante Kingdom.

    Perseverance Conquers All portrays these midnight sides of Kantinka’s life to let his sun shine brightly. His wife gave him six children any father could wish for, whom he educated as a very responsible father. Providence made him help Ghana in its financial difficulties when he became the virtual Minister of Finance during the reign of Colonel Acheampong. His input to the progress of the Catholic Church has even been more monumental as explained beautifully in the book. Kantinka is indeed the sun at midnight.

    Reliance on God, patriotism, philanthropy, hard work, good family life, good parenthood, honesty, and magnanimity is what this life story portrays. This is a book that all must have and read: the student as well as the teacher; the Christian, husband and patriot.

  • 5 Presidents, 8 Elections, 30 Years Later: How Ghanaians See Their Democracy

    Ghana’s Fourth Republic, a multiparty democracy, has seen five presidents, held eight successful elections and, as of this writing, is in its thirtieth year. This makes it unique in several ways, compared to previous attempts at multiparty democracy, in that it is the longest-lasting republic so far in the country’s post-independence history. It has outlived the first, second, and third republics combined by more than eighteen years.
    What explains this unique period and change in the political trajectory of Ghana? Why has the country’s most recent attempt at multiparty democracy lasted this long?
    Drawing on answers to questions in the Afrobarometer survey, administered nine times at periodic intervals between 1999 and 2022, this book describes in twenty themes and fifty-one observations, how Ghanaians see their democracy. The book covers themes such as trust in institutions, partisanship, support for democracy, governments handling of the policy priorities of Ghanaians, among many others. The book points out the key lessons of the last thirty and the challenges ahead in the country’s efforts to deepen democratic governance.

  • Lives of Five Ghanaian Pioneers

    Age Range: 8 – 15 years

    In this piece of non-fiction from Adaex, readers learn about the biographical sketches of five great Ghanaian personalities.

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