• Kwame Nkrumah and the Dawn of the Cold War: The West African National Secretariat, 1945-48

    The history of a Pan-Africanist movement based in Britain and its role in the Cold War in Africa

    The West African National Secretariat (WANS) has almost been forgotten by history. A pan-Africanist movement founded in 1945 by Kwame Nkrumah and colleagues in London and France, WANS campaigned for independence and unity. Nkrumah returned to the Gold Coast in late 1947. The colonial government accused him of being a communist and fomenting the riots of early 1948. He was jailed. This led to the beginning of the Cold War in West Africa.

    Drawing on archival research including the newly released MI5 files, Marika Sherwood reports on the work of WANS, on the plans for a unity conference in October 1948 in Lagos, and on Nkrumah’s return home. Sherwood demonstrates that colonial powers colluded with each other and the US in order to control the burgeoning struggles for independence. By labelling African nationalists as ‘communists’ in their efforts to contain decolonisation, the Western powers introduced the Cold War to the continent.

    Providing a rich exploration of a neglected history, this book sheds light for the first time on a crucial historical moment in the history of West Africa and the developmental trajectory of West African independence.

  • Love Is Power, or Something Like That: Stories

    When it comes to love, things are not always what they seem. In contemporary Lagos, a young boy may pose as a woman online, and a maid may be suspected of sleeping with her employer and yet still become a young wife’s confidante. Men and women can be objects of fantasy, the subject of beery soliloquies. They can be trophies or status symbols. Or they can be overwhelming in their need.
    In the wide-ranging stories in Love Is Power, or Something Like That, A. Igoni Barrett roams the streets with people from all stations of life. A man with acute halitosis navigates the chaos of the Lagos bus system. A minor policeman, full of the authority and corruption of his uniform, beats his wife. A family’s fortunes fall from love and wealth to infidelity and poverty as poor choices unfurl over three generations. With humor and tenderness, Barrett introduces us to an utterly modern Nigeria, where desire is a means to an end, and love is a power as real as money.
  • Diamonds, Gold and War: The Making of South Africa

    Southern Africa was once regarded as a worthless jumble of British colonies, Boer republics, and African chiefdoms, a troublesome region of little interest to the outside world. But then prospectors chanced upon the world’s richest deposits of diamonds and gold, setting off a titanic struggle between the British and the Boers for control of the land. The result was the costliest, bloodiest, and most humiliating war that Britain had waged in nearly a century, and the devastation of the Boer republics.

    The New Yorker calls this magisterial account of those years “[an] astute history…Meredith expertly shows how the exigencies of the diamond (and then gold) rush laid the foundation for apartheid.”

  • Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, 2010 (Act 798)

    The Seven Hundred and Ninety-eighth ACT of the Parliament of the republic of Ghana is an ACT to provide for the settlement of disputes by arbitration, mediation and customary arbitration, to establish an Alternative Dispute resolution center and to provide for related matters

  • Afajato: Stories from Around the Volta Lake

    In response to the Aidoo Centre’s call for submissions, 144 entries poured in from writers eager to contribute to this literary exploration of the Volta Region and Togo.
    The editors and publishers, committed to fostering diverse voices and storytelling styles, welcomed a range of submissions, including humour, quality flash fiction, and stories with experimental narratives.

    This book is a collection of stories that made the cut. It follows the success of the Centre’s previous publications, including Adabraka: Stories from the Centre of the World, Larabanga: Stories from the Savannah, The Lockdown: creative nonfiction about living with COVID-19, and Untold Stories Vol. 1.

    Each publication has contributed to the Centre’s mission of promoting critical reading, creative writing, and literacy among the youth in Ghana.

  • The Working Woman’s Guide to Living in Purpose

    Life is indeed an interesting journey with various twists and turns. With age comes wisdom, and in my view, the obligation to share that wisdom with others; particularly young women in society who are trying to find their feet. In that regard, I have written this book to share the lessons I have leant over time in seeking a life of purpose.

    Part 1 of this book is focused on helping you live in purpose. It consists of three chapters that help you find purpose, walk in purpose, and stay in purpose.

    Part 2 of this book focuses on helping you build better relationships with others. It consists of two chapters that will help you understand how to work with people effectively. Part 2 is an important aspect of this book since working with others in purpose are crucial when you want to have a great impact on your life’s journey.

    Part 3 of this book is about walking purposefully with your core team: your family. It focuses on the importance of understanding love, building yourself to be the anchor of the home, and making God the centre of the family.

    Part 4 of this book consists of workbooks that would help you tailor the advice shared in this book to your life and purpose walk.

    I hope you enjoy this book, and I also hope that this book provides you with some key lessons (at the very least) that would make your purpose walk successful.

  • Conversations About Race: Humanity Chats

    This book is for all of us.
    Introductory yet meaningful, civil, and non-political conversations about our humanity.

    Conversations about Race is a follow-up to the race-related conversations on the Humanity Chats podcast.
    May these conversations help us broaden our lens.

    The Human Oath

    We are humans
    Descendants of one species
    Connected in ways we cannot comprehend

    We are humans
    From all around the world
    One kind only
    And that is humankind

    – The Shimmigrant, 2019

  • Infinite Roots

    “I must tell you my history,” Baba would roar, “the history you learn at school is not better than that which I have to tell you. My history concerns you directly, it is who you are, what you are, and what you’re going to become.”

    “…woven in an unbroken thread of prose…in a complex, digressive narrative that is like a set of Chinese boxes (or those Russian Matryoshka dolls), one laid inside another.” — Literary Review

    Infinite Roots follows the multi-generational story of a Ghanaian military family, composed through the eyes of a young daughter learning about her history and culture through the many stories of her parents and elders. This autobiographical novel spreads out across the 60s and 80s Ghana as the military family journeys from Wa to Tamale to Accra to Kumasi to Takoradi to Ho and more. As the young girl grows, she also begins to share her own re-tellings as her elders once did.

    “…it is an incredible survey of Ghanaian traditions, customs, superstitions and beliefs, as well as social and political history and the emergence of female education.” — Lee Oliver

    Infinite Roots

    80.00100.00
  • 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.

  • The Fear of Failure: An Autobiography

    From Agomanya in the Eastern Region of Ghana, a 65 year old J. P. Adjimani narrates his life and how his fear of failure spurred him on instead of derailing him. In his autobiography, the biochemist unravels why he was never promoted to be a professor despite having a 28-year admirable career in Ghana’s premier university, University of Ghana.

Main Menu