DR. K. A. Busia Turns 100

Today, July 11, 2013 marks the 100th birthday of the late Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia, Ghana's Prime Minister of the 2nd Republic who passed on August 28, 1978 in Oxford, England. He was a member of the Sofoase Yefri royal family of Wenchi in the Brong-Ahafo Region. The aspects of Dr. Busia's life that exemplify his contributions to the world include politics, academia and research. In all these areas he served with devotion and distinction. He was deeply religious and at the same time practical in his approach to life and work.

His involvement in the field of politics where he is widely known was occasioned by the an obligation to give his time to issues of governance to ensure sound parliamentary democracy, to secure civil liberties and true freedom, and high standards of probity in the public life of his country.

Dr. Busia served as Minority Leader in Parliament in the First Republic before assuming the high office of Executive Prime Minister from October 1, 1969 to January 13, 1972 when Colonel Acheampong ousted his government by a coup d'etat. His role as Minority Leader contributed in large measure in laying the foundation of the democratic culture currently prevailing in Ghana. Even at a time when democracy was somewhat strange to us, Busia worked hard to make the voice of the minority as important as the majority's. HE Alhaji Aliu Mahama, the late Vice President notes, 'At a time that Ghanaians had no voice Busia gave them a voice.'

In the 1940s Dr. Busia served as one of the first two African District Commissioners in the colonial administration. The successes he chalked in that capacity proved that the African was equally capable of effective leadership. And that was the reason for which he accepted that mandate. Dr. Busia's Progress Party won the 1969 election in a manner unprecedented in the history of general elections in Ghana, winning 105 seats in Parliament out of a total of 140.

Although his government lasted for less than three years, there is no community in Ghana where traces of his development initiatives cannot be seen. Notable achievements of Busia's government include the building of roads, housing, provision of healthcare facilities and water. Dr. Busia was the first Ghanaian leader to establish a ministry responsible for rural development, a move, which was in line with his commitment at raising the living standards of the rural dwellers. Many governments after Dr. Busia's deserve commendation for continuing the vision of rural development. That indeed is a remarkable tribute to the late Prime Minister.

As a person, Dr. Busia personified the proverbial 'Dwenin mmen' (Horns of the male sheep), which demonstrate strength in humility.

Despite his remarkably high accomplishments and mounting social stature, he never lost sight of his humanness. He was humble, hardworking, disciplined, visionary and very   passionate about the welfare of the ordinary people. He always entreated his compatriots to comport themselves as 'Apostles of Decency' and to live in a social framework in which each is his brother's keeper. His abhorrence for corruption was expressed in so formidable a manner that the citizenry became very conscious of the canker against which he waged a relentless crusade.

Dr. Busia's humanitarian sentiment in his political thinking was highly admirable. For him, civil rights could not exist except on the basis of common humanity. He detested political philosophies that showed insensitivity to the plight of the ordinary citizens. The institutions that Dr. Busia established, including the National Service Scheme and the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) remain useful platforms for national development. The National Service Scheme for example, does not only imbue a higher sense of patriotism in the youth, it equips them also with the ethics for hard work and higher productivity.

As an academic, Dr. Busia, being the first African to attain the position of a professor in Ghana remains an inspiration and an icon in academia. He mentored many people by way of teaching and highlighted Ghana and Africa on the academic map of the world through his professorial engagements in universities across the globe. In St. Anthony's College of the University of Oxford where he was the first person of African descent to study, he proved his mettle as a scholar and later returned to that institution as a senior member-indeed as one of the best.

At the University of Ghana, he set up the Department of Sociology, and also founded the Institute of African Studies as a way of preserving our cultural heritage. Besides his classic book, 'The Position Of The Chief In Modern Political System Of Ashanti' that remains a reference material for studies related to culture and development, he authored five other valuable books and countless academic papers.

As we pay homage to the memory of Dr. Busia, we must remember the many important discoveries he made by way of providing mentorship to people who in later years have served Ghana and the world with distinction in diverse ways.

Two of such dignified individuals are HE President J. A. Kufuor and the former UN boss, HE Kofi Annan who served in the Busia administration as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and head of the Ghana Tourist Development Corporation respectively. In the words of Nana Addo-Danquah Akufo-Addo, presidential candidate of the NPP, 'The splendid achievements of President J. A. Kufuor, a disciple of Busia, find their most erudite rationale in the works of the legendary Kofi Abrefa Busia, a co-founder of the tradition from which the NPP takes its root.'

There are areas for which opponents of Dr. Busia were critical of him. However, events after his death have proved him right. A classic example in this respect is his call for DIALOGUE instead of arms in resolving the erstwhile apartheid regime in South Africa. At the time, that suggestion was so unpopular, yet Busia stood by it. As it turned out, it was the tool of dialogue that eventually collapsed the wall of apartheid that stood formidably in the southern African country. By reason of his staunch commitment to democracy, Busia was nicknamed 'The Symbol of Democracy.'

The concept of Democracy meant to Busia a welfare state in which everyone was his brother's keeper. He always conveyed his ideas and sentiments in a language devoid of violence and vulgarity.

Dr. Busia's Aliens Compliance Order of 1970, which led to the deportation of some illegal foreign citizens, also received a wide condemnation from his critics.

The ongoing deportation of some illegal immigrants in the mining sector vindicates the action of the Progress Party Government. It is refreshing to note that HE John Mahama in his book, My First Coup D'etat jumps to the defence of Dr. Busia by pointing out that his Aliens Compliance Order 'Was against illegal immigrants.'

As the world commemorates the birth of Dr. Busia, one of her eminent sons, the youth must be entreated to emulate his magnificent conduct, which endeared him to people of varying creed and race. We must always remember these words of Busia uttered some 56 years ago on March 6, 1957 in Parliament to second a motion by the then Prime Minister, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah to affirm the birth of Ghana's independence from colonialism:

It is by the devoted day-to-day services of many ordinary and unnoticed citizens that a nation achieves greatness; and while today we pay tribute to those, living and dead, who were privileged to serve in the limelight of publicity, we would remember with special gratitude the many ordinary men and women, whose lot was cast in less conspicuous places, but to whom we owe much that is solid and of enduring value.

At the age of 26 while studying abroad, he expressed his conviction about knowledge in the words quoted below in a letter to his cousin:

'My great purpose is to study all I can and then when the time comes, to pour out my life in the service of my God and country. Knowledge is useless unless it makes us better servants of humanity.'

In his tribute to Dr. Busia upon his death in Oxford, England in 1978, HE William Francis Hare, the last Governor General of Ghana eulogized him as follows:

'His (Busia's) life is now woven into the texture of African history, and no one can write about the courage of independence after the long period of colonial rule, or the early years of the political development of Ghana, without referring to the significant contribution of Kofi Busia to the building of a new nation.'

By: Nana Agyei-Kodie Anane-Agyei
Director of Public Affairs, Busia Foundation International (BFI)

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