Dr. Hilla Limann: A Scholar, A Distinguished Public Servant, A Gentleman, A President, A Hero (Part 1)

One of the cherished moments of my "political" life was when as a student of KNUST in the early 90s, I had the immense privilege of seeing and hearing Dr. Hilla Limann at the Great Hall of KNUST.

As a young boy living in Accra in the late seventies and early eighties, I had read extensively about Dr. Limann: his origins, his education, his career as a Diplomat, and his rise to the Presidency. I was in primary school at Burma Camp during the Limann Presidency.

I was old enough to appreciate, at first hand, what was going on around me. And in that period, I listened to the news keenly whenever Dr. Limann was on or was being discussed. I read all the literature I could, at that young age, on President Limann. My family and I had of course supported Victor Owusu and PFP. But I always had a soft spot and a strong admiration for Dr. Hilla Limann.

My father, the late Jonathan Gyebi Gyimah was a Principal Assistant Secretary (now Deputy Chief Director) at the Ministry of Education in Accra in the late 70s. My father had met Dr. Limann in Tamale in the company of Alhaji Gbadamoshie (The renowned Educationist). This meeting was before Dr. Limann run for President. Dr. Limann made a strong impression on my father who told me about it when he returned to Accra. Our (my father and I) consolation prize, when Victor Owusu lost was that Victor had lost to a worthy man, Dr. Hilla Limann.

Given his gentle nature and extremely modest origin, if there is one who can be described as an achiever in terms of making it from humble beginnings to the Presidency, it was Dr. Hilla Limann. The living conditions of the three Northern Regions are generally described today as poor and in need of SADA. One can imagine the circumstances of the three Northern Regions at the time the young Hilla Limann was beginning school in his beloved Gwollu.

From primary school in Gwollu in the Sissala West District of the Upper West Region, through Middle School (Tamale), Tamale Secondary School, London School of Economics (Political Science), Sorbonne University, France (Dip in French), to University of Paris (PhD in Political Science and Constitutional Law), Dr. Limann was as well educated as they come.

Concerning the early education of Dr. Limann, due to the fact that there were no educational institutions in the entire Sissala district, Dr Hilla Limann and many of his contemporaries had to trek to Lawra on foot from the present day Sissala West and East districts for their primary and middle school education.

Between 1965 and 1968, Dr. Limann was Head, Europe Desk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was a member of the Constitution Commission that drafted the 1969 Constitution of Ghana. In 1968, he became the Head of Chancery at the Gh Embassy in Togo. In 1971, he was appointed Counselor at Ghana's Permanent Mission in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1975, he was back in Ghana as Head, Europe, the Americas, and Southeast Asia Desk at the Foreign Ministry.

Given the above background, education, skills, experience and credentials, it was no wonder Dr. Hilla Limann was chosen to lead the Peoples National Party (PNP) in 1979.

On September 24, 1979, Dr. Hilla Limann was sworn in as President of the 3rd Republic of Ghana. This Presidency was historic in the sense that it was the first time Ghana had had a Head of State of Northern descent.

Gilbert Adu Gyimah
Alberta, Canada
[email protected]