United Gold Coast Convention

United Gold Coast Convention
Leader George Alfred Grant
Founder J. B. Danquah
The Big Six
Founded 4 August 1947
Dissolved 1951
Headquarters Accra
Ideology Conservatism[1][2]
Political position Centre-right[1]
1951 elections 2

The United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was a political party whose aim was to bring about Ghanaian independence from the British after the Second World War.

History

In the 1940s, African merchants, such as George Alfred Grant ("Paa Grant"), were ready to finance the organization of a political movement to assure their commercial interests in the face of unfair colonial practices. The party was founded by J. B. Danquah on 4 August 1947 as a combination of chiefs, academics and lawyers,[3] including R. A. Awoonor-Williams, Edward Akufo-Addo, and Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey.

On 10 December 1947, Kwame Nkrumah returned to the (British colony) accepting Danquah's invitation to become the UGCC General Secretary. Big Six member Ebenezer Ako-Adjei recommended inviting Nkrumah, whom he had met at Lincoln University. Nkrumah was offered a salary of £250, and Paa Grant paid the boat fare from Liverpool to Ghana.[4] Danquah and Nkrumah subsequently disagreed over the direction of the independence movement and parted ways after two years. Nkrumah went on to form the Convention People's Party and eventually became the first president of independent Ghana.

The UGCC disbanded after performing poorly in the 1951 elections.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Aubynn, Anthony Kwesi (2002). "Behind the Transparent Ballot Box: The Significance of the 1990s Elections in Ghana". Multi-Party Elections in Africa. James Currey. p. 77.
  2. ↑ Firmin-Sellers, Kathryn (1999). "The Concentration of Authority: Constitutional Creation in the Gold Coast, 1950". Polycentric Governance and Development. University of Michigan Press. p. 191.
  3. ↑ Birmingham, David, Kwame Nkrumah: The Father of African Nationalism (revised edition), Ohio University Press, 1998, p. 13.
  4. ↑ Birmingham, David, Kwame Nkrumah: The Father of African Nationalism (revised edition), Ohio University Press, 1998.


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