Institute of African Studies

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1990 - 19973

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Start date: 1990End date: 1999

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    The Bureau Of African Affairs In The Kwame Nkrumah Administration From 1951 - 1966 With a (Descriptive) Guide For Its Archives
    (University Of Ghana, 1990-09) Mensah, T.J.J
    The events that took that place of African Affairs may be said to have been motivated by the realization that new states if Africa, though independent, were constrained by the international environment, but that within those constraints ( and others dictated by physical resources and human capabilities), there remained a degree of choice for African leaders to fashion their government,s policies to meet continental demands. Consequently, Kwame Nkrumah establish the Bureau of African Affairs in order to expedite the Fulfilment of the pan-African dream for the achievement of the total liberation of Africa from alien rule and domination, and for the enhancement of the dignity of the blackman anywhere in the world. Strictly speaking this study is not yet another thesis on Kwame Nkrumah. Rather, it is a b study of an almost forgotten, but nonetheless important political institution established under his administration in pursuit of his African objectives. Inspite of the acclaimed achievements of the bureau of African Affairs in the sphere of African liberation, the organization collapsed with the government which gave birth to it. It dubbed as an organ of Nkrumah,s subversive activities in Africa. The discusses the evolution of the burean in Ghana and Shows the impediments it encountered in adapting its methods to face the challenges of the changes envisaged by the pan-African ideal on the continent. In addition, the records drawn up or used during the bureau s administrative or executive transactions have been appraised and described in this study. Finally, the study makes a number of conclusions regarding the fashioning of the bureau to play the role of coordinating aid to African Liberation Movements
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    The Role of Civil Society in the Democratization Process in Ghana, A Case Study of the Ghana Bar Association
    (University of Ghana, 1997-11) Appiah-Mensah, A.
    The aim of this study is to examine the role of the Ghana Bar Association in the democratization process in Ghana. A sample of 100 comprising 30 lawyers and 70 members of the general public were selected by purposive sampling from diverse occupational and professional backgrounds. It was made up of 69 males and 31 females . The interview schedule (questionnaires) was the method used to collect data from respondents. Additional data were gathered from documentary sources namely; the records of the Ghana Bar Association.The results of the study revealed that in terms of the social background characteristics, occupation was diverse and males and youth dominated the sample. A great majority of respondents were married and the literacy level was very high. With respect to the importance of the legal profession it was found out that in the public·s eye the profession is important because it deals with the law and the law affects everyone; that the nation cannot do without lawyers. As far as the role of the GBA in the democratization process in Ghana is concerned it was discovered that the Association has contributed positively to the process since independence and continues to play a major role in varying degrees involving national development, freedom and justice, human rights, as well as democracy and constitutionalism in general. finally, the following problems were identified to have impeded the effectiveness of the association. These include lack of commitment from governmental interference, lack of discipline among members, internal fragmentation of the Association, as well as anti- GBA sentiments from a large section of the public. Among the recommendations made were that the GSA should have structural re-organization involving the mode of membership induction, discipline, commitment and look for full-time personnel for both national and regional offices. It was also recommended that the General legal council should surrender its statutory powers over lawyers to the GBA to enable it bring order and discipline into the Association; that there should be a vigorous public education on legal matters. In addition, to these the GBA should work in close collaboration with the rest of civil society as it maximizes the power of its presence. as representatives of civil society, on many state bodies The researcher is hopeful that if the recommendations offered here are adopted many of the problems associated with the GBA and other segments of civil society will be minimized. if not entirely eliminated.
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    The Secular Aspects Of Afa Cult And Its Relationship To Communal Life In Anlo
    (University of Ghana., 1997) Toppar, S.A.
    Among the Southern Ewes known and called '"Anlo," Afa is a religion. It has an organised worship system in it, headed by a well trained body of prIests called '"Tgboko'" in their individual performances of their religious rites as priests. Although there is the belief in the "Supreme Being" known in the Jewish and Christian religions as '"God", the ‘Supreme Being' is approached through myriads of delegated mediums who are considered subordinate gods or dieties called simply in the Ewe Language as 'Vodu'. Hence, some people call this religion variously as 'Afa' or 'Afa Vodu'; meaning, the Cult of Afa. Each 'Vodu' exercises its own delegated powers within the confines of horoscopes in their major and minor modes known among Anlos in the Ewe Language as "Du" and 'Kpoli" respectively. There are 16 major horoscopes, further replicating themselves to permuted minor horoscopes. In effect, the permuted horoscopes number up to 256. However, researchers like Abiinbola, Wande nd Bascom, William researched well over one million horoscopes or dities in Afa (Ifa). According to the above scholars, divination by way of geomancy is the main method Ifa (Afa) speaks to Its adherents. All essential characteristic feature about this religion is that it has no canonised literature about its do's and don't's as known among Christians and Muslims as the Bible and Koran respectively. Only the priests of Afa relIgIon have the singular duty of disseminating the do's and don’t's by way of geomancy in their divination practices. Even here, priests exercise the greatest circumspection with the messages received from deities to their clients, since priests could incur the displeasure of the gods, should they proclaim they proclaim falsehood. This is why the training of Afa priests is not only long but arduous as observed by Ottenberg, Simon (I960), in hIs work, "Culters and Societies of Africa" This study is therefore, an attempt to look at both the content and context in Afa religion in order to discover its secular dimensions which enable it to serve as props of social cohesion that always engenders the desIred communal spirit prevalent in Anlo. In the content, we shall look at incantations, spells, witty expressions as well as long and short stories contained in some horoscopes. This will help us discover how the daily life of the society is affected by Afa through its literary corpus. In its context, we shall discover how painstaking admirers of this religion become infused with the expert knowledge and use of the entire folklory in Afa, becoming the best adjudged members in Anlo society in terms of the use of the local language . In the study, we shall also discover that Afa contains in It a prolific sense of industry In the form of petty trading, agriculture, tourism, drumming and dancing etc . We shall finally note that Anlo Community appears enmeshed with the entire Afa religion since the belief is cogently shared in Anlo that there is nothing that precludes identification and recognition of Afa : even the names of all herbs and plants are believed to be the names of Afa deities.