BABINI THE PRESIDENT

The date was 12th December, 1934 and the place was Gwolllu, a small town in the then Upper Region of Ghana. A son was born to the Chief of the town and was given the name Babini. In the local dialect, Babini means “old man”. Such a name was usually reserved for babies who were born post-term and he was one of such. It was not unusual for such children to go on to attain great feats in their lives because of the unique circumstance of their birth.

Remains of the defence wall at Gwollu

The people of Gwollu, his people, are well known in Ghana for skillfully resisting capture by slave raiders in the 19th century by building a thick defence wall that prevented the slave raiders from invading their land. That impenetrable wall they took several years to build has defied time and parts of it still remain to this day.

His father in addition to his duties as a chief was also a blacksmith who forged all manner of tools for his people. You just had to describe the shape of whatever tool you wanted and he would have it ready the next day. His mother on the other hand was such a supporting wife. She made sure the children grew up to be responsible adults. She unfortunately passed on when Babini was only 11 years old. Those were hard times for a child to grow up without a mother, but Babini defied the odds.

In the 1930’s, parents in rural communities such as Gwollu rarely educated their children. They’d rather send them to the farm to provide labour than send them to school. His parents however decided to send him to school to learn the ways of the white man.  He attended basic school in Lawra, which was about 34 miles from his hometown Gwollu. The sheer distance between the two towns deterred many children from taking up education. Anytime schools reopened, Babini would walk all the way to Lawra to attend school since transportation was quite expensive in those days.
He was such a hardworking and disciplined student that he was selected as a senior prefect when he was in the final year of middle school. He went on to attend the Government Teacher Training College where he trained as a teacher. He finally graduated and taught in a few basic schools for three years.
Even as a teacher, he still found time to study for the GCE Ordinary and Advanced level examinations and passed them with distinction. He then applied and was accepted to study at the prestigious London School of Economics but he didn’t have enough money to make the trip to Britain. His savings from his monthly wages and support from his family was what enabled him to finally leave the shores of Ghana in 1956 to satisfy his craving for higher learning.

The patriotic and proud Ghanaian that Babini was, he returned to Ghana after his studies to play his part in building a great and strong nation. Dr. Babini as he was then referred to, came back with his bag full of accolades. He had obtained a degree in economics, a diploma in French and a PhD in political science and constitutional law.  Returning to Ghana was not a particularly wise thing to do in the 1960’s because the country had become a chaotic haven of coup d’états.  In those times, it was as if the only way to have a bite at the presidency was to sack the president with a gun. He was well aware of the volatile nature of the country and yet he was hopeful. Hopeful that just maybe the coup enthusiasts will one day put down their guns and pick up their voices.

He held several positions upon his return to Ghana including serving as the head of Chancery at the Ghana Embassy in Togo from 1968 to 1971 and Counsellor at the Ghana Permanent Mission in Geneva. His ability to communicate fluently in English and French came in handy in his diplomatic duties. Like many educated Ghanaians at that time, he waited patiently for the country to return to constitutional rule but that dream was nowhere in sight as coup after coup were staged.

In 1979 however, the then military government (Armed Forces Revolutionary Council) which came to power in a bloody coup decide to return the country to constitutional rule and therefore announced that the ban on political parties had been lifted. With enthusiasm and dedication Dr. Babini decided to join the People’s National Party (PNP) founded by his Countryman Alhaji Imoru Egala. He supported the party with his arsenal of skills to prepare for the impending elections. He also decided to return to his people to serve them by contesting in the Sissala Constituency as a parliamentary candidate on the ticket of the PNP.

As fate will have it, Alhaji Egala, who was the assumed presidential candidate of the PNP could not lead the party into the elections because he had been disqualified by a previous government from contesting in any election in Ghana. Spontaneously, the party turned to Dr. Babini to lead them into the elections. Taken aback by the new charge at first, Dr. Babini decided to take up the enormous task of leading the PNP into the elections.

Even though he had already been involved in politics in Ghana, many people heard his name for the first time on radio and wondered who exactly this “doctor” was. The other parties totally wrote him off and believed that he had no chance at winning the presidency. The disdain notwithstanding, Dr. Babini channeled his energy into drafting a manifesto that outlined pragmatic policies. He aimed at driving economic development as well as salvaging the tarnished image of the country. His efforts paid off as his message swept the Ghanaian people off their feet. Many testified to the sheer brilliance that Dr. Babini demonstrated in his public addresses.

The elections were finally held and he went on to win 62 percent of the popular vote in the run-off that followed the general election to the amazement and awe of everyone. On 24th September, 1979, Dr. Hilla Limann Babini was sworn in as the president of the Third Republic of Ghana. His tortuous journey to the highest office of the land was the typical “grass to grace” description. The new president unlike the military rulers before him strived to unite the people for development. He allowed divergent views, respected people from other political ideologies and above all, submitted to and made sure the rule of law prevailed. He believed that democracy was what the country needed to accelerate growth and development. Another chapter had been obtained in the history of Ghana. Indeed, it was the dawn of a new beginning and Dr. Limann as he was popular known was leading the charge.



After the pomp and pageantry of the election victory had died down, Dr. Limann sought to build a government which consisted of competent and dedicated people. He then led the country to break new ground in the areas of governance, agriculture, trade and other facets of national life.

Before he became president, the nation was sharply divided as a result of the many coups that were staged, some of which were fueled by ethnocentric sentiments. One of the major things he strove to do therefore was to unite the nation under one umbrella once more. He did that starting with his political appointments, making sure that all the regions in Ghana were well represented in his government without compromising competency. He even leaned far beyond the PNP to appoint people from other political parties to serve in his government. Once again, Ghanaians began to see themselves as one people and became united for one purpose—building a great and strong nation.
The Kpong Dam today complements the Akosombo Dam in generating energy for the country. This will not have been so had the PNP government not invested funds and resources into the early stages of the project. In the aviation and maritime sector, Dr. Limann’s government improved the conditions of the then Ghana Airways and four new ships were added to the erstwhile Black Star Line. The latter particularly improved trade relations between Ghana and countries in the ECOWAS subregion. The Kade Sugar Factory was rehabilitated and provided hundreds of jobs to the many unemployed youths in Ghana.

Rather than wear the coat of vindictiveness like many of his predecessors, he sought to bring everyone on board. Though he received numerous reports of plans to oust him, he never turned on anyone, but perhaps that was a serious mistake. . His presidency was abruptly truncated on 31st December, 1981 by another coup; as if the country hadn’t already suffered enough of them. Beyond the coup however, the remarkable achievements of his government have left many Ghanaians wondering what the country would have been like had he been allowed to rule the nation a little longer.

Exactly 19 years ago on this date, 23rd January at around 3pm , Dr. Limann was called by his maker as he ended his sojourn here on this earth. Upon his passing, many, including leaders of other political ideologies eulogized his accomplishment as a teacher, a diplomat, a scholar, a statesman and as a president. It is however sad to note that notwithstanding his enormous contribution to the development, scholarship and democracy of his dear nation, nothing of monumental significance has been named or done in honour of him.

He will however still be smiling in his grave because the many hearts that he touched with his exemplary leadership no matter how short it was, still testify to his sterling qualities as President of the Third Republic of Ghana to this day.

Wutor Mahama Baleng, A Countryman of the former president