In his 6 March 2023 Independence Day Address at Ho, it was extremely refreshing and comforting to note that H.E. the President boldly referred to the British Togoland. What he said was brief but significant. Some of us had to pinch ourselves to believe what he said.
“I am referring, of course, to the 1956 plebiscite in which, on May 9 of that year, the people of the then British Togoland voted to join the Gold Coast on the attainment of her independence a year later. Without that significant historical event, we would not have Ghana as we know it today”
The President spoke the truth. However, this refreshing piece reference tells only part of the Togoland story. By UN Resolution 1044(XI) Britain was, after the 1956 Plebiscite results were declared, invited to take such steps as necessary to bring about the union between British Togoland and independent Gold Coast (Ghana)
But was there any political union effected between Independent Gold Coast (Ghana) and the UN Trust Territory of Togoland under Britain (British Togoland) on 6 March 1957 as claimed by the Notification Letter sent by Britain to the UN Secretary-General?
The Notification Letter stated in part that,
“…Under the 1957 Ghana Independence Act the Union of the former Trust Territory of Togoland under Britain with the independent State of Ghana took place with effect from mid-night on 5/6 March, 1957.”
It is common knowledge and universally accepted that forming a political union had to be done between contracting parties democratically under due process, negotiation and dialogue. Unfortunately, in the case of Ghana and British Togoland, Britain did not permit that.
The Notification Letter claimed that the union was formed under the 1957 Ghana Independence Act. But the 1957 Ghana Independence Act was wrongly applied to Togoland. It was an inappropriate and wrong Act which was not suitable or appropriate for effecting or bringing about the Ghana-Togoland Union. The Act did not mention a single word about the Union!
So did the 1957 Ghana Independence Act bring about the Ghana-British Togoland Union? Of course, it did not. But if Britain and her collaborators in the UN claimed it did then they have to answer the following questions, (i) How and where was the Union negotiated and enacted and who were the contracting parties?
(ii) Where was the Union Document/Agreement/Deal that recognized, supported and gave the union legal acceptance and backing?
(iii) Where was the Union government and how was it constituted?
(iv) Where and when was the Union celebrated or marked?
(v) Where and what were the Union’s coat of arms, flag and union anthem?
(vi) What type of union government was formed?
(vii) Did the so-called partner in the union, independent Gold Coast (Ghana), accept and approve of the Union?
The Notification Letter was not only misleading, bogus and fraudulent but also a sham and it should have been treated as such by the UN. The UN should have scrutinized and conducted stringent due diligence on it. It is very clear and obvious that instead of a union, similar to that of England and Scotland, that was prescribed by UN resolution 944(X); voted for by the people of Togoland; approved by the Trusteeship Council resolution 1496 and equally approved by UN Resolution 1044(XI), forcible integration, like Morocco and Saharawi, was rather unfairly and unjustifiably imposed on British Togoland. This was, and is still, wrong and it must be rectified without any further delay.
As stated earlier, the 1957 Ghana Independence Act was not applicable to or appropriate for British Togoland. The Act was meant for the Gold Coast and its component parts, Gold Coast Colony, Ashanti and the Northern Territories. The title of the Act clearly stated it “An Act to make provision for, and in connection with, the attainment by the Gold Coast of fully responsible status within the British Commonwealth of Nations” (7th February, 1957). Togoland was a trust territory not a British colony it was, therefore, not bound by a law enacted for a British Colony, the Gold Coast unless it was approved by the UN.
Even more important was the fact that the UN Charter and Trusteeship Agreement on Togoland took precedence over the Gold Coast (Constitution) Order in Council, 1954. With regards to Togoland, British laws and ordinances were inferior to and “subject to the provisions of the United Nations Charter and of this Agreement” (Trusteeship Agreement on British Togoland Article 5(a)). Britain should have sought and obtained permission from the UN before including British Togoland or any part of it in the 1957 Ghana Independent Act.
What happened on 6 March 1957 was not a union as prescribed by UN Resolution 1044(XI) but a forcible integration of Togoland into Ghana. British Togoland, on the pretext of quelling a rebellion there, was invaded and occupied by Britain and the CPP Government around 4th March 1957. You may well recollect the brutal Alavanyo/Kpando crisis! After the occupation, British Togoland was subsequently forcibly integrated with independent Gold Coast (Ghana) on March 6 1957. Through this forcible integration British Togoland lost its national identity, dignity and inalienable rights. Sir Charles Noble Arden-Clarke, the last Governor of the Gold Coast, described this as the triumph of Gold Coast imperialism. “I am glad that Gold Coast imperialism has won.” Definitely, the imposition of Gold Coast imperialism on British Togoland was wrong and contrary to UN’s Charter and principles.
Note that UN resolutions 944(X) and 1044(XI) resolved that there should be a UNION, similar to England/Scotland model, not forcible integration like the Morocco/Saharawi model. Remember that the people of Togoland voted for union, not forcible integration or occupation. Clearly, what Britain installed on March 6 1957 was not a Ghana- British Togoland Union but forcible integration which Sir Charles Arden-Clarke described as “Ghana imperialism.” In order to enforce and sustain this forcible integration or imperialism, governments of Ghana have to pass series of obnoxious laws including the Preventive Detention Act, Supreme Military Council Decree (20), Togoland (Assimilations of Law) Act and Avoidance of Discrimination Act.
Writer
(KOSI KEDEM. Former MP for Hohoe South)
