Aftermath of an assassination attempt on Kwame Nkrumah on January 2nd, 1964

Photograph of President Nkrumah of Ghana pressing down the shoulders of Police Constable Seph Nicholas Kwame Ametewee who unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate him on January 2nd, 1964. Photo credit: Ian Russell.

Nkrumah faced several assassination attempts starting in the the early 1960s and it created a dilemma on how to preserve his rule.

"On 1 August 1962, after a lull in a series of bomb explosions that rocked Accra during the last few months of 1961, an assassination attempt was made on Nkrumah. Returning from Tenkodogo in the bordering republic of Burkina Faso (then Upper Volta), the president stopped at the northern village of Kulungugu where he narrowly escaped death in a hand-grenade attack. Several people were killed. One of these was Superintendent Kosi, a bodyguard. Fifty-seven others, including the president’s ADC, Captain Buckman, were injured. Nkrumah himself received minor shrapnel wounds in the back.

Six weeks later, on 18 September, a Ga army warrant officer, Sergeant-Major Edward Tetteh, who was in charge of the Burma Camp ammunition depot and was suspected of providing grenades for the Kulungugu plot, jumped, or was pushed, to his death from a fourth-floor window whilst under interrogation at police HQ. His alleged complicity threw suspicion on the army but no further evidence emerged after his fall.

A further spate of five bombings against Nkrumah occurred between September 1962 and January 1963; however, none of them came near to success. In these attacks, more than a dozen people were killed and over 400 hurt. However, the identity of those responsible was never discovered. The immediate consequences of these events was a tightening up of security measures throughout the country far exceeding those following the 1966 coup. The government’s restrictions were taken one step further on 23 September 1962 when, following simultaneous bomb blasts in Accra and Tema, a state of emergency was declared. The army was given widespread emergency powers, conducting house-to-house searches for weapons, ammunition and explosives and manning a blockade of the capital until 1964. Over 500 persons were imprisoned under the terms of the 1958 Preventive Detention Act; and in January 1963, public meetings were banned.

Despite the clampdown, these measures failed to prevent another serious assault on the president, this time not from an anonymous figure in a public place but from a policeman in the grounds of Flagstaff House. On 2 January 1964, an armed constable with four years service, Seth Ametewee, fired several close-range rifle rounds at Nkrumah before being overpowered by his police colleagues. Yet another unfortunate bodyguard was killed; this time it was the head of a special police guard, Assistant Superintendent Salifo Dagarti. Nkrumah’s only injury was a bite on the cheek received whilst wrestling his would-be killer to the ground.

There is some evidence to suggest that Ametewee, who was hanged in 1965 for the murder of Dagarti, was in the pay of senior police officers who had him specially posted to Flagstaff House with promises of £2,000 and further education overseas if he did the job. At about the same time, news leaked to the press revealed another unsuccessful plot, on this occasion involving the officer in charge of the police band. The bandleader’s plan apparently involved shooting Nkrumah with revolvers when he came over to congratulate the musicians on their performance.

Whatever the truth about the Kulungugu and Flagstaff assassination attempts, the events convinced Nkrumah that both the army and the police harboured potential, if not actual, sources of opposition. The resulting purge of the police command, together with the reassignment of security responsibilities to National Security Service agencies, reflected one of the central dilemmas of Nkrumah’s personal rule: how to protect the regime whilst simultaneously preventing the security forces from gaining too much power."

- "The Military and Politics in Nkrumah's Ghana" by Simon Baynham. Published by Westview Press (Boulder and London) in 1988.

© Adeyinka Makinde (2025)

Adeyinka Makinde is a writer based in London, England.

Jimmy Carter: Legacy

Oil on canvas painting of President James Earl Carter. Artist: Herbert Abrams.

Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States of America, has passed away at the age of 100.

But what will be his legacy?

His detractors will claim that he presided over a "weak" America during times which were characterised by high levels of unemployment and inflation. The Iranian hostage crisis and the subsequent disastrous failure of an attempted rescue mission by U.S. Special Forces. The Shah of Iran, a vassal of the United States since the CIAs Operation Ajax brought him to power, was overthrown two years after Carter had asserted that Iran was "an Island of stability" in an unstable region of the world. It was also under his watch that his National Security Adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski oversaw the arming of local and foreign Mujahideen militias to fight the Soviet military in Afghanistan, a policy which after the Soviet withdrawal led to the evolution of al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

His supporters will point to the election of Carter, an ex-naval officer-turned-Peanut-farmer from the state of Georgia in the American South as representing a kind of final reconciliation between the protagonists of the American Civil War. He continued the advances made by Black Americans and other minorities since the Civil Rights era by appointing an unheard of amount of Blacks to Federal positions. Carter consciously strove to practice an ethical type of foreign policy by returning the Panama Canal to Panamanian control after decades of it being controlled by the US military. He also refused to support the tyrannical regime in Nicaragua led by the Somoza family. He sought to improve the relationship between the United States and the African continent and was the first president to activate policies regarding renewable energy. And as a peacemaker he presided over the landmark Camp David Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel. His commitment to global peace and stability was underlined by his negotiating of the second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT 2) with the USSR., which was implemented despite the fact that it was not formally ratified by the U.S. Senate because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Carter was a one-term president whose time in office is adjudged by many to have been a "failure". But these conclusions tend to be based on politically partisan inclinations, as well as those who developed an animus towards him because he showed an interest in bringing Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) to the negotiating table after Camp David.

After his presidency, Jimmy Carter competently performed the role of a global elder statesman. For instance, he frequently acted as an observer at elections around the world. His Presidential Library and the Carter Centre, a non-governmental organisation, have adeptly carried out their respective objectives over the years, the former as a reservoir of historical data and the latter in its promotion respectively of conflict resolution, democratic values and health.

As a human being, Carter struck many as a God-fearing Christian and a man of endearing humility. He was also a man of conscience and moral courage. He spoke up for the rights of the Palestinian people and criticised Israel's policies of perpetual militarism and its denial of Palestinian humanity. Carter warned Americans about the entrenchment of oligarchic power and the licence given them by electoral legislation which has created the circumstances for he described as “unlimited political bribery”. He also left the Southern Baptist Convention because of its opposition to women pastors.

That must have been an extremely painful thing for Carter to have done. While Carter had sought throughout his private and public life to fight against and make amends for the legacy of Southern racism, he was a man whose whole being was suffused in his Southern heritage.

He was understandably conflicted about the issue of Confederate statues because a number of his not-too-distant ancestors had perished during the civil war at the bloodiest encounter between North and South at the Battle of Gettysburg.

He was a distant cousin of the pioneering Carter Family who are revered as the "first family" of Country music. He was friends with the likes of Willie Nelson and Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers band who respectively were exponents of the "Outlaw Country" and "Southern Rock" genres.

While evaluation of his presidency continues to stir controversy, his post-White House activities arguably provide a model of what a former president can achieve. He helped build homes for the poor, actively fought against diseases and promoted sound agricultural techniques around the globe. And his aptitude for conflict resolution continued resulting in the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. The lesson of James Earl Carter’s life was his unfailing display of both commitment and conscience in his various roles as naval officer, farmer, state senator, governor, president and elder statesman.

Jimmy Carter was born on October 1^st, 1924, and died on December 29^th, 2024. His wife Rosalynn predeceased him, and he is survived by four children and many grandchildren.

© Adeyinka Makinde (2024).

Adeyinka Makinde is a writer based in London, England.

A Summary of the Military and Political Career of Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco

  

Capitán de fragata (Commander) Luis Carrero Blanco as the face of an original 1937 Spanish Civil War ration coupon.

Luis Carrero Blanco was a close associate of Generalissimo Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War which lasted from1936 to 1939. Franco, the leader of the Nationalist side became the undisputed head of state after victory over the Republican side and continued to lead Spain until his death in 1975.

Military education:

. 1918 - Naval Infantry School

. 1924 - Submarine School Course

. 1932 - Naval School, Paris

Military ranks (select):

. 1926 - Lieutenant 

. 1935 - Commander

. 1945 - Captain

. 1957 - Rear Admiral

. 1963 - Vice Admiral
. 1966 - Admiral

He held the following military positions:

. Ship Captain

. Submarine Commander
. Professor at the Naval College, Madrid
. Commander of the Cruiser Division of the Spanish Navy 
. Chief of Operations of the Navy High Command
. Chief of the General Staff

Carrero Blanco became an important functionary in Francoist Spain. He held the following appointments:

. 1940 - Under Secretary to the Presidency

. 1943 - Vice President of the Cortes

. 1967 - Deputy Premier

. 1973 - Prime Minister of Spain

Carrero Blanco authored at least three books:

. Spain and the Sea (1941)
. The Art of Naval Warfare (1943)

. The Victory of Christ of Lepanto (1947)

He was assassinated in a bomb attack by ETA, the Basque separatist group, on December 20, 1973.

© Adeyinka Makinde (2024).

Adeyinka Makinde is a writer based in London, England.

French Navy Tribute Recalls A Dramatic Connection Between Charles de Gaulle And Notre Dame Cathedral

FS Charles de Gaulle displays Notre Dame Cathedral on its deck (Source of photo: Chef d'état-major de la Marine on "X", formerly "Twitter").

A photograph released by the office of the French Chief of Naval Staff on Saturday, December 7, 2024, commemorated the re-opening of the refurbished Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which was gutted by a fire in 2019.

The overhead shot of the aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle, the flagship of the French Navy, depicts the revered Cathedral using 922 members of its crew to reconstruct its façade.

Notre Dame Cathedral was of course the site of an assassination attempt on General Charles de Gaulle in August 26^th, 1944. De Gaulle was in Paris to attend a thanksgiving service to celebrate the Liberation of the city.

As "Le General" strode into the Cathedral at the head of a procession of French soldiers and members of the resistance who had marched from the Arc de Triomphe, shots rang out from the dark corners of the Cathedral’s roof.

But as people threw themselves downwards to take cover, an unperturbed de Gaulle continued walking at his full height towards the altar and remained untouched by the hail of gunfire.

The echo of bullets exchanged between the snipers and the French security team of gendarmes and soldiers soon died down and was replaced by the sound of the congregation singing the Latin Christian hymn “Te Deum”.

© Adeyinka Makinde (2024).

Adeyinka Makinde is a writer based in London, England.

ICC Warrant of Arrest Against Binyamin Netanyahu: My Interview On Jahan Emrooz ("Today's World"), A News Programme Broadcast On The Islamic Republic Of Iran News Network

I made an appearance on Iranian TV on Friday, November 22nd speaking about the issue by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of warrants of arrest against Binyamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, and Yoav Gallant, former Defence Minister of Israel.

Jahan Emrooz ("Today's World") is a live late night news programme broadcast from Tehran on the Islamic Republic Of Iran News Network (IRINN).

The comments of guests are translated into Farsi as the guest is speaking.

Friday, November 22nd, 2024, was Jomeh, Azar 2, 1403 in Iran who use the Solar Hijri calendar dating system.

© Adeyinka Makinde (2024).

Adeyinka Makinde is a writer and lecturer in law who is based in London, England.

The interview can be viewed at:

Rumble

Rear Admiral Thomas Buchanan’s Statement on Nuclear War Harks Back To The Dark Days Of Herman Kahn’s First Strike Nuclear Doctrine During The Cold War

Rear Admiral Thomas “T.C.” Buchanan (Photo credit: U.S. Navy).

Rear Admiral Thomas Buchanan, the Director of Plans and Policy of the United States Department of Defense’s Strategic Command (STRATCOM), while speaking at the Project Atom 2024 event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Wednesday, November 20^th, 2024, said that the United States would allow a nuclear exchange if the outcome was on terms that he described as "acceptable" to the country and its interests. This meant, Buchanan continued, that the United States would after such an exchange “continue to lead the world.”

These comments are being seen as dangerous since they imply that a limited nuclear war could be fought and won - a shift from the longstanding understanding that a nuclear exchange between the United States and a nuclear power such as the Soviet Union and its successor Russian state would lead to Mutually Assured Destruction i.e. MAD.

The idea of "winning" a nuclear war despite knowing that many American cities would be incinerated goes back to the time of Herman Kahn, an influential American physicist and military strategist who was prominent in the 1950s and 1960s. Kahn’s “First Strike” doctrine posited that a nuclear war was winnable. His influence penetrated the Pentagon and certain military figures such as Air Force General Curtis LeMay subscribed to his views. A right-wing war hawk, in 1949 LeMay drew up plans to destroy 77 Russian cities in a single day of bombing.

Buchanan’s comments come at a time of increased tension between Russia and the United States. The Russian Federation has redrafted its nuclear doctrine in the light of the decision of the outgoing administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to enable the use by Ukraine of long range ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles for use against the Russian Federation during its conflict in Ukraine.

There have been calls for U.S. Secretary of State for Defense Lloyd Austin to sack RAdm Buchanan.

© Adeyinka Makinde (2024).

Adeyinka Makinde is a writer based in London, England.

Profile of Captain Kojo Tsikata (1936-2021)

An alumni of Achimota College and a graduate of Sandhurst Military Academy, Kojo Tsikata was involved in many of the tumultuous events in Ghana's political history: From the Congo to abortive coups and the era of the PNDC government led by Flt. Lt. Jerry Rawlings.

His ideological influences lay in Nkrumaist Pan-Africanism and Socialism. As a young man he had a political relationship with Dr. Kwame Nkrumah who sent him on special missions to the Congo and Angola. In the early 1960s, he served as Nkrumah's military envoy to Patrice Lumumba in the Congo. And in May 1965, Nkrumah sent him to Angola to serve as a military adviser to the nascent MPLA (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola). He arrived in Cabinda a few weeks before the arrival of the first six Cuban advisers.

He would go on to develop political ties with the likes of Fidel Castro, Thomas Sankara and Muammar Gaddafi.

But in the later part of the 1960s Tsikata faced obstacles. The military regime which had overthrown Nkrumah in February 1966 would the following year declare him a wanted man. Tsikata was thus forced into exile where he remained until the return of civilian rule under Dr. Kofi Busia.

In the interim period, he was persuaded to attend a meeting in Guinea in November 1968 at which the discussion was about bringing Nkrumah back to power. He arrived in Conakry with plans for removing the Ghanaian junta from power. However, Nkrumah refused to see him because he believed that Tsikata had been involved in a pre-1966 plot to overthrow his Convention People's Party (CPP). Suspecting that he was embarked on an enterprise to assassinate Nkrumah, the Guinean government detained him and threatened to execute him. It is claimed that the Mozambican guerrilla Samora Machel, then a rising commander in FRELIMO (Frente de Libertação de Moçambique), interceded on Tsikata's behalf and Tsikata was expelled from Guinea.

At some point after his return to Ghana from exile, he left for Angola where he served as a military adviser to President Agostinho Neto's MPLA forces under the assumed name of Carlos Silva Gomes. His role in Angola was interrupted by health problems which necessitated travel to the United Kingdom where he received treatment at London's Brompton Hospital for fibrotic pulmonary sarcoidosis i.e. non-malignant but severe growths in the lungs.

On November 29th, 1975, when he was working as the general manager of the Ghana Diamond Marketing Board, Tsikata was arrested and went on trial for his alleged involvement in the "One man, One Machete" coup against the Acheampong government. He was severely tortured and later convicted by a military tribunal which sentenced him to death. The sentence was later commuted. As a prominent Ghanaian newspaper editor told the New York Times in 1976, the Acheampong regime which had previously prosecuted three subversion trials since its coming to power had an unwritten policy: “if you don't spill blood, you won't pay with your blood.”

Tsikata was a key member of the PNDC during which time he served as the National Security Advisor. Tsikata's legacy was severely tarnished by the circumstances surrounding the kidnap and murder of three Ghanaian High Court Judges and a retired Army Officer in 1982.

A Special Investigation Board chaired by a former Chief Justice of Ghana recommended that Tsikata and nine others be prosecuted for the murders. However, the serving Attorney General of Ghana concluded that there had been "insufficient evidence" to prosecute him. Further, the sole witness against Tsikata subsequently withdrew his accusation just before his firing squad execution.

Tsikata died on November 20^th, 2021 at the age of 85.

© Adeyinka Makinde (2024)

Adeyinka Makinde is a writer who is based in London, England.