Ghana

The Akuffo Coup, 1978

As public hostility toward the SMC increased, Ghana became increasingly ungovernable. On July 5, 1978, junior officers on the Military Advisory Committee persuaded senior officers, led by Lieutenant General Frederick W.K. Akuffo, to force Acheampong to resign. The creation of what was termed SMC II, however, failed to restore public confidence in the government, largely because Akuffo refused to abandon the idea of a union government without party politics. As a result, there were about eighty strikes in a fourmonth period to protest the regime's economic policies. In November 1978, when junior civil servants went on strike, the regime declared a state of emergency and dismissed more than 1,000 public employees. Akuffo eventually succumbed to this pressure by announcing that the ban on political parties would be lifted on January 1, 1979, and that free elections would be held.

Data as of November 1994

Ghana - TABLE OF CONTENTS

• INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS
• INTERNAL SECURITY CONCERNS
• THE ARMED FORCES IN NATIONAL LIFE
  • The Armed Forces in the Past
    • The Asante Wars
    • World War I
    • World War II
  • The Development of the Modern Army
• THE MILITARY AND THE GOVERNMENT
  • The National Liberation Council, 1966-69
  • The Acheampong Regime, 1972-78
  • The Akuffo Coup, 1978
  • The 1979 Coup and the First Rawlings Government
  • The 1981 Coup and the Second Rawlings Government
• THE MILITARY AND THE ECONOMY
• ARMED FORCES' MISSION, ORGANIZATION, AND STRENGTH
• MILITARY MANPOWER, TRAINING, AND MORALE
  • Manpower
  • Training
  • Morale
  • Uniforms, Ranks, and Insignia
• FOREIGN MILITARY ASSISTANCE
  • Britain
  • Canada
  • Soviet Union
  • German Democratic Republic
  • China
  • Israel
  • United States
  • Italy
  • Libya
• STATE SECURITY SERVICES
• CRIMINAL JUSTICE
  • Criminal Code and Courts
  • Prison System
• HUMAN RIGHTS
• MILITARY TRENDS