JJ Rawlings’s PNDC Erased My Father From Ghana’s History- Limann’s Daughter
Dr. Zilla Limann, daughter of the late President of Ghana, Dr. Hilla Limann, has expressed her concern over her father’s legacy being forgotten due to the actions of the Provisional Defence Council (PNDC) government, led by the late Jerry John Rawlings.
Zilla, who is also married to Hiplife pioneer Reggie Rockstone, stated that the PNDC deliberately destroyed records of her father’s achievements in Ghanaian politics, ensuring that his name would fade into obscurity.
According to her, this deliberate erasure of her father’s contributions has greatly contributed to his forgotten legacy, as history books in the country lack substantial information about him as a former president. She said this in an interview on 3FM.
“When the coup d’etat happened and the after-effects of the coup d’etat, one of the things that the PNDC government did was to consciously erase a lot of things about Dr. Hilla Limann. They erased, so literally, from the bizarre burning of GBC to whatever.
“They erased everything or almost everything. So you know that you’ll notice that when we go back into history, it is very hard to find things on Dr. Hilla Limann. If you go back to what we studied in school, it was always just glossed over,” she said during an interview with 3FM monitored by GhanaWeb.
She also stated that a foundation she has established has taken it up to make sure that Dr. Hilla Limann’s achievement is known to the general public as a former president and ensure that he is recognized in history books as well.
“Now that the foundation has been formed and we are putting things together, that’s one of the things we want to do to create more awareness. To get people to know about him [Dr. Hilla Limann], about what he did, the impact he had, how he contributed to the building of our motherland today, and what he probably could have done if his rule hadn’t been prematurely terminated.”
After the 1979 coup orchestrated by Jerry Rawlings, Limann emerged as the elected president of the People’s National Party. He garnered significant support from the followers of former Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah.
Limann’s victory came after Alhaji Imoru Egala was disqualified by the ruling Supreme Military Council, and he secured 62% of the popular vote in the second round of voting.
Taking office on September 24, 1979, Dr. Limann was known for his moderate economic policies and unwavering support for democratic values and pan-Africanism. However, his presidency was short-lived, as he was overthrown by Rawlings in a coup on December 31, 1981. Consequently, Limann became the sole president of Ghana’s third republic.
In 1992, following the end of the PNDC military rule that had ousted him, Dr. Limann reentered the political arena.
He ran as the candidate for the People’s National Convention, a party he had founded. Despite receiving 6.7% of the popular vote in the presidential election, he finished third. Until his passing, Limann remained an active figure within the Nkrumahist political movement in Ghana.
