If you travel the sun-drenched coast of Ghana along the Gulf of Guinea from the capital Accra to the border with Côte d’Ivoire, you will see the most impressive display of European military architecture outside of that continent. These forts, mostly British and Dutch, mark the country as a centre of Africa’s notorious slave trade. From the glories of the medieval Ashanti kingdom to the heady days of the continent’s first successful independence struggle, Ghana, despite its relatively small size, has been at the centre of things African.
The people of Ghana went to the polls in December 2008 and elected a new government. It was a lively affair, and resulted in a virtual dead heat between the two main candidates. In January, however, the 64-year-old John Evans Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress took the oath of office before cheering crowds in Accra’s Independence Square after topping his opponent by less than one per cent of the vote. Despite misgivings, a reluctant opposition accepted the popular verdict.
