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Jubilee House must be the name for Ghana’s Presidential Office and Villa for Reasonable Causes 

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Jubilee House
Jubilee House

Flagstaff House especially those in the Gold Coast now Ghana, Nigeria, India, Hong Kong etc is a colonial relic thus represents the symbol or faces or vestiges of imperialism.

It was built with similar or same architecture (especially that of Ghana, India and Hong Kong). 

Flagstaff Houses were military facilities in the colonial era and were used as the official Residences and Offices of the Senior Military Officers Oversea especially the Flag Generals, these were the General Officer Commanding of the British Military Forces and other Senior Military Officers.

 So, they were termed as the Houses for Military Star Flag Officers or Flag Staff Officers of the British Military Forces or Senior Military Officers who can fly a flag in front of their vehicles.  Otherwise, the Flagstaff House may be said as an Administrative building of the Colonialists in the colonial days with a colonial or national or Corporate Flag hoisted in front of the House to denote as such.

For the avoided of doubt let me say again, the Flagstaff Houses in India, Gold Coast now Ghana and Nigeria became the Official Residences of the Commander-in-Chief of the British Military Forces. This later on became the residences of the first Prime Minister of India namely Hon Mr Jawaharlal Nehru, also the residence of the First President of Ghana namely His Excellency Dr Kwame Nkrumah on attainment of Republican status in 1960. In Nigeria, it was initially occupied by the First and only Prime Minister of Nigeria namely Hon Sir Abubakar Tafawa Belawa. 

The Flagstaff House in Nigeria as Government House was built in 1896 by the Governor of Nigeria, and it housed Governor Lord Lugard, then Governor of Nigeria. It later on, housed the first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria as stated, then several Presidents (Civilian Heads of State) and Military Heads of State of Nigeria. The Flagstaff house in Nigeria was one time named as the Number 6 Marina Mansion and designated as the Official Residence of the Army Commander of the Nigeria Army. I envisaged this was so when the new Presidential Mansion was built as Aso Villa in Abuja as the Presidential Palace of Nigeria and was occupied by the President of Nigeria effective 1991.

I envisaged these Flagstaff Houses or buildings became the residences of the first Prime Ministers of affected Countries because they were the iconic buildings in the early days of post-independence of the affected Countries and they were the only available residences which befitted the status of a Head of Government, Head of State and the Commander-in-Chief of the National Armed Forces. 

The Flagstaff House were not built by the post independent leaders as their Palace and Offices but they only occupied them with the view to constructing a new Presidential villa and relegate the buildings as museum when time and resources permit.  

The only aberration in History from the Flagstaff Houses in the British Colonies is the Flagstaff House Museum in Pakistan which was the initial residence of the Prime Minster of a Country not built by the Colonial Administration.

 In Pakistan, the Flagstaff House was originally built in 1890s by Moses Somake, an alleged British Jew and named it as Flagstaff House. It was bought by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the Founder of Pakistan and named it as QuadieAam House in 1944.  It was later on bought from the Sister or family of Mohammed Ali Jinnah by the Government of Pakistan in 1985, renovated it and the name was changed to Flagstaff Museum.        

In Hon Kong, the Flagstaff House which was the residence of the Commander of the British Forces in colonial era is today named as the Flag Staff Museum of Tea Ware. 

The Flagstaff House in Ghana became Headquarters of the Ghana Armed Forces after the 1966 Coup and remained so until it became the HQ of the National Development Planning Commission, later on as the Offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

  Let me reiterated that the Flagstaff House in Ghana in the era of the PNDC was occupied by the Ghana Armed Forces as Offices of the then General Officer Commanding (GOC) namely General Arnold Quanno, who at that time  doubled as the Army Commander, the GOC was there with his Official staff. I visited the place during the PNDC era as a very young Officer in the Ghana Army to see some officers including my mate then Captain Adu, who was then serving under a Senior Officer responsible for confiscated vehicles at the Agric Mechanization, Accra near Air Force Officers Mess.

 For historical reasons, let me add that my mate’s office was near the Main Gate facing the Liberation Road leading to the Military Hospital or opposite the 31 December Cenotaph or Christ the King Catholic Church.  This office building which he occupied and other old buildings are no more at the Site.  I visited the place in 2014 during the era of both President Mahama and President Nana Addo, I did not see some of the Old buildings. But I gathered from a Facebook message that some old buildings are still at the place, then these should be those nearer to TV3 with a separate gate. Further and better details later.

The Offices of the GOC, now CDS of the Ghana Armed Forces and that of the Army Commander and their Staff were moved to Burma Camp in 1992.  It was later on allocated to National Development Planning Commission in the era of President Rawlings. . 

In Ghana, the Seat of Government has been the Osu Castle until President Kofour changed the narrative. Details below.

The NDC regime of President Rawlings initiated actions to build Official Residences for the President of Ghana that of the Vice President. Google for ‘NDC gave out contract for Presidential Mansion’ as published by the Ghanaian Chronicle dated Monday 26 March 2001,  by Kafui Gale Zoyiku. That was when the then Minister of Works and Housing namely Hon Mr Kwamena Bartels told Members of Parliament that a Contract for the building of new residences for the President and his Vice was initiated by the former government to replace the abandoned flagstaff House. 

Hon Mr Bartels was then moving a motion for the approval of the budget as awarded by the NDC regime of President Rawlings. To quote him, he said that the ‘demolishing of the old building which was occupied by Dr Nkrumah has already been demolished and the contractor paid part of his entitlements’’. This narration made in Parliament was/is enough to say that the Flagstaff House as the residence of President Nkrumah was demolished before March 2001, as alleged by the then Sector Minister when he appeared before Members of Parliament. 

As part of the 50th Independence Celebration of Ghana dubbed as the Golden Jubilee Celebration, the then President of Ghana saw the Government of India for support, which was granted and he constructed the ionic building in the image of the golden stool and other facilities with a grant of not less than 30 million US Dollars from the People and Government of India. The Government of Ghana named the new Presidential Mansion as Jubilee House in November 2008. It was then 80 percent complete, but the office of the President which was ready at that time was used as the Seat of Government by the regime of President Kofour. 

President Mills in 2009 moved out the Seat of Government to the Osu Castle and changed the name from Jubilee House to Flagstaff House with the excuse of Security concern and the name not backed by Legislative instrument or law. 

This new Presidential Mansion was used as temporary houses for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when this Ministry’s buildings/Offices were burnt by fire outbreak.

On completion of a new place at the Airport for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry moved out.  So in 2012, the Vice President of Ghana, Dr Amissah Arthur was the first to move from the Osu Castle to the Presidential Villa after the elections in December 2012.  President JD Mahama moved to the Flagstaff House in January 2013, maintained the name as Flagstaff House and handed over to President Nana Addo in January 2017 and due to our usual buffoonery acts, he changed the name to Jubilee House. President Mahama has indicated that he will occupied the seat of Government when the name is changed to Flagstaff House. This ‘chechekulae Kofi Sa langa’ or Kweku Ananse story must be halted by our matured and respected statesmen.

So, from the above narrations, anyone with a critical mindset may have the reasonable cause to conclude that Ghana must maintain the name JUBILEE HOUSE’ otherwise we should use Presidential Villa or Palace or Executive Mansion, in order to honor the kind gesture of the People and Government of India for their contributions for a named project of both Presidential Office and Presidential Residence to mark Ghana’s Golden Jubilee Celebration. 

The India Government supported Ghana towards the 50th Independence Celebration dubbed as Jubilee Celebration and for the very good work of President Kofour, the name Jubilee House  was made by him, President Kofour is appropriate.  So, our leaders must demo sense of gratitude and maturity by agreeing with a name based on facts.  As stated the facts are that the site was a colonial Military facility, same after the overthrow of Dr Nkrumah and CPP regime and it was President Kofour who built the Presidential Mansion and Office with the help of the Indians and this was in the name of Golden Jubilee Celebration of Ghana.

If the old buildings of the Flagstaff House are still at the area as alleged by some people,  let us conduct risk assessment, come out with control measures and label the affected or limited area as Flagstaff House within the perimeter fenced wall of the Jubilee House and designate the area as restricted Tourist Centre. Bur the general area must be Jubilee House.

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