George Benneh

A member of the Bono ethnic group, George Benneh was born on 6 March 1934 in the small town of Jamdede, about a kilometre from Berekum on the then Gold Coast, now Ghana.[1][2] His father was Isaac William Benneh, a Convention People's Party politician during the First Republic under the Nkrumah government, who served as the Minister for Rural Industries and the Member of Parliament for Berekum.[3] His mother was Theresa Ammea, a farmer and a kenkey trader.[3] During his childhood, together with his younger brother, Stephen, he assisted his mother in her trade and spent his school vacations helping out on a cocoa farm his family owned at Prusu.[1][2] On the way to the farm early in the mornings, he and his family stopped along the way to have a palm soup meal as the journey was long.[1][2]

Raised a Roman Catholic, Benneh had his primary and middle education at the Berekum Catholic Primary and Middle Schools from 1941 and 1949, culminating in the Common Entrance Examination towards the end of 1949.[1][2] Benneh studied at Achimota College during his secondary years from 1950 and 1956 where he obtained the GCE Ordinary Level (1954) and GCE Advanced Level (1956) certificates.[1][2] As a student, George Benneh served as the Catholic Chapel Prefect, working closely with the parish chaplain.[3] At Achimota, his nickname was “Anago”, an allusion to his athletic prowess.[1][2] At the age of 14, while in Form Three, he led the Achimota Athletics Team to compete with Kings College, a notable secondary school in Lagos, Nigeria.[1][2] He also won the 800-yard race during the Inter-College Games at the Accra Sports Stadium.[1][2]

In 1957, he was among 4 students who were selected nationally and awarded the Shell Ghana Independence Scholarship for university studies at the University College of Ghana, then a constituent college of the University of London from where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography in 1960.[1][2] At Legon, he captained the University of Ghana Athletics Team from 1958 to 1959. Between 1961 and 1964, he did his postgraduate studies at the London School of Economics, after which he was awarded a PhD in Geography.[1][2]

George Benneh authored over 13 books and booklets and 70 other publications in Geography, Environment, Land Tenure and Land Use, Population, Education and Public Administration.[1][2][6] Some of his books include A New Geography of Ghana (1970)[7][8][9][10] and Technology Should Seek Tradition: Studies on Traditional Land Tenure and Small Holder Farming Systems in Ghana (2011).[11] He was a contributor to the Encyclopædia Britannica.[12]

He participated in over 60 International Conferences, Seminars and Workshops including the International Workshop and Rural Poverty Eradication in the 21st Century held in Tokyo in 2000, and the AAU General Conference held in Nairobi in February 2001.[1][2] George Benneh received the United Nations Global 500 award at the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992 for his contribution to teaching and research in the fields of Population and Environment.[1][2] He was named the Man of the Year in 1997 by the American Biographical Institute. He was a Member of the New York Academy of Sciences and a Member of New York Academy of Science. He was also a Member of the Academia Europaea (European Academy). He received several state awards from his native Ghana and other states: Grand Officer De Ordre Du Lion, Republic of Senegal, 1981, Companion of River Gambia, Republic of The Gambia, 1981 and member of the Order of the Star of Ghana, 2006.[1][2]

He was also awarded honorary doctorate degrees (Doctor of Letters – honoris causa) by a number of universities including University of Copenhagen, 1998, Longwood College, Virginia, USA in 1995, University of Tokyo in 1996 and University of Ghana, 2002 and the University for Development Studies, Tamale in 2003 for the role he played in setting up the institution.[1]

The University of Ghana, Legon named a roundabout in honour of George Benneh.[13][14]

He launched his autobiography, 'My Time, My Nation' in 2017.[6][15] In the book, he recounts his childhood, school years at Achimota.[6] There are also chapters of his life as an African postgraduate student in Britain and his encounter with racism in the United States. He gives a systemic account of his academic and political careers and how he survived serving under different political regimes and military interventions in the country.[6]

Benneh also donated a multidisciplinary collection of 257 books from his personal library to the Balme Library of the University of Ghana.[16] Some of his books include Fighting For Freedom, Energy And Ghana’s Socio-Economic Development, Technology Should Seek Tradition, Gender: Evolving Roles And Perceptions, Harnessing Research, Science And Technology For Sustainable Development In Ghana, Women And Development In The Third World, European Review, Ghana @ 50 Anniversary Lectures, Philosophy and Human Geography: An Introduction To Contemporary Approaches, Population Dynamics of Kenya.[16]

To bridge the research-policy gap and to bring science and technology to the doorstep of every citizen, Benneh initiated the convening of a National Forum on Harnessing Research, Science and Technology for Sustainable National Development in 2004 and was the chair of the planning committee.[1][2][6]

He set up a project on ICT for the youth in his hometown in Berekum.[1][2] Together with his siblings, he donated land at the Benneh Estate for the ICT project saying “education is so important for one’s livelihood” in order to equip the youth with employable skills as a way to solve youth unemployment in the area.[1]

He was married to Adelaide Mary Benneh (also known as Nana Adwoa Asiaa Benneh Beyeeman I, a Development Queenmother or Nkosuohemaa of Wirenkyeren Amanfrom and Dwantoa Hemaa of Akyem Abuakwa)[17][18] with six children, three sons and three daughters, and had 17 grandchildren.[19][1][6][13][20] He was a Papal Knight of the Catholic Church.[21]

George Benneh died of natural causes at his home in East Legon, Accra on 11 February 2021, twenty-three days short of his 87th birthday.[22][23][24] A requiem mass for Benneh was held at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra before his burial in his hometown of Akrofro, near Berekum in the Bono Region.[25][26] His funeral was attended by several dignitaries including the Ghanaian president, Nana Akufo-Addo, former Foreign Minister, Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, lawyer and traditional ruler, S. K. B. Asante and the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, Jean Mensa.[27]