COCOBOD Scholarships: How Another Nkrumah Legacy Has Been Flushed Down the Drain Forever

COCOBOD Scholarship: How Another Nkrumah Legacy Has Been Flushed Down the Drain Forever: Ghana as a country probably saw its best era of infrastructural and economic development under the country’s first president, the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

The era of Kwame Nkrumah witnessed massive infrastructural projects, the establishment of companies, and audacious social intervention programs, all aimed at making the country self-reliant.

One of the most notable initiatives from this period was the Nkrumah COCOBOD Scholarship, which has now been unfortunately cancelled.

This marks the latest erosion of Nkrumah’s legacies.

During Nkrumah’s tenure, significant infrastructural projects were undertaken, including the Akosombo Dam, the Tema Motorway, the Tema Town, the now Accra Technical University, the University of Cape Coast, and the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

He also established factories like the Kumasi Jute Factory, the Kumasi Shoe Factory, Ghana Industrial Holding Corporation (GIHOC), the Bolgatanga Meat Processing Factory, and the Asutsuare Sugar Factory. These projects were part of his vision to create a self-reliant Ghana.

However, many of Nkrumah’s legacies have been neglected over the years. Factories he established, including the Kumasi Pencil Factory, the Bonsa Tyre Factory, and the Wenchi Tomato Factory, have been left to deteriorate.

In addition, some of his social intervention policies have been cancelled. The latest victim of this neglect is the COCOBOD Scholarship scheme, which the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) recently announced has been cancelled because it has “lost its core purpose due to the Free Senior High School Programme (Free SHS).”

Historian Yaw Anokye Frimpong provided the historical context behind the establishment of the COCOBOD Scholarships in an interview with journalist Kafui Dey.

He explained that a disagreement between Ashanti chiefs and the late Dr. Nkrumah led to the creation of the scholarship scheme.

The chiefs were displeased with Nkrumah using almost all the proceeds from the country’s sale of cocoa beans for national development projects, while giving cocoa farmers, who were predominantly from the Ashanti Region, meagre sums.

The chiefs, led by the then Asantehene, pressed Nkrumah for a fair share of the cocoa proceeds.

They argued that while hired labourers from other regions were paid fairly, the cocoa farmers themselves received inadequate compensation.

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Nkrumah responded by creating the Cocoa Marketing Board Scholarships to appease the chiefs and ensure that the cocoa farmers’ children received education.

Nkrumah explained his decision to the chiefs by stating, “In place of putting money into the hands of the farmer, I have decided to create a Cocoa Marketing Board Scholarship for every parent whose ward will be able to produce evidence that his father is a cocoa farmer. The moment you show it to the headmaster, you will be given a CMB scholarship. And the reason why I’m doing this is that I know the farmers because my parents were farmers. And I see what farmers do the moment they get plenty of money; they marry more women, and they don’t think about the education of their children. I want you to think about the education of your children.”

This scholarship was a means to ensure that the children of cocoa farmers could receive a good education, which Nkrumah believed would lead to a better future for the farmers and the nation.

The cancellation of this scholarship is seen as a significant loss, not only because it was a practical support system for cocoa farmers but also because it represented Nkrumah’s vision of using resources to invest in the nation’s human capital.

The cancellation of the COCOBOD Scholarship marks another step in the gradual dismantling of Nkrumah’s legacy.

Despite the introduction of the Free SHS program, the specific targeting of cocoa farmers’ children through the COCOBOD Scholarship held symbolic and practical importance.

The Free SHS program, while beneficial, does not entirely replace the tailored support that the Nkrumah COCOBOD Scholarship provided to the children of cocoa farmers.

In conclusion, the termination of the COCOBOD Scholarship represents a significant loss in the context of Ghana’s historical and socio-economic development.

It underscores the broader issue of how Nkrumah’s transformative legacies are being eroded over time.

This latest development calls for a reflection on how Ghana can preserve and build upon the foundational initiatives laid down by its first president, ensuring that the vision of a self-reliant and educated nation does not fade away.

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