Dr. Hilla Limann Foundation
About
Dr. Hilla Limann, the only President in the third republic of Ghana was undoubtedly a statesman, diplomat and scholar, to name but a few. However whatever he did or achieved was underpinned by strong human rights principles. He was a different sort of freedom fighter, defender and liberator who believed that the true enemy of this country, worth fighting, was anything that militated against the holistic progress of the Ghanaian!
He therefore adopted an all-encompassing strategy in fighting this war for the total independence and liberation of all Ghanaians guided by the cardinal principle that all human rights are universal and inalienable; indivisible; interdependent and interrelated.
Unlike those who believe in the categorization of some human rights and freedoms as more important than others, our father held the view that they were all equally important. In professing that his “ideology was Ghana and her salvation” he believed firmly that much as political and civil rights such as the right to vote, freedom of speech and assembly etc are important.
These actually have little or no relevance if they do not exist side by side with economic, social and developmental rights including the right to basic amenities, and a decent livelihood that guaranteed a dignified and productive life not just for some Ghanaians but for all Ghanaians, and not just in some parts of Ghana but in every city, town, village and hamlet right to the grassroots.
Almost paradoxically, although he was a freedom fighter, our father, being the true diplomat that he was, felt force should be used sparingly as a last resort and in this regard shared Abraham Lincoln’s view that “force is all conquering, but its victories are short lived”.
He abhorred violence and although erroneously considered weak by some, he was actually a political scientist and strategist who would have resonated with Sun Tzu, who in his classic book, the Art of War, asserts that “the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting”.
It is perhaps for this reason that our father saw education as the greatest weapon in this war of liberation as depicted in his own words during an interview with the Christian Messenger in 1980 as follows: “I believe that a lot of education is needed if the “house cleaning” exercise or moral renegration is to succeed.
Events have shown that if there is no genuine change of heart, most people will only comply with the law when they fear the big stick. It is my policy as a constitutionally elected President to persuade people to obey our laws.
Educating the people to refrain from evil unpatriotic practices is the best policy since it will yield greater and more permanent results.”
