By Jesse Ampah Owusu
Accra, Aug. 14, GNA – A statue of Lieutenant General Joseph Arthur Ankrah, a former Ghana Head of State, has been unveiled at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC), Teshie, Accra.
The eight-feet statue was presented to the College by the family of the late Head of State and placed at the Ankrah Hall at the College.
The late Lieutenant General Ankrah was a military Head of State from 1966 to 1968.
The unveiling was done on the sidelines of Senior Command and Staff Course 43 and Masters of Science in Defence and International Politics class of 2022 religious graduation parade.
Air Commodore Eric Yirenkyi, Assistant Commandant, Senior Division of the GAFCSC, said the statue was significant because it reminded all of the service and sacrifice of the former head of State.
He added that it would remind all of the virtues the late General stood for.
“It is worth placing on record that General Ankrah’s extraordinary tenacity, intense devotion to duty and strong sense of personal excellence provided superior and professional diligence in the success of his career as an officer and a statesman.”
“It is recognition of these exemplary qualities and show of bravery while serving with the United Nations in Congo that he was decorated with the Military Cross in January 1961 and Order of the Volta on July 03, 1965,” he said.
Dr Mark Ankrah, Acting Head of the Mantse Ankrah Royal Family, appealed to the College to institute an annual memorial lecture in honour of the late head of State.
He said that would make future generations learn about him and his service to the country.
He added that it would reinforce the importance and the need for them to serve the country with patriotism as their forebears.
General Ankrah was a senior army officer and a pioneer of the Ghana Armed Forces Officers’ Corps.
He trained as a cadet at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, United Kingdom from September 1946 to March 1947 and was commissioned as a regular career officer on March 01, 1947.
He was posted on commission to the 1st Gold Coast Regiment where he held several appointments and served in numerous capacities.
General Ankrah became one of the pioneers of the 1st Ghana Regiment and appointed Company Commander from April 1957 to June 1959.
He later served as the Army Chief of Staff at the Army headquarters from December 1961 to October 1962 and was subsequently appointed the Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Defence from October 1962 to January 1963.
He also served as the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff at the Ministry of Defence, an appointment he held from July 1963 to July 1965.
General Ankrah served with the United Nations mission in the Congo, now Democratic Republic of Congo as a Commanding Officer from July 1960 to May 1961 and again from August to October 1961.
He was appointed the Chairman of the National Liberation Council, Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, General Officer Commanding and Commissioner of Defence from February 1966 to March 1968.
GNA