Kobina Hagan (1923-1977) was a

Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

politician and teacher. He was the Principal Secretary for the Central Organisation of Sports (COS) from 1960 to 1963 and later member of parliament for the

Denkyira Denkyira was a powerful nation of Akan people that existed before the 1620s, in what is now modern-day Ghana. Like all Akans, they originated from Bono state. Before 1620, Denkyira was called Agona. The ruler of the Denkyira was called Denkyira ...

constituency from 1965 to 1966.

Early life

Hagan was born on 11 November 1923 at

Saltpond Saltpond is a town and the capital of the Mfantsiman Municipal District in the Central Region of South Ghana. Saltpond has a population of 24,689 people. Economy History Saltpond was in a state of economic decline since the landing beach was a ...

in Central Region,

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

(then

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

). He was educated at

Mfantsipim School Mfantsipim is an all-boys boarding secondary school in Cape Coast, Ghana, established by the Methodist Church in 1876 to foster intellectual, moral, and spiritual growth on the then Gold Coast. Its founding name was Wesleyan High School and ...

and

Wesley College of Education, Kumasi Wesley College of Education is a teacher education college in Kumasi, Ashanti Region in Ghana. It was initially established for the training of teachers, catechists and ministers. It was founded by the Methodist Church, located between New Taf ...

. While at Wesley College, Hagan was one of the few students in the school to obtain colours for all the games played in the school, they included; football, athletics, cricket and hockey. After teaching for a period of about 3 years, he entered the University College of the Gold Coast (now the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

as a founding student of the university.

Career

Teaching and politics

Hagan began as a teacher with the Methodist Educational Unit. He taught in both Prestea and Dunkwa-On-Offin from 1944 to 1947. After his studies at the University College of the Gold Coast, he joined the teaching staff of his alma maters

and later on,

. After teaching for the Methodist Educational Unit for a while, he was appointed principal of the Kwame Nkrumah Workers' College in 1959. A year later he joined the Central Organisation of Sports (COS) as its Principal Secretary. He worked in this capacity for a year after which he was appointed principal of the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute in

Winneba Winneba is a town and the capital of Effutu Municipal District in Central Region of South Ghana. Winneba has a population of 55,331. Winneba, traditionally known as ''Simpa'', is a historic fishing port in south Ghana, lying on the south co ...

. He served as principal of the college from 1961 until 1963 when he gained an appointment at the

, as a Senior Resident Tutor at the Institute of Public Education (IPE). In 1964 he became the Director of Adult Education, University of Ghana. Hagan held this appointment from 1964 until the overthrow of the

Nkrumah government Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the first Prime Minister and first President of Ghana. Nkrumah had run governments under the supervision of the British government through Charles Arden-Clarke, the Governor-General. His first government under colonial ...

in 1966. In 1965 he doubled as a member of parliament when he was elected to represent the

constituency on the ticket of the

Convention People's Party The Convention People's Party (CPP) is a socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. The CPP was formed in June 1949 after Nkrumah broke away from the United Gold Coast Convention (UG ...

(CPP).

Sports

Hagan played football for clubs in the

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is t ...

and Dunkwa areas, and became an honorary coach for the Kumasi Asante Kotoko Football Club. As a member of the Central Organisation of Sports (COS), he served as the team manager of the Ghana national team in their triumphs in the 4th and

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

African Cup of Nations.

Personal life

In 1966 Hagan founded the Aggrey Memorial Preparatory School. He died in 1977 and was survived by his mother and six children. His hobby was sports.

References