Daniel Ahmling Chapman Nyaho

Daniel Ahmling Chapman Nyaho (5 July 1909 – 13 July 2001) was a Ghanaian statesman, diplomat and academic. He was the first African appointee at the United Nations. He served as the Secretary to the cabinet in the first Convention People's Party government which shared the colony's administration with the colonial government. He also served as Ghana's ambassador to the United States of America and Ghana's permanent representative to the United Nations. a town in the Volta Region of Ghana, to Jane Atsiamesi Chapman (née Atriki) and William Chapman, a merchant and the brother of Chief James Ocloo I of Keta who served as an adviser to the paramount chief of the Anlo state, Togbi Amedor Kpeglo (1879–1906) of the Bate clan. His father, Mr. William Chapman (also known by the name of Klutse) was the son of Nyaho and grandson of Sokpui, chief of Dzelukope. However, after a series of events, one in which he was asked by an American whether he did not have an African name; the other when his son was unable to gain admission into Oxford University the year he applied because authorities of the university mistakened him for an Englishman, and all places available for Englishmen had been taken leaving only vacancies for foreigners and consequently told he would be considered for admission in the next year. He lost his father at the age of seven. At the period of his days in primary school, there were no secondary schools or training colleges in the Volta Region, secondary school education in Cape Coast were also beyond the financial means of many parents in the village. Another reason for his choice was the opportunity of enrolling in the school on a scholarship, thus not paying school fees and also receiving stipends while in school. Chapman decided to return to Keta but prior to his return he wrote a letter to the Director of Education which read: "Dear Sir, I wish to go to Achimota College. If you send me I will work very hard". All hopes of attending Achimota College at the period seemed lost when Arthur Bolton, the head of the Teacher Training Department of Achimota College confirmed that Chapman was not qualified to enter Achimota College under the circumstances. Mr. Bolton who doubled as the director of schools visited Keta to interview candidates who wanted to enter Achimota College from the AME Zion School and the Roman Catholic School and Mr. Jiagge, a former class teacher of Chapman ceased the opportunity to narrate the ordeal of his former pupil to Bolton. Bolton could not help at that moment however, in the same year, the Education Department of the Gold Coast had organised an essay competition as part of the visit of the Prince of Wales to the country and Chapman's essay won the first prize in 1925. Bolton saw Chapman's name and recalled the story of Chapman as narrated to him by Mr. Jiagge and therefore decided to waive the prerequisit Standard Seven Certificate in Chapman's case to enroll him at Achimota College on a scholarship.

Teacher training In 1926, Chapman entered Achimota College which was then known as the Government Teachers' Training College prior to 1927. Chapman completed his studies in 1929, with distinctions in three subjects: Woodwork, Music and Teaching, and missed a distinction in arts by a mark. He obtained his University of London Intermediate B.A. in English, Latin, Economics and Geography in 1932.

Following his graduation as an undergraduate, he pursued a postgraduate programme in Pre-historic Archaeology prior to his return to Achimota School in 1937 where he took up a job as a senior Geography master. In addition to teaching Geography, Chapman was responsible for other administrative tasks, he supervised students' vacation teaching practice, served as a housemaster, a librarian, the secretary to the Principal's Advisory Committee and the staff representative on the Achimota College Council.

Eweland advocacy and first UN appointment Eweland advocacy While a teacher at Achimota College, Chapman was quite concerned with the social and political issues of the people of his hometown and the Ewe people at large. In 1939 he planned on opening a secondary school he hoped would have been completed and named Keta College. He completed a building started by his brother hoping it would serve as the nucleus of the college. During the Second World War, his bungalow hosted many Ewe people from Togo under French Mandate who had fled into the Gold Coast for political and economic reasons. By January 1945 he had started discussions with his elder brother, C. H. Chapman, Philip Gbeho (also a tutor at Achimota College), S. S. Newlands, an employee of the United Africa Company and others on the ways and means through which the Ewe people of French Togoland could be helped and also united. The maiden issue of the Ewe Newsletter appeared on the news stands in May 1945 and its readers were exhorted in the following words: "The time has come for us to make a careful study of our problems and look ahead into the future. Today Eweland is divided into a western zone under British rule, and an eastern zone under French rule. We feel the effects of the partition of our people but the colonial powers hold the key to the problem. In addition to the newsletter, Chapman together with some friends published the Nuke Xletivi, an ewe publication. These two publications supplemented with publications such as Jonathan Savi de Gove's Le Guide du Togo helped its readers understand the trusteeship system and the problems associated with it. The purpose of the meeting was to send a resolution on unification of Ewe people to the various metropolitan countries of Britain.

The resolution stated: "We, the undersigned, who are Ewes from various parts of the Eweland (i.e. Southeast Gold Coast, South Togoland under British Mandate and South Togo under French Mandate) have given much thought to the problems of the Ewe people with special reference to the partition of our country. We have always strongly supported our chiefs in their petitions asking for the removal of the frontiers which indiscriminately cut across Eweland. We deplore the partition of our country as this constitutes a very serious barrier to our social, economic, educational and political progress as a people and we therefore do hereby resolve: (a) That all the international frontiers cutting across be removed and all Eweland brought under a single administration; (b) that the whole of Eweland become a trust territory. (c) That Britain be invited to become the administering authority in Eweland. (d) That representatives of the Ewe people take part in the making of the trusteeship agreement. (e) That a new constitution be drawn up for the whole of Eweland taking due account of our Native Authorities and our political aspirations . We are convinced that this resolution expresses the wishes of all thoughtful Ewes in both the British and French spheres of Eweland. We wish that this resolution be published in as many newspapers as possible and also brought to the notice of: (i) The British Government, (ii) The French Government, and the United Nations."

All-Ewe Conference In June 1946, the All-Ewe Conference (AEC) was founded and its immediate mandate was to send petitions to the British government, the French government, and the United Nations. Chapman had then been elected the first Secretary-General of the All-Ewe Conference (AEC).

First UN appointment In November 1946 Chapman Nyaho went to the UN in New York with his wife, and children (then two children). Chapman's task at the United Nations was to help analyse reports on educational, social and economic conditions in non-self governing territories. He and his family were the first to move into the residential area specifically built for the UN staff in Long Island, New York. In June 1954, Chapman returned to the Gold Coast and took up appointment as Secretary to the then Prime Minister of the Gold Coast, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

As an advocate of Ewe unification and the participation of Ewe people in the Gold Coast and Togoland under British Trusteeship, he accompanied the (Regional) administrative Officer of the Volta Region in November 1954 to the Fourth Committee of Trusteeship Council for the discussion of the Togoland and Ewe situation as a member of the British Government delegation. He believed that Ewe unification and Ewe participation in the political advancement of the Gold Coast will aid in the colony's political independence.

Ambassadorial appointment Following Ghana's independence in 1957, Chapman gained appointment as Ghana's ambassador to the United States and Ghana's permanent representative at the UN. He was a part of the Ghana delegation to the first Conference of Independent African States held in Accra in April 1958. Chapman was then appointed to assume this position in 1958. While at Achimota College, he renovated structures that had not seen repairs in years he also founded a building to help improve the condition of students as far as infrastructure was concerned. He also helped in making some courses being taught then at the school locally relevant. He also served as the vice-chairman of the International Commission on Higher Education in Ghana between 1961 and 1962. The commission was known for its recommendation of the then University College of the Gold Coast (now the University of Ghana) and the Kumasi College of Technology (now the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology) being made independent universities with each having its university Council as its governing body. According to Chapman, he faced a number of challenges as headmaster of Achimota College. He was first concerned with what he termed an "unnecessary interference" of the government in the affairs of the school.

Second UN appointment and later life Chapman was appointed Chief of Operations by the UN Secretary-General during the period of the Congo Crisis; however, the government of Ghana refused to endorse his nomination. He was therefore appointed Director of UN Division of Narcotic Drugs by the UN Secretary-General in 1963.

Death, burial and tribute Chapman died on Friday 13 July 2001 at the age of 92. He was scheduled to be buried on Saturday 11 August 2001 in his hometown, Keta. He was laid to rest with Military honours at the Osu Cemetery. The Agricultural College, Greensbore North Carolina U.S.A bestowed upon him an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree.

Publications While working as an Ewe language examiner for the Cambridge University School Certificate Examination, he observed a considerable lack of understanding of the Ewe customs among his candidates. This resulted in a publication he started together with F. K. Potakey, also a teacher at Achimota College, called Ewe Studies. Together, they worked on another book titled Anlo Constitution, which covered Ewe customs and institutions. He continued with a series of research on the history and geography of the Ewe people and this resulted in two publications by the names:

Our Homeland (Book 1 - A Regional Geography of South East Gold Coast), (1945); The Human Geography of Eweland (1945).