Courage Togobo was born into a Ghanaian royal family in Anloga, Anloland, southeastern Volta Region of Ghana, in 1933. In 1955, aged 22, Togobo moved to London, England, to undertake his architectural studies. In 1961, Togobo, along with fellow students, Kuok Choo Soo and Rory Westmass, won a national British Newspaper competition to redesign London's Piccadilly Circus, receiving local and national media coverage. Togobo continued a distinguished career in architecture after he returned to his homeland. Lieutenant Colonel (Rtd) Courage Godwin Kwasi Togobo died in Ghana in 1984.
Architect Courage Togobo was born into a Ghanaian royal family in Anloga, Anloland, southeastern Volta Region of Ghana, in 1933. Togobo spent his formative years within a highly respected family, engaged in royal ceremonies and ancient traditions associated with 'The Adzorvia Clan of Anlo: Defender of The Awoamezi' (The Adzorvia Clan Development Foundation, online). Togobo spent his childhood in the fertile and vibrant Ghanaian countryside surrounding fishing villages on the Atlantic coast of the Gulf of Guinea. His initial education was at the Evangelical Presbyterian Anloga E. P. Primary School, from 1939 to 1947. In 1948, he continued secondary education at Zion College of West Africa (ZICO) in Anloga (now Zion Senior High School). Togobo was a bright and hardworking pupil, undertaking various subjects in the humanities, maths and sciences, including foundation art and design practices and, in 1953, he passed the essential Cambridge School Certificate. He followed this by taking on a year's work as a pupil teacher at a local school, which helped develop his teaching skills. In 1954, Togobo secured a government scholarship in Architectural Engineering. Aged 21, he moved from Anloga to start a one-year preparatory architectural course at the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology (NCAST) in the bustling city of Ibadan, in southwestern Nigeria. Togobo completed the first academic year at NCAST in 1954, enabling him to continue his specialist architectural training overseas.
In 1955, aged 22, Togobo moved to London, England, to undertake architectural studies; according to Oonagh Monaghan, Togobo initially enrolled at South West Essex Technical College for a year (Monaghan, 2023, online). Then, between 1956 and 1959, he continued at the Oxford School of Architecture, where he engaged with an international cohort and was surrounded by spectacular historical architecture. Togobo subsequently undertook three years of professional academic training in building construction, design theory, history lectures, and studio practice: an intensive course of study aimed at providing elite training for students within the educational framework of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). During the final stages of his architectural training, from 1959 to 1962, he attended the Brixton School of Building, where he began to develop his reputation as a highly talented architectural designer. In February 1961, Togobo, along with fellow students, Malaysian Kuok Choo Soo and British Guianan Rory Westmass, created building plans, technical blueprints, and architectural models for a national competition to redesign London's Piccadilly Circus, run by the British newspapers, The Evening News and the Morning Star. The trio worked exceptionally hard, combining their architectural design talents, and produced the winning entry. They received front-page accolades in the national press, academic peer recognition, and media coverage and press interviews (Evening news reporter, 1961, p.1) After his architectural training, Togobo was employed as an architect within the British Civil Service from 1962 to 1964, working first at the London County Council (LCC) as a Junior Architect in the Architecture Department, then moving into an Assistant Architect role at the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works.
Togobo returned to Ghana in 1964 and forged his professional career within Ghanaian architectural practices, working with the Ghana National Construction Corporation (GNCC), now the Public Works Department (PWD), In 1966, General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotok, by military coup, seized power from the government of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana. General Kotok, aware of his architectural reputation, offered Togobo a position in the Ghanaian military to develop and construct army-building projects. Togobo was promoted for his services, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Eventually, Togobo returned to the public sector. During the 1980s, he held various prominent and senior roles, serving as a board member of the Ghana Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and as an Associate, then Secretary, Vice President, and elected President of the Ghana Institute of Architects (GIA). Lieutenant Colonel (Rtd) Courage Godwin Kwasi Togobo died in Ghana in 1984. His innovative architectural designs and modernsit constructions continue to be respected in the public and private sectors in Ghana, including ‘Tamale Airport, Arakan Barracks, and the Electoral Commission’s Regional offices in Kumas’ (Monaghan, 2023, online).
Joy Onyejiako.
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